After the decision to close Dorothy McNett’s Place was made,
Dorothy’s son, Paul McNett decided something needed to be done to
help his mom out. She was deep in debt.
So Paul reformatted his mother’s old Website, happycookers.com,
to give those who loved her store an opportunity to donate money to
help her out. So far, with little publicity, the site has received
33 donations totaling $1,141.
Hollister – After the decision to close Dorothy McNett’s Place was made, Dorothy’s son, Paul McNett decided something needed to be done to help his mom out. She was deep in debt.
So Paul reformatted his mother’s old Website, happycookers.com, to give those who loved her store an opportunity to donate money to help her out. So far, with little publicity, the site has received 33 donations totaling $1,141.
Kathleen MacWilliamson and her husband were among the first to donate. The couple recently opened their own winery, Teague Vineyards, and sold a few cases of their wine to McNett.
“She’s a fabulous business woman and a fabulous person,” MacWilliamson said. “We wanted to do what little we could to help her out because we think the world of her.”
MacWilliamson said that she is confident that McNett will be back.
“She will be back in some respect,” MacWilliamson said. “Either with cooking classes or a wine and cheese store or something.”
McNett opened a modest kitchen store in the Rite Aid shopping center on Sunnyslope Road in 1991, after cooking classes she was teaching in her condo became so popular she decided to open her own business.
The store was so successful that after three years she migrated to Sixth Street, where she stayed for seven years. When she launched her business into cyberspace in the late 1990s things took off, and she eventually moved into a much larger store on San Benito Street.
Unfortunately, right after moving into the huge store, 9-11 hit, and an already sagging economy took a nose dive. On shaky financial ground as a result of her move, it seriously affected all aspects of her business, McNett said.
Several years later, McNett downsized a couple times before finally throwing in the towel May 26.
Hollister resident Mary Leakey, who has been a customer at Dorothy McNett’s Place since before it moved to San Benito Street, also donated to help McNett.
“I love the shop,” Leakey said. “And it was Dorothy who made the shop wonderful.”
Leakey said that she had downloaded many of McNett’s recipes and decided to give something back.
“She’s a very special lady and is very forthcoming with her knowledge,” Leakey said. “She’s always been very friendly.”
Leakey was not the only one to download McNett’s recipes. According to her website, www.happycookers.com, her recipes have been downloaded 2.8 million times.
“I’ve certainly downloaded my share of her recipes,” said Sharlene Van Rooy, another contributor. “I felt like I should help out.”
Van Rooy had been a long-time customer at Dorothy McNett’s Place and attended her Tuesday night cooking classes.
“I think her store was important because it was a place where you could go and everyone knew you,” Van Rooy said. “It was the way Hollister businesses should be.”
Van Rooy said that she is not worried about McNett’s future.
“She’ll be back, in some re-incarnation of Dorothy,” Van Rooy said. “I want her to come back and do something, not for all of us, but for herself.”
Although Dorothy McNett’s Place will be closed this week, it will be open for business again on Monday, June 20.
McNett called the donations “an outpouring of generosity.”
“We touched something in people,” McNett said. “Food and wine bring humanity together.”
Brett Rowland covers education for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
