Vacaville's Nut Tree began as a roadside fruit stand

Vacaville’s Nut Tree started small. In 1921, Helen and Ed “Bunny” Power set up a fruit stand by the road after a bad crop year. That simple stand grew into one of California’s best-known travel stops between the Bay Area and the Sacramento Valley.

Part of the appeal was timing. Vacaville had a strong fruit and nut history, and more people were driving across the state. A good stop on the road could become a family habit. The Nut Tree grew from fruit stand to restaurant, shop, airport, plaza, and memory maker. By the late 1940s, the restaurant was serving large crowds every day.

The original era ended when the old Nut Tree closed in 1996. That could have been the whole story. Instead, the site reopened in 2006 as a mixed-use development that kept pieces of the old identity alive.

For Vacaville, the Nut Tree is more than nostalgia. It shows how a farm-town location turned into a travel landmark. People needed a rest between bigger cities, and Vacaville gave them a stop they remembered.