Con’s Pit Stop is Back!

— by Margie Doyle–

Village Stop, soon to be called Con’s Pit Stop again

Marlace and Rick Hughes, operators of Ray’s Pharmacy and Templin Square, have assumed operations of Eastsound village’s convenience store, the Village Stop

Originally operated as Con’s Pit Stop by Con and Corinne Davis, the store will re-emerge at a soft opening on Friday, July 27 and the Grand Opening will be Saturday, July 28.

Marlace and Rick already had more than enough work to tackle, as full-time parents,running Ray’s Pharmacy, and Rick serves as San Juan County Councilman and liaison to various inter-governmental agencies. But as Marlace says, “It’s the town, you know? I hated to see the Village Stop closed and hearing how much people missed it, and watching it fade away.”

The Village Stop started as Con’s Pit Stop in 1983 when Con Davis, then working in the plumbing business, and his wife Corinne, a barber, saw the opportunity for an Eastsound convenience store in what was formerly a dress shop. “It sounded like such a good idea,” says Corinne, and after checking in with a good friend in Seattle who’d run a convenience store for 30 years and who could pass on his contacts, they started Orcas Island’s first “convenience” grocery store.

It involved weekly trips to Seattle for goods and supplies. The biggest seller by far was hot dogs: “We’d go through 10 dozen in a day, at $1.25 each.” Following close behind was soft ice cream, then beer and cigarettes. And every morning there were fresh donuts for the regulars who started the day with Pit Stop donuts and coffee — “those were the days before Teezer’s or Enzo’s.” When the Pit Stop moved videos into the store, “The whole store took off.”

But it was hard work, from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. with two employees and eventually the stress got to Corinne’s health (“nobody can understand what hard work it was — ordering, stocking,bookkeeping, pricing everything individually”) and they sold the store in 1987.

More recently it has been owned by the Bruland family, and had to close due to illness.

Marlace grew up on Orcas and says, “I’ve watched it change, which is important, and I’d like to see stores stay open. She remembers as a kid playing video games there when it was the meeting place —  to hang out with her friends, buy candy, play videos — “We always seemed to be there. We’d meet to talk to friends face to face. It’s different now because social medial is how everybody connects now.”

Con’s is still a place to gather. “Basically, we’ll have a lot of the same items — hot dogs and milk shakes and also healthier options like bratwurst or polish sausages,” says Marlace. They’ll add an espresso machine and the lottery machine will remain, as will cigarettes and beer/wine.

Their crew is busy getting the store ready for new ownership, cleaning and painting. No major changes, like floor replacement, will take place until the fall. The store will be open 6 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., seven days a week. “Even though it’s just a convenience store we have plans for a commercial kitchen to make food for the store — strictly for take-out,” says Marlace.

Kyle Koepcke at the Electronics store, VidTekk, next to Con’s Pit Stop has made the decision not to renew his lease. “With the Village Stop closing, business has been slower. I’m a friend of Rick and Marlace; they are wonderful, astute business people. We’re all family here, and let’s do what’s right for our town.

“I’ll be taking a little rest and then ‘going mobile’ with my electronics business,” Koepcke says.

Judy Lindgren will come on to manage a new team of employees. Anyone interested in evening shifts or part-time work is encouraged to apply at raysrx@hotmail.com, or to stop by Ray’s Pharmacy for an application.