Cleone Grocery

A roadside grocery, gas station, and campground that became part of nearly every trip north of Fort Bragg.

Overview

If you spent any time heading north out of Fort Bragg toward MacKerricher, Ward Avenue, Ten Mile, or the beach campgrounds, chances are you stopped here. Cleone Grocery was more than a convenience store. It became part of the trip itself.

For generations of locals and visitors, this was the place to grab gas, groceries, camping supplies, snacks, ice, bait, drinks, and all the little things people realized they needed before continuing down the road. After enough years of serving that role, the stop itself became part of the memory.

Location

Cleone Grocery sits at 24400 North Highway 1 in Cleone, just north of Fort Bragg. The location has always been ideal for a roadside market. Travelers heading to MacKerricher State Park, the beach camps, Ward Avenue, or points farther north passed directly by the store.

The combination of highway frontage, nearby campgrounds, beach access, and local residential traffic helped make it one of the most recognizable businesses on the north end of the Fort Bragg area.

History

The building's importance came from usefulness rather than architecture. It was never designed to be a landmark. It became one because it served so many purposes at once.

Cleone Grocery functioned as a grocery store, gas station, campground office, supply stop, and community gathering point. The gas pumps out front, the telephone booth, the ice boxes, and the familiar bench all became part of the experience. For many people, the store was the last stop before a weekend of camping or fishing and the first stop on the way home.

Community memories reveal that the store became known by another name as well: "Roger's." Once a business becomes identified by the owner's name rather than the sign on the building, it has usually become part of local geography. People were not just stopping at Cleone Grocery. They were stopping at Roger's.

The comments also reveal a multi-generational family history connected to the property. Roger and Cliff were remembered by many contributors, while family members recalled that Roger's parents, Al and Betty, operated the store before him. Other memories point to earlier ownership associated with Kenny. Together those recollections suggest a business that passed through several hands while maintaining the same role within the community.

The Building Today

The building remains one of the most recognizable commercial properties north of Fort Bragg. While details have changed over the years, many residents still picture the gas pumps, campground, front bench, and familiar roadside layout when they think of Cleone Grocery.

The campground behind the store became part of the property's identity as well. Families camped there for years, making the grocery, gas station, and campground feel like one connected destination rather than separate businesses.

Why It Matters

Cleone Grocery matters because it represents the everyday side of local history.

There was nothing grand about stopping for gas, buying ice cream, using the pay phone, sitting on the bench, or picking up supplies for a camping trip. Yet those are exactly the kinds of routines that become community memory. The comments showed how many people connected the store to childhood trips, family vacations, fishing weekends, camping traditions, and everyday errands.

What stands out most is that people remembered the details. They noticed when the gas pumps disappeared. They remembered the telephone booth. They remembered the campground, the families who ran it, and the people who worked there. That kind of memory is usually reserved for places that became part of people's lives rather than places they simply visited.

Cleone Grocery was a grocery stop, gas stop, campground stop, and memory stop all at once. That is why people still talk about it like an old friend.

Community Memories

Community memories connect Cleone Grocery to Roger, Cliff, Al and Betty, Kenny, the Larsen family, Marlene, Art and Linda, Leo the maintenance man, the campground, the gas pumps, the telephone booth, and decades of family trips. Many contributors remembered shopping there in the early 1960s, camping behind the store, riding bikes there as kids, and making it a regular stop before heading to MacKerricher or Ward Avenue.

Timeline

Mid-20th Century — Cleone Grocery established as a highway grocery and fuel stop serving the north Fort Bragg area.

1960s — Community memories place the store in active operation serving local residents, campers, and travelers.

Later Decades — Store, gas station, campground, and supply business continue operating as a combined destination.

Present Day — Remains one of the most recognizable roadside businesses north of Fort Bragg.

Sources: Original post and comment thread provided by Gee Bee. Comment thread contributors: Dave Mathews, Eric Carmichael, Cordy Cordelia K Fortier, Lisa D Walker, David King, Fred Andrews, Kelly Hilliard, Sarah Quentin, Stephanie Matsuda, Don Earley, Steve Zonneveld, Sara Boyd, Mary Smith, Derek Sipila, Cb Schmidt, Nancy G., Katie Thompson, Dave Birdsall, Terry Eib, Robert Bell, Jacob M Justeson, Don Jones, India Gingell, Betty Pratt Cook, David Blenkhorn, Rose Z Bird, Gerald Skinner, Becky Cooper, Vickie Linnet, Valerie Williams, Tori Ammerman, Rick Brown, Deb Andrada Bell, Terrie Dukes, Melody Smith, Marci Pieratt, Shannon Cowell, Joni Goble, and Charlene Shaw.