NICE, Calif. – A major Northshore businesses is under new ownership and management.
Grocer Larry Montgomery has sold Sentry Market to Mar-Val Food Stores, a Lodi-based company in operation since the 1950s.
Mar-Val Food Stores is owned by the Kidd and Rodacker families, who operate seven other grocery stores, primarily in Central Valley communities.
While a new name – Mar-Val Sentry Market – and management were in place by May, and the signage changed accordingly, Montgomery told Lake County News last week that the escrow, which was to have been complete on July 15, had not yet closed, but was expected to do so at any time.
Montgomery opened Sentry Market in May 1997.
He had worked his way up through the grocery business, beginning as a box boy with Safeway in 1960. Montgomery worked for Safeway for 18 years before striking out on his own, wanting to have his own store.
He would own several stores in Humboldt County and when he decided to open Sentry Market in Nice, he sold off all but one, a small grocery in Fortuna that he still owns.
When he first built Sentry, the area was farmland. Later, the WorldMark resort came in, with casinos arriving not long afterward, as well as a proliferation of wineries.
“I think the Northshore has really been cleaned up a lot through the years,” he said, noting Lucerne's fantastic park facilities.
Over the years, Montgomery has watched big technological advances take place in the grocery business.
Where once he had ordered stock with colored pencils and a handbook given weekly to a truck driver, the ordering system later began being routed through phone lines and is now online and interactive. “It's really changed,” Montgomery said.
Montgomery belonged to the Unified Grocers cooperative, to which Mar-Val also belongs. He said that after 56 years in the grocery business, “I felt it was time to just relax a little bit.”
He said the arrival last year on the Northshore of small box retailer Dollar General – which now has stores in Nice and Clearlake Oaks – didn't impact his business or influence his decision to sell.
“I'm not saying that it hasn't hurt businesses, but it hasn't hurt our business,” he said. “We just had more to offer than they do.”
He didn't advertise Sentry as being for sale, however, “I had a number of companies contact me asking me if I would consider selling.”
When he began to consider the possibility of selling to Mar-Val, he said he researched the company and visited some of their stores. While he had a better offer from another company, he ultimately went with Mar-Val. “I felt they were better suited for the community.”
Tyler Kidd, whose parents are among the Mar-Val owners, said they had known Montgomery for many years, and were aware of his involvement in the community. “And that's how we like to operate.”
He added, “Our niche is small markets, small community-minded stores.”
Like Montgomery, Mar-Val's owners supports communities, high schools and clubs, Kidd said. “It was just the perfect opportunity. It fit our plan.”
Casey Rodacker, another of Mar-Val's co-owners, said they already are implementing changes, including lowering thousands of prices, adding Harris Ranch beef, Clover Stornetta and Crystal dairy products, and $5 Mondays, where they will offer discounts on selected items.
They're also planning to expand natural and organic products, and the store's overall variety, Rodacker said.
Kidd and Rodacker said they plan to roll out the addition of the store's community card, which puts 1 to 3 percent of purchases toward nonprofits. Rodacker said they gave out $68,000 to nonprofits in 2015, and $250,000 since 2012.
That card is expected to be added soon, at which point organizations will be able to come in and sign up, Rodacker said.
In addition, they offer several $1,000 scholarships annually to high school seniors or young people currently enrolled in college. Applications will open for those in the spring, Rodacker said.
Rodacker said customers are giving good feedback about the changes. He said Montgomery had a great store and they're just putting their touch on it. “We don't want to shake it up too much.”
As for employees, Rodacker said they offered every one of Montgomery's employees a position. Some did decline.
Store Manager Jeremy Dodson, a longtime Mar-Val employee, estimated there currently are about 50 staff at the store, and they are open to new applicants, particularly for the deli, bakery and front end cashiers. People interested in applying can come in and get an application and ask for Dodson.
Longtime Sentry employee Kathryn Cole said she felt the timing for the sale was right. “I think the changeover was good.”
In selling, Cole said Montgomery “looked for someone he thought would be a family business just like him, so I think that was important.”
Cole, who has worked for the market for 16 years, said it took about a month to settle into the changes, with one of the challenges being the training of new employees.
She said the store needed “an uplift,” and that's what it's getting.
“The response on the store is really good, I think,” she said, noting Mar-Val also is very customer service oriented.
Montgomery said he and wife, Fran, miss the people at the store the most. “We really had a good group of people working for us.”
He said he hasn't really had enough time to sit back and say he's enjoying not going back to the store every day.
Montgomery, who lives in Lakeport, still has his Humboldt County grocery store, as well as another project – the former Sons of Italy building just down the road from Sentry.
He purchased that building in October 2014 and is still in the process of upgrading it for use as an events center. Montgomery said he's in the process of getting bids to pave the parking lot for the facility, which people can rent for weddings and other special events.
He and his wife plan to do some traveling, including to the East Coast, but intend to continue to make their home in Lakeport.
“We love Lake County,” he said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.