Remembering Piggie Market

The Piggie Market opened for business in Redwood Village on June 9th, 1980 but the beginning of the story actually begins in October 1973. Norm and Mary Ann Kaplan, residents of Los Angeles, were fed up with the smog, heavy traffic, and general hustle-bustle and decided they wanted to have the ocean, trees, and a much simpler lifestyle than what they were experiencing. On the advice of their children, who all lived in Northern California, Norm and Mary Ann decided to visit Santa Cruz.

Norm was a controller for a large independent vending machine company. He was 50 years old and wanted to make a career change. He wanted to operate a food market. It was in his blood and one might even say his destiny. His father, grandfather, brothers, and uncles were all in the food business. So their trip to Santa Cruz was not only to find a new place to live but to also find a new career.

Upon arriving in Santa Cruz, Norm purchased a copy of the Santa Cruz Sentinel and found an ad in the business section for a small market for sale in Aptos. Rich’s Farmers Market was located on 9069 Soquel Drive, a building that today sits between the recently closed restaurants “Rio Del Mar Mexican” and “Golden Buddha.” It was a four-car garage with the doors raised to expose produce stands rolled to the front with five parking spaces that backed out to Soquel Drive. The store was perfect and with the backdrop of redwood trees leading down the gorge to Valencia Creek, it was Norm’s dream location. Rich Wharton owned the business but not the building. They agreed on $7,000 for the goodwill, inventory, fixtures, and the rights to the lease. By November 1973, the Kaplan’s were business owners and residents of Aptos.

Although the name “Rich’s Farmers Market” was descriptive, Norm decided it did not fit their personality. Besides that, most folks around town referred to the market as “Pigs” because of a large fiberglass pig on the roof that Rich had installed several years prior. Norm liked the name. Mary Ann, on the other hand, decided it was not in good taste so they compromised and settled on the name “Piggies” or the formal, official name “Piggie Market”. Unfortunately, long before the Kaplans purchased the store, the fiberglass pig went missing. They solved that problem by having local artist, Bob Eddy, create a new logo featuring the iconic pig in overalls and a checkered shirt.

Success came quickly for Piggies. There was no Deluxe Foods at the time and shortly after Piggies opened, Safeway went on strike, which gave them a big boost in customers. By 1977, they were starting to have growing pains. The biggest problem was parking. Traffic on Soquel drive had increased by this time and backing out directly on to the street was exceptionally dangerous. It was perfect timing when Tony Oliveira, who in 1974 purchased Redwood Village Lodge and converted the motel to a retail center, approached them to see if they would be interested in relocating Piggies to Redwood Village. All parties agreed it would be mutually beneficial.

However, in 1978, Oliveira decided to sell Redwood Village to Frank and Virginia Booz. Luckily Frank and Virginia loved the idea of Piggies moving in and decided to proceed with the agreement. A lease was signed in September 1979 and the construction of their new building began. At 3,000 square feet, it would be twice the size of the original location, built in a hexagonal shape with a cupola on top, and plenty of parking. But most importantly, customers could now safely head back into traffic on Soquel Drive.

The Piggie Market had an open-house reception on June 8th 1980 and was officially open in its new location on June 9th. The Kaplans retired in 1985 but Piggies continued to operate successfully with its “non-supermarket” business approach of allowing the customer, not management, determine what products should be stocked.

The Piggie Market was an anchor in our community until they closed their doors in 2008. Erika and Doug Glaum purchased the business and re-opened it as The Palm Deli in August 2009.

Even though I miss seeing that iconic “pig in overalls” logo from The Piggie Market, I can honestly say I am happy that The Palm Deli has found success! They had big shoes to fill but they have done a great job so far!

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Story by Kevin Newhouse