Welcome (Back) to 'the Little Store'

A familiar Healdsburg landmark is changing hands this month, but instead becoming yet another tasting room or turning chi-chi on us, the Powell Avenue Market is going back to its roots.

“We always used to call it ‘the Little Store’,” said new owner-manager Ann Bigham, who grew up on nearby Rose Lane within sight of the one-story gray building at 555 Powell Ave. “I’d like to turn it back into a neighborhood market, instead of a convenience store.”

Neighborhood markets such as this one used to be a common feature of small towns, but the growth of supermarkets and convenience stores targeted at automobile travelers have reduced their numbers to a handful.

“This is her dream,” said her husband Rob Dickerson, an environmental scientist with the state EPA. The couple still live on Rose, which puts them in line to be every morning’s first customer.

The store is located on Powell Avenue just north of University St., and as such attracts students from nearby , as well as neighbors and visitors headed up toward Fitch Mountain and .

“I remember Roy Davenport had the store when I was young,” said Ann, the 44-year old local whose experience includes working at the now-defunct . “Then it was Adam and Jean Campbell, then Dallas and Laura Roundtree…” Bigham obviously relishes her life-long connection with the store, and its connections with Healdsburg’s neighborhood roots.

Like many in the area, she had been disheartened in recent years by the Jasbir family who took it over in the mid-2000s. For the past several years the store seemed less a neighborhood gathering place than a way-station, with a desultory supply of vegetables and dairy products had often seen better days.

The Bighams took over management on Aug. 15, and immediately set about cleaning out the interior and window of the single-room market of clutter and the trappings of a convenience store, such as a large cigarette display case that dominated the room.

At present many of the shelves are empty, but the morning I dropped by I found Bigham juggling negotiations and orders with distributors. She hopes to have it fully stocked sometime early next week.

Their plans include daily delivery of fresh bread and pastries from and other vendors, Big River coffee and donuts to provide quality local quick food.

But some things will remain the same. Lottery tickets will still be sold, deli sandwiches will be made to order ("That was the first thing I bought this week - supplies for the sandwiches," said Bigham), and a (hopefully improved) selection of local beers and wines will be available for those spontaneous get-togethers.

Store hours have not yet been finalized, according to Bigham. “I have some plans I’d like to work out first before we make any announcement.” Until then, they're open from "early" until about 7 pm. Keep an eye on their new website for announcements about further changes and their projected grand opening in October.

The first order of business, through all the changes, is to re-establish the Powell Avenue Market as a place for neighbors. "We want to bring back 'the Little Store' I remember as a child. A place that everyone can just walk to and find what they need."