Can you feel the excitement in the air? Whatever the “new normal” is, Marin is out there, experiencing it and showing local businesses some in-person love.
EAT & DRINK
Beach Chalet
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After the pandemic forced an extended closure of San Francisco’s Beach Chalet, Mill Valley’s Lara Graham Truppelli, who also runs Gravity Tavern in Mill Valley, recently reopened the iconic oceanfront spot, using the downtime to reimagine everything from the menu to the seating arrangements. Look for classic American fare (Louie salad, Maine lobster roll) and updated options (seared ahi sandwich with kohlrabi kim chee, grilled branzino with garlic and chorizo paella) and those eternal views over the Pacific.
1000 Great Highway, San Francisco 415.386.8439
Mint n Chili
The former BBQ ‘n’ Curry House, tucked into a corner between Target and CVS in the shopping center in Marin City, quietly changed its name and menu as Covid-19 bore down. Owner Shahid Paracha fused Indian and Pakistani food traditions with Marin’s love of burritos, tacos, and bowls and developed a menu with a tandoori soul and curry at its heart. As before, all meat is halal. A makeover of the interior awaits a return to indoor dining.
160 Donahue St, Sausalito 415.289.0786
Waldscraft Cottage Bakery
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Like everyone else, Stacey Waldspurger started making sourdough when Covid-19 brought everything to a halt last spring. Realizing that her joy in sharing her creations with others matched a need to reinvent her career to support kids at home (all the time), she launched a bakery out of her Mill Valley house. Rosemary Olive Oil, Seeded Rye and Country Bread are consistent favorites, while chocolate and brown sugar fudge, apple cake and blueberry muffins are brunchy options.
57 Meadow Drive, Mill Valley 415.306.1575
La Cocina Municipal Marketplace
Seven entrepreneurs from the Bay Area non-profit kitchen incubator La Cocina opened the city’s first women-led food hall in April in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood. The cuisines, ranging from Senegalese and Mexican to Nepalese and Algerian, reflects the diversity of the neighborhood and are best experienced in each stand’s daily five-dollar plate. While currently takeout only, it will soon welcome all to sit at the chefs’ counters, read a book with their children in the community space, or enjoy a drink at the La Paloma bar.
101 Hyde St, San Francisco
The Tailor’s Son
Inspired as much by his father’s profession as his Milanese childhood, restaurateur Adriano Paganini’s Back of the House group opened a new restaurant in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights neighborhood earlier this spring that highlights the simple, uncomplicated Italian dishes he grew up eating. Of course, you’ll find Risotto alla Milanese with saffron, bone marrow and ossobuco but the veggie-centric menu also includes Spinach Sformato with truffled pecorino and Chicory alla Romana with anchovy-garlic dressing, plus a Tailor’s Martini, finished with balsamic vinegar.
2049 Fillmore St, San Francisco 415.673.7200
SHOP
Marine Layer
The impossibly soft fabrics in the loungewear from this San Francisco brand made opening an outpost to experience them IRL at the Marin Country Mart in Larkspur a must for owner and Mill Valley resident, Mike Natenshon. The shop, which premiered in March, carries California casual clothes and accessories for the whole family, but the brand is perhaps best-known on social for the antics of its 1969 VW bus.
2257 Larkspur Landing Circle, Larkspur 415.236.4895
ODE Oasis
Bringing much-needed tranquility to everyday life, Petaluma’s McEvoy Ranch launched a line of premium CBD products inspired by their 550-acre ranch. Among other products, Calm and Clarity CBD tinctures include 1000 mg of beneficial cannabinoids and naturally occurring terpenes while Calm Pet includes 500 mg cannabinoids designed for our furry friends.
5935 Red Hill Rd, Petaluma 707.789.6912
Johann Paul Fine Jewelry
Marin natives and jewelry store protégés, Sophie Priolo and Lucas Priolo, continue their tradition of offering bridal pieces, stacking rings, and beautiful colored gemstones at Greenbrae’s Bon Air Center by reopening the shop that has done business there for over 40 years. The siblings also run Sofia Jewelry in Mill Valley, a business their parents began in 1994.
272 Bon Air Center, Greenbrae 415.461.1866 |
Papaia
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CEO and Founder Kiana Melendez designed a space where women could find eco-friendly and non-toxic products to take care of their entire body, including their most intimate places. From butt balm and nipple cream to undie wash and hot flash patches, the shop at Corte Madera’s Town Center carries her personally-tested favorite products for use from top to, well, bottom.
111 Corte Madera Town Center, Corte Madera 415.272.5449
Faherty
Expanding to Marin was a no-brainer for owners and twin brothers Alex and Mike, and Alex’s wife, Kerry Faherty, the namesakes behind this New York-based clothing brand. Their shop at the Village at Corte Madera Town Center sells sustainably minded, comfortable and high-quality accessories, blankets, swimwear and clothes, such as a line of Essential Pants for men and an Arlie Day Jumpsuit for women.
1629 Redwood Hwy, Corte Madera 415.758.7039
WELLNESS
By the Bay Health
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Known for its hospice, palliative care, and in-home health care services, Hospice by the Bay recently rebranded as By the Bay Health. The non-profit, founded 45 years ago as Hospice of Marin, made the change to more accurately reflect their breadth of services, which also include grief counseling and pediatric care.
17 Sir Francis Drake Blvd, Larkspur 415.927.2273
PERSONAL CARE
Manes by Sara
The beauty industry was hit hard in 2020, closing the salon where Sara Marin Pinckney, a 6th generation Marinite (her great, great, great grandparents Frank and Nellie Waterhouse settled in Bolinas in the late 1800s) worked. She used the time to reevaluate her career and opened a salon and client sanctuary offering luxury customized hair services in late 2020 in downtown Mill Valley.
34 Sunnyside Ave, Suite B, Mill Valley 707.478.5381
How to Help
For more ways to support local businesses, go here.
For more on Marin:
- 30 Things to Do in Marin and the Bay Area This April
- Carbs Galore: 6 Local Places to Fulfill Your Bread (and Cake) Cravings
- What’s New in Marin in April 2021
Christina Mueller is a long-time Bay Area food writer. She hails from the East Coast and has spent way too much time in South America and Europe. She discovered her talent as a wordsmith in college and her love of all things epicurean in grad school. She has written for Condé Nast Contract Publishing, Sunset, and the Marin Independent Journal, among others. She volunteers with California State Parks and at her child’s school, and supports the Marin Audubon Society, PEN America, and Planned Parenthood. When she is not drinking wine by a fire, she is known to spend time with her extended family.