For north Valley residents, Cubby’s makes it easier to bring home the bacon

TALKEETNA — Greg Pearson said he was “moving in five different directions” Friday as he tended to business at Talkeetna’s newest grocery store.

With well-below-zero temperatures outside, Pearson was hoping to attract customers who typically would have made a two-hour drive south to shop in the Wasilla area. It was just another day at Cubby’s Marketplace, a full-service grocery store located 14 miles outside Talkeetna on the Parks Highway.

After a rough construction season full of hurdles and weather delays, Cubby’s opened for business Dec. 17, just in time for the holidays.

Like most reasons he gives for decisions made at Cubby’s, Pearson’s decision to open was largely for his customers.

“A lot of residents around here were asking, ‘When you gonna open?’” Pearson said. “I finally said, ‘I’ll try to open the doors before Christmas.’”

Since the doors were unlocked for customers, Pearson said business has been good. He reiterated the goal of Cubby’s is to fill a niche he feels is left vacant around Talkeetna.

“They’re (residents) grossly under-served as far as groceries are concerned,” he said.

That was Pearson’s first motivations for building the store. Since then, every action he takes has been driven by what he thinks is best for the customer. The ethos contributed to delays with Cubby’s opening while Person did all the store’s construction himself to cut down on cost.

With Alaska’s weather and other factors, such as receiving supplies late, working against him, the store’s opening had to be put off. Pearson admits he wishes he could have hired a contractor to build the store.

“But that would have raised the cost of groceries for the consumer,” he said.

In a June interview, Pearson said a cooler than usual spring kept the ground frozen longer than expected, delaying various plumbing and subterranean work.

Even then, Pearson was getting daily inquires from residents eager to start shopping at Cubby’s.

Staying in an old 1979 motorhome while the building went up, Pearson worked through the cool summer and into the winter.

With the Dec. 17 opening, some of Pearson’s goals have been realized.

“It was a pleasant surprise to see people coming in the door,” he said.

And there’s a good chance customers and business will continue to pick up, Pearson said.

Over the summer, months before Cubby’s opened, bed and breakfast owners in Talkeetna and Trapper Creek expressed their enthusiasm for the store. By simplifying the shopping experience from a four-hour round-trip to an easy jaunt, Pearson appears to have pleased many locals.

Still, he said there are a few Talkeetna purists who have shunned the store as an unwelcome modern amenity. Overall, however, it’s been well-received, he said.

And the 10 to 12 jobs helps the local economy.

On Friday, as the long winter night began creeping into the Talkeetna area, Pearson said he’s looking forward to business picking up as word-of-mouth spreads.

To keep costs low, Cubby’s doesn’t advertise, but the store’s presence on the Parks Highway puts it in full view of passing motorists.

That could translate into more dollars this summer, when tourists head north from Wasilla to Denali and points beyond.Although Pearson said he didn’t factor in tourists dollars to his business plan, the extra business won’t hurt.

Plus, with Su Valley Jr./Sr. High School across the street, the potential for after-school foot traffic is also there.

Regardless of how many customers come in, Pearson said he has many people to thank for helping him with Cubby’s.

The long journey to opening day was helped along by family and friends pitching in to make the store a reality.

Pearson said he remembers this every time he’s inside Cubby’s. “There is just no way I could have done this myself.”

Contact Michael Rovito at michael.rovito@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.