What were the first stores to open in McHenry Village? A look back at the Modesto landmark
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Opened on Oct. 15, 1953, McHenry Village was Modesto’s first complete shopping center on one parcel of land.
It took up 35 acres along McHenry Avenue between Granger and Norwegian avenues. Briggsmore Avenue did not yet exist.
The site was a dairy farm, known as the McHenry Avenue Snedigar place, until a few years before McHenry Village’s grand opening. The land was purchased by McHenry Village Inc. in 1952 from the heirs of the estate of the late Thomas Snedigar. It was a portion of the 5,000 acres he owned.
Original plans for the shopping center were altered and all buildings and streets were moved 20 feet to spare a 40-year-old black walnut tree. It served as the keystone of the center at the entrance. Whether the tree that stands there today is the same one isn’t known.
McHenry Village opened with 2,500 parking spaces and 18 businesses, ranging from from restaurants to gas stations.
First stores open in McHenry Village
Doggie Food Shop in McHenry Village was Modesto’s second location of the store that sold food for dogs, cats, birds and other animals, as well as pet supplies. The first location of the store, owned by Modesto resident Fay McNary, was on G Street. Birds were sold as were mixed-breed dogs and kittens periodically. Doggie Food Shop was at the south end of the shopping center.
Dorothy’s Sport Shop was open for seven years on J Street before opening a second, larger store in McHenry Village. Dorothy’s sold “individually selected (women’s sportswear) at reasonable prices,” according to an October 1953 advertisement.
El Zarape, owned by husband and wife Anthony and Anna Guerrero of Modesto, was the first Mexican restaurant in McHenry Village. It previously has been claimed by McHenry Village officials, and consequently by The Modesto Bee, that Carmen’s was the first Mexican eatery in the shopping center, but archives show Carmen’s opened a year later. A 1954 advertisement in The Bee listing the businesses in McHenry Village shows that El Zarape had closed by Oct. 13, less than a year after opening. It is unclear whether Carmen’s was the same restaurant as El Zarape, just under a different name. Colorful Mexican and Spanish shawls were used as window curtains in the restaurant, which specialized in taquitos.
K & D Seafood and Poultry was owned by Modesto residents Kenneth Diehl and Mel Worley,who signed a 10-year lease in McHenry Village, according to a 1953 ad in The Bee. The shop was “right out in front, smelling up the Village!” the ad said. There was a 14-stool lunch counter that served seafood cocktails, salads and fish and chips. McHenry Village was Diehl’s fourth fish market. The others were at 128 H St. and 1409 Crows Landing Road in Modesto and at 1500 Broadway in Atwater.
Lad & Lassie Shop, owned by Modesto residents Hope Packard and Katherine Dunlap, sold children’s merchandise from infant to 12 years old. The merchandise included clothing, nursery furniture and wheeled toys. The McHenry Village site was the second location of Lad & Lassie — the original location was on North Santa Cruz Avenue.
Lockhart’s Jewelry was owned by Sacramento husband and wife Ray and Olive Lockhart. Featuring a bright red ceiling, the store sold watches, diamonds, jewelry and more. Lockhart’s also serviced and repaired jewelry and watches. Ray Lockhart started in the jewelry business in his family’s store in 1912. After operating his own store in the Midwest for several years, he became associated with a jewelry firm for around 20 years then moved to California in 1941, taking a job with a Sacramento jewelry organization where Olive was the credit manager.
Lucky Super Market in McHenry Village was the 35th store in the Northern California chain and the second location in Modesto. The store featured the latest type of self-service in 1953 — reach-in refrigerator cabinets for fresh cut and cellophane-wrapped meats, delicatessen items, dairy products, frozen foods and fruits and vegetables. The store was equipped with automatic doors, seven checkout stands and parking for hundreds of cars. Lucky stores were among the first supermarkets to install a drug and toiletries department.
McHenry Village opened with two gas stations — Shell and Texaco. Johnson’s Shell Service was operated by N.S. Johnson of Modesto and occupied a 150-by-150-foot space at the north edge of the Village. Shell had four gasoline pumps and specialized in the washing and lubrication of cars for shoppers. Griggsby Texaco Service was operated by 28-year-old Modesto man Carrol Griggsby. Texaco was at the south end of the shopping center and also had four pumps and a washing and lubrication area.
Modesto Steam Laundry and Dry Cleaners, operated by Ed and Harold Simidian of Modesto, was the first cleaner in town to offer dry cleaning, laundry, rug cleaning and furniture and upholstery cleaning. The McHenry Village location, in the southwest part of the shopping center, was a pickup and delivery agency for the main plant on Eighth Street. Established in 1895, Modesto Steam Laundry and Dry Cleaners was acquired by the Simidian family in 1910.
Sprouse-Reitz Variety Store opened its 258th store on the West Coast and its third in Modesto on Oct. 15, 1953. It was managed by former Modesto Junior College student J.M. Stockwell. Departments included clothing, housewares, hardware, children’s toys, greeting cards and jewelry. A grand opening advertisement showed boys jeans on sale for $1.98 and ladies nightgowns for 79 cents.
Trains & Planes & Toys was at the southwest corner of the first unit of the shopping center and owned by brothers James and Dave Faber. James Faber was in charge of the McHenry Village store, while Dave Faber continued to manage their first hobby shop, at 624 H St. The entryway stand was in the form of a carousel and the store sold dolls, construction toys, bicycles and tricycles, model planes, train and boat kits and more.
Village Barber Shop was owned by Henry Plott of Escalon. It occupied 300 square feet of the southwest unit of McHenry Village and had two chairs with ashtrays in their arms. Plott was a barber for 10 years, three of those years in Modesto, and Village Barber Shop was the first business he owned.
Village Beauty Clinic featured individual analysis for each patron that allowed beauticians to best care for customers’ skin, hair and nails. The shop was owned by husband and wife Albert and Maryellen Feddick. Electrolysis and spot reducing were offered in addition to facials, makeup, hair services and manicures.
Village Hardware & House Hold Store was owned by 36-year-old Hal Dutcher and Modesto man Nodwell King, who had a combined 17 years of business experience. The store featured the use of shopping carts (apparently not a usual thing in 1953) and departments included hardware, toys, electrical, small appliances, auto accessories and sporting goods. A 1953 Modesto Bee advertisement showed a Black & Decker 1/4 drill kit for $32.95 and a table and chair set for $9.99.
Village Merchants Lunch and Fountain was owned by E.J. Lavorini of Escalon. It had space for 51 diners with 10 booths and 11 counter stools. It had an old-fashioned soda fountain serving freezes, floats and more, as well as lunch, short-order and dinner service. The restaurant was at the northeast section of the shopping center.
Village Drug Store was the largest locally owned drugstore in the county in 1953, with 5,000 square feet of retail space and 1,860 square feet of storage. It was owned by Modesto corporation Coast Drug Co. and affiliated with Rexall Drug Co. In addition to departments including prescription, vitamin, cosmetic and veterinary, there was a postal service in the store. It handled regular mail and parcel post.
Window Fashions was next door to Village Merchants Lunch and Fountain at the northeast section of the shopping center. It was owned by Sherwood Ogburn of Santa Rosa and operated by Modesto’s Kenneth Adams and his wife. The store sold window coverings, fixtures, draperies, curtains and more. It also offered rapid repair services.
