Paul Wellman

Left to right Al, Alex, and Mo

A familiar business name with a totally new home—and look—opened its glass doors last month in Goleta’s El Encanto Heights: Happy Harry’s Produce. Once a fixture at the corner of Hollister and Patterson, the tented produce stand has evolved into a sturdy two-story, ochre-colored building boasting breads, nuts, wines, and selected refrigerated goods as well as a variety of fresh produce, much of it organic.

In short, western Goleta has its first grocery store north of Highway 101, even if it arrived 50 years after residential suburbs sprang up on the Heights. Happy Harry’s prices are competitive and, living up to its name, vegetables and fruits are emphasized. It is not a supermarket, but it already is developing an intriguing wine section (next to the coffee machine) and has other wares not usually found in the traditional neighborhood market.

Mo Abbass Ali (aka “Harry”) has taken the family-run business to the next level with the help of partners Al Ebrahimi and Alex Heidarian. The three have known each other for decades, but credit Ali’s passion for bringing healthy food to the people of the Good Land for making the grocery store, at Calle Real and Glen Annie, a reality.

Ali’s agricultural roots and love of the land can be traced to his boyhood in a riverside village northwest of Tehran. His parents owned orchards and sold fruit for a living, and they had a small truck garden where young Mo discovered that vegetables could be things of joy. “I loved seeing peoples’ faces light up when they found a beautiful tomato or a delicious cucumber. I still do,” says Ali. He has been buying and selling produce in Santa Barbara and the Goleta Valley virtually ever since moving here with his family in 1981.

He also enjoys chatting with customers and answering questions about food preparation. “Most people don’t know that Mo is an excellent cook,” says friend and partner Al Ebrahimi.

In pursuit of veggies and fruits for his original stands, Ali wove a supply network of contacts with growers in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. He continues today to oversee that end of the business in the new location while also tending to the retail side. Often he can be found artfully stocking the onion bins or carefully arranging the lettuces and radishes on the wet shelves. He also enjoys chatting with customers and answering questions about food preparation.

“Most people do not know that Mo is an excellent cook,” says Ebrahimi, who worked for Joslyn Electronics when he met Ali 27 years ago. They became friends and, later, business partners, but Ebrahimi stayed with the electronics firm until 2002. When the Hollister lot Ali rented was sold in 1997, the two friends bought the land on which Happy Harry’s now stands.

Escrow closed in late 1998, but unbeknownst to Ali and Ebrahimi it was only the beginning of a torturous process that would discourage most mortals. This area was then under county jurisdiction, and Ali asked about a temporary building permit for a produce stand on his lot. He was told it would take around nine months for the county to process either a temporary or permanent permit, so the partners decided to invest in architectural plans for a permanent structure.

As the permitting process dragged along, Ebrahimi took responsibility for dealing with the county agencies. Progress was made on land use and building design requirements, he says, so that by 2001 “we had full approval” for the 3,000 square-foot building’s design. Ebrahimi added that county officials told the partners that since their lot, once a Shell gas station, had paid traffic mitigation fees on the original use, the new owners would not be charged these fees.

“Many of our friends told us to give up,” recalled Ebrahimi, “but Mo was my inspiration.”

The City of Goleta was voted into existence in November 2001, and incorporated three months later. All county building permits were placed on hold while the new city gathered staff and began to consider its land use policies. It adopted the county’s regulations but, eventually, Ebrahimi and Ali were given disheartening news: They would have to start the approval process over and, worse, they faced traffic mitigation fees that grew from $180,000 to just under $250,000. Some neighbors complained that the market would generate too much traffic and block views.

The partners vowed to fight the fees. A former Goleta councilmember recalled: “They had a tough time” securing the city’s various permits and paying the fees. It took years.

“Many of our friends told us to give up,” recalled Ebrahimi, “but Mo was my inspiration. He always said to keep going.” In the end, they agreed to pay the fees, and Alex Heidarian, a retired computer hard drive wholesaler, was brought in as the third partner and general manager. He had known Ali since their college days at the University of Missouri 34 years ago, and now he refers to the trio as “the three musketeers.”

Each brings to the business different strengths and takes pride in their combined accomplishments. “About 75 percent of our produce is locally grown,” says Heidarian. “And 90 percent of our wines, if you consider those made in the state to be local.” He estimates 35 percent are from tri-county wineries.

Though it took a decade, the partners have secured a proper place to display their wares. As their ad in a local coupon clipper proclaimed, “Happy Harry’s Is Finally Open!” However, Happy Harry’s future now depends on its customers, and once again the clock is ticking.

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