Changing of the guard: Tricia Principe (L) will take over Cal’s from retiring owner, Roy Schmall (R).
If you live in the outer Richmond and have a pet, you’ve undoubtedly stopped by Cal’s Pet Supply on California and 22nd Avenue to pick up food or treats for your best friend. The shop has been run by owner Roy Schmall but as of next Monday, the shop will be in the hands of a new owner and Roy will officially retire from the pet biz.
I stopped in to chat with Roy last weekend, and to ask him how he felt about retiring after all these years in the neighborhood. He responded that the change is a little bittersweet, as he’s gotten to know so many of his customers very well, and will miss interacting with them and knowing what’s going on in their lives. “I’m sort of like a bartender that way – people share a lot with me,” Roy said.
The shop has also connected a lot of pets with owners, teaming up with animal shelters through the years for adoption drives. “I think we’ve had hundreds of dogs and cats adopted out,” Roy said.
Through the twenty five years it’s been open, Cal’s has seen its share of ups and downs. In 2003, there was a fire that closed the store for an entire year while it was remodeled into the store you shop in today. Then in 2009, a water main break outside on California Street during some construction caused a flood in the store. That closed the shop for 6 months.
After experiencing a fire and a flood, Roy joked “I was just waiting for the locusts.”
Roy also remembers the ’89 earthquake well. At that time, the store was much more crowded with high shelves and inventory. As the city shook, Roy recalls the shelves falling over and items flying off them. One of his store windows was cracked. It took some time to clean up but it wasn’t long before Cal’s was open again for business.
I asked Roy if he’d ever encountered any crime in his quarter century on the job. He says he had the occasional shoplifter and said that one day, two guys came into the shop who were very high. One of them distracted him while the other made a grab for the cash drawer. But Roy says the guy was so tanked that he was able to grab him and hold him until police arrived.
Through all of that, Roy says he’ll miss the people and their pets the most. “This is more of a community place than a store,” Roy said. “The people and the animals are my favorite things.”
It’s the same thing that inspired Tricia Principe to take over Cal’s Pet Supply from Roy. She says she loves animals and is looking forward to keeping the store going for the neighborhood.
As long as he’s had the store, Roy has been commuting in from Marin to open every day. It was only in recent years that he relied on someone else to open and run the store on Sundays and Mondays. Once he’s retired, Roy says he’ll be spending more time with his music (he plays keyboards in the Stephanie Teel Band), as well as with his grandson who lives nearby.
To honor Roy and give him a proper sendoff, Angelina’s Cafe & Deli (California & 22nd Avenue) will be hosting a party for him next Monday, February 28th from 5pm until 7pm. Anyone is welcome to attend, so stop by to say goodbye to Roy and thank him for providing such a great place for pet lovers in the neighborhood.
Roy, we will miss you! Come back and visit us often.
Sarah B.
Thanks Roy, you will be missed.
Haven’t been in the ‘hood that long but I stop in at Cal’s frequently. Great guy and a great store. Roy will be missed. Glad to hear the store will stick around.
Yep, very cool guy. Always very nice. I should be at the party.
how can you go wrong with a picture of Dr. Demento on your shelf?
Wasn’t Cal’s held up as a locally-owned-by-someone-in-the-Richmond shop during the anti-PetCo crusades? Is Marin part of the Richmond now?
@Boris- at 10 hours + each day knowing and caring for and about many dogs cats chincillas, rats rabbits and any other kind of animal you could name, yes. Roy has been spending his money in the neighborhood for all his services lunches etc, yes. As a friendly place for neighbors with and without pets to gather, yes. I would say Roy is a Richmond institution. He rightly was held up as concerned for and involved with the community for 25 years. I’ll give him living across the bridge, his heart is here. What have you done to help the neighborhood the last 25 years?
@David H – why wouldn’t the same happen with a PetCo manager? The argument being made during the hearings was that Cal’s was locally owned – that has now been proven to be an outright lie. What else were we lied to about?
As far as what have I done? I’ve operated a small consulting business out of my apartment for five years now, which now employs four other people that live in the Richmond and two that live in the Sunset (and commute to client sites down the peninsula when needed). My heart is here as well, along with my body, my furniture, and my tax dollars.
@David H – one more note – I never made the argument that Cal’s wasn’t a neighborhood institution – it is. It’s a great shop. That doesn’t negate the fact that many of the folks in the PetCo discussion felt the need to blatantly lie and distort facts simply because they don’t want competition in the neighborhood.
If I may interject… I never heard anyone at the PetCo public meeting nor elsewhere make arguments that Cal’s (or any other pet store in our neighborhood) is locally OWNED. Rather, these are neighborhood shops that people do not want to see put out of business.
Just because someone lives outside the neighborhood, like Roy, doesn’t mean they aren’t beloved and supported by their customers, or that they can’t provide a good service. The same could be said for PetCo – just because they’re “outsiders” to the neighborhood doesn’t mean they can’t provide good services.
So let’s not pick on Roy or any other Richmond District business owner just because they don’t LIVE in our western end of the city. Living in the city is expensive, and I know many other store owners who have to live outside our boundaries. This is not Little House on the Prairie where your next door neighbor also owns the corner store.
People also don’t want to see more empty storefronts, which is motivating much of their desire to see these small pet stores survive.
Sarah B.
@Sarah B – thank you for your balanced post. The folks that I was speaking of are in this thread:
https://richmondsfblog.com/2011/01/20/pet-shop-owners-band-together-to-block-petco-store-public-meeting-tonight/#comments
Take note of comment #3.
@Boris – Then please continue your conversation or commenting over there. This post is about Roy’s departure from the neighborhood. Let’s not rake him over the coals over comments someone left on another post. Thank you.
Sarah B.
@Boris- thanks for keeping another type of neighborhood business going. I must say sorry for being snippy, I have known Roy and worked on many community projects with Roy for many years.Roy is in my extended family here in the Richmond, I care about everyone in our community- you also!
I know that Cal’s Pet Supply will be ran in the same friendly, and professional way, the customers have come to expect over the years. Tricia Principe is a wonderful person who loves animals, and is as honest a person as is on the planet. She will treat every customer with respect and gratitude for supporting her and her business. The Richmond District may have lost a good friend (Roy), but they have gained a great friend (Tricia). I am well qualified in which I say about Tricia. I have known her for 52 years, and she is the BEST SISTER God could have ever blessed me with. Cal’s Pet Suppy Rocks!