SAN FRANCISCO—“You're one of my people.”
It's probably one of the best compliments a retailer has ever given me. During our chat at one of the smallest—but busiest—stores, Mike Stone, co-founder and co-owner of Mollie Stone's Markets and I talked about all of the innovation happening in retail.
From Whole Foods' new 365 banner to the changes in the Bay Area with Andronico's recent buyout by Safeway-Albertsons. But, so far, Mollie Stone's Markets has remained fiercely independent.
“People today still ask how many stores do I have,” he told me. “I don't want to get hung up on stores. We're selective on sites and we're still a family owned, locally owned business. There's not too many of those that still exist, unfortunately.”
The concept
Mike didn't imagine himself a life-long grocer. He grew up in Southern California, working at chains like Vons during highs school. After earning a business degree he set his sights elsewhere. “I said, I don't want to do this for the rest of my life,” he says. “Then one thing led to another…”
His background in accounting and grocery retail earned him a spot as general manager for a 4-store chain. After losing his parents in 1983, he decided to open his own store focused on natural foods and organics. The store, which opened in 1986, was named Mollie Stone's Natural Farm Market.
At the time, product selection was targeted.
“We were the largest natural foods store in Northern California at the time,” he says. “We tried to carry as much organic product as possible. At the time, they were hard to find.”
From gluten free products at a time when no one knew about celiac disease to all organic produce. After a few years in business, Mollie Stone's acquired a conventional supermarket and made the transition to offering more mainstream products.
“People come here as a one-stop-shop, they get all their organics, all their specialties under one roof, no matter if it's 8,000 square feet or 42,000 square feet,” he says.
The produce
Mollie Stone's recently opened its own warehouse and processing facility near terminal market, enabling the retailer to shave days off of the supply chain and buy more direct from growers.
“It's a big difference for us,” he says. “Now, we're able to care for the produce, know how it's processed and control everything except after the customer buys it and takes it home.”
Having an off-site facility of its own is important for Mollie Stone's. Most of the company's stores are located where retail square footage is at a premium, without the space to spare for on-site prep. The store I visited had recently been remodeled to include a mezzanine kitchen for in-house prepared foods.
“We're doing a lot of things ready-to-eat now,” Stone says. “It's funny how the produce business has evolved. Everything had to be packaged, then no packaging and now it's all going back.”
Mollie Stone's makes the most of its small footprint. I saw a diverse selection of items, with plenty of specialties like finger limes and upland cress. There was even some fresh-cut jackfruit, something Mike says he never would have thought he'd see in his stores.
“There's so much innovation,” he says. “The consumer in today's world has benefit so much from the creativity from the wholesaler and growers. Retailers may get the credit for it, but the farmers don't, for all that they do to bring it to market and make it available to retailers like myself.”
