Re: I have a (gluten-free) dream.....

[Guest guest]

This is exactly what Deby's in Denver does. It's a cafe, but it has a

bunch of gluten free products stocked as well. So, people come in to

stock up and to eat.

>

> Yeah, what they have at Mariposa is a nice start, but I think a

store

> that carried a good variety of GF products would be great. I

picture

> two small stripmall stores combined, grocery store on one side and

> cafe/bakery on the other. Freezer cases with all the GF frozen

meals

> and breads and things, shelves with all the different flours out

> there, a huge variety of crackers and cookies, etc, a little ice

cream

> freezer with a handful of flavors of GF ice cream and some of those

> Barkat ice cream cones so we could take the kids out for ice cream

> cones again... People would come in to shop for groceries and be

> practically unable to resist the draw of the fresh food from the

> cafe/bakery side, and people who stopped in for lunch would end up

> grabbing a few items from the shelves to take home.

> -

>

[Guest guest]

--- In , " Pam Newbury " <pknewbury@...>

wrote:> ……..So how can we get something like this in San or

other areas??? San

> is a big enough area it should be able to support that kind of

an

> enterprise somewhere in the area. I wonder what we celiacs can do

to

> encourage or foster a Café Mariposa-like all GF restaurant in San

or

> Santa Cruz? I'm thinking of recruiting local talent/pooling

> resources/capital/recipes/skills.

>

>

>

> The vision: a café that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. All

GF but

> with some items free of other allergens as well (soy, corn, dairy,

nuts),

> and some foods being low carb for those with type II diabetes or on

low carb

> diets for other reasons. Food would be simple, healthy, local:

sandwiches,

> mac and cheese, lasagne, pizza, salads, breads, rolls. If you

include some

> vegan/vegetarian offerings you could attract that market as well.

Kid

> friendly, casual, a nice place to hang out (and have meetings?).

>

>

>

> So what resources do we have in this group? I don't have lots of

time, but

> I do have ideas, recipes, and capital. Any ideas of what it would

take to

> do this? Anyone out there with an interest in making this happen

or with

> resources or skills to contribute? Is there a big enough market

for this?

>

>

>

> Pam Newbury

>

Pam, I'm going to mention this conversation to the people at Wildwood

next time I go there. (I had planned to go this afternoon for a Ding-

Dong, but got sidetracked!) I told my husband before I posted my

question that if there wasn't a " Wildwood-like Cafe " in Sunnyvale

that he and I were going to embark on a new career.

jan

[Guest guest]

My parents live in sdale and I just had thepleasure of pizza ( in a real pizza box!!!!) at picazzo's. It was wonderful!On Jun 4, 2008, at 12:04 PM, "sspitzer5" <sspitzer5@...> wrote:

I have that dream too! I travel a lot for work and have gone to

excellent restaurants with gluten free options in Chicago (Da

Luciano's - amazing pasta dishes), Phoenix (Picazzo's - fabulous pizza

and salads), NY (Risotteria), and Denver (Deby's). I'm certain the bay

area can support places like these.

I think the restaurants that have both "regular" food and gluten free

options do the best. Every time I've been in Picazzo's or Da Luciano's,

they are packed. Deby's and Risotteria were both sort of ghost towns. I

loved eating there, but the non-gf people may not.

Picazzo's has 4 locations around Phoenix and you can get gf pizza at

all of them. They also franchise. I keep hoping one will open somewhere

in the bay area.

In any case, I'd be interested in discussing business ideas. I've been

thinking along those lines too.

[Guest guest]

I like that idea too. I went to ny Carino's inGilroy and the first time was absolute heaven. The second, as I was so eager to get back, was horrible. They made me feel like I was making this stuff up just tomake their lives miserable. On Jun 4, 2008, at 12:30 PM, flatcat9@... wrote:

Great idea, the thank-you notes! I wish I'd thought of that long ago.

H.

In a message dated 6/4/08 12:14:53 PM, TrVerb@... writes:

I send a note to every restaurant I eat in to thank them for accommodating my dietary needs (even if they really weren't great about it) and to give a little reminder of the issues involved in cooking for people with celiac; I also remind them that 1 of 132 people have celiac disease and even more have gluten intolerance. Maybe then the next time someone with the disease walks through their door, they'll be better prepared to serve them.

Tristan

**************Get trade secrets for amazing burgers. Watch "Cooking with Tyler Florence" on AOL Food. (http://food.aol.com/tyler-florence?video=4? & NCID=aolfod00030000000002)

[Guest guest]

would you mind sharing the letter with us?

----- Original Message ----From: "TrVerb@..." <TrVerb@...> Sent: Wednesday, June 4, 2008 12:14:53 PMSubject: Re: [ ] Re: I have a (gluten-free) dream.....

I send a note to every restaurant I eat in to thank them for accommodating my dietary needs (even if they really weren't great about it) and to give a little reminder of the issues involved in cooking for people with celiac; I also remind them that 1 of 132 people have celiac disease and even more have gluten intolerance. Maybe then the next time someone with the disease walks through their door, they'll be better prepared to serve them.TristanIn a message dated 6/4/08 12:06:09 PM, sspitzer5 (DOT) com writes:

I have that dream too! I travel a lot for work and have gone toexcellent restaurants with gluten free options in Chicago (DaLuciano's - amazing pasta dishes), Phoenix (Picazzo's - fabulous pizzaand salads), NY (Risotteria) and salads), NY (Risotteria)<wbr>, and Denarea can support places like these.I think the restaurants that have both "regular" food and gluten freeoptions do the best. Every time I've been in Picazzo's or Da Luciano's,they are packed. Deby's and Risotteria were both sort of ghost towns. Iloved eating there, but the non-gf people may not.Picazzo's has 4 locations around Phoenix and you can get gf pizza atall of them. They also franchise. I keep hoping one will open somewherein the bay area.In any case, I'd be interested in discussing business ideas. I've

beenthinking along those lines too.************ **Get trade secrets for amazing burgers. Watch "Cooking with Tyler Florence" on AOL Food.(http://food. aol.com/tyler- florence? video=4? & NCID=aolfod00030000 000002)

[Guest guest]

FYI, in January, Deby's also started selling a few GF products through

one of Denver's main grocery chains, " King Soopers " . They are

re-branded as " 8 Free Foods " , and stocked in the freezer. The items

stocked at KS include Multigrain Sandwich Bread, Pizza Crust, Plain

English Muffins, Cinnamon Raisin English Muffins, Chocolate Chip

Cookie Dough, Sugar Cookie Dough, and Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Dough. At

the one by my parents' house, they only had the Sugar Cookie Dough,

which was WAY TOO SWEET. I have had her breads and cinnamon rolls

from the bakery, and they were pretty good.

So, those of you planning a Bay Area restaurant may want to try to get

your foods in other local groceries too, like Mariposa has their

brownies in many Whole Foods, etc.

-laura

>

> This is exactly what Deby's in Denver does. It's a cafe, but it has a

> bunch of gluten free products stocked as well. So, people come in to

> stock up and to eat.

>

[Guest guest]

Wow! I miss King Soopers so much- we used to shop there all the time

in Boulder. Good to know esp. for when I go " home " to see the in-laws.

(Although Deby's pizza crust is not my favorite...)

Enjoy those Mariposa trips!

-

>

> FYI, in January, Deby's also started selling a few GF products through

> one of Denver's main grocery chains, " King Soopers " . > So, those of

you planning a Bay Area restaurant may want to try to get

> your foods in other local groceries too, like Mariposa has their

> brownies in many Whole Foods, etc.

> -laura

[Guest guest]

I am in Benicia fairly often because I have family as well as friends

there. What business owners are you talking too, out of curiosity?

Have you gotten a positive response or are they hesitant? Let us

know if is a new place to visit soon!

Keri in Antioch

--- In , " Crystal Brown " <CiZella@...>

wrote:

>

> I think this is a wonderful idea. I have been currently mentioning

a similar

> idea to the business owners in Benicia, CA. So far, the consensus

has been

> to create something that is both store and cafe.

>

> I am a graphic designer and an idea person. I would love to get on

board

> with this.

>

> I definitely think the store should specialize in the GOOD GF food

and cut

> out the companies that offer nasty tasting products. Sorry to be

harsh, but

> it's been too many times that someone assumes gluten free will

taste good,

> just because it says gluten free on the box.

>

> While I agree that an ALL gluten free store would be nice, I do

think that

> if that's the case we'd have to have one heck of a cafe. Our food

prices

> would have to be comparable to all those that don't eat gluten free.

>

> The good thing is, if we start this now, we are hitting a time

where food

> prices are high in general. So, we may be able to go ahead and

charge the

> typical GF food prices.

>

> Please contact me at cizella@...

>

> Thanks!

> Crystal

>

[Guest guest]

Keri,

The business owners have been very positive in wanting to support this

new idea. One of them even would invest once she sees a solid business

plan. Another used to be a Whole Foods chef that specialized in

cooking for those with food allergies, including gluten. He even

taught newer chefs how to cook for Celiacs, Diabetics, etc. He is

currently running a different type of business, but showed definite

interest in this idea.

I have yet to receive any hesitation from these business owners.

How often do you visit Benicia?

I hope Benicia will be come the next GF " it " spot.

-Crystal

> >

> > I think this is a wonderful idea. I have been currently mentioning

> a similar

> > idea to the business owners in Benicia, CA. So far, the consensus

> has been

> > to create something that is both store and cafe.

> >

> > I am a graphic designer and an idea person. I would love to get on

> board

> > with this.

> >

> > I definitely think the store should specialize in the GOOD GF food

> and cut

> > out the companies that offer nasty tasting products. Sorry to be

> harsh, but

> > it's been too many times that someone assumes gluten free will

> taste good,

> > just because it says gluten free on the box.

> >

> > While I agree that an ALL gluten free store would be nice, I do

> think that

> > if that's the case we'd have to have one heck of a cafe. Our food

> prices

> > would have to be comparable to all those that don't eat gluten free.

> >

> > The good thing is, if we start this now, we are hitting a time

> where food

> > prices are high in general. So, we may be able to go ahead and

> charge the

> > typical GF food prices.

> >

> > Please contact me at cizella@

> >

> > Thanks!

> > Crystal

> >

>

[Guest guest]

that would be awesome as my Mom and Gram live in Concord.Jen ----- Original Message ----From: Crystal <CiZella@...> Sent: Friday, June 6, 2008 5:10:38

PMSubject: [ ] Re: I have a (gluten-free) dream.....

Keri,

The business owners have been very positive in wanting to support this

new idea. One of them even would invest once she sees a solid business

plan. Another used to be a Whole Foods chef that specialized in

cooking for those with food allergies, including gluten. He even

taught newer chefs how to cook for Celiacs, Diabetics, etc. He is

currently running a different type of business, but showed definite

interest in this idea.

I have yet to receive any hesitation from these business owners.

How often do you visit Benicia?

I hope Benicia will be come the next GF "it" spot.

-Crystal

> >

> > I think this is a wonderful idea. I have been currently mentioning

> a similar

> > idea to the business owners in Benicia, CA. So far, the consensus

> has been

> > to create something that is both store and cafe.

> >

> > I am a graphic designer and an idea person. I would love to get on

> board

> > with this.

> >

> > I definitely think the store should specialize in the GOOD GF food

> and cut

> > out the companies that offer nasty tasting products. Sorry to be

> harsh, but

> > it's been too many times that someone assumes gluten free will

> taste good,

> > just because it says gluten free on the box.

> >

> > While I agree that an ALL gluten free store would be nice, I do

> think that

> > if that's the case we'd have to have one heck of a cafe. Our food

> prices

> > would have to be comparable to all those that don't eat gluten free.

> >

> > The good thing is, if we start this now, we are hitting a time

> where food

> > prices are high in general. So, we may be able to go ahead and

> charge the

> > typical GF food prices.

> >

> > Please contact me at cizella@

> >

> > Thanks!

> > Crystal

> >

>