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Two Splendid Stores and Now: SOHO's New Santa Ysabel Office
September/October 2017
By Ann Jarmusch
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When SOHO bought and restored the 1884 Santa Ysabel Store, we knew we wanted it to become our backcountry base to reach more East County residents and visitors. This commitment to preservation outreach in a little-served, rural area has only grown with the store's success and our subsequent purchase and restoration of the iconic wooden Hoover Barn behind it. Now that the store is open not just weekends but four days a week, Thursday through Sunday, its adobe walls are also sheltering SOHO's new satellite office.
Jokie Tolentino, a resolute preservation advocate, SOHO and Whaley House veteran of 17 years, is now the manager of the dynamic Santa Ysabel site, which includes the Hoover Barn and the historic landscape that joins the two buildings. She is also our nimble master of social media. Jokie, Chris Pro, and Kathryn Fletcher all work together as SOHO's on-site backcountry team. Chris oversees the delightfully eclectic Feed Store - Antiques & Such, which is under the same roof but adjacent to the general store, while Kathryn is the head docent at the Warner Carrillo Ranch House nearby, just 11 miles apart.
Autumn is a peak time for backcountry visits from city dwellers and prime time for SOHO to build its audience among local residents and tourists alike. For more than 130 years, the Santa Ysabel Store has been an essential resource and rest stop for ranchers, farmers, and travelers at the crossroads of state routes 78 and 79. Today, SOHO is stocking it with more of the dry goods that locals require, but we still carry specialty items like heirloom seeds and the popular Santa Ysabel Fudge, which is made just for us.
"Since we opened the store, there has been a bit of something of an antique stores explosion in Wynola, just seven miles uphill to the southeast," said Alana Coons, SOHO's Director of Education and Communications, who also oversees all retail operations. "We are thrilled, of course, as the backcountry becomes an antiques and vintage shopper's destination."
Accordingly, SOHO is featuring more antiques and collectibles, generously donated by members for both the general store and Feed Store. "We have an ever-changing selection of 19th and 20th century furnishings, along with retro, vintage, and funky '30s, '40s, and '50s items. And the store is an absolute DIY heaven for cool architectural items, salvaged and new," Coons said, inviting a steady stream of donations when you are downsizing or culling a collection.
Be sure to visit Santa Ysabel soon to shop and savor how SOHO is thriving and supporting this important corner of historic San Diego.
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