Two years after people told Josie Rietkerk she was crazy to open a gluten-free grocery store, her business has grown so much that she's had to move to a new shop twice the original size.
"We've been so busy," Rietkerk said. "Opening weekend we sold out of bread."
Rietkerk opened stellaLucy Gluten-Free Market in a 1,000-square-foot shop in San Clemente in 2008. Last week she moved to a bigger space. She sells about 2,000 gluten-free products, from frozen pizza to doughnuts. She plans to add about 1,000 more products and accept food stamps soon.
She likens her shop's growth to a jump in the number of people diagnosed with gluten intolerance. Gluten is a binding element often found in wheat, rye or barley and can cause health issues such as migraines and canker sores. Children with autism are sometimes put on a gluten-free diet. Her whole family, from her husband to her grandchildren, Stella, 5, and Lucy, 12, can't eat gluten.
There's a potential market of 25 million people in the United States for a gluten-free diet, according to the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America, a nonprofit that certifies gluten-free products.
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