Penngrove landmark Palace of Fruit making progress toward remodel after crippling fire

The owners of Penngrove’s Palace of Fruit are charting a comeback for the beloved roadside produce stand more than six months after it was gutted by flames.

Plans for the remodel, propelled in part by a generous fundraising campaign, were expected to go before county permitting officials this week, as Ken Ebertus and wife Gina work to restore the local landmark.

For Ebertus, who inherited the business his parents began more than 60 years ago, it was critical that reconstruction incorporate as much of the original elements as possible – from the sales floor layout to the original signage.

“I want to keep some of those old funky things as a remembrance of what is used to be,” he said. “We had so many people coming in the front door and saying it hasn’t changed since they were kids. So I’m trying to keep everything as it was before, down to the squeaks in the floor.”

The family-run shop at the corner of Ely Road and Old Redwood Highway has been in the hands of the Ebertus clan since 1958, when his parents, German immigrants, purchased the roadside open-air market.

The business became a southern Sonoma County staple. Its unchanging façade evoked childhood memories for some visitors, while its rows of fresh produce provided a reliable haunt for locals.

But last September, in the aftermath of a high-speed car pursuit, the stand’s decades of uninterrupted business came to an end.

The driver of a sedan carrying four people drove into the Palace of Fruit after 3 a.m. Sep. 12, 2020, following high-speed pursuit by police. The fuel tank ruptured, and flames quickly engulfed the largely wooden structure.

Police were able to rescue the occupants, with three experiencing minor to major injuries. Yet in the hours after the fiery crash, first responders said the popular market building was likely a total loss.

“My crib used to be in the office, I spent my whole life there,” Ebertus said, recalling the depth of his attachment to the original building. “We were there for 60 years and it was gone in 60 minutes.”

While Ebertus and his family picked through the rubble, neighbors and generous community members throughout Sonoma County created a GoFundMe account to help. Within a week, the campaign collected more than $22,000 from hundreds of donors. As of this week, that amount topped $37,000 from 612 donors.

Although the business still had its wholesale operation going, the pandemic cut profits by 25%, Ebertus said. In the months since losing the storefront, the GoFundMe has primarily gone toward helping to keep the wholesale side afloat and retain as many employees as possible, he said. The business also obtained a federal paycheck protection loan worth $40,000 last year, he said.

A majority of the remaining costs to rebuild should be covered by insurance, Ebertus said, though final cost estimates aren’t yet available.

As the months have worn on, the business has received some questions from loyal customers about when the remodel will be completed – a process that Ebertus says has been slightly delayed in recent months after a tragic loss in the family.

“The building doesn’t look so bad from the outside, and I think that’s what frustrates people about not being open” Ebertus said. “But there’s places on the inside where you can stick your finger through the wall it’s so charred. The paint is holding the wood together, it’s just torched.”

Ebertus said he’s not sure when work will start on the rebuild. But when it does, he’s certain the many neighbors and regulars who check in will be among the first to know.

“Personally, I miss the hell out of it,” Ebertus said. “I know others do, too. My wife and I would go to work every day for years to chit chat and feel like we were taking care of people. But right now, we drive by the burned building and look at it, and I just want that gone.”

(Contact Kathryn Palmer at kathryn.palmer@arguscourier.com, on Twitter @KathrynPlmr.)