I frequently pick my kid up from the local liquor store after school, a perfectly natural place to send a 10-year-old Palisadian. Well, maybe not for everybody. But then, this is not just any liquor store, but a Marquez Knolls institution’Ronny’s Market on the Marquez Avenue business block, where dozens of students gather every day after school to socialize, have a snack and wait for a ride home. Will Durghalli, who along with twin brother Jerry bought the business in May 2007 f’rom Ronny Naidoo when he retired, laughs when he thinks about owning the business for five years. ‘It feels like it’s been a decade.’ Naidoo purchased the business in 1993 and expanded what was then just a liquor store to include a deli counter and items that residents previously had to purchase at supermarkets. Retirement wasn’t for Naidoo, who bought the dry-cleaning store on the same street and still knows everybody in the neighborhood. Today, Ronny’s is busy from morning to evening, and has something for everybody who lives or works in the Palisades. Ronny’s is what an individual makes of it: for some it’s a quick and affordable place to get lunch, while others rush in to grab a snack on the way to work. ‘Everybody in this town has their own version of what this place is,’ said Durghalli. ‘For some it’s a liquor store, for some it’s a grill, for some it’s a candy store, for some it’s a market.’ According to Durghalli, a typical weekday at Ronny’s goes something like this: ‘We get everybody’the workers during the first part of our day, and then you have the middle of the day with kids after school, and then the rest of the day is Palisadians who live on this side of town. I don’t think anybody living past the high school, unless they work over here, knows we’re even here.’ For a certain group of customers, Ronny’s is a meeting place, the coolest hangout on Marquez Avenue. These customers, some with house accounts, range in age from about eight to mid-teens and come mostly from Marquez Charter Elementary School up the street and Paul Revere Middle School. The older Marquez kids (grades three and up, for the most part) get out of school, cross at the corner of Marquez and Ida with crossing guard Dane Calcote, and walk the two blocks down Marquez to Ronny’s. The unwritten rule is followed’no backpacks allowed in the store’so kids toss them onto the sidewalk by the front entrance. The early arrivals are lucky; they get in and out pretty quickly and snag a chair at one of the outside tables. Another 10 minutes means a longer wait at the checkout. Woe for the unsuspecting person in a rush who stops in about then for a bottle of water or quart of milk. The same goes for parking; it’s almost impossible to find a spot on Marquez, as parents double-park or pull in and out of the few available spots. The kids, and the staff at Ronny’s, have the system down pat. Kids get the following, or any combination: a drink, candy, chips and something from the grill, such as a hamburger, hot dog, or Ronny’s beloved French fries or onion rings. Especially with the grill, the earlier in line the better, before the big influx of students. My son Dylan has been walking to Ronny’s with friends since third grade. ‘Some days there’s a long line. It depends when you get there,’ he says. When asked about his daily experience, he explains: ‘I go in. I get some candy. I might get some French fries or onion rings. I eat with my friends.’ On any given day, there might be six to 10 people from his Marquez class, and about 30 from the school’s fifth grade, in addition to some of the younger kids. He likes the fact that most people who work at Ronny’s know his name, which really does contribute to the small-town feeling of the store. Christy Vaughn is a third-generation Palisadian, and her son, Cooper Kilgore, is one of the Marquez fifth graders who feels at home at Ronny’s (Cooper’s dad, Stewart, also grew up in the Palisades). ‘I think it’s cute that the kids are showing some independence and preparing themselves for the ‘scene’ of middle school by hanging out without parents too close by,’ Vaughn said. ‘As long as they are responsible and respect our community, it’s wonderful to let kids be kids and enjoy the company of their peers. My son feels more grown up meeting me somewhere away from school instead of meeting me in the carpool line.’ Despite its compact size, Ronny’s has 1,000 different items spanning a wide spectrum of categories. The grill’s best-sellers are the specials and the French fries. ‘In the candy section it’s everything’we can’t keep enough candy here,’ Durghalli said. ‘Of course soda sells a lot, and Gatorade and Arizona Iced Tea. We sell a lot of wine here, more than beer. When it comes to booze, I’d say vodka is our number-one seller. It’s a vodka town.’ The Revere kids arrive en masse, having taken a dedicated Big Blue Bus from Revere to the corner of Marquez and Sunset. They are chatty, animated and big, and they, too, are well aware of the drill at Ronny’s; many have been doing it since they themselves were at Marquez. They drop their backpacks on the pile and head inside. Brentwood resident Durghalli, 33, is often there that time of day, helping to speed the kids through the line, always cheerful and smiling. ‘Individually they’re all good kids,’ he said, ‘though I can see a generational difference from when I grew up and these kids. We were afraid of adults. They’re not afraid of adults.’ For those who don’t display manners he gently reminds them to say please and thank you, especially when asking for the ubiquitous gummy worm, a tradition started by former owner Naidoo. ‘I have this saying now: Kids are not shy to ask for something. They’re shy to be polite about it,’ Durghalli said. ‘This one kid who’s been coming here forever said, ‘I’m just not used to saying please and thank you.’ He admitted it.’ Despite the mad after-school rush, and the etiquette reminders, Durghalli loves it here. ‘It’s a great neighborhood. It’s a good location,’ Durghalli said. ‘There are so many liquor stores in the city of L.A. and I never would have bought another one but this one.’
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