Foodie alert! We carry Double 8 Dairy’s coveted soft serve gelato, known for its density and deliciousness. Double 8 products are only available at very select local restaurants and groceries, and their soft serve is extra rare. Founders Andrew Zlot and Curtis Fjelstul started out by making mozzarella on their Sonoma ranch, building up a small herd to more than …
Wildwonder
New flavors! When founder Rosa Li was growing up, her Chinese grandmother brewed tonics with an array of wild herbs and botanicals. The tonics worked wonders for Rosa, soothing her stomach and lifting her spirits. With her San Francisco-based company Wildwonder, Rosa reimagines the healing drinks of her heritage, where herbal wisdom and gut-healing superfoods meet big fruit flavors. Wildwonder …
Mild Addictions
Venice Beach couple Michelle and Alex are 20-somethings who love to workout and stay fit. They craved a healthier snack bar option than what they saw on grocery shelves, so Michelle decided to create a dessert with minimal ingredients. Out of the kitchen came a fully organic, 70% dark chocolate bar with a Medjool date filling. Mild Addiction bars are …
Zingerman’s
Opened in 1982, Zingerman’s Delicatessen is an Ann Arbor institution known for their made-from-scratch sandwiches and for stocking the very best gourmet cheeses and groceries. The deli has long been the source of great food experiences. Now branching into confections, Zingerman’s Candy Manufactory starts with really good ingredients, like big Virginia peanuts and dark Colombian chocolate, plus others like honey …
North Bay Candleworks
As an RN in the emergency department, Doug Coomer uses his passion for making candles as a form of relaxation. His first influence was his mother’s love for crafts, and Doug started pouring candles with her help at the age of ten. Throughout his life, Doug has made candles as gifts for family and friends. In 2018, he turned a …
Portside
We’re excited to now offer pastries, as well as fresh bread, from Portside Bakery. Based in Sausalito, Portside delivers to Driver’s every Thursday and Sunday morning. Their breads and pastries sell out, so grab yours with your morning coffee from the Deli. Portside is a small, family operation founded by Samuel Schwartz. Sam built up a following at local farmers …
Bolga-Aiya
Sia Yambire was born in northern Ghana, near the famed Bolgatanga weaving region. As a young man, Sia worked with international basket buyers before starting Bolga-Aiya on his own in 1995. While maintaining close ties with artisan weavers, Sia also gives back to his indigenous communities. Numerous projects include funding micro loans, delivering medical supplies, digging a community well in …
Margot’s Morsels
Tiburon baker Milt Hirsch’s passion for making sourdough bread segued into crouton mastery with the help of his wife, Margot. While Milt perfected his sourdough recipes, Margot created delicious croutons from day-old loaves – a.k.a. morsels! When their friends and family started eating them by the handful, she knew they had a hit product. Congrats to Margot’s Good Food Award …
Jacobsen Co. Honey
Ben Jacobsen, founder of Jacobsen Salt Co. in Oregon, has a passion for sustainable honey along with making beautifully crafted, pure sea salt. Through Jacobsen Co. Honey, Ben’s beekeeping team is committed to producing exceptional raw honey that is sustainably harvested, never heated, treated, blended, or ultra-filtered. Each variety is rich in pollen, and has a distinct flavor profile that …
Tam
Greg Moore founded Marin-based Tam CBD Drinks in 2019 with the goal to promote wellness using full-spectrum hemp. Inspired to find balance in daily life, Greg experimented with CBD and juice blends to test their effects on mood, body and function. He developed a line of organic drinks that are infused with CBD from hemp, plus functional ingredients including turmeric, …
Raaka
Raaka is a Brooklyn based craft chocolate maker that focuses on social responsibility as much as great taste. Founder Ryan Cheney discovered “raw” chocolate while traveling in Thailand. Excited by the flavors of unroasted chocolate, he started Raaka -named for the Finnish word for raw– to explore low-temperature chocolate making. After a year of experimentation, Ryan teamed up with musician …
Pop & Bottle
The Pop & Bottle story begins with two women, Jash Metha and Blair Hardy. The pair were great friends who relocated to the West Coast at the same time. As coffee lovers who were also very interested in wellness, Blair and Jash asked themselves why there was nothing on the shelves that met their standards: squeaky clean label, dairy-free, no …
Local, women-owned brands
March is Women’s History Month, and we’re celebrating with a look at female-led brands made here in the Bay Area. At Driver’s, we proudly stock a wealth of women-owned, fully independent food companies (more than we could include in this piece – stay tuned for a follow up!)
If you’re looking for small ways to support women in business this month, look out for these Bay Area labels, always available at Driver’s. These products are award winners, best sellers, renowned trailblazers, and new endeavors. They are all founded and run by innovative, local women who are changing the grocery game.
Flora
Since 1965, Flora Health has provided premium supplements to the American market with the goal of improving people’s lives. Originally importers of European herbal remedies, Flora first branched out to make their own teas. In the 80’s Flora pioneered a technique to produce “truly cold-pressed, unrefined oils” for medicinal and food preparation. In the 90’s, they launched the Udo’s Choice …
Tom Killion
Sausalito artist Tom Killion grew up on the rugged slopes of Mt. Tamalpais where he was inspired by the natural beauty that surrounded him. He began to create landscape prints using linoleum and wood, strongly influenced by the traditional Japanese Ukiyo-ë style of Hokusai and Hiroshige. Tom’s books of illustrations include the acclaimed 28 Views of Mount Tamalpais and his …
Prairie Ale
Prairie Artisan Ales is among the oldest breweries in Oklahoma, with a brewing heritage that goes back to the coal-mining days of prohibition. Owned and operated by a team of beer lovers, fourth generation brewer Zach Prichard, and brothers Colin and Chase Healey, Prairie has won many awards, appearing on several “best all-time beer” lists. They are perhaps best known …
Hodo
Vietnamese refugee Minh Tsai never expected he’d be running one of the top plant-based food companies in the country. Minh simply decided to make the delicious, organic artisan foods he grew up eating in Vietnam, but found elusive in the US. He started with one farmer’s market stand in Oakland fifteen years ago. With Minh’s innovative take on traditional production …
Wildwonder
When founder Rosa Li was growing up, her Chinese grandmother brewed tonics with an array of herbs and botanicals. The tonics worked wonders for Rosa, soothing her stomach and lifting her spirits. With her San Francisco-based company Wildwonder, Rosa reimagines the healing drinks of her heritage, where herbal wisdom and gut-healing superfoods meet big fruit flavors. Wildwonder tonics are inspired …
Grandy Organics
Early in 2022, Aaron Anker announced that his 43 year-old company GrandyOats would change its name to Grandy Organics as it emerged from the pandemic. Based in Hiram, Maine, the company has long been known as a pioneer in certified organic products, and for their grain-free ‘Coconola’ granolas. The rebranding better fits their identity as an organic company. “It’s how …
Bini’s Kitchen
Driver’s Deli is the unofficial Marin outpost of Bini’s Kitchen, making us a foodie destination to those in the know. Binita Pradhan launched Bini’s Kitchen through the food incubator La Cocina in 2012, serving devoted fans of her Nepalese cooking over the years, and opening a brick-and-mortar spot on Howard Street in San Francisco in 2019. We love Bini’s super …