By Helen Nielsen
74-14-78-91-01- 2020- 44-5. No that is not the Fibonacci Sequence nor is it Avogadro’s number. It is the numbers marking some of the hallmarks in the life of Richard Rees, who since 2001 has owned the landmark 7–Eleven just east of the I-5 on Palomar Airport Road in Carlsbad. How does a 7–Eleven ownership rate laurels for promoting community health? It is quite a story, which now is only getting better.
Richard’s Father started the landmark store in 1974 and Richard began working there at age 14. During his Valley Jr. High middle school years and as a 1978 grad of Carlsbad High he and his buddies kept up their passion for fitness playing beach volleyball almost religiously at the foot of Elm Street, before it was renamed Carlsbad Village Drive.
In 1991 he married Susan yielding three sons and a daughter. Following in their father’s footsteps all three sons, David, Stephen and Andrew have worked throughout their high school years in the Palomar Airport Road store. Daughter Madison is off at college studying psychology.
Taking ownership from his father in 2001, his passion for health led him to propose new lines of “Health conscious” food offerings at this 7–eleven, which he encouraged corporate to adopt nationwide.
“I remember how excited we were when they accepted the suggestion of a national promotion of a “GO SMART” line of organic, air popped popcorn made with olive oil and Himalayan salt, gluten free with no GMOs. It gave the kids an option other than the yellow chemical puffs stuff which turned their lips pink,” says Rees.
Local health conscious colleagues in the Carlsbad Christmas community jumped on to Rees’s healthy choice bandwagon promoting the new fare.
But within two years corporate had dropped the line. The pressures to adhere to the mantra of the SAD (Standard American Diet) of Fast, Junk and Processed “food” were too much for one little store to break.
Now in 2020 Rees has refocused his passion and is opening a new “CHOP STOP” shop at 258 N. El Comino Real in Encinitas where everything offered will be healthy fare.
“We will be producing the most interesting, nutritious and delicious ‘salad’ you will ever encounter,” says Rees. We call it “Chop Stop” because the five choices of greens are cut so extremely fine you can eat it with a spoon. The secret, however, is that this leaves room for the 44 veggie, fruit, proteins, beans and grains, cheeses and other REAL FOOD crunches you can add to your choices of salad greens making your own creation both unique to your taste, delicious and extraordinarily healthy. The dressings are all health conscious, creamy, vinaigrettes and fat-free.
My sons and I will open the new store the end of this June, says Rees just in time to supply the community with healthy fare which will further boost their immune systems while satisfying their hunger and craving for real food.
Rees, points out their name is Welsh, not English as he favors embracing the world, not Brexiting or exiting from it. He invites everyone who misses the infectious smile that customers have come to know over the last 46 years to come try the new fare.
The Encinitas store will be the first Chop Stop in the county and with its success he intends to open more in North County.
