A day in the “new” Union Lumber Old Company Store could include a beer or wine tasting, cookies, lunch at one of the nation”s premier raw foods delis and dinner at a fine restaurant. Along the way one could get a massage, check email on the free Wifi, browse art and photography, soak in a hot tub and even take a hot tub home.
While that might seem like a full range of experiences, there is a whole lot that”s changed from a century of tradition. A hundred years ago, the Union Lumber Company Store was “the” general store for the entire town, providing fabric, groceries, bridles and generally everything needed for 19th Century life.
Brand new in June are a massage school, where newbies and certified massage therapists will train, as part of Bamboo Garden Spa. The spa is owned by Autumn and Jess Stuckey and employs about 15 people.
About to open in the centerpiece of the Company Store is Mendo Vino, which will offer wine and beer tastings in a retail wine store setting. Even more mouth watering, the tastes will come paired with food from two neighbors, The Living Light Deli and Mendo Bistro. Winemaker Sally Ottoson and a partner are owners of Mendo Vino.
Mendo Bistro owner Nicholas Petti explained that tastes of entrees will be paired with the quality wines and microbrews. His restaurant has been upstairs for nearly a decade. Petti is also converting another downstairs storefront into office space, adjacent to the Mendocino Coast Photographer Guild and Gallery.
The guild has expanded its display space, with work by Larry Wagner, John Birchard, Ron LeValley and Dr. William Rohr, along with current guest photographer Patrick Davis. Images range from LeValley”s wildlife to Wagner”s scenes of Paris. Classes in digital photography are now being offered at the gallery by Wagner.
The entire north end of the Old Company Store is rented for classes, seminars and deli eats by Living Light International, which has become one of Fort Bragg”s significant employers, with more than 25 workers at the culinary center and raw foods deli. The deli and school are complemented by a bed and breakfast hotel purchased in north Fort Bragg. A big day for visitors is Aug. 24 and 26 when the Vibrant Living Expo will be held.
The Mendocino Cookie Company offers treats of a far different kind in its pastry, cookie and beverage nook, which features a walk-thru window out front on Main Street. In the back of the Old Company Store the Cookie Company manufacturers its products, which are shipped all over the nation and sold on the Web.
The most compelling feature of the Company Store is the lush old-growth woods of redwood and cedar, which cover the moulding, ceiling, banisters and even floors, proof that it was built by a lumber company in the glory days of logging, although much of it has been remodeled and replaced.
Luz Harvey, a former Texan who runs her graphic design business while displaying her art in the front of 3G, tore up the shag carpet in her shop and revealed the 4-inch thick planks beneath, which she has no plans to cover from view and which could never be replaced. Especially eye-catching and funny is the “pet television” at the front of the store.
Billie Bouldin, manager of Spa Care Plus, owned by Dennis Hartsock, says spas are selling at a good clip. Whether that has to do with the cool weather or all the new traffic is unclear. Next door is Ocean Waves Salon, which now offers body piercing by Michelle.
While there is much at the Old Company Store which could still shock old Fort Bragg, the building”s best known feature, the historical photographs of old Fort Bragg, donated by Georgia-Pacific which show fishing, logging and other historical scenes, continue to dominate the interior of the building, which is owned by David Figueiredo of Arcata, who opened the mini-mall in 1998.
The Union Lumber Company constructed a two-story company store in 1887 at the present location, Redwood and Main streets, according to a brochure offered by the buildings owners.
Built with extravagant amounts of redwood, including a checkerboard of massive main beams inside and Corinthian columns outside, the present building dates from 1912.
