Longtime SLO lumber yard is pulling up roots and moving to Paso Robles
A lumber yard that has done business in San Luis Obispo since 1996 is moving to Paso Robles.
Pacific Coast Lumber is relocating from 445 Prado Road in SLO, near the U-Haul dealer.
The business is in the midst of moving to 720 Paso Robles St., near the Salinas River.
Owner Sean O’Brien said that he has his wife, Dana O’Brien, who operates the adjacent SLO business A Place to Grow, recently bought the Paso Robles commercial property and they’ll move both businesses to the new site.
They expect to fully open in Paso Robles in mid-December, O’Brien said.
They were previously leasing the property in SLO, sharing the site space there. The new site has about 5,000 square feet of business space, versus about 2,200 square feet at the current location.
“We had been looking in SLO, but nothing seemed to work out, whether it was the cost or zoning,” O’Brien. “We found this property, and it all came together with a quick business license and the right space for us. ... We closed escrow in September.”
A long SLO history
Pacific Coast Lumber, originally owned by Don Seawater and sold to the O’Briens in 2015, mills woods from local urban forests, including walnut, redwood, pine, cypress and sycamore.
O’Brien said the business repurposes trees that are dead, diseased or hazardous.
“We get most of it for free by helping homeowners not to have to pay to remove trees,” O’Brien said. “Sometimes we’ll pay for certain types of wood. But mostly we’ll do the pickup so arborists don’t have to haul them off.”
These are trees that have typically lived their “useful lives and are ready to find a new purpose,” according to Pacific Coast’s website. “This style of logging and milling is what produces urban forested lumber. The benefits of repurposing these trees are tremendous. Local resources stay local thereby reducing their carbon footprint.”
The website adds: “Another advantage is carbon sequestration, which occurs when local natural resources are crafted into durable and lasting products.”
The business also crafts custom items, such as benches, chairs, picnic tables and a variety of backyard furniture.
A Place to Grow builds outdoor lifestyle structures, sheds and other types of projects, including yoga retreats, primarily out of reclaimed materials.
Dana O’Brien has operated A Place to Grow for the past eight years.
Moving sale will offer deals to customers
O’Brien said that an inventory sale of 10% to 60% off of existing slabs and boards will run from now until the move.
O’Brien, a former computer software engineer, said he bought the business because it helps supply A Place to Grow with repurposed materials for its projects.
In a newsletter email to 3,500 customers, O’Brien said that many urged him to stay in SLO and asked what they could do to help, but the decision had already been made.
“We will continue to get our wood from throughout the county,” he said. “That’s not changing.”
Together, the enterprises employ eight full-time staff and a few part-time workers, all of whom will continue on in the new location in Paso Robles.
“A Place to Grow is doing really well right now because people are at home now and have time to do these types of projects,” Sean O’Brien said. “Both of our businesses have picked up actually.”
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