Local Market Maintains its Values While Building Business

When Lester Clements opened his first market in 1946, he had no idea what he was starting. But that first store would be the beginning of a 65-year family legacy of serving the community—and one that is still going strong today in Scotts Valley.

Since opening that first market, the Fairway Market in the town of Freedom, the family business has seen many changes. In 1955, the store was moved to Salinas and became Ron’s Market, named for the son of Lester and his wife, Edith.

For the next 25 years, the family cultivated the business while increasing its own size. Ron Clements made his living working in the store that his father founded. He and his wife, Marlo, had two children, Ron Jr. and Christy, and the store become a big part of their lives, too.

“We practically grew up in the store,” Ron Jr. recalled. “Christy and I would ride our skateboards to the store after school and help bag groceries. We always helped [customers] out with their bags, and sometimes we would even help them all the way home.”

Since those days in Salinas, the store has relocated and undergone even more name changes. In 1978, the family moved the business to Ben Lomond and took over what is now known as Ben Lomond Market. They also expanded into Scotts Valley with the acquisition of Scotts Valley Market.

The notion that people are important, instilled in the Clements family by Grandpa Lester, continues to inspire the generations that have come after. And the one thing that has always remained the same is the kind of customer dedication that was started all those years ago.

Today, Ron Clements Jr. is Scotts Valley Market’s general manager, and he pledges to carry on those values so deeply engrained in him.

This is obvious, not only for the customers of Scotts Valley Market, but also for the employees who work at the store. Successful business expansion has meant a need to hire staff from outside of the family, but that hasn’t hampered the family feeling that the Clements family has infused in their business.

“I don’t think we would be here without our staff," Ron Clements Jr. said. "They are part of the reason we are successful.” 

Sheila Matthews, customer service manager, agrees.

“We’re not blood, but we are family,” she said.

Ever since Matthews began working for the Clements family in 2001, “they have done everything to really embrace me and make me feel like I really belong,” she said.

Jared Malas is another one of the store’s longtime employees. His nametag description has just one word—meat. However, Malas’ presence means so much more to the store and its customers.

“I love my job,” he said. “I know people who grumble and complain every Monday morning when they have to go back to work. And it’s just not like that for me. I love everything about being here. I love the customers. I love the people here. Everyone always has a smile on their face. It’s a great place to be. I’m never going to leave here. I am the Superman of meat.”

Sustaining a family business for three generations can have its challenges. Wanting to create an environment that exudes the values it is steeped in can be easier said than done. But the Clements family seems to have the secret to success, and a walk through any aisle of the market will reveal this.

It’s not uncommon to be greeted by a number of passing employees as they say hello and smile, or ask if you need help with anything. It’s not unusual for the manager of the produce department to gather the items from your basket in the checkout line and place them on the conveyer belt for you, as he walks back toward the tomatoes.

The lineage of valuing others has traveled through the family business. It is what sets Scotts Valley Market apart from the competition of the bigger, chain stores.

“We always say that customer service is the most important thing,” Ron Clements Jr. said. “You know, there are only so many rolls of paper towels that can be bought. So we really want to give people a reason to come here to buy them.”

Malas said everyone goes out of their way to give the best customer service possible.

“If I have a customer who has a question, or wants something, I will do my best to make sure they get it,” he said. “One time I had a guy asking for alligator. It took a while, but I got it.”

For the employees of the store, there is also no job that they won’t take on.

“If the floor needs to be swept, then anyone will grab a broom and do it,” Matthews said. “If a customer needs help with something, any one of us will jump in and do what needs to be done.”

The level of care at Scotts Valley Market also comes through in the food that's both stocked and prepared.

“Quality is everything,” Clements said.

With the family commitment to kindness and quality, there is certainly a solid platform in place so that the fourth generation of the Clements family can carry the business into the future.

The Scotts Valley Market is at 14 Victor Square. The store is open from 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily. The Ben Lomond Market is at 9440 Mills St. in Ben Lomond and is open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.