-By James Mellgren

Store Stats
Number of Stores: 12
Year Opened: 1926
Number of Employees: 1500+
Web Site: www.nuggetmarket.com

Named for those elusive clumps of gold that sent droves of men and women scurrying into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the mid-19th century, Nugget Markets has grown since its humble beginnings to become one of the most dynamic and innovative retailers on the West Coast and, indeed, the entire country. Nugget is a family-owned business and has been since it was founded by the father-and-son team of William and Mack Stille back in 1926 in Woodland, Calif. Back then, Mack was an innovator, pioneering such modern ideas as a fresh meat department within the grocery store, refrigerated produce cases (built by William), and checkout stands with power conveyor belts -- all things that are taken for granted today in just about any grocery store in America. According to the company history, they were also way ahead of their time for their progressive view of employee relations. Wisely seeing the benefit in having happy, prosperous employees, Nugget was well-known for paying top dollar and offering handsome benefit packages. Their attitude toward their employees hasn't changed, and as a result, Fortune magazine recognized Nugget three years in a row as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For. Today, the company operates nine locations in and around the Sacramento area, as well as three Food 4 Less stores. On a recent visit to gold country, I discovered why they are still the heart and soul of their communities.

A Brief History of Nugget
Throughout the early years of Nugget Markets, the Stilles quickly set a standard for their fresh, high-quality produce, with son Mack traversing the Western states seeking out the best available. They also established a reputation for everyday low prices, as well as for quality and convenience. Company expansion began in the late-1970s as the family -- now headed by grandson Gene Stille -- opened their second store in nearby Davis, and with the acquisition of two defunct Alpha Beta stores, two stores in Sacramento. As an example of their employee-friendly attitude, all the Alpha Beta employees were offered jobs at the newly named Nugget Markets, and many of them are still with the company today. Soon full kitchens were added to the already-extensive deli departments, including a Chinese kitchen. In the early-1990s, the company opened two Food 4 Less stores in Vallejo and Woodland, becoming -- as the company history states -- "the first independent grocer to operate both price-impact and conventional formats."

Perhaps the most significant changes came with the turn of the century as they opened the first of their European-marketplace stores in Vacaville and Davis, instituting their "Fresh to Market" concept. These new stores featured full-service kitchens, a comprehensive wine selection and a tasting room, the Shallots Cooking School at the Vacaville location, drawing well-known chefs from all over Northern California, and a European-style bread and pastry program, sending the enticing aroma of freshly baked goods wafting throughout the store. With each new store, they refine and improve their concept of bringing the freshest and most diverse foods to the lucky patrons of the Sacramento and San Francisco Bay Areas.

Fresh to Market
The first thing one usually notices upon entering the Nugget Market in Vacaville is the light. It streams in through the front windows and, more dramatically, through the skylights over the giant produce displays, lending the whole produce department an open-air market feeling. Inside the produce area, one is dazzled by the creative and highly colorful displays of fresh fruits and vegetables. The abundant and highly varied produce is stacked in a way that not only accentuates the quantities and colors of the produce, but also somehow manages to have everything at eye level, no matter what your eye level happens to be. An ingenious use of a variety of perforated hoops and barrels in which the produce is stacked allows the staff to create vivid and colorful displays, to paint pictures with the food.

The produce department is situated directly across from the prepared foods section, a diverse and attractive line of cases that offers something for just about everyone -- from Mediterranean to Asian to Latin American. In a sense, the store is set up to offer varying levels of preparedness depending on how much the consumer wants to do on their own. For example, one can buy all the raw ingredients -- vegetables, protein, etc. -- and go home and cook the meal from scratch. If you want to cook, but don't have time to start from scratch, you can buy the vegetables already cut up and ready to cook, the meat marinated and seasoned, or have the meat department prepare the meat to your specifications, and so on. And, of course, you can buy a fully prepared meal from soup to nuts. None of it would matter, though, if it weren't for the high quality of the food in every department. Their "Fresh to Market" concept that carries through to every department in the store is symbolized out front of the store by a neoclassical statue of a robed woman holding a large basket of fresh food above her head, a statue that has come to be the company's logo as well as mascot, and which the Nugget family affectionately calls "Market Mom."

I was particularly struck by the cheese department where smart, rustic wood shelves that look like they came right out of a cheese maturing room are used for the pre-cut cheeses. Neat, simple and uniform labels identify each pre-cut and wrapped cheese, lined up in orderly columns in the backlit display. It was without doubt the most elegant, efficient and sophisticated grab-and-go cheese presentation I've ever seen. They put the same effort into the pre-cut cheeses as some cheesemongers put into the main display. To the customer, it says that this is a selection to be taken seriously. The cheeses themselves were pristine, meaning they either have a very good turnover or the cheeses are frequently re-wrapped for freshness. I suspect both are true.

After moving out of the cheese department and wending my way through the handsome wine, beer and spirits section -- nice shelving, effective signage and a thoughtful selection -- I arrived at the small but extremely well thought-out housewares display, presented almost as little vignettes in recesses in the wall. A variety of gadgets, coffeemakers, cookware and books are all shown very simply and elegantly. Because it was relatively small, there didn't seem to be any gimmicky items. Rather, the products seemed to be selected based on what consumers need most and may need to pick up while food shopping. For a housewares department within a large food store, this was perhaps the smartest one I've seen.

Little touches everywhere showed off their innovation and creative merchandising, like the very cool Knob Creek whiskey barrels near the front that were full of produce like oranges, papayas and so on. Another highlight was the comprehensive juice and coffee bar, offering a huge array of both, as well as a fine selection of whole-leaf teas they will brew for you. Once you have your beverage, you can sit at one of the tables that, awash with sunlight from the ceiling, make you feel like you are sitting out on the piazza sipping your cappuccino.

Price Challenge Scoreboard
If Nugget Markets as a company cares about the needs of their employees, then they are equally caring about their customers. One way they take care of their customers is by making sure they are not paying too much for the food they are buying. Nugget Markets are certainly not what you would call discount stores. Indeed, the high quality of the foods -- both cooked and raw -- and other products in the store make this a high-end shopping experience. Nevertheless, to dispel the idea that they are super expensive, the "Price Challenge Scoreboard" looms over the entryway to the store, reminding everyone that value, as well as quality, can be expected at Nugget. The scoreboard looks like an old-fashioned baseball scoreboard; only, instead of opposing teams, there are the names of competitive stores in the area. Nugget has a team of price checkers that routinely shop the competition to compare prices. The results are posted on the scoreboard for all to see. If that weren't enough, the store's management team regularly gives a randomly selected customer $100 to go grocery shopping at one of Nugget's competitors. They bring the groceries back to Nugget and start to compare prices. If Nugget's prices are higher on any product, the customer is given the difference plus $10.

Nugget Markets also distinguish themselves by being the regional distributor of a number of high-quality brands of products, such as Boar's Head Deli Meats and Harris Ranch Natural Beef as well as Equator-brand coffee. At Shallots, their cooking school at the Vacaville location, they offer classes and instruction in the kinds of things consumers really want to know, everything from a class on "How to Boil Water" to an "Evening in Italy" wine dinner. There were courses listed in the spring 2008 brochure on such diverse topics as "Cast Iron Cooking," "Vietnamese Classics," "Gourmet Sandwiches and Spreads," "Just for Teens: Using Your Noodle" (chicken noodle soup where they make their own noodles, homemade mac-and-cheese and lasagna) and "English Tea." They also use the school for organized tastings for wine and other products.

The only downside to my visit to Nugget Market was the realization that I don't have one closer to where I live so I could shop there regularly. Their approach to quality, customer service, fair pricing, creative merchandising, employee welfare and to maintaining an overall uplifting shopping experience has resulted in a loyal clientele and a very successful business. The Nugget Markets concept can be seen in their company mission statement, one that by all appearances is enthusiastically adhered to. It reads as follows:

"We are a family of dedicated people with a love of food and a passion for excellent service. We are committed to constant improvement, our people and, most importantly, guest satisfaction. Our associates are our competitive edge -- superior quality and great prices are just part of the bargain."

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