OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
Rocks of Ages
Vacaville shop has been a gem for customers for decades
STORY AND PHOTOS BY Steve Martarano
Dennis Danielson , in Consolidated Rock & Mineral Shop ’ s amethyst room , has managed the Vacaville store for 25 years .
Two large boulders greet visitors entering Vacaville ’ s Consolidated Rock & Mineral Shop — known informally as the Rock Shop — a hint of the goodies inside .
Yes , the shop has rocks , and visitors quickly realize what a wonderland of polished stones , gems , minerals and fossils from every corner of the world fill the 71-year-old , 15,000-square-foot showroom . “ Every day I come in here is a good day ,” says longtime customer Pam Connelly of Antioch during a visit on a busy Saturday morning in February .
The shop , under new ownership since November 2020 , is among the largest stores of its kind in the U . S ., according to Dennis Danielson , the store ’ s manager for 25 years . As a student at nearby Solano Community College , Danielson would visit almost every day because he was fascinated by the collection and was eventually offered a job in 1987 . Danielson ’ s experience in
20 comstocksmag . com | May 2021