Cazadero General Store

At least once a year, typically in the summer time, a group of friends and I go on an annual cabin trip to Cazadero. This year was no exception. It’s safe to say and I speak for the entire group, that one of the highlights of the trip is going to the General Store after being at the creek all day and picking up an It’s-It ice cream sandwich. Don’t get me wrong we’re a group of twenty something year olds and we also use this time to replenish our beer and snack supply which they have a good selection of I’ll add, I also happen to buy my favorite hat there, naturally it says CAZ on it. We love spending time at the cabin, and driving twenty something mins into town and getting coffee at Bizarre. But the trip wouldn’t be as great with out a visit to the General store.

We return to this store every summer when we come to stay at a vacation house near by along Austin Creek. It used to be an old train station probably 40 – 50 years ago?
I’m so glad that this store is here in Cazadero for us to pick up milk, popsicles for kids as well as a folding chair that we could use by the creek.
I’m surprised to see how they were able to sustain to stay in the business here with only charging 20 or 30% more for the items that we might pay for in other stores in big cities.
I want to give more business to this store, so they could still let us to walk into this old fashioned general store than get in a car and drive 30 minutes to buy a carton of milk in the middle of our vacation.
Thank you for being here for everyone who lives or visits Cazadero.

This quaint, old fashioned, grocery store has just about anything you might want on a whim. If you are in Caz, you wont need to drive 20 to 30 minutes East to a large grocery store. Just stop in at this rustic place. It appears to have been here forever. I just love it!
I stopped in hoping to grab a snack, and was impressed at their selection. Locals know about them, and breeze in and out like they are visiting an old friend. I found many of my favorite brands were there, of different foods and drinks. I grabbed some bread, for home, and settled on a ho-​ho as my snack. Luckily, because it was the last one will ever get to enjoy.
Another thing I like about this place, is they are open until 8pm no matter how dark and stormy it gets. Little towns like Cazadero do not usually have this luxury. When I am in Cazadero, I am so thankful not to have to drive far to grab a few things, no matter the weather. Or, to be able to get the one or 2 things I need to complete a recipe.
Shopping local to support a small town business is what we should all consider more often, if we dont want to be forced to drive far. Or we will all have no choice, ecept to do our shopping at chain stores.

Alright, I think I’m the first person living in Cazadero to review this place. Basically, here’s the deal: the prices and selection compare to a well-​stocked and well-​run corner store that you’d find in my home town of Berkeley. Things are definitely more expensive than they are at Safeway but the selection is great. They have lots of local goods and if you go on the right day there will be produce grown in the community in a basked on the counter.
Everybody who works here is friendly. They rent movies. They sell horse riding equipment. If the roads are ever closed I can still get the essentials right down the street.
I don’t do my grocery shopping here but I try to shop here as much as possible to support the business and keep it open. If you have a problem with anything about this place you probably just have never lived in a small town.
Did I mention they carry treats from Raymond’s Bakery?

If you’ve read my other reviews, you’ve picked up on the fact that I’ve been coming to Cazadero since I was a baby.
This place is AWESOME! I have such fond memories of walking into town, buying my Choco Taco after perusing all of the aisles for any new hidden treasures… you always need another tie dyed Cazadero
t-shirt…don’t you?
Seriously, there are really no other options if you are out of milk, ice, beer, etc. So, we’re really at this store’s mercy. I’m willing to pay extra, considering the amount of time and gas it would take me to get to Guerneville or Monte Rio.
Besides, there is just something truly remarkable about this town staying pretty much the same for 30 years (and more).
If you bring kids with you, expect them to ask you to buy them some little toy in there that they will lose/​break before you get back to your cabin.
In fact, I think I’ve spent more time on the General’s store’s porch just passing the time and relaxing, then anywhere else.
If you ever make it up this way, stop into this place. You’re bound to see a team of bikers passing through, the locals doing their thing with their bid trucks, and probably a stray dog or two… You might be surprised with how it makes you feel. Check the expiration dates though… the food items hidden in the aisles are suspect!

I hate supporting the borg, but I’d rather drive into Guerneville and get the goods at Safeway for literally a third of the price, than suffer the highway robbery of this little squeezebox, quaint as it looks from the outside. 20 plastic cups for $ 5? The corner bodegas in manhattan don’t even getcha for that. 1 star for the saddle display in the corner tho.

so we’re staying out in russian river to avoid the 4^th of july when east oakland turns into little baghdad. unfortunately, we are staying across from something that reminds me of the branch davidians in texas, there’s like 20 bungalows surrounded by a big red fence and a giant fire is going every time i peak out the window, needless to say they had their own private idaho fireworks last night and i thought, not one of those fuckers has a dog, i gave palo a sedative but it was a long night of shaking and whining, no, not me, my dog… but i digress… i went into the general store at 805am on the fourth of july. first of all, thank you jesus that they were open and secondly, thank you to the owner who was very nice, very helpful and very informative. they have dvds, vhs tapes, clothes, its its ice cream sandwiches, pastries, coffee, pretty much anything you would need and not want to drive to guerneville to get it. she was also able to tell me where to pick up some vodka, (ferns in monte rio, if you were wondering) what cell service would work, and what was going on in the surrounding area. Not only are you supporting a local merchant by shopping here, but you do it and it becomes a pleasure. Ill be shopping here until im back in oakland.