Community Corner

Shopping Local: Oliver's Called a True Neighborhood Gem

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Oliver's Market — the Cotati-based grocery that's sprouted since the late 1980s from a hasty streetside produce vendor traveling over mostly Northern California selling fresh produce, to a widly popular marketplace is still focused on its roots: selling locally produced, seasonal foodstuffs.

It is that commitment, to source meats, eggs, produce, wines and hundreds of other products, from Sonoma County-based vendors that's driven the store's success, even through a recession.

Though the company that currently operates three (plus a new one coming to Windsor) stores to find a permanent home in Cotati, Tom Scott, who is the vice president and general manager, said recently that this year the grocery is boasting double-digit sales, compared to 2010.

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"Some of it is I think, we're getting better at what we do," Scott said, who sat across from founder and president Steve Maass in thier Rohnert Park-based headquarters. "Our 'Go Local' program has helped a lot."

Maass, who sat adjacent to Scott during an hour-long interview and was in almost constant conversation with various vendors, turned one ear to Scott and cupped one hand over the phone.

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"It's what we do," he blurted.

Scott said as a company, Oliver's netted about $2 million in profits in 2010, and this year they've been even more successful.

"That's huge, considering we're in the middle of the worst recession you and I have seen in our lifetime," he said bluntly.

Going Local

Scott explained why he thinks it works. Maass broke from his phone conversations intermittenly to echo what his business partner said.

Oliver's caught a wave, Scott says. The growing regional demand to know where the food on our tables was coming from, who was raising and planting it and what was in it, was growing in people's conciousness. There was an increased demand for sustainably-produced meats, organic produce and other locally-grown things.

"At the same time I started to think about it, my customers started to think about it — what does local really mean," he says.

Scott described an experience he had in an area Whole Foods. There was this strawberry that was being sold as "local." It was from Oxnard, Calif., a small mostly agricultural town south of Santa Barbara.

"To me, that wasn't local," says Scott. "So we refocused. We changed our definition. It used to sort of be regional — it was Sonoma County or any of the surrounding counties – Napa, Lake, Solano. But now if it says local it means just Sonoma County."

The company completely revamped thier business-to-business relationships. To the owners, being local not only meant looking at where their food being sold came from, but also, who they were doing business with and who they were employing.

They dropped large corporate accounts, such as Staples. A few examples: toilet paper comes from Fishman Supply in Petaluma, refrigeration is done by Wayne's Refrigeration out of Sebastopol, Santa Rosa-based Bowman Electric services the stores electrical needs, Summit State Bank handles the finances for Oliver's.

Moreso, the business focused on local philanthropy, giving money to Sonoma County schools, nonprofits, the local food bank and other organizations like Boy Scouts. Owners aimed to hire locally and also commissioned an economic study from Sonoma State University's School of Business and Economics.

"Simple economics suggests that the more locally-sourced good purchased from locally-grown grocers, the larger benefits to the local community," according to the study. Other notable outtakes:

  • For every $100 spent at Oliver's on local goods, versus buying the same goods at a national or regional chain, there is at least a 32 percent larger economic impact on Sonoma County.
  • In 2010, Oliver's purchased about 22 percent of its products from local vendors, not including business-to-business.
  • Oliver's generates at least 32 percent more in local and state taxes due to buying and selling local.
  • The market's current operations provide more than $84 million in business revenue for the county annually, $8.5 million in state and local taxes and creates or sustains nearly 700 local jobs. Currently the company employs 550 people, 390 of which are full time. The rest are mostly college or high school students.
  • For every job that’s created at Oliver's, the overall economy gets another 7/10 of one job because of the connections made there, thus growing the local workforce and economy.
  • For the purchase of a Sonoma County product from Oliver's, the economic impact is double that of buying a national brand at a chain store. For example, buying Taylor Maid Coffee from Oliver's has twice the economic impact of buying Folger's Coffee from Safeway.

The 20-plus page study went into detail about the ripple effects of sourcing and running a business with a "local first" ideology. But basically, says Scott, it's about education.

"There’s this other economic benefit that if you’re shoping with us you’re serving a agreater purpose — you’re helping the neighbor down the street keep his job because that money is recirculating through the economy more profoundly than if you’re shoppig at Safeway or Target or some place like that," he explained.

The Bottom Line

Owners said, however, that none of this matters if it doesn't translate to value for the customers.

Maass and Scott both said that although the company is growing in revenue and the business is becoming stronger, that doesn't mean their wallets are getting fatter.

"Steve and I are the owners, but as we get bigger, that doesn't mean we get richer," Scott said. "We don’t take any more out of the company, so the bigger we get, the more efficiencies or scale we get, we pass that along to our customers."

The two said the success of the company has allowed them to compete with other retailers, such as Safeway and Raley's. They still sell more well-kown products, such as Prego sauces and Tide.

But they've also got artisan olive oils and stuff from McEvoy Ranch in Petaluma, canned goods from Sonoma County-based Amy's Kitchen, coffee from Taylor Maid Farms in Sebastopol, beer from Russian River Brewing Company, nine varieties of apples, potatoes from Blankity Blank farms also in Sebastopol, Cowgirl Creamery cheeses from Petaluma, meats from Zoe's and milk from Strauss — the list goes on.

"When it comes to Tide and that kind of thing we’re really competitive right now; I do think being local only matters if it translates to how you deliver value to your customers," says Scott. "But, depending on what you buy, sometimes at Oliver’s you might pick up a piece of Brie cheese that you might not pick up when you’re at Safeway or you may end up buying some really great apples that are expensive, but you’re getting something for that."

"I know our Clover milk cost less than it dos at the chains," he added. "And I know I negotiate better deals for coffee with Taylor Maid because we know these guys we’ere getting better deals from them."

"More Than a Neighborhood Grocery"

Founded in 1988 by Maass, Oliver's over the last 24 years has garnered a bevvy of environmental, green business practices and sustainability awards, including a 2011 award for leadership in sustainability from the Leadership Institute for Ecology and the Economy. Oliver's also cleaned up awards at this year's Sonoma County Harvest Fair, held in Santa Rosa, including best pastry, best "sweepstakes" and best dessert.

For consumers, that platter of awards means more education, and a price-point that's reachable.

Naomi Starkman, of Sebasotpol, said she shops at Oliver's nearly every day, as she carried a brown paper bag brimming with eggs, yellow peppers and butternut squash.

"I shop here becuse I believe in supporting local businesses," Starkman said. "It's important to me that they source locally, and to me, the prices are fair."

Starkman added that the employees make the shopping experience even more enjoyable.

Vera Ciammetti, of Alameda, said through tasting different varieties of produce and learning more about sustainably-produced foods, she's made it a priority to stop at Oliver's any time she passes Cotati on the freeway.

"It's about celebrating local," Ciammetti said. "When I'm here, I never not stop at Oliver's."

For Laura and Harold Vance, of Rohnert Park, Oliver's is more of a treat. They shopped on a recent day for their favorite bread and a piece of nice cheese.

"We like to come for a treat," Laura said.

As for Scott and Maass (who by the way are both Los Angeles transplants, as they often point out), the future of the company is changing right now. The company announced this week that it plans to open a Windsor store according to the Press Democrat, and the current Cotati location is likely to move to an already-purchased plot on Old Redwood Highway.

"We're having trouble negoitating our lease with our current landlord, but we also are in the middle of this Old Red plan," Scott said. "We're going to do everything we can to stay in Cotati — we love it here we try to express that in our store."

Correction: This article previously stated that Oliver's banks at Exchange Bank. In fact, the company banks at Summit State Bank.


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