Explore remote Yolo County corner store, open since 1891. It’s for sale
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Guinda Corner Store listed for $225,000; business nets about $500,000 annually.
- Store operates since 1891 as primary Capay Valley hub and local grocery.
- Broker seeks hands‑on buyer to expand hours, offer coffee and grab‑and‑go.
Growing up as a kid in the early 1950s in this remote pocket of Yolo County, west of Sacramento, Jim Gibson rode a mule right down the front porch of the Guinda Corner Store.
He found out later you aren’t supposed to do that, but he’s been coming back ever since.
“I come here every night,” Gibson said. “It’s an asset (to the community).”
That asset — a continuously operating country store since 1891 and the community hub in the upper Capay Valley — is now for sale. The business, but not the landmark building, is listed at $225,000, according to the property’s broker.
Pierce Scott, who purchased the business about seven years ago, is selling but the store will almost certainly continue.
“I don’t think the Guinda Corner Store is going anywhere by any stretch,” he said from behind the counter on a quiet midweek day.
Community hub
Guinda Corner Store is marketed as a “historic landmark and the primary community hub for the Capay Valley,” the only place to buy groceries and everyday essential items in Guinda and for miles around. The business generates about $500,000 in annual gross revenue, and the sale includes roughly $30,000 in inventory, $31,500 in equipment and a Type 20 beer-and-wine license, according to information from Sacramento Business Brokers.
Scott said the financial numbers matter less than what the place represents.
“1891 was when it was built, and the doors have never been shuttered beyond maybe a vacation or a holiday,” Scott said. “The doors are always open. That’s one constant in the valley.”
The two-story Western-style structure is owned by Wyatt Kline. Kline, whose family has longtime roots in the area, has upgraded the building over time but kept its character alive, according to Scott. The floors and doors are original, Scott said, as is a hulking brass cash register that hasn’t rung up a sale in probably 60 years.
“It matters to him that history is preserved,” he said.
Shelves stocked for the practical
Inside, the shelves lean practical, not fancy.
“We’re not Walmart or Safeway or Raley’s,” Scott said, “but we have the stuff if you forgot something on your trip to town. It’s 30 to 40 minutes back to the closest Raley’s going back to the south. To the north, it’s 40 miles up to Clear Lake.”
A sign on the outside of the building advertises “the coldest beer in town,” but Scott jokes it’s also the only beer in town. The store sells ice, wine, snacks, slushies, cigarettes, basic tools, cleaning supplies, T-shirts and whatever firefighters, farmworkers and campers need to get through the day.
“The immediate valley obviously is my customer base that keeps the lights on and doors open,” Scott said.
Business also comes from outdoor enthusiasts streaming down Highway 16, off Interstate 505, and from an economy that has sprung up around Cache Creek Casino.
“In the summer, we have the only overnight campground in Yolo County just up the road, and it’s always booked out,” he said. “And then there’s a couple rafting companies up here that operate on weekends, and we could see hundreds to thousands of new faces on weekends.”
Hikers headed to Pierce Canyon Falls or the trails in Cache Creek Canyon Regional Park stop in for drinks and sandwiches. Whitewater rafters and anglers stock up on ice. Casino-goers bound for Cache Creek’s gaming floor pull off for snacks and gas .
“It’s really fun,” Scott said of the upcoming peak season. “It actually almost feels like a party atmosphere, because you’re dealing with people that are on vacation and going to do something that they’ve paid money for, planned for… they’re looking forward to it. So to come into here, they’re happy.”
The busiest single day of the year is usually the Capay Valley Almond Festival, a five-town celebration billed as the only festival of its kind in California. Scott said it has been going for “over 100 years.”
“It’s the last Sunday in February,” he said. “It brings in thousands of new people.”
Almond Festival time
The festival stretches from Esparto up the valley, with each community staging events: petting zoos, raffles, music, craft fairs, food and oyster feeds, music and an Almond Queen scholarship competition.
For locals like Gibson, the draw of the Corner Store is more basic. In the 1950s, when he was a kid, nobody drove “to town” for small errands.
“They did everything here, shopping, most everything, you know,” he said.
The store sold meats from a counter along one wall, and earlier owners lived upstairs, he said. A hotel, a bar and a train depot once clustered nearby.
Scott, who was born and raised in Nebraska and moved west after meeting his wife, said the appeal was that Guinda felt familiar.
“Small town, rural, kind of a ‘everybody knows everybody’ type thing,” he said.
Scott is selling, he said, because family-related ventures are demanding more of his time.
“I value family and family time. And it’s a good opportunity for me to kind of live that out,” he said.
He plans to stay in the area: “I’m not going anywhere. I just won’t be behind (the counter) right here.”
Luke Middendorf of Sacramento Business Brokers said by email that the ideal buyer is “someone who enjoys building relationships in a small community and is ready to be a hands-on operator.”
The marketing materials suggest a new owner might expand hours, add grab‑and‑go food and embrace social media to capture more of the rafting and camping crowd.
“The store currently opens at 10 am,” Middendorf said in an email. “Expanding hours and offering coffee and grab-and-go food options seem like they have a lot of potential to improve cash flow.”
Gibson holds a simpler wish for whoever comes next.
“It’s a friendly place to come to and visit,” he said. “I come here about every night. You’ve got most everything you need, you know. Save the trip to town.”
This story was originally published March 14, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
