On any given weekday afternoon in Piedmont, Mulberry\u2019s Market is bustling with people roaming the aisles, middle and high school students perusing shelves and jars of candy and filling cups with slushies and customers lining up at the deli counter.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a snapshot of what the store has become over nearly 19 years: a neighborhood gathering spot for groceries and more. For co-owner Chad Olcott, it all started with a rather modest idea: wanting a place in Piedmont to get a good cup of coffee.<\/p>\n
Olcott and his wife, Mulberry\u2019s co-owner Laura Pochop, had moved to Piedmont from San Francisco with their two daughters. A college friend who grew up in Piedmont encouraged Olcott to check out its elementary schools, and the family ultimately settled there when their daughter was ready for kindergarten.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe immediately loved it,\u201d Olcott said. \u201cWe loved the sense of neighborhood and the sense of community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Olcott, then a stay-at-home dad, discovered one thing Piedmont lacked: a neighborhood coffee shop like the one he had frequented on foot, stroller in tow, in San Francisco. He could drive to one in Oakland, but he wanted something within walking distance.<\/p>\n
\u201cI kind of got obsessed (with it),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Next to Havens Elementary School was Bonfare Market, a small convenience store. It offered the basics but wasn\u2019t the kind of place Olcott imagined stopping for coffee or a sandwich on the way to Piedmont Park with his children. When the lease on Bonfare\u2019s roughly 3,000-square-foot space expired, an opportunity presented itself.<\/p>\n
With help from a friend in commercial real estate, Olcott and Pochop submitted a business plan for a neighborhood store with coffee, a deli, groceries and ice cream to the landlord. Their working name was \u201cThe Third Place,\u201d a reference to a place outside of home and work where people could come together.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d like to believe that is exactly what we created,\u201d Olcott noted.<\/p>\n
Turning the space into Mulberry\u2019s was an undertaking. The couple raised the ceiling, installed a tin roof, replaced the property\u2019s refrigeration and air conditioning, added marble countertops, moved the entrance and built a coffee bar and ice cream section. The renovation took six months and cost far more than they anticipated.<\/p>\n
Among those who helped was Olcott\u2019s best friend, David Crombie, who moved into the family\u2019s basement and worked at the store seven days a week. On Dec. 8, 2007, the moment had finally arrived for the grand opening.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there were 500 people in the parking lot,\u201d Olcott said. \u201cWe cut the ribbon, opened the door, and it was nonstop all day.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first year was the hardest, as the owners learned to run a grocery store while dealing with broken refrigeration. Throughout the difficulties, the community stuck with them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were so forgiving because we did make mistakes, absolutely,\u201d Olcott said. \u201cAnd the town just never gave up on us.\u201d<\/p>\n
About a year after opening, the owners brought in Virginia Davis, a trained chef and lifelong Piedmonter who also co-owns Yellow Door coffeehouse in Montclair. She was candid about Mulberry\u2019s early deli offerings.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was like, \u2018I love what you guys have done, but your food sucks,\u2019\u201d Olcott recalled.<\/p>\n
Olcott and Pochop had created the foundation \u2014 a neighborhood grocery with wine, cheese, coffee and grab-and-go items \u2014 but Davis wanted to take the food further. After cooking for Olcott and Pochop and serving her dishes at a dinner in her home, she suggested selling them at Mulberry\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\u201cI talked my way into a job,\u201d said Davis, who became the store\u2019s third partner a few months later.<\/p>\n
Under Davis, the deli began making its food in-house, including soups, meatballs and baby back ribs.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s original in that we grill our own tri-tip, we grill our own salmon, we make our own pulled pork,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The three Mulberry\u2019s owners developed distinct roles: Davis focused on the food, Olcott on the customer experience and merchandising and Pochop on finances and operations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really had a triumvirate,\u201d Olcott said.<\/p>\n
Among the small touches in Mulberry\u2019s are some rooted in Olcott\u2019s childhood. During summers in New Hampshire, he frequented a corner store that sold candy from glass jars. That memory inspired the candy jars at Mulberry\u2019s today.<\/p>\n
The store offers family charge accounts too \u2014 another feature inspired by that New England store. Mulberry\u2019s has also given back to the community, including by naming sandwiches (called \u201cHometown Heroes\u201d) after Piedmont families and supporting local schools.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been trying to support the schools ever since we opened because we think it\u2019s the schools that bring everybody to Piedmont,\u201d Olcott said.<\/p>\n
Sal Viveros, Mulberry\u2019s chief operating officer, has seen that community connection firsthand. He started as the store\u2019s general manager and has been with it for 15 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a community gathering spot,\u201d he said. \u201cEverybody comes here.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said many of the same neighbors return regularly for the groceries, deli and familiarity of seeing people they know. He credited that longtime support with helping Mulberry\u2019s endure.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe definitely understand that we wouldn\u2019t be here if it wasn\u2019t for our loyal customers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
After a year on sabbatical, Olcott was to returns to the store this week, ready to consider possible changes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to dive back in with our team and start rethinking what we could improve,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
That could include redesigning the store\u2019s flow, updating refrigeration and gathering input from Piedmont residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not the 32-year-old dad anymore,\u201d Olcott said. \u201cIt would be interesting to say to the young family that\u2019s just moved in, \u2018OK, what is it you\u2019d want? What could we be doing better?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Whatever comes next, Olcott said the central idea behind Mulberry\u2019s remains unchanged.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a community store, and we are incredibly grateful to the community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
At 335 Highland Ave. in Piedmont, Mulberry\u2019s Market is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays. For more details online, visit mulberrysmarket.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n