Giovanni's: A Market That Inspires Loyal Customers

Tucked away on a quiet one-way street in El Cerrito, Giovanni’s maintains a steady flow of customer traffic day in and day out. A table on the sidewalk outside offers deals on a variety of in-season vegetables and fruit.

In addition to a wide array of affordable produce, the store stocks a large selection of organic dairy products, cured meats, packaged pasta, sauces, condiments, frozen entrees, canned goods, breads and pastries. Products come from a variety of vendors including Oakland-based The Food Mill, California-based Clover dairy and Niman Ranch. 

Rose Stamm, a loyal customer for 17 years, appreciates the selection of specialty and locally produced items. And, she said, “I love that they pass on bargains on produce always, every day, not just a gimmick to get you into the store.”

The building where Giovanni’s has been for over two decades once housed a bakery in the ‘30s and ‘40s, according to store owner Pietro Bolla. Nicola (Nick) Bolla, Pietro Bolla’s father, started renting it for a grocery store in 1988.

Giovanni was Nick Bolla's middle name, but his friends advised him not to name the store after his first name, Nicola, because they said it sounded too Greek and didn't emphasize his Italian roots enough, according to the son.

Nicola Bolla had a passion for produce, and when he wasn’t selling it, was growing it or cooking it. Born in Oakland, he was the son of the late Pietro & Giovanna (Canepa) Bolla, of Liguria, Italy. He was active in the community –  a member of the Ligure Club, the Cerrito City Club, the El Cerrito Chamber of Commerce, the Galileo Club and the Italian Catholic Federation.

His son Pietro, however, didn’t always plan on running a grocery store. Nicola Bolla, who passed away in 2009, had spent 28 years as produce buyer for Fry's Food Stores. The company he worked for was acquired and they brought in their own management, leaving him a little lost as to what to do next.

“Here are two guys who really didn’t know what they were going to do with themselves, just sitting around the house,” said Bolla of this time when his father was in between jobs.

Bolla asked his son if he’d want to help out with running his own store, as Pietro Bolla was finishing up at Cal Berkeley in 1988. “I’ll help you out for a couple of months,” he said.

Bolla employs a number of hardworking employees who have become familiar faces to many who shop here and appreciate the level of friendliness and service they offer.

Katie Murphy, another loyal customer, likes that the store is convenient to walk to from her home in El Cerrito. “There is even a wall where people can post notices for classes, items for sale, pets needing homes, and other things of interest to those in the general area,” she said.

“I’m always getting my milk and my orange juice here,” said Bernadine Taylor as she perused the daily produce, another staple on her shopping list. The only thing she misses is a butcher.  

Although a butcher did work in this space once upon a time, Bolla said that the equipment was too expensive to upgrade after one fateful inspection, and the butcher decided to close up shop.

The store has remained busy since Safeway recently moved from a previous location on San Pablo Avenue and Moeser Lane into a renovated commercial space on San Pablo near Cutting Boulevard.

When asked whether or not he was worried it would affect his business, Bolla said that he realized it might just help. “Everybody who is coming down Cutting and MacDonald and Moeser to go to those stores, now a lot of them are going to be coming right down Potrero.” He’s had to make sure to put signs out on the sidewalks advertising his deals on produce, to entice passers-by to come in and see what the store is all about.  

Giovanni’s also offers a small organic produce section. “About 10 years ago, I carried a lot of organics," Bolla said." I didn’t have a lot of success selling them.” In his opinion the organic section will grow as long as people keep buying it.

Bolla lives in Vallejo and commutes to El Cerrito to run the shop. His tiny office in the back of the building is decorated with pictures of tractors. He would love to be able to drive one again. “The (extended) family has a 1919 Caterpillar that I used to drive around. I’m the last person to drive it. It’s up in the mountains. I used to have a lot of fun driving that thing.”

Bolla’s paternal grandfather was a sharecropper in North Richmond in the ‘20s and ‘30s. His great-grandfather on his mother’s side retired to the mountains of Clear Lake.

“(They) still have old apple orchards and walnut orchards, but they’re just sitting there not doing anything,” said Bolla.