The popular farm stand on Riverside Avenue in Hoquiam changed owners recently as Jeff Franko, the stand’s past owner, retired a couple weeks ago.

Since his retirement, Franko has made known the new owners, Jessica Kalama and her husband Kobe, are “wonderful people.” The Kalama family live in Cosmopolis and have strong roots in Grays Harbor County.

PNW Fresh, the new name for the farm stand — 1948 Riverside Ave., in Hoquiam, opened on Thursday, July 11 with a barbecue when they served burgers, hot dogs and fresh melon. They also priced everything for the day at 20% off to celebrate PNW Fresh’s opening.

It was stocking day on Tuesday and the shelves, one by one, were getting fuller by the minute with a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables.

The Kalamas, with their five young children — aged one through 12, have come in and are revamping the business. And the couple, not only are they selling local product, plus out-of-area product that doesn’t come from Washington state, they’re local too.

Jessica, a 2012 graduate of Aberdeen High School who teaches special education pre-schoolers at Hoquiam High School, and Kobe, a 2015 graduate of Lake Quinault, are trying to sell “hyper-local” produce. Jessica explained how PNW Fresh came together.

“Several months ago we called Jeff (Franko) about buying the farm stand,” Jessica said.

Jessica has known Franko for several years. She worked at then-Franko’s Farmstand “one summer during COVID.” While she wasn’t sold on making the farm stand her business then, she’s sold now.

“We have a vision of connecting local produce with people in the area,” Jessica said. “We get products from all over, but we also have produce from right here in Hoquiam.”

The changing of ownership has been seamless.

“Jeff’s been really supportive,” Jessica said. “His employees have all made it go really smoothly.”

Emily Tageant, cashier and stocker for PNW Fresh, talked about the change from working for Franko to working for the Kalamas. Tageant has worked at the farm stand for the last nine months.

“It’s been really recent, but I’m fine with change,” Tageant said. “(The Kalamas) have been really good at communicating.”

Tageant likes how the Calamas have been flexible about keeping some elements how they were when Franko ran the business. There’s no reason to reinvent the wheel when Franko already had himself a bit of a following.

“When they came in, they had a lot of new ideas,” Tageant said. “Some worked, some haven’t. They’ve been really good at listening to my ideas about what worked with Jeff and then using the best of both (sets of ideas).”

According to Tageant, the farm stand has been “really busy” in the near week since they’ve been open.

“Our whole customer base was curious as to what they were gonna do,” Tageant said.

The Kalamas like their customers and can’t wait to see more.

“The community has been very welcoming and encouraging,” Jessica said, adding, “People are noticing the changes and they seem excited.”

“It’s been a rush,” Kobe said. “Slowly but surely making progress, making everything look nice and presentable.”

What’s the most fun part of running the business?

“Interacting with the customers, that’s been the most fun really,” Kobe said. “Seeing them all come back in.”

How is it to work the farm stand with your wife?

“That’s been fun, too,” Kobe said. “Differing opinions, but she’s definitely the brains behind the operation for sure.”

Jessica’s glad they were able to take over the stand in the summer. With her job as a teacher, the timing has allowed her to be more hands-on. But Kobe will be at the stand every day and will be throughout the year.

Challenges

Franko has said through the last couple years that he’s heard people say how running a farm stand is easy work And then how you just have to order the supply and when it arrives, stock it.

Jessica knows there’s a lot more to it.

“There’s definitely a lot more involved,” Jessica said. “Minimizing waste is always a priority and a challenge. You’ve gotta be on your toes with record keeping. Finding a balance of how much to order, when to order, staffing, all of those things.”

Jessica spoke briefly about the hardest part.

“I think the hardest part of any new business is everything it takes in the beginning to get it running smoothly,” Jessica said.

Changes

The changes PNW Fresh has made have been the produce selection — including more organic produce and hyper-local produce — and the tent and display.

But that’s not all.

“We should be approved to accept EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer) very soon, like in the next two weeks,” Jessica said.

Jessica said the approval process for EBT hasn’t been hard yet, but there “might be some hiccups.”

A positive for the Kalamas is they already have experience in business management since they run JUMP! Party Rentals. The company rents out equipment for foam parties, water slides, bouncy houses and many other party-oriented equipment.

“Anything for a party, that’s what we do,” Jessica said about JUMP! Party Rentals.

Thoughts on Jeff Franko

Kobe is familiar with Franko from when Franko would referee Kobe’s games at Lake Quinault High School. Kobe was a point guard back then.

“I grew up in Lake Quinault so he refereed a lot of my basketball games,” Kobe said. “I’ve been around him (for) a little while.”

Kobe shared a couple thoughts on Franko’s retirement.

“I’m hoping he’s living it up,” Kobe said. “He worked hard for a lot of years and now he can relax and be less stressed.”

Tageant, who worked for Franko for nine months, recalled fondly her time working for Franko. But she sounded excited for the future.

“Working with Jeff was really great,” Tageant said. “But it kind of needed a change and I like what Jessica and Kobe have brought.”

While Franko’s run with the farm stand is over, he left it in good reputation. The farm stand won another of The Daily World’s Best of Twin Harbors award.

Outside opinion

Noel Johnson, a produce merchandiser for United Salad Co., was shucking and stocking white and bi-colored sweet corn at the entrance of the stand on Tuesday.

Johnson seemed to be in a good mood and he seemed to enjoy working alongside Kobe, Jessica, Tageant, and the other staff there.

“(I’ve been) working with them for all of three hours,” Johnson said, before he gave his thoughts about the Kalamas. “It’s just nice to see a local family bringing business to the area.”

Contact Reporter Matthew N. Wells at matthew.wells@thedailyworld.com.

Matthew N. Wells / The Daily World Noel Johnson, a produce merchandiser from United Salad Co., was shucking and stocking white and bi-colored sweet corn shipped from Brentwood, California on Tuesday for PNW Fresh — 1948 Riverside Ave., in Hoquiam. The stand, formerly known as Franko’s Farmstand, has new owners in Jessica and Kobe Calama.