a relatively low rate of turnover. “Right now we have five employees who have been here more than 30 years, another five have been here over 25 years, six or seven for more than 20 years, and quite a few more have been with us between 15 and 20 years,” he said. Looking back at how far the natural foods movement has come since his first encounter, Gerner is amazed. “We have gone from organic food being a hippie thing and only carried in a few counter culture stores to it being in every store. The largest seller or organic food is Costco and the largest organic brand is Safeway’s O Organics—it’s crazy!” he said. “But if we are going to continue to change it has to be the big retailers who accept it.” At seventy years old Gerner is in his store every day and is as passionate as ever about his food principles. “I started this company when I was 24 years old and it still is not work to me, there is no difference between this and living,” he shared. “I enjoy our customers, the employees, our suppliers, I love visiting the farms and talking with everyone.” He is proud of the progress he and his team have helped bring in since starting in the natural foods business. “Over the years we have done many things and had a lot of fun,” he said. “We had the first 100% organic produce department in the Bay Area, made and sold the first tofu burger in the United States, and started the Non-GMO project which has become the fastest growing label claim in the U.S.” While he may be looking towards retiring from The Natural Grocery Company in a few short years, he is by no means ready to slow down his quest to bring organic food to all. “I want to open a shop in Peru. I feel it is ripe and is very much how Berkeley was in the 70s. They need more of the food they grow and ship out around the world to be consumed by their people,” said Gerner. “They grow a lot of organic food and very few people there get it. I feel there is a storm building and that country needs it.” june 2016 MARKETPLACEcontracosta.com 29 Gerner said the store wasn’t reaching much of his community. “The only customers were hippies. We didn’t appeal to the neighborhood very much and I wanted to change that,” he shared. Changing the name of the retail portion of the business to Gilman Street Gourmet Natural Foods and Delicatessen, Gerner had hoped to reach a broader clientele. “I expanded the bakery and added the deli where we regularly made fifty different dishes using items from the store—it ended up being 25% of our sales.” After making a few adjustments to his business model, Gerner, again, changed the name of his store to Berkley Natural Grocery Co. in 1981. “That was the beginning of The Natural Grocery Company we know today. Later I opened El Cerrito Natural Grocery Co. in 1988,” he said. The Natural Grocery Company still owns both Berkley Natural Grocery Co. and El Cerrito Natural Grocery Co. Undertaking a massive change in his business, Gerner decided to sell The Natural Grocery Co. to his employees in 2002. “I’ve always believed in employee ownership and felt it was fairer and the workers were rewarded for the success of the company. Also, I wanted The Natural Grocery Company to survive and be of benefit to our community after I retire,” he said. “It was a surprise to all of the employees and not a pleasant one to many.” At the time, many long-term employees weren’t happy with the ownership change because it affected their pension plans. Gerner said that the pension accounts actually grew faster with the new system. Quick to correct anyone who calls him the owner, Gerner said that his title is founder. “I still rule with an iron fist,” he laughed. Even with several name changes and ownership changes, Gerner shared that The Natural Grocery Company has seen Berkley Natural Grocery Co., 1336 Gilman St., Berkeley (510) 526-2456. Naturalgrocery.com
Contra Costa Marketplace - June 2016
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