“Stellar service” and a trip down memory lane is what Mark Steller, the owner of Old Town Market in Orcutt, promises each customer who frequents his neighborhood grocery store.
“Coming in here is kind of like stepping back in time,” he said. “It’ll remind you of going to the store with grandma when you were a kid. It feels like an old grocery store instead of a 40,000-square-foot box.”
This is where the aspect of nostalgia and antiques came into play for Steller and his wife, Wendy. Because of a haphazard expansion by previous owners, they purchased the store with a mess of various additions and a flawed interior. It was rundown and in need of a facelift.
“We started hanging up old Coca Cola signs, old grocery store scales, and vintage tools and shovels to give it a better look,” he said. “People started asking if they could buy the products, and at first I said ‘no.’ I gave in and just started replacing things as customers bought them.”
The market’s back room eventually turned into an antique store.
Last year, however, Wendy opened her own antique store, Deja-Vu Antiques at the Loading Dock, located down the street from Old Town Market. This left the back room vacant, and Steller has converted into a multipurpose space of sorts.
“We do monthly wine and beer tastings [and] hold meetings, and we’re able to host small parties that we cater using our own deli,” he said.
Patrons can order sandwiches, soups, and sliced meats and cheeses via the deli counter.
“I think the best sandwich we have is the hot Panini,” Steller said.
Old Town Market also features 12 flavors of hand-scooped Dreyer’s Ice Cream, fresh local produce, and a little bit of everything else.
“We carry anything that a grocery store would carry, but we don’t have the same array of selections,” he said. “We’re very competitive and convenient, and often times we’re actually cheaper than the big stores.”
Steller also prides himself on being involved in the community and always having something going on at the market.
“We’re always trying to find something to do,” he said. “For example, last weekend we had a Cajun barbecue that was catered by a food truck.”
Old Town Market also barbecues tri-tip every Saturday and holds fundraisers for local sports teams.
“My philosophy is if the town succeeds, I succeed as a business, and then we all succeed,” Steller said. “There’s a spirit of cooperation in this town rather than competition. Each business owner is trying to identify ourselves individually, but we’re all trying to make Orcutt a household name on the Central Coast.”
It’s equally, if not more, important for Steller to see the town’s culture grow as it is for his business. It is so important to him, in fact, that he is the president of the Old Orcutt Merchant’s Association.
“Changes were taking place a decade ago that was really inviting growth here,” he said. “The association is really growing. We started it as Old Orcutt, but now all of Orcutt wants to join.” There are currently nine restaurants and four tasting rooms in Old Orcutt.
“Different people think of different things when they think of Orcutt,” he said. “For one person, it might mean dining and for another it might mean antique shops or car shows. We’re just trying to do a lot of things that get people out of their houses and involved in something wholesome.”
Wine tasting is held every Saturday night from 5 to 8:30 p.m. and prices vary. Craft beer and microbrew tasting is offered for $5 on the second and fourth Friday of every month from 5 to 8:30 p.m.
The market boasts an inventory of around 500 varities of wine from more than 100 wineries, and at least 100 types of craft beers.
Old Town Market is located at 405 E. Clark Ave. in Orcutt. It’s open Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
For more information, and details about tastings, call Old Town Market at 937-5619 or visit oldtownmarket.net.
Intern Dora Saltzman wrote this week’s Biz Spotlight. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, email, or mail.
This article appears in Apr 3-10, 2014.