El Torito Market / Goodies Corner

Overview

For many longtime residents, 144 N. Franklin Street is still Goodies Corner.

Today it is home to El Torito Market, but the address has passed through several well-remembered local businesses over the decades.

Location

The building stands at 144 N. Franklin Street, where the Goodies name became familiar enough that the intersection itself became known as Goodies Corner.

History

The earliest history of the site is not completely settled.

One community recollection remembers ballet lessons here in the 1950s. Another describes the immediate area as a small gulch where Alder Creek ran among redwoods and alders before later development changed the landscape.

By the 1960s, Louie's Pizza was operating here or closely associated with the corner. Louie Freitas is remembered for pizza, Alfredo, meatball sandwiches, pizza bread, and kale soup.

Arthur's Corner followed or overlapped with the Louie's era in community memory. The exact sequence of those names remains uncertain, although both are strongly connected with the Freitas family.

One former employee remembered Arthur's Corner as a first job at age 14 and recalled an off-menu deep-fried pizza or calzone.

Goodies

Goodies became the chapter that gave the corner its lasting name.

Residents remember a café and soda-fountain atmosphere with burgers, ice cream, candy, and other treats popular with families and children.

Community memories connect the business closely with Peggy Freitas and the Freitas family. One recollection says Goodies moved here from the Coast Hotel and remembers large crab pots cooking fresh crab outside.

Eventually, the business name became shorthand for the entire intersection: Goodies Corner.

The Floor Store

After the food-business years, the building became associated with The Floor Store.

Residents remember a flooring showroom and office, with some interior décor and home-furnishing merchandise as well.

The exact transition date between Goodies and The Floor Store remains uncertain.

El Torito Market

Today, El Torito Market continues the corner's long tradition as a neighborhood-oriented business.

The use has changed again, but 144 N. Franklin Street remains an active place for food, shopping, and everyday local traffic.

Community Memories

Beyond the businesses themselves, residents remember nearby Freitas family homes, an earlier house on or near the site, and old bottles uncovered several feet below ground near the alley.

Another recollection describes old redwood water pipes beneath Alder Street that were reportedly still intact when later utility work exposed them.

Those details add another layer to a corner already remembered through generations of food, family businesses, first jobs, and neighborhood routines.

Timeline

1950s — Community memory recalls ballet lessons at or near the location.

Early 1960s — The surrounding area is remembered as containing a small gulch associated with Alder Creek before later development.

1960s — Louie's Pizza is remembered at the corner, with Louie Freitas closely associated with the business.

Later 20th Century — Arthur's Corner becomes another remembered Freitas-connected chapter. The exact transition between the Louie's and Arthur's names remains uncertain.

1980s — Goodies becomes a well-remembered café, soda fountain, candy stop, and neighborhood gathering place.

Early 1990s — Community memory recalls remodeling work involving the pizza area and new booths.

Later Years — The building becomes associated with The Floor Store.

Present — El Torito Market operates at 144 N. Franklin Street.