Natural Grocery

Independently owned, organic grocery store. Our Annex serves prepared foods and offers a selection of wine and beer. Our florists are here to help you with fresh local cuts and dried bouquets.

EL CERRITO STORE
10367 San Pablo Ave.
(510) 526-1155
Every Day Hours
PREPARED FOOD ANNEX
10387 San Pablo Ave.
(510) 526-5150
Every Day Hours
BERKELEY STORE
1336 Gilman St.
(510) 526-2456
Every Day Hours
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Home / Archives for Blog

Pachamama Coffee of the Month: Mexico

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Mexico happens to be Pachamama’s coffee of the month, and since September marks the beginning of National Hispanic Heritage Month, we thought sharing this blog would be helpful, informative, and provide a new perspective about coffee’s wonderful, labor-love journey from seed to cup.

We present Pachamama’s latest Blog,  Journey to the Origin.  Their Creative Director, Rosa,  recounts her discovery of coffee’s incredible journey from seed to cup while visiting one of Pachamama’s owner cooperatives: La Union Regionnal Cooperative, in Veracruz, Mexico.

We hope you find the time to read about her experience.  It’s a short read that demonstrates how Pachamama Coffee is one of the most sustainable coffees the Natural Grocery can offer our customers. It is available in our El Cerrito Store.

Organic Lil’ Gem Lettuce

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Organic Lil’ Gem Lettuce

Season: Year round in Northern California

Flavor: Little Gem lettuce, botanical name Lactuca sativa, is an annual plant of the sunflower family, Asteraceae, also called Sucrine (French for sugar), or Sugar Cos. . Little Gem, the sweet, compact lettuce that resembles romaine after you you strip away the flimsy outer leaves. the best of both worlds! sweet like butter lettuce and crunchy like romaine.

Storage: Keeping it cold and preventing excess moisture build-up is the key to extending its crisp freshness. Try to put it in the fridge as soon as possible. It will not store well in bio-bags and should be used quickly. You can get a little longer life by putting it in a plastic bag or container.

How to use: Vinaigrettes love getting lost in the Gem’s nooks and crannies, and even grill time can’t subdue its crispness. There’s no waste on this lettuce. It’s perfect for individual salads, sandwiches and lettuce cup appetizers.

Nutrition: Like romaine, this green is packed with vitamins A, C, K, and folate, as well as minerals phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and magnesium.

Organic Sweet Corn

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Season: June to October in Northern California

Flavor: Sweet, succulent and crisp.

Storage: The fresher the better! Try to cook fresh corn the same day you purchase it. Despite the advances in new varietals, it still holds true that the longer corn is in your fridge the more starchy and less sweet corn becomes. When choosing don’t worry about dryer husks or brown silks but if the kernels start to dimple that is a sign it is going to be starchy.

How to use: Raw, steamed, boiled, pan fried- just about any way you can imagine!

Here’s a link to a “No-Pollo” Verde Soup with Sweet Corn on our site:

https://naturalgrocery.com/2021/08/14/no-pollo-verde-soup-with-sweet-corn/

Nutrition: Fresh corn is a good source of vitamin B6, thiamin, niacin, magnesium, iron and a number of other important minerals. Eating corn with beans provides all the amino acids humans need.

New Health Care Orders Regarding Mask Requirements 8/2/2021

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Contra Costa County, Alameda County and The City of Berkeley have all issued new Health Orders regarding requirements for wearing masks. All persons, regardless of vaccination status are now required to wear face coverings when in indoor public spaces and businesses. All our employees will be masked going forward and customers must also wear face coverings while in our stores.

Links to health orders:

Contra Costa County  https://813dcad3-2b07-4f3f-a25e-23c48c566922.filesusr.com/ugd/84606e_8a1ea8e1a6cd4e33a3509521f661237d.pdf

City of Berkeley https://www.cityofberkeley.info/uploadedFiles/Health_Human_Services/Public_Health/covid19/COB-health-order-n23-face-covering.pdf

Alameda County  https://covid-19.acgov.org/covid19-assets/docs/shelter-in-place/21-03-face-coverings-eng.pdf

Announcement from The Annex

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With the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions on Tuesday, June 15 in California, the Annex will be re-opening our indoor seating.  Don’t worry, we will also keep the outdoor seating but now you get a choice!

All staff will continue to wear face coverings.

Customers who are vaccinated are not required to wear face coverings but are encouraged to do so if they are not actively eating or drinking.

Customers who are not vaccinated must continue to wear face coverings inside all our facilities except when actively eating or drinking.

On Tuesday, we will also be re-opening self-serve drip coffee in the Cafe. You may use your personal mug or one of our cups. Please let your server know if you are using your own!

On Wednesday, we will be adding self-serve oatmeal in the morning.  This will be from 8:30-11am daily.

We will also be re-opening self-serve hot wells, self-serve rice and self-serve soup. This will start at 11am daily near the rotisserie. We will continue to have self-serve pre-made burritos in the hot wells.  The hot wells have three large sections.  The middle will be burritos and one side will be meat dishes and the other vegetarian dishes.

We will not be serving any food on the side of the Annex where the tables are located. That part of the facility will be for seating only. We have some other redesign plans for that area and for the Salad Bar. We will continue to have pre-made salads until the new Salad Bar is in.

Stay tuned!

Thank you!

The Natural Grocery Company

OPEN EVERY DAY
El Cerrito: 8:30am to 7:30pm, seven days a week
Berkeley: 9am to 7:30pm, seven days a week
Annex : 8:30am to 7:30pm
Wine opens at 9am
EL CERRITO STORE
10367 San Pablo Ave.
(510) 526-1155
Seven days a week 8:30am-7:30pm
EL CERRITO ANNEX
10367 San Pablo Ave.
(510) 526-5150
Every Day 8:30am-7:30pm
Wine: 9am-7:30pm
BERKELEY STORE
1336 Gilman St.
(510) 526-2456
Seven days a week 9am-7:30pm