The Cunha Store was a connection to the past

Under the round corner tower was the entrance to the Index Saloon, and the place was for a time called the Index Corner. It also housed Francis Brothers grocery store and another ground floor business, a barber shop. There was a social hall upstairs that was used for entertainment, dances and meetings. The Volunteer Fire Department used to meet there. There was also an apartment on the upper floor. In 1897, when the Sunset Telephone Company brought phone service to Half Moon Bay, the exchange was located in the building at Kelly and Main streets. Around 1925, Joe and Bill Cunha opened their store in the building. It had been there ever since.

Debenedetti was an early arrival when the little village of Spanishtown grew to provide goods and services to the surrounding farmers. Originally from Genoa, Italy, Debenedetti traveled regularly from San Francisco by foot in the 1860s and 70s, selling goods that he carried on his back. In 1872 he moved to Spanishtown to manage a general store in leased quarters on Main Street. He went into business with his sister's husband, Joe Cereghino. He married a local girl and bought property in town. He built a home and office, and eventually expanded to open another general store in Pescadero. The village referred to as Spanishtown in its early days was called Half Moon Bay by around 1900. Debenedetti became a civic leader, serving as postmaster, school board member, land developer and San Mateo County supervisor.

The extensive Cunha family were even earlier arrivals from the Azores. Their roots go back to the early Portuguese colony in the Half Moon Bay area. Ben Cunha, a contractor, did much of the remodeling of the building. In 1924 he removed the turret and railing for Debenedetti. The Index Saloon was gone by then, and the store had been expanded to cover the whole front. The saloon door at the corner under the turret overhang was gone also. Joe and William Cunha rented the store space and eventually the Cunha family bought the property. For a while, Joya Cunha, William's widow, occupied the apartment at the rear of the upper floor. Since then, the apartment has been rented at times as an office. The building had further remodeling around 1976 when the store expanded into part of the upstairs area. Beverly Cunha Ashcraft, who has operated the Cunha Country Store in modern times was William P. Cunha's daughter.

The building has served as a social center for Half Moon Bay over the years.

It is the feeling that people got from being in the store that will be missed. Like comfort food, some things just make you feel warm and at home. The Cunha Country Store did that.

For more information on this or related topics, visit the San Mateo County History Museum, 777 Hamilton St., Redwood City.<