What do you call someone who lives in Loma Mar? A Loma Martian.
It’s not a punch line. This eclectic, tiny community rooted in the Santa Cruz Mountains between La Honda and Pescadero is home to coastside farmworkers and wealthy tech households. But between its small population and its remote location, gathering spaces for residents have historically been few and far between, leaving the community vulnerable when disaster strikes.
Enter the Loma Mar Store & Kitchen, a wood-shingled structure amid the town’s coastal redwoods that’s been a part of the community since 1930, serving as a lumber mill, post office and general store over the years. In 2014, neighbors Jeff and Kate Haas bought the shop and renovated it, transforming the building into a cafe, a small grocery shop and live music venue that opened in 2019.
But the owners had bigger dreams for its community role that required something outside a restaurant’s usual for-profit setup, says executive director Janet Clark. So last October, they began the process of converting operations into a nonprofit structure. They renamed the Loma Mar Store as the Loma Mar Outpost, created a board of directors with the Haases in an advisory role and hired Clark to lead it.
“They have just basically gifted this to the community, which is unbelievably generous,” Clark says.
It’s one of only a handful of nonprofit restaurants in the nation. New Jersey’s JBJ Soul Kitchen community restaurant group, for example, is funded by the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation. They could be a model, Clark says, for other small towns where restaurants that operate as community hubs struggle to keep going under traditional business models.
Loma Mar’s diverse community includes immigrant families, traditional ranchers and billionaires, as well as artists, musicians and families who have lived in the area for generations. Because households are so spread out across southern San Mateo County, Clark says, they often find themselves low on the priority list for county and state resources and attention. Flooding in Pescadero or downed trees in the area routinely trigger road closures, and it’s not uncommon for power outages to last more than a week, she says. That’s a problem when the nearest grocery store is in Half Moon Bay, a half-hour drive away.
So they’re on a wide-ranging mission. Not only are they working to build community among visitors and locals alike — upcoming events include teen and young adult-friendly, alcohol-free hangouts, open mic nights and game nights — Clark says they’re also hoping to bolster community-wide emergency preparedness and food security.
As the Outpost transitions into its new nonprofit entity, the staff is working to bring down the cost of grocery staples and hoping to host regular “pay what you can” community dinners. Its generator and backup propane tanks are available for residents in case of power outages.
And if you’re just passing through — camping, perhaps, at Loma Mar’s Memorial Park — the Outpost has become not only a “last chance for Wi-Fi” stop, but a cozy place to grab a bite. The burgers are made with beef from nearby Pomponio Ranch, the grilled cheese is a triple fromage affair, and that’s housemade kimchi on your salmon-topped Loma Martian bowl.
Details: Open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at 8150 Pescadero Creek Road, Loma Mar; lomamaroutpost.org.