Three Ferry Building Tenants Offer Special Discounts to the Ferry Commuter *
Published: February, 2005
You, the ferry commuter, are already the envy of all your friends because your commute is not only traffic and hassle-free, but you can eat, drink, read the newspaper or a book, make friends, or just space out watching the beauty of the Bay pass by. As if that weren’t enough, the San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Authority is working with Ferry Building Marketplace vendors to start a rewards program for regular ferry riders.
Arrivals and Departures
The Ferry Building Marketplace has been lauded as one of San Francisco’s crown jewels since its inception in the spring/summer 2003. With its featured Saturday Farmers’ Market, smaller farmers’ markets during the week, and restaurants and specialty shops that offer a wide array of unique foods, beverages, and other fine items every day, it’s a destination point for San Franciscans and visitors alike. Indeed, regular ferry riders reap the incidental benefit of having the Ferry Building bookend their trips out of and into San Francisco. It hasn’t escaped the notice of marketplace businesses that the building sees foot traffic from more than 5,000 ferry passengers per day—all potential customers.
Perks for Passengers
Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant
Among “famous ferry riders,” Vallejo ferry commuters can proudly claim one of the leading wine experts in the nation, Peter Granoff. Riders might spot him on board several times a week taking advantage of productive commute time by catching up on e-mails, getting his day organized, reading and decompressing while traveling via ferry between his home in Napa Valley and his business in San Francisco.
Mr. Granoff, one of the primary owners of the Ferry Plaza Wine Merchants, has been a professional wine buyer for more than 20 years. By age 12, Mr. Granoff was already working in restaurants; although he never anticipated making a career of it, working in the hospitality industry in the Swiss Alps at age 19 made a lasting impression on him. For Mr. Granoff, the wine industry poses “an intellectual challenge of knowledge you’ll never master; sensory appeal; and as a consumer product, is a bridge between the land and high culture.”
The Wine Merchant was among the first tenants to open in the ferry building in July of 2003, offering a wine store for purchasing wine by the bottle and a separate wine bar for sipping by the glass. Mr. Granoff enjoys the unparalleled synergy of the marketplace–the Wine Merchant invites customers to enjoy food brought from any other shop in the building while sipping wine at the bar. He said, “There are lots of places to buy wine, but not many real wine merchants. We rigorously screen what we put on our limited shelf space and stand behind what we offer.”
Unmoved by mainstream wine press, the Wine Merchant shows a bias toward local, organic farmers. In addition to offering a solid product, Mr. Granoff attributes the store’s success to hiring passionate staff who want their customers to feel comfortable asking questions. “People want information,” Mr. Granoff explained. A common question pertains to food and wine pairings; the Wine Merchant’s staff, most of whom hail from the restaurant industry, can make informed recommendations.
In recognition of a key part of his customer base, Mr. Granoff invited ferry commuters to “ask about the ferry commuter special.* Although this offer isn’t restricted to new customers, we’d like to add those who are not yet in our database to our records, so that we may keep in touch about special events and offers.”
Mistral Rotisserie Provencale
Betty and Fabrice Marcon are celebrating their first year of tenancy as proprietors of Mistral Rotisserie Provencale (Mistral), located within the Ferry Building. Ms. Marcon and her husband, who hails from France, were inspired to bring the European experience to San Franciscans by specializing in rotisserie cooking. Their food service backgrounds include previous ownership of Hyde Street Bistro Restaurant; in addition, Ms. Marcon was trained as a pastry chef and worked briefly at the Oakville Grocery, a gourmet stop for the cognoscenti headed to Napa Valley’s wine country.
Ms. Marcon, who used to commute regularly via ferry from Larkspur, said, “I knew the ferry rider was going to be a big part of my business. This food is ideal for the commuter who wants to bring home their dinner.” Mistral is conveniently located along the ferry building corridor most frequently used by Vallejo and Tiburon ferry patrons; Ms. Marcon says that captains and crew enjoy the convenience of Mistral, as well.
Apart from their regular lunch fare, Mistral offers three different types of dinner boxes full enough to feed three to four people. The boxes, ranging in price from $26.99 to $35.99, contain a choice of roasted meat–typically chicken, lamb, or pork rib–and two pints of seasonally appropriate side dishes, such as roasted potatoes cooked in chicken drippings, ratatouille, yam, or brussel sprouts. On weekends, Mistral features specialty meats like duck, rabbit, and geese.
In keeping with the philosophy of the Ferry Building merchants, all of Mistral’s foods are organic and locally raised or grown. Ms. Marcon says, “Once someone tries [our food], I’m confident they will return for more.” She’s putting her money where her mouth is by offering a special discount for ferry commuters.*
The very energetic Ms. Marcon, never short on ideas, also envisions having onboard tasting of the Rotisserie’s offerings for ferry riders. Future ideas for adding convenience to the ferry commuter who wants to pick up dinner on the go includes having a mailbox facing the water on the outside of the shop so that patrons could drop off written orders and pick them up at a designated time. They’re also gearing up for online ordering. In the meantime, she invited customers to e-mail her before noon at mistralroti@sbcglobal.net to place an order for late afternoon or evening pick-up.
Hog Island Oyster Company
Unlike the Wine Merchant and Mistral, both of which were heavily influenced by European tradition, the oyster business is native to Northern California. According to Justin McCarter, Manager of Hog Island Oyster Co., oysters were raised throughout the Bay Area from the mid-1800s, when Americans were beginning to settle California in droves and San Francisco was the market epicenter. Hog Island, established more than 100 years ago, is located north in Tomales Bay, leases 120 acres of pristine estuary for cultivating oysters, and currently farms 40 acres of it.
Mr. McCarter was lured into Hog Island by the promise of year-round oysters. Prior to his tenure in the oyster business, he spent a decade reveling in his love of fish as a Manhattan fish butcher, with the benefit and prerogative of saving the freshest and choicest cuts of fish for himself. Although surrounded by oysters, he claims he never gets tired of them. It’s no wonder he is versed in the history of Bay Area oysters: since the oyster bar’s inception in November 2003, the owners of Hog Island have scheduled staff to visit the Tomales Bay farm and go out on boats a couple of times a year. The low staff turnover can doubtless be attributed to these field trips coupled with the perquisite of unlimited fresh oysters.
Mr. McCarter, like many from the Hog Island Oyster Co. staff, regularly commutes from home to work via ferry. Of his commute from Alameda, he said, “The ferry is a civilized experience–it is the champagne and oysters of commuting.” He added, “Because of its location, our business is part of the community and the commute experience. It’s in this community spirit that we offer a special discount to ferry riders.”*
Mr. McCarter explained that Hog Island’s generosity couldn’t be coupled with any other special offering since their other specials are already amazing deals. For instance, the Monday and Thursday happy hour specials from 4:30 until 7:00 pm feature $1 a piece oysters with beer priced at $2.50 a pint; and oysters-to-go are regularly priced as low as $78 for 10 dozen.
Future Plans for Passenger Perks
Stay tuned for possible future wine tasting on board ferryboats—if the proprietor of Bay Crossings, Bobby Winston, has his way. He’s floated the idea by various ferry operators, who’ve expressed interest. And, at least one Alameda winery, Rosenblum Cellers, has expressed interest in participating, especially in reaching a captive audience of Alameda residents on their commute home from work!
You don’t have to go to Europe to experience a rotisserie: Mistral Rotisserie Provencale is conveniently located at the Ferry Building, steps away from the Tiburon and Vallejo ferry landings
Hog Island Oyster Co.’s Manager and Alameda ferry commuter Justin McCarter (I): lured into the business by the promise of fresh oysters year round
