Seeing a longtime dream – not to mention a lot of hard work – come to fruition, Joe Coelho was overwhelmed with gratitude as the community turned out in droves, filling the parking lot and browsing and buying items at ‘The Barn’ on the west end of the city on Saturday, May 30.
It was the official Grand Opening of the business, coming after a lengthy renovation project at the familiar big red barn at 930 Yosemite Ave., just across the railroad tracks headed out of town.
The location has seen a variety of business ventures through the years but had stood empty for the past several, though Coelho saw it as an opportunity to make his dream a reality. He and his wife Martha are operating the business with assistance from their daughters and plan to hire some high school students in the future as business picks up.
“I’ve driven bus for 26 years,” said Coelho, who works for the Escalon Unified School District.
He said he always wanted to have something to move on to once he retires from the school district and, when The Barn became available as a commercial property, it seemed to be just the right time for him.
“I talked to my kids and they thought I should go to the Looney Tunes house,” Coelho shared, chuckling. “But with a lot of convincing, now they’re so on board.”
The Barn currently has a variety of fresh produce, some antiques, specialty soaps, homemade bread, they will also feature Brentwood corn when it comes into season, they have Stuyt Dairy cheese, microgreens, local olive oils and honey, items from Roberts Ferry Nut Company and more. Bloomingcamp pies are also expected to be part of the available merchandise soon.
“I love gardening; that’s one of my passions so, out here … I saw the opportunity to garden and do this stuff,” Coelho said of stocking the barn and planning for some family-friendly activities as well as having plenty of room to garden.
He said they are working on a pumpkin patch for the fall and also want to have Christmas items such as wreaths, ornaments and specialty products available in time for the holidays.
“I wanted something,” Coelho explained of diving into the business world. “I want to retire from the school soon and so this is my next adventure.”
He is looking forward to providing some employment opportunities for local youth and said working with the City of Escalon has been extremely helpful in terms of getting questions answered as well as receiving a business grant that “helped bring The Barn back to life.”
Longtime local educator Teresa Velasco said Coelho is a former student of hers – she first taught him in sixth grade and later at the high school – and she also said she introduced him to Martha, who later became his wife.
“Everybody wants to be here, everybody wants to help him because he is so well known and so liked,” said Velasco. “A lot of people care for Joe and I love him dearly.”
Collegeville Elementary teacher Flor Gomez – who knows Coelho through the school – attended the Saturday celebration and said she couldn’t have been happier to see the large turnout.
“I was here from when they started renovating and remodeling … it looks really good, they’ve put a lot of time and effort into it and it shows,” Gomez shared. “This was Joe’s dream; he’s always been talking about it and finally he made it come true.”
