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In This Issue...
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Business
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Shopper’s Corner â€" Where Food Is Family
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Shopper’s Corner â€" Where Food Is Family
By Judith Wellner
Shopper’s Corner opened its doors to customers in 1939 and since then has been one of the culinary landmarks of Santa Cruz. Bud Beauregard purchased the business for the amount of $1 and signing the sale contract on butcher paper. Bud’s son Jim worked at the store since grade school.
“It felt like a big store then,” he recalls. “But now, with all the big box stores around, it feels much smaller.”
Shopper’s Corner has kept its old-time family feel as well as its uniquely fresh and varied line of merchandise. The store receives fresh produce seven days a week.
“We buy from local farmers,” Beauregard explains. “We stay away from all the commercial, mass produced products.”
The Meat of the Matter
The butcher shop carries only free-range chicken, fresh-fish and top-class meat.
“Our beef is all natural. We might have to pay a little more for the product, but it’s all first-class,” Beauregard said.
While most stores these days sell pre-packaged meat, at Shopper’s the meat is always freshly cut.
“We bring in the cattle, break it down here,” he added.
“I like that,” said Josh Woolley, who works behind the meat counter. “This way the meat is always fresh, and we can come up with cuts other places might not have.”
Shoppers Corner buys only from the best meat suppliers. Even so, anything that’s not top quality is sent back.
Everyone on the 12-member butcher team is eager to find the best possible product for every customer.
“Even if we don’t have something, we can work with you to find what’s the closest to what you are looking for,” Woolley said.
He added that working together with customers is especially important before the holidays.
“We start taking orders for the holidays on Nov. 1,” he said. “This time of year we order lots of goose, duck, pheasant, quail. Anything our customers would like.”
Woolley said that some of the most sought-out meats are Shopper’s signature marinated skirt steak, special cuts of lamb, such as Saratoga lamb chops and the pork crown roast.
Keeping a wide range of products essential when the season for holiday gatherings approaches.
“This is when people might be looking for more specialty products,” Beauregard said.
“A lot more cooking is going on, people spend more time together.”
Say Cheese
Shopper’s Corner is also famous for its selection of cheese. “They carry over 150 different kinds of cheeses.”
Cheese orders come in every Tuesday and Friday.
“We cut the cheese ourselves,” said Lori Segovia, deli manager and cheese buyer. Segovia has been working at the store for over 12 years.
Her favorites include the English Cotswold, a rich and savory cheese with bits of chives and green onions, and a uniquely wonderful brie: Fromage d’Affinois.
“But really, I like them all,” she added. “We have an amazing selection here.”
A True Gourmet
“My parents set me up to be a dentist,” Beauregard explains. “But it wasn’t my passion.”
He attended 4 years in college and 4 years in the U.S. Marine Corp before he returned to Santa Cruz and joined the family at Shopper’s Corner again.
Beauregard knows his food, and he knows his wine.
“Everybody loves cooking in my family,” he said. “We cook absolutely everything.”
Beauregard was first introduced to wines on his grandfather’s vineyard in Bonny Doon.
“I spent my summers there,” he said. “When I was 11, I already knew how to drive a tractor. Later my father took over the vineyard, and I kept working there.”
In 1976, Beauregard started his first winery, the “Felton Empire Vineyard.” He sold it 11 years later, but then in 2002 started another one together with his son, Ryan.
Ryan is the winemaker at Beauregard Vineyards.
Beauregard pays a lot of attention to detail, and he is personally involved in ensuring that his store sells the best quality products â€" be it food or wine.
“I used to taste all the wines myself and decide which ones to order,” he said. “Now I have a wine department with great people.”
“We keep about 2,000 to 3,000 different kinds of wines,” said Brian Hamilton, one of the wine buyers at Shopper’s. “We taste all the wines that wine brokers bring in. We assess the wine, first the quality, secondly we see whether the price works for our customers.”
Members of the wine department also attend different tastings.
“And we also have a radio show on KSCO,” added Hamilton. “It’s called The Wine Corner, and we talk a lot about matching wines with different dishes. Broadcast every Wednesday at 3:45 p.m. on AM 1080.”
Hamilton’s eyes lit up when we talked about his favorite Middle-Eastern lamb kabobs with saffron rice and a yogurt-mint sauce. “I love to pair foods with the right wine,” he said.
“This lamb dish, for instance, would go perfectly with Nero D’Avola, a spicy, red wine from Sicily.”
Hamilton said that customers often ask him about which wine would go best with a dish they are planning to make.
“This is especially true before the holidays,” he said. “This is why I like the holiday season so much. I get to interact with people more.”
Be Part of the Family
Shopper’s Corner has long been known for its friendly service.
“This is what I like about working here the most,” said Kori Abbey, who has been a checker at the store for over a year and has recently started managing the housewares section. “I like that it’s a family-style store. Also, Jim takes really good care of us.”
“I talk to people a lot here, it’s really fun,” said Segovia. “I have a great boss, and I get to meet all different types of people.”
“We have tons of regular customers,” said Woolley. “That’s what I like… You see families come in, then later their kids come in, and I still remember when they were on mom and dad’s arms.”
And certain customers have regular orders.
“For instance, there’s a gentleman who comes in once a week for a Porterhouse steak. He always wants it two inches thick and split down the bone,” he said.
Beauregard chooses his employees carefully. Currently 85 people work in the store, and he interviewed every single one himself.
He said “There’s no attitude, everybody goes out of their way to get anything for the customers.” Shopper Corner is located at 622 Soquel Avenue in Santa Cruz. The store is open daily from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. and can be reached by calling 831-423-1398 or visit them on the web at www.shopperscorner.com
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