BY The East Cape Burro
The addition of a convenience store in Los Zacatitos is saving thousands of East Cape residents the long drive into town for food, drinks and essential household supplies. 'Central Station,' constructed from retrofitted shipping containers, is a stone's throw up from Zac's Bar and Grill and is already proving itself an invaluable lifeline for both residents and local trabajadores (workers) alike.
The brainchild of New Zealand-born Canadian Reece Tasker, 'Central Station' is the first of its kind since James Rictor closed his Los Zacatitos Surf Shop in 2006. Since then, the population of Los Cabos has almost doubled, many of them expats retiring to the scattered communities east of San Jose del Cabo. Completely off-grid, the fabricated shipping containers housing Central Station are fully solar-powered and fitted with plumbing and purified water. As with any endeavor in the sticks of Los Cabos, their opening last Monday was not without its teething problems. After discovering their solar panels couldn't meet the demands of their ice chests, Tasker decided to give the three hundred 5kg bags of ice to customers, free of charge.
"It's so convenient having a store here in Zacs," says Phil, an English-born Zacatitos local for three years, "so we don't have to drive all the way to San Jose and fill the pockets of corporate stores. Saving time, effort and gas."
Beyond groceries, Central Station also serves as a mail-receiving center for residents unable to secure deliveries to their informal, off-grid addresses. Until the municipal government formalizes the address next year, Tasker embarks on bi-weekly trips into town to retrieve the packages and store them at Central Station.
