PEG HOUSE LOOKING FOR NEW OWNERS
In Leggett, across from Standish-hickey State Recreation Area, sits the iconic burger joint, music venue, general store, and gas station, The Peg House, with the memorable slogan, “Never Don’t Stop.”
Owners Diana Ballard-doll and Gary Ballard are ready to retire and are looking for prospective buyers with a similar vision and energy, and $3M. Specifically, Gary said they strive to serve “quality food, a pleasant experience for the customer, in a place of beauty.”
The property contains a barbeque stand that was voted topranking for hamburgers in Sunset Magazine. Customers can enjoy their food on the shaded patio. Diana bakes delicious cookies, brownies and mookies, and makes award winning salad dressings, jams and conserves.
The outdoor redwood stage serves as a music venue during non-pandemic times. There is a general store that sells “everything you need and all the things you didn’t know you needed,” and a gas station.
Diana and Gary have deep
roots in Mendocino County. Diana was originally from Southern California and Gary from the Bay Area.
They met at the Safeway store in Willits during the 1970s and spent years operating the concessions stand at Northspur Station for the Skunk Train. When the railroad went bankrupt, they acquired The Peg House in November 2004 by what Gary affectionately refers to as, “mostly luck”.
Over the years that Gary and Diana owned the roadside attraction, it became ingrained with traditions.
Gary came up with the catch phrase “Never Don’t Stop”. He said he was watching the infamous O. J. Simpson trial at the time and was inf luenced by Johnny Cochran who would say, “It is true, is it not?” when asking questions.
Gary said, “it was such a strange syntactic development,
I always sort of liked the double negative and it does make people pause.” The phrase certainly does seem to make people pause, as the parking lot of the Peg House always seems to have a steady stream of vehicles filling the spaces.
Gary said that owning and managing The Peg House, while it can be a daily grind, “It’s not boring.”
The couple has hosted bands and held music events. Gary’s personal favorite is Labor Day weekend where April Moore and Ranch Party perform as well as Humboldt State University’s (HSU) Marching Lumberjacks and other local Humboldt bands. Both Diana and Gary are HSU alumni and enjoy hosting HSU’S band and sporting teams as they pass through.
Over the years at The Peg House, Gary said, “We have had so many magic moments.”
He described impromptu shows that have manifested when coincidentally HSU’S girls softball team came by the same time as bicycle-banjo player Erin English.
The property was recently listed on the real estate market, however the couple took it off in
June and decided to utilize an unusual means to find potential buyers. They are
putting the word out that The Peg House is available for purchase, to the right person. The property encompasses 5.5 acres and has three small houses, in addition to the gas station and general store. The Peg
House got its name because the construction method for the convenience store and gas station utilized pegs instead of nails to join the timber. The Peg House is located at 69501 US-101 in Leggett.