Milk Pail Market Closing Soon, Ending Era In Mountain View

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA -- When Steve Rasmussen was 8 years old, little did he know his parents' drive-through daily in the Castro Valley would lay the groundwork for his lifelong line of work.

But at age 23, the market retailing guru had some inkling of his childhood surroundings coming into fruition when he bought the place that came to be the Milk Pail Market in Mountain View - which closes in a few months after celebrating 45 years in business in February. The 2,300-square-foot building with concrete floors, fine cheeses and specialized jams was known for pasteurizing milk on the premises.

The era seemed like a simpler time for the nation and the Silicon Valley in particular. Rasmussen recalled how families filled station wagons to pick up grocery supplies of all sorts -- from eggs and cottage cheese to Wonder Bread and Twinkies. Running a market took a little business acumen and creativity. He sold seven 10-pound loafs of chedder cheese in about a week before realizing he could break those blocks up to sell smaller loaves to more people.

As the South Bay town's population mushroomed, Rasmussen with his wife and two children adjusted to appeal to the cosmopolitan customer as well as the one who settled in the Silicon Valley before it became known as the tech region.

The California Street market-general store now sits near a giant, new Icon movie theater where the Ross Store was located, apartment building and parking structure to cater to the up-and-coming. The market was still a hold out of times gone by, despite the wear and tear of an old building showing its age. The original floor has "a crack here, a crack there," Rasmussen said, alluding to the merciless result of aging.

There's no defined date on shutting the market down except the milestone is expected to arrive in the next few months. Since announcing the closure, his sleep is limited but his mind is churning.

He'd like to travel to Norway because "it's very pretty" and may trade making sandwiches for conducting consulting work.

"It's very sad that the business can't continue. We've done a helluva job surviving longer than anyone imagined," he said. "The one overwhelming sense I get from this is how unbelievably important our little, quirky, funky business became such a place to go for our Peninsula customers."

Rasmussen hit the nail on the head for Milk Pail regular John Gordon, who albeit less frequently still goes to the market despite living 10 miles away now.

"If I'm entertaining, I'd go there first. It's pretty sad. I understand Steve's decision. It's horrible what's happening," Gordon said of the new encroaching development closing in on San Antonio Road. "To me, this is not the place for an 8-story apartment building."

It's difficult for Gordon to let go of the once-quaint nature of pockets in Mountain View.

The Milk Pail Market has lasted longer in the greater San Antonio Shopping Center than outlets from some notable national chains like Sears, Mervyn’s and Radio Shack. Within almost a half century in business, the Rasmussen family has served tens of thousands of customers seeking a taste of Europe in their own home kitchens. It's not every day grocery shoppers may bake their own croissants.

When the long arm of development began four years ago in the San Antonio Center, the Milk Pail was one of many properties approached for acquisition. The Rasmussens were resistant until now.

In a posted letter to its customers, Steve and Lian Rasmussen explain that "running a family business that is open seven days a week, 52 weeks a year is challenging - especially since moving boxes and other manual work is getting harder.

It also didn't help that its mainstay store manager and family member, James Liu, died. At the age of 20, daughter Kai Rasmussen stepped in and took over the position with staff help from her sister Erica.

"Although the closure of the Milk Pail will be bittersweet, we leave with fond memories and immense gratitude for the community that built us. To our loyal customers, we will miss you. It’s been one of the greatest pleasures of my life to have served you," the letter reads.

Despite closing his business, Rasmussen still connects with his community in other ways. When he attended last week's Mountain View City Council meeting to say thank you to the city for all its help over the years, the retailer in the spur of the moment decided to donate $10,000 to the Community Services Agency to help the homeless on the agenda that night.

See also

• S Bay Takes On Homeless: Emergency In Mountain View; SJ Lobbies State