People
Tom Turner, his partner, Diana Rodgers, and his sons Jake and Jim Turner, along with 6 employees
Farmland
4 acres in Penngrove, 46 miles to the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market
About
In 2008, after 40 years of farming and selling wholesale cut flowers in San Diego, Tom Turner decided to move his operation to Sonoma County. On their certified organic farm, the Turner family uses a variety of methods, such as using greenhouses and shadehouses, to ensure the best possible results for the flowers they plant. They never use pesticides, and they also implement other sustainable practices, such as using well water and organic composting.
People
Rafael Garcia and his family, with 1 full-time and 1 part-time employee
Farmland
4.5 acres in Pajaro, 93 miles to the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market
About
Rafael Garcia was raised in Michoacán, Mexico, where his family grew corn and beans along with raising cattle. Rafael first developed his knowledge of agriculture through learning from his father on the farm. After arriving in California, he began working for large commercial farms. In 2014, he began growing his own strawberries in the same field where he once planted the fruit as a farmworker. Now, RHJ Farms, grows strawberries, onions, potatoes, cabbage, kale, carrots, zucchini, and tomatoes. His prize crop, strawberries, accounts for over half of his sales.
People
William Henpenn, with 7 full-time employees
Farmland
15 acres in Petaluma, 36 miles to the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market
About
William Henpenn gained decades of experience as a Michelin-starred chef, restaurateur, and sommelier in Oregon and New York City before settling down in Sonoma County. In his first farming operation, Kicking Bull Farm, William only sold to chefs at local restaurants, which led business to come to a halt during the pandemic when many restaurants were forced to shut down. After closing Kicking Bull Farm, William expanded his product range to include unique, chef-driven crops such as turmeric, edible flowers, and young ginger. He also broadened his customer base by joining local farmers markets across the Bay Area and continuing his long-standing relationships with local restaurants such as Atelier Crenn, Lazy Bear, and Saison.
Umbel Roots Farm is certified organic and soon to be certified biodynamic by the Demeter Association. They use no-till farming methods and conserve water by using low-emitting sprinkler heads and growing multiple crops in one row. Following biodynamic standards, Umbel Roots makes teas with compost, which are fed to plants instead of fertilizers, along with other sustainability practices, such as setting aside 10% of their acreage for biodiversity.
Certifications
California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF), Demeter Biodynamic Certification
People
Nikki Garcia
Where
Oakland
About
San Francisco native Nikki Garcia was raised by Palestinian parents. After meeting her husband, who was from Cuba, she discovered that she wasn’t accustomed to making the dishes that were familiar to him. As her cooking skills developed, she came to understand how Palestinian and Cuban flavors mesh well together and launched a food business concept with support from Oakland Bloom’s Open Test Kitchen. At the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, Asúkar offers empanadas, traditional Palestinian teas, and other quick and easy Palestinian-Cuban foods.
Sourcing
Asúkar sources ingredients from small, local farmers. Their oils and spices are sourced from Palestine.
People
Brendan Doherty and Rebecca Brown, with 3 full- and 30 part-time employees
Where
Alameda, Oakland, and Berkeley, 12, 10, and 13 miles to the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market
About
Signal Coffee started a way for Brendan and Rebecca to roast coffee for friends and family. During the pandemic, they made door-drop coffee deliveries to other families in their neighborhood. As the co-owners of Signal Coffee, Rebecca uses her previous experiences as a portrait photographer and her knowledge of marketing and design, and Brendan uses his in-depth knowledge and interest in coffee.
Signal Coffee has its headquarters in Alameda, where they opened their first cafe in 2021. Along with their flagship cafe, Alameda is also home to their second location and commissary kitchen, where all pastries are baked daily. Their pastries are offered on a menu with rotating monthly and seasonal options Their coffee is roasted in Oakland on gas-fired Probat and Loring roasting machines.
At their four locations across Alameda and Berkeley, as well as at Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, they offer specialty lattes, coffee, and a variety of savory and sweet pastries and baked goods.
Sourcing
Signal Coffee sources from Brazil, Guatemala, Honduras, Ethiopia, Costa Rica, and Mexico.
People
Shani Jones, with 6 full- and 4 part-time employees
Where
San Francisco
About
Shani Jones named Peaches Patties after her mother, nicknamed ‘Peaches’, who often treated the family to her signature Jamaican beef patties. In 2013, Shani and her mother made patties in their kitchen at home, and from there Peaches Patties began was established as a catering service. With support from La Cocina, their small-batch family recipe was adapted to make 250 patties instead of two dozen. Before Peaches Patties was founded, most San Franciscans had to go across the Bay or down the Peninsula to find Jamaican food.
Peaches Patties offers jerk chicken plates, patties, sorrel, and other Jamaican staples, which grew in popularity until Shani was able to settle into a location inside the Ferry Building. At the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, Peaches Patties offers hot and frozen patties, jerk chicken plates, and sorrel, a traditional Jamaican drink made with sorrel flowers and ginger.
Sourcing
Peaches Patties sources seasonal ingredients from local farmers and suppliers.
People
David, Daniel, and Dennis Lee, with Jeff Kim, alongside 3 part- and 6 full-time employees
Where
San Francisco
About
Pixlcat Coffee is a family-owned business specializing in butter mochi muffins and lattes, the latest in a series of restaurants owned and operated by the Lee brothers. Originally from Boston, the Lee brothers come from a restaurant family, where they grew up surrounded by people who owned and worked in local restaurants. In their 20 years of experience running various popular San Francisco restaurants, they’ve come to value community, health, and thoughtfulness in their decision making.
Being made from rice flour means that all of the mochi muffins are traditionally gluten free. All of their small-batch butter mochi muffins are handmade every day and flavored with syrups that are made from scratch, such as their black sesame syrup. They use unique flavorings in their muffins, much like their s’more flavor, which contains marshmallow meringue and chocolate chunk.
Sourcing
Coffee is sourced from Four Barrel Coffee and roasted fresh every week. Milk is sourced from Double 8 Dairy, a small family farm in Petaluma. Their matcha comes from Aroma Tea Shop in San Francisco. All syrups are made with organic ingredients whenever possible.
People
Spouses Michelle & Jack Rudolph, with 35 full- and 25 part-time employees
Farmland
65 acres near Cambria, 242 miles to the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market
About
When Jack’s grandparents, Jack and Beverly Russel, bought Stepladder Ranch & Creamery in the early 1980s, it was a dilapidated cattle ranch with a few fruit trees. After their passing the farm had fallen again into disrepair and their grandson, Jack, decided to get Stepladder back on its feet. He’d already developed a hobby in cheesemaking, and as he found his footing on the farm, his cheesemaking operation grew in intensity. After he met Michelle, they both took on the same hobby until they established a commercial creamery in 2015.
Their goats graze on open pasture and are milked twice a day, everyday. Though a vast majority of the farm is used for free-range grazing, several acres are used to grow over 200 varieties of subtropical fruit. At the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, they offer both goats and cow’s milk cheese, along with seasonal fruit.
People
Vicktor Stevenson, with 4 full time and 3 part time employees
Where
South San Francisco, 10 miles to the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market
About
Vicktor Stevenson started out as a barber before he decided to start taking mixology classes and business classes. With support from En2Action’s Ujamaa Kitchen, he opened Gourmonade’s first kiosk on Valencia street in 2018. Gourmonade (a portmanteau of “gourmet” and “lemonade”) specializes in handmade drinks created from scratch. Their unique flavors include coffee, matcha, horchata and other seasonal and holiday-related drinks.
Sourcing
Gourmonade sources ingredients from local farmers, including Frog Hollow Farm and other Northern California farms. They use organic cane and turbinado sugar in their products.
