Mel Eligon and Austin McManus opened Public Land in San Francisco on June 21 while still living in Sacramento, commuting two hours to operate the Inner Richmond store at 201 Clement St. and 3rd Ave. The pair alternate shifts so one can remain in Sacramento with their five-year-old, and they stayed at friends' places in the city when the store was open. They plan to move to San Francisco soon. Public Land grew from their passion for natural landscapes and camping and from noticing a lack of artistic shops after moving to Sacramento in 2017. The original 2018 Sacramento location is plant-focused and is run by longtime employees.
At first, for the four days a week that their store, Public Land, is open, the pair and their young daughter crashed at their friends' places in the city. On other days, they stayed at their Sacramento home and drove two hours to the store at 201 Clement St. and 3rd Ave. in the Inner Richmond. Now, they switch off, with Eligon or McManus operating the store while the other stays in Sacramento with their five-year-old.
Eligon and McManus plan to move to the city soon, but in the meantime, this is the sacrifice they're willing to make for a store born of the pair's passion for natural landscapes and a shared belief that a highly curated store with handmade items will do well. Its name - Public Land - comes from their love of camping and exploring in places like the Mojave Desert, where you can pitch a tent in remote areas.
"We wanted to create something that was our own," McManus said. "I think that we both realized that we were just working for people that didn't really value us as much as we valued what we were doing."
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