Shop Local Bay Area
This post was originally written in 2011 so it may be a bit outdated. Please feel free to contact me if you know of a store that has closed or you would like me to add your favorite local, independently owned business. Thanks!
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It is my belief that the best way to bring balance back in to the world is to support local, independently owned businesses. What better time to do it than Black Friday?! There are SO many reasons as to why it is better to shop local than big box / chain stores but I will spare you my ramble.
Below is a list of local, independently owned Bay Area businesses, organized by area.
I asked my Twitter, Facebook and Google+ friends to tell me their favorite places to shop in the Bay Area. The response from Twitter was overwhelming!
If your favorite independent locally owned shop is not on the list please leave a comment below and I will do my best to add it to the list.
I came across the 3/50 project which I think is a fabulous idea! They’re asking that we spend at least $50 a month at 3 different locally owned independent businesses. Read more about it here: www.the350project.net
Another suggestion I got was to shop at your local Farmer’s Market – great crafts and food gifts often available.
For that special holiday outfit you might only wear once try local consignment and thrift shops. You just might find the perfect outfit!
I’ve also included a few coffee shops and restaurants on this list because we need to eat, right?!
Thank you for checking out my Shop Local list! I’m currently offering special (a.k.a. affordable) prices to local, independently owned businesses for sponsorships on my blog. If you’d like to place an ad like the ones you see to the right of this post please contact me for pricing. —–>
Please join me in taking the pledge to shop local as much as possible. #shoplocal
North Bay
East Bay
South Bay / San Francisco
North Bay / Marin
Corte Madera
A Childs Delight (Toys)
Meadowlark Gallery
Mimi The Sardine (eco-coated products for kids)
Rick’s Wine Cellar (stop in and have a glass or pick up a bottle for a gift)
The Book Passage
Tiller Diggs (home & garden, jewelry & clothing)
Fairfax
Good Earth Natural Foods (healthy holiday meals & gifts)
Iron Springs (brewery & restaurant)
Revolution 9
Sherman’s General Store
The Hummingbird Restaurant
Various & Sundries
Larkspur
Coquelicot (antiques, home & garden, jewelry)
Lark Shoes
Marin Brew Co. (brewery & restaurant)
Rustic Bakery
What Poppy Wants (boutique & vintage consignment shop)
Mill Valley
At The Top Salon (gift certificate or jewelry)
Dan’s Liquor (for your holiday wine or bubbly)
Frantoio Ristorante & Olive Oil Co. (BEST Olive Oil EVER!)
Mill Valley Market (for you holiday groceries)
Moss & Moss
Mountain Biking Marin (bike tours and clinics)
Pharmaca (not totally local but great alternative to the big box drug stores & wonderful products)
Red Dragon Yoga (clothing, gift cards, yoga classes to destress)
Tea Fountain
Title 9
The Book Depot
Two Neat (gifts)
Vintage Wines
Woodland’s Pet
Muir Beach
The Pelican Inn (restaurant)
Napa
Peju Winery (this is where you take your out of town guest – fun!)
Rancho Gordo (heirloom beans) <– now that is original!
Novato
Dr. Insomnias (coffee shop)
Class Cycle (bike shop)
Grazie Cafe Italiano (restaurant)
Moylan’s (brewery & restaurant)
Studio 4 Art (make stuff)
Marin Humane Society (adopt a pet, pet store)
Rustic Bakery
Petaluma
Copperfield Books
Della Fattoria (restaurant)
iLeoni (kitchen & gifts)
Knitterly
Mrs. Grossman’s Stickers (great field trip for young children)
Nan Winters (clothing)
Shop Paper White
Tara Firma Farms (for your healthy holiday meal or a fun activity for the family)
McEvoy Ranch (body care products, olive oil, more)
Robindira Unsworth (jewelry, clothing, accessories)
Sorella (hair studio, fashion boutique)
Tuscan Gardens (home & garden)
Pt.Reyes
Zuma (arts and crafts)
Toby’s (unique gifts)
Pt. Reyes Open Studio
Pt. Reyes Books
San Anselmo
3 Ring Cycles (bike store)
Gathering Thyme (herbs & health care products)
Gioia’s Boutique (Clothing)
Great Acorn Co. (gifts)
Holiday Pop Up Shop (Dec. 3 Only)
Marin Coffee Roasters
Pure Joy Body work
RJR Self-Care Massage (you may need a massage after all of this shopping!)
Sidekicks (clothing)
Susan’s Store Room
Fig Garden (gifts)
San Rafael
A Childs Delight (Toys)
Andy’s Market (great wine & chocolate selection)
Art Works Downtown
Bananas At Large (musical instruments & pro audio equipment)
Beads of Marin
Bedrock Music & Video
California Bike N Bean (bike store)
Celebracion Bridal (pretty dresses, tux rentals & tiaras!)
Clogs Unlimited
Dharma Trading Co. (fiber art supplies & clothing blanks)
Friends Books (used books, 100% proceeds support San Rafael Public Library)
Elegant Images Fine Art Photography
Gamescape (non-electronic games)
Jan Orcutt, Accupunture (remember to take care of yourself)
Marin Jewelers Guild
Merritt Chiropractic Center (might need this after all the shopping)
Pin Up Hair Emporium & Unique Boutique
Ponsford’s Place (Bakery)
Rebound Bookstore
Red Dragon Yoga
T & B Sports
The Magic Flute
Toni Tierney Baby Clothes (she often has great sales right out of her headquarters)
Via Diva (furniture)
Viva Diva (clothing)
Youth in Arts – Retail shop
Sausalito
Lisa Lebow Designs (clothing, jewelry)
Mollie Stones (groceries, gifts)
Sweet Ginger (Sushi restaurant, gift card!)
Downtown Sausalito is full of lots of wonderful little shops.
Sonoma
Bram Cookware
The Girl & The Fig (restaurant)
Santa Rosa
T & B Sports
Tomales
Fallon Hills Ranch (to buy your ranch raised grass fed holiday meal)
Online
Bean Up The Nose Art
Cowboy’s Fuzzy Duds (Cool shorts)
Community Wines (Marin based)
Felix The Cook (Cool, creative, custom cookies!)
Jewelry by Tabernash (made in Mill Valley)
The Marin Store (Marin Magazine)
East Bay
Albany
Five Little Monkeys (Toy shop)
Berkeley
Berkeley Bowl (groceries)
Gather Berkeley (restaurant, gift certificate)
Kermit Lynch (wine importer on the larger side)
Tail of the Yak (gifts)
Fourth Street in Berkeley has lots of great shops
Hayward
Hayward Book Shop
Oakland
Calm, A Salon
Cole Coffee (local roasted coffee)
Glamour Paws
Laurel Book Store
Modern Coffee
Oaklandish
Oakollectiv (local hand painted t-shirts, local designs)
Paws and Claws (pet shop)
Relish Catering (for your holiday parties)
Someone’s In The Kitchen
The Crucible (gift & art sale 12/10 – 12/11)
The Oakland Chocolate Factory (you can get my gift here)
The Wine Mine
Tootsies (shoe boutique, pedicures)
Walden Pond Books
Walnut Creek
Five Little Monkeys (Toy shop)
Walnut Creek Yacht Club (restaurant)
South Bay
Palo Alto
Books, Inc
San Francisco
A Childs Delight (Toys)
Cheekbob (pet store)
Christopher’s Books (Potrero Hill)
Cowgirl Creamer
Create More (Apple supplies, support & more!)
Farmers Market
Ferry Building San Francisco (lots of independent shops here)
Flax Art & Design
Green Apple Books – Inner Richmond. Clement at 6th.
Her Majesty’s Secret Beekeeper (honey!)
MSR museum (best #sf place for small children. Small place, lots to do & see, parents just relax @ entrance & watch them run. @thecara)
Pacific Catch (restaurant, gift certificate)
Papalote Salsa
Palio Paninoteca
Prints, Etc (vintage art, framing, concert posters, antique stock certificates, maps, curiosities, collectibles, etc)
Rancho Gordo Beans (SF Ferry Plaza Farmers Market)
Recchuti (Did someone say chocolate?)
Streetcar Museum
The Book Passage (ferry building)
San Jose
Hicklebees Books (mostly kids)
Streetlight Records
Thank you to everyone who sent suggestions!
Happy Holidays!
#ShopLocal
Please leave a comment and let us know what you got at your local independently owned store!
If you live in another area please make your own list and share it with your readers!
If your appliances break during the holiday season… don’t fret! Call Appliance Techs of Marin!
According to this video you might even get a date if you shop local. 😉
*disclaimer I have not been to many of these businesses they are suggestion I crowd-sourced from my social networks. If there are any corrections that need to be made please leave a comment below.
**This is an evolving/growing list. I plan to add links to all the businesses and to keep adding more local, independently owned businesses. However, if I continue working on this tonight I may find myself disowned by my family. Thanks for shopping local.
PS. Please feel free to copy/use this list and pass it on to others. I’d appreciate a link back to the original list. Here is the link: http://sallyaroundthebay.com/2011/11/shop-local-bay-area/ Thank you!
Thank you for shopping local!
If shopping is not your thing please consider donating on #GivingTuesday or any other time during this holiday season.
Thanks, Sally! This is a great list. I plan to shop at many of these stores and will definitely steer clear of the big box places.
You’re providing a great resource for us locals and appreciate all your efforts! See you in the hood!
Great list Sally – thx to you (and your twitter “elves”) for compiling it! 🙂 Cheers, everyone!
Hi Sally,
Great job. I know how much work it is to make lists like this and find the links. Thanks for taking the time to do it.
I plan to take the buylocal pledge this season.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Cathy
Ee’d love to be on you list. We’ll also make sure to make good use of the list!
Alberto – Create More has been added to the list! Thanks for the reminder.
Thanks so much Sally! This list is wonderful!
Sally-
Thank you so much for taking all the time to do this! Shopping local and buying from small and family owned businesses is always important, but focussing on it at this time is brilliant!
This is a wonderful list, Sally – and what a great service to gather this info for us all!
hi sally,
i have a few suggestions, here goes ….
in Petaluma a clothing store named
‘Nan Winters’ she has great style &
wonderful clothes, shoes, bridal gowns
jewerly well priced. she’s a doll.
you won’t be disappointed.
in San Anselmo another great clothing store.
“Sidekicks’ has wash & wear stylish and comfy
clothes and cozy fingerless gloves and scarfs
best fitting jeans i’ve ever found.
Thanks Nancie! I’ve updated the list with your suggestions!
Hi Sally, I saw on our Facebook page (via Enjoy Mill Valley) that you are looking for independent San Francisco businesses to list. If I may say so, here’s a great one to list – Flax art & design (www.flaxart.com).
Thanks for your support!
Howard
Please add our local store Oakollectiv on 1427 Broadway Ave 94612 Oakland CA
We sell our own local designs , locally hand printed tshirts and we feature local designers and also host first Friday events that support local vendors and artist.
Thanks Howard and Rachel. I’ve added the stores!
Great list, thanks.
Don’t forget http://www.twoneat.com in Mill Valley.
A great store for quirky stuff.
Thanks Tim, I added Two Neat. Love that store!
Useful info. Lucky me I discovered your web site by accident, and I’m shocked why this twist of fate did not took place earlier! I bookmarked it.
Hi Sally! Modern Cookie Co no longer open as a custom cookie concept. Re-opening late Oct, with more retail, incl foods & catering & wholesale – but will expanded, and no longer made-to-order individual cookies.
Nina – I took it down. Let me know if you want me to put something back up when you re-open.
Just wanted to give a shout-out to a wonderful store for gifts in North Beach. Abitare on 522 Columbus Avenue (between Stockton St & Green St) is chock-full of one-of-a-kind gifts at great prices! It’s a treasure.