Manager of Santa Rosa Trader Joe’s reopened after Tubbs Fire marks 50 years with company (2024)

When customers head to the Trader Joe’s on Cleveland Avenue in Santa Rosa, they know to expect at least three things: a busy parking lot, fresh flowers at the store’s entrance, and a warm smile from store manager Steve Schafer, who celebrates 50 years of working for the company June 26.

Hired at 17 to work in the chain’s Encino store, a chance encounter with company founder Joe Coulombe sealed for Schafer what’s become a lifetime love of the popular grocery store, even dropping out of college for advancement opportunities.

He remembers the back-of-store meeting with Coulombe well. Schafer was wielding a butcher knife, trimming lettuce and onions, covered in produce.

“He didn’t introduce himself as the CEO or founder, he just said, ‘I’m Joe,’ and that shows you the culture all the way back to that point in time. The guy was so gracious and humble in the way he interacted with people,” Schafer said.

Schafer said he poured himself into the company from then on.

Instrumental in reopening the store after it was heavily damaged in the 2017 Tubbs Fire, Schafer has spent decades decked out in Hawaiian shirts, witnessing the company’s evolution from a small Southern California chain into a grocery institution with more than 500 stores nationwide and its own branded food and wines.

All the while, he’s been a source of inspiration for his store’s crew of 140 employees, and for other company workers.

“Even though we have not worked together in the same store, Steve has always been just a phone call away, ready to support me without hesitation. His unwavering belief in striving for excellence has guided me through challenging situations, pivotal decisions, and day-to-day matters,” wrote Marco León, the manager of the Santa Rosa Avenue store, in an email to The Press Democrat.

León calls Schafer a “true” mentor and wrote he felt “incredibly fortunate” to have him by his side.

Encino origins

When he joined the company as a teenage team member in 1974, there were only 18 locations, including nine that were still branded under the company’s original name, Pronto Markets, which founder Joe Coulombe opened in the late ’50s.

Coulombe opened the first Trader Joe’s in 1967 in Pasadena after seeing the country’s obsession with Hawaiian and Caribbean vacations that were made accessible by the invention of the jumbo jet.

“At 18, I knew I wanted to be a captain,” Schafer said during a recent interview at his store.

At age 20, Schafer was working and going to college full time when his store captain, the company’s term for manager, offered him a position on the leadership team.

“He said, ‘You can’t go to college full time and do both.’ I said, ‘Well, no problem, I’ve been waiting (for the offer), now that you’re making me the offer I’ll drop all my classes and be available when you need me,’” Schafer said.

He dropped his classes that day and came back to the store to finish his shift.

“I caught him by surprise,” Schafer said.

After opening and running a store in the San Diego-area city of La Jolla, Schafer’s journey to the North Bay began more than 20 years ago when he was sent to open and run San Francisco’s first Trader Joe’s location. He would go on to open the city’s second location before running stores in San Rafael and Novato. He’s been managing the north Santa Rosa store for 10 years.

Everyone has a voice

As a store leader, Schafer said he’s guided by the principle that every member of the crew has a voice.

“We all have the ability to contribute, that’s what allowed us to slowly evolve and shift,” Schafer said. “It’s not coming from me and it’s not coming from the people above me necessarily. It’s the whole crew being actively engaged.”

His leadership ability has inspired many who have worked for him.

Petaluma store manager Darrell Hollis, who has worked for the company for 25 years and started off working for Schafer, wrote in an email, “It was my first experience of real leadership. I witnessed how he influenced others to be their best and have fun while doing it.”

Along with embracing the store’s culture, Schafer has also embraced its food.

“I have a lot of go-to’s in the store,” he said. “I think I love the frozen section the most.”

His No. 1 favorite frozen item? The Peruvian Style Chimichurri Rice.

“It’s very versatile, it’s incredibly flavorful, you can add anything you want to it,” Schafer said.

Rebuilding Trader Joe’s

In October 2017, the Cleveland Avenue store was burned in the Tubbs Fire, part of a regional firestorm that claimed 40 lives, destroyed 55 commercial buildings and about 6,200 homes and caused nearly $10 billion in property damage.

“In my 50 years, that was the toughest thing I’ve gone through,” Schafer said. “The fire cut deep.”

Schafer had been running the store for about three years and said his team had worked hard to get the store up to the standard they wanted.

“To have the fire come in and eradicate all of that in one morning, it was hard to take,” Schafer said.

Yet, the next day, Schafer said he walked into the Santa Rosa Avenue store where he had been reassigned to and saw his store’s crew working side by side with the other store’s crew.

“It showed me the resilience of the team,” he said. “It was incredible to watch the team react, that freed me up to let go of the sadness.”

Over the course of 13 months, the Cleveland Avenue store was gutted and rebuilt. Schafer worked alongside developers and regional managers to help redesign the location, while also working at the Santa Rosa Avenue location and covering for a captainat the San Rafael store while they were on medical leave.

The Cleveland Avenue store’s reopening in November 2018 was an emotional day for customers, employees and city leaders, he said.

“I had inspectors for the city giving me a hug and tearing up, it was quite something,” Schafer said.

Among the first shoppers at the store’s reopening included Pamela Van Halselma and her husband, Dwayne Mulder, who lost their home in Coffey Park.

“We just want to show that we are so happy to have Trader Joe’s back. This is a community hub,” Van Halselma said at the time.

Today, at 67 years old, Schafer says he has no plans to retire any time soon, though his goals right now include mentoring younger employees.

“I want to make sure I’m taking some responsibility for the next generation,” he said. “That next 17-year-old who sees something in this and sees a potential to do something with it.”