Meet Tucker and Two New Julian Businesses
Photography by Michael Marois

Above: Tucker Peak Lodge.

By Bobbi Zane

Meet Tucker, a lovable cocker spaniel/long-hair dachshund mix whose image appears on the brochures for two of Julian's newest businesses, Tucker's Treasures and Tucker Peak Lodge.

Tucker belongs to Maryann and Bill Sandkuhl, who recently purchased the former Eagle Landing Bed & Breakfast on Eagle Peak Road and moved a new gift shop into the space that used to hold Bell, Book and Candle on Main Street.

What does a dog have to do with bed and breakfast or a gift shop? Everything, according to Maryann, who says that Tucker brought her and her Pine Hills neighbors together, while she lived in a different house.

"Everyone knew Tucker," because she was in the process of training the puppy and he was everywhere. "They heard me screaming 'Tucker, Tucker' all the time."

Pretty soon, Tucker was trained and became the neighborhood pet.

Photo courtesy of of the Sandkuhl's

Even though the bed and breakfast had not done much business during the period before Maryann purchased it last September, she "never contemplated changing the name. After all, the sign was already there." But three days before opening the B&B, she had a change of heart due to pressure from the neighbors and came up with Tucker Peak Lodge.

Maryann is now the proud owner of a five-guest room bed and breakfast, the first business she has ever owned.

"I don't know what possessed me to do this," she affirms. Although in the next breath she does admit she fell in love with the house and figured she'd learn about the business along the way.

It's working out that way, she says, and the other bed and breakfast innkeepers in Julian have been "very helpful, especially with referrals." She also credits Krisie Morgan and Nancy Greenwood at the Chamber of Commerce with helping her.

"They've always been there for me and I've come a lot further in this short time than I would have if I'd tried to figure it out on my own," she said.

Tucker's Treasures.

Maryann, a longtime resident of East County, already had a weekend home in Pine Hills when she acquired the B&B. Her family has operated furniture stores in La Mesa and Torrance in the Los Angeles area since 1979.

As for Tucker's Treasures, Maryann moved into the store in mid-March, but doesn't yet have the shop up and running. She plans to offer Julian souvenirs, candle accessories, gifts and collectibles, and be open daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.