For Hollister resident Cindi Bono, life is too short not to do
what makes you happy.
Hollister – For Hollister resident Cindi Bono, life is too short not to do what makes you happy.
Bono moved to Hollister from San Jose 16 years ago with her husband, Greg. For six months they commuted to the city together, and every morning they passed a little egg ranch that her husband thought would be the perfect spot for a store, she said.
“I thought, oh yeah, cut your income in half, jump into the unknown,” she said. “But the more I commuted I convinced myself it might be a good idea and it was needed.”
A year after moving to Hollister, Bono opened Cindi’s Market on Fairview Road, she said.
For 12 years Bono took pride in working day and night to make her investment a success, she said.
“I met a lot of sweet people – I was part of everybody’s family,” she said. “But then I received breast cancer in 2001 and I decided to close the store.”
Bono discovered the cancer early on, and through chemotherapy and radiation was able to come through a survivor, she said.
Bono took a year off after her bout with cancer, but decided to jump back into the work force and got a job selling real estate with Coldwell Banker, she said.
But the ties from her beloved store on Fairview Road were strong. When former customers John and Tina Bourdet, owners of Bourdet’s Christmas Trees, asked her if she wanted to manage the lot on the corner of Seventh and San Benito streets, she jumped at it.
For four years Bono has worked at the Bourdet’s lot during the holiday season, she said.
“I should be out selling real estate, but I’m selling Christmas trees instead,” she said. “Everybody’s in a joyous mood – it’s Christmas.”
Bono enjoys being outdoors and the physical exertion of cutting and moving the Christmas trees, but it’s the people of Hollister that bring her back every season for more.
“It’s great seeing how the town operates on a daily basis and being with the people,” Bono said. “It breaks the monotony, and there’s no stress!”
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or
em*******@fr***********.com
