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.
People
Patrick Sunbury and his father, Eric Sunbury
Farmland
One half-acre in Stockton, 89 miles to the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market
About
The Sunbury family has been involved in California’s agriculture industry since the 1870s. After four generations of farming, and his mother’s passing Eric Sunbury asked his son, Patrick, if he was interested in moving to a family home and accompanying half-acre that were left empty. Patrick agreed, and together, they moved to Stockton and planted a tea field in 2020. Redwood Tea Estate uses an agroforestry approach to farming, which incorporates surrounding Valley Oak trees, wildlife, and crops into their agricultural methods.
On their farm, they don’t use fungicides or pesticides and instead rely on sustainable farming practices, a rarity in commercial tea production. After tea plants are harvested, the leaves are combined with plants in the botanical garden at Redwood Tea Estate to create high quality loose-leaf teas.
People
Sam Schwartz, with 5 full-time and 5 part-time employees.
Where
Sausalito, 10 miles to the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market
About
Sam Schwartz first learned how to make bread in 2016. Later that year, he decided to turn baking from a hobby into a profession. He joined the staff at a local bakery, and in the span of a year, he went from sweeping floors to becoming Head Baker. Once he felt he understood the business, he launched Portside Bakery in 2017.
At the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, Portside Bakery offers high-hydration sourdough bread and pastries using locally sourced and seasonal ingredients. Everything is made with as little food waste as possible. Scraps and off cuts, as well as over-ripened fruit are used to make a variety of menu items.
Sourcing
Portside Bakery sources seasonal ingredients from local and organic farms and vendors as much as possible. Most of the shopping for the bakery is done at farmers markets in Marin and San Francisco. All flour, grains and dry goods for baking are sourced from KGBS Central Milling in Petaluma.
People
Danielle Clark, and 1 employee
Where
Oakland
About
Danielle first began juicing in January 2024 after her mother’s cancer second cancer diagnosis. Creating juices and ginger shots from fresh fruits and vegetables was a way to provide her mother with the nutrients and benefits that she needed but couldn’t consume during chemotherapy. Shortly afterward, Danielle started providing free ginger shots to her friends and her larger community. Receiving positive feedback from friends and neighbors led her to consider making her juicing hobby into a business. Danielle joined Mandela Partners’ Food Business Pathways, which allowed her to expand her business. Through Foodwise’s Building Equity Program, Keep It Simple Juice began a pop-up residency in the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market in the summer of 2024, which was extended into the fall. Later that year, she became a permanent vendor in the market. Keep It Simple Juice can now be found at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market on Saturdays, offering juices and ginger shots with simple ingredients, no added sugar, and no preservatives.
Sourcing
Keep It Simple Juice sources fruits and vegetables from local farmers markets.
People
Christine Law, Brian Law, and their daughter, Audrey
Where
San Francisco
About
Christine Law started Flora Gelateria in September 2024, with a grand opening at the Saturday Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. Before then, Christine spent 20 years as a fine dining pastry chef, where she specialized in ice cream and gelato, along with additional in-depth training in gelato making and ice cream manufacturing. At the farmers market, Flora Gelateria offers plant-based gelato that can be enjoyed in a cup or over a gluten-free waffle. All of Flora’s gelato flavors are handmade using either fresh fruits from the farmers market or artisan ingredients.
Sourcing
Flora Gelateria sources fruit from Ferry Plaza farmers, and artisan ingredients such as coffee and chocolate from local small businesses.
People
Rachel Stauffer, along with helpful friends and occasional part-time employees
Farmland
10 acres in Occidental, Sonoma County, about 75 miles from the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market
About
Rachel grew up immersed in nature, among family members who were avid gardeners and farmers. As an adult, she worked at the UCSF Medical Center for over 30 years. She frequented the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, and her interest in food and land stewardship grew. In 2010, she started Trees of Life in Sonoma County, drawn to the plot’s biodiversity and potential for growing fruit.
Rachel’s farming philosophy, partly informed by permaculture and an Ecological Farming course, is to work with, not against, the climate and landscape of the farm. For instance, instead of altering the environment to make it less hospitable to local fox, bobcats, hawks and other wildlife, the farm is designed around their presence. She found her land and its Goldridge soil to be suitable for growing apples. Apples were historically grown in the Goldridge soils in the area, and Rachel wanted to offer special heirloom varieties that people used to grow in their backyards. In addition to 40 varieties of apples, Rachel also has Asian pears, quince, persimmons, and small amounts of other tree fruit.
Certification
California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF)
People
Dontaye Ball, along with his team
Where
San Francisco, 5 miles to the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market
About
Dontaye started Gumbo Social with the goal of making gumbo America’s national dish. When cooking, he draws inspiration from several sources, his grandmother’s cooking, his background in San Francisco restaurant kitchens, and the variety of locally grown produce he sees at farmers markets. Gumbo Social popped up at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market a dozen times, as part of Foodwise’s Building Equity Program, before joining the market permanently in 2023. Gumbo Social enthusiasts can also visit their brick-and-mortar restaurant in the Bayview.
Sourcing
Dontaye sources from local farmers when possible.
