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 By K. Reka Badger
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Amid the shoppers and wine tasters thronging Grand Avenue in Los Olivos, Grand Tales offers a haven of soft light and gentle tunes to those who venture through its doors. Stepping off the glaring sidewalk and into the cool comfort of the little shop set back from the street, customers and curious tourists find an eclectic emporium full of videos and visual art, antiques, and holistic pet products. “It’s an odd combination, isn’t it?” laughs proprietor Greg Duer, a lean, cheerful man with a bright smile and cobalt blue eyes. “ We have over 1000 DVDs, and without a doubt, we have the largest VHS collection of classic movies in the Valley. We also rent books on tape—and I can special order CDs and DVDs for purchase.” As for his wildly diverse inventory, Duer explains, “ I had a Great Dane who was allergic to everything. I tried Solid Gold dog food and it cleared up all his skin allergies. There’s a steady market for it—people who know it are loyal to it.” Tubs of Farrier’s Formula joined the product line when a friend recommended it for Duer’s horse (“ who had really bad feet”), and customers facing the same problem with their animals continue to buy up the stock. The fine chocolates wrapped in colorful gold foil and bristling from strategically placed baskets, on the other hand, are strictly for fun. “ They’re a little courtesy to our customers,” Duer confides. “ It’s a little something to have while you watch your movie. We’ve tried popcorn, but I think this is a little classier.” Greg Duer and his wife, Theresa, bought Grand Tales 10 years ago, partly because of their affection for movies. “ I love just about everything Hitchcock did,” Duer muses, “ everything Cary Grant and Grace Kelly were in. I get publications to see how the newer movies did at the box office, then gear my rentals to what I think my clientele wants.” Duer solves the problem of paring down his ever-expanding catalogue by giving his old VHS tapes and DVDs to Father Stacy at St. Mark’s, who then passes them on to folks who are ill or homebound. When asked how long he and Theresa have been married, Duer quickly answers “ 27 years,” then grimaces slightly and quips, “ Yes, we got married when we were 12.” “ Theresa works for Santa Barbara County, in the Human Resources department,” he adds with a twinkle. “She has a real job.” Just after they married, the Duers bought a fixer-upper on a large lot in Santa Ynez, built a second house, and then traded it for 20 acres in Oak Trails. While Duer and his dad built the couple’s new home by hand, the two lived on the property in a travel trailer with a tent that opened out on one side. “ It was amazing,” Duer smiles at the memory, “ every morning she’d emerge from this tent in her suit, carrying a brief case.”  Greg and Theresa still live on that beautiful piece of land, perched above the frost line and surrounded by an astonishing array of grapefruit, orange, lime, and avocado trees, as well as trailing vines of blazing bougainvillea. When not at their jobs, tending their orchard, or singing in the Santa Ynez Valley Chorale, the two spend time with their menagerie of two dogs, nine cats and two horses. As buttery afternoon light streams through the Grand Tales’ open doors, and ceiling fans stir the air inside, Duer matches a customer with a movie, then nudges Parker, his lanky black greyhound, who dreams on a low chaise behind the counter. An elderly whippet/ Queensland heeler mix watches sleepily from under the desk. “ We got him from an organization that has 40 kennels in Mexico,” Duer says, scratching three-year old Parker affectionately. “ The Greyhound Adoption Center profiles you, it’s like adopting a child. They usually race them until they’re five, so he’s lucky. But he doesn’t care about cats or rabbits, that’s probably why they didn’t race him.” Original art graces the walls of the spacious entryway, which serves as an informal gallery and showcases a different artist every eight weeks. “ There are more and more tourists,” Duer explains why he added art to his inventory, “ and they’d look in and think ‘Oh, it’s a video store.’ I thought art would tempt them to come in, because we have antiques and greeting cards, too.” “ We originally sub-let the front room to a woman who ran a book store there,” he remembers. “ We started the art gallery three years ago. It seemed like the perfect time because the space was open. “ We feature local artists and I’m booked for a year in advance,” Duer enthuses, “ and we always sell something. Ben Bottoms was our first featured artist and he did really well. I’ll bet he sold 10 pieces!” A four-time winner of the Best of Los Olivos Award given by students at Los Olivos Grammar School, Duer proudly displays the blue and gold certificates, accompanied by a handwritten essay about Grand Tales, on the shop’s wall. “ Oh, that’s so cute,” he declares. “ Every year the children choose a business they want to write about, then they come down here and make a little presentation.” Though Greg Duer runs Grand Tales almost single handedly, Theresa takes responsibility for ordering the greeting cards, and a part-timer holds the fort on choir practice nights. “ I have a young man who works for me,” Duer reveals. “ He’ll be graduating high school, though, so I’ll be starting a new rookie this summer. I’ve enjoyed that. They start when they’re 15 or so and hang in there until they graduate. It’s fun watching them grow up and learn to deal with the customers and become competent with retail. Kids have to have jobs.” No matter what the season, expect to find surprises among the movies, fine art, and audio books that crowd the shelves at Grand Tales. Whether it’s high-test chocolate, organic pet food, or a bowl of freshly picked limes, Greg Duer will gladly relate the story behind it. “ I love having the store and I love interacting with my customers,” Duer happily admits. “ That’s the best part of it.” |
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Copyright 2004, Inside Santa Ynez Valley Magazine, All Rights Reserved |
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