Local Businesses are Booming in Petaluma

Amy’s Kitchen, Clover-Stornetta and Friedman’s Home Improvement expand offices into Basin Street Properties’ Petaluma buildings.  North Bay vacancy rates drop below 14%.

Petaluma, CA (date November 4, 2015) – Basin Street Properties, a prominent Northern California real estate investor and developer, has signed office leases with Clover-Stornetta, Friedman’s Home Improvement and Amy’s Kitchen totaling over 50,000 square feet in Petaluma. Amy’s Kitchen, founded and based in Sonoma County, is one of the nation’s leading frozen food brands.  Petaluma based Clover-Stornetta leads the nation in sustainable, high quality dairy farming.  Friedman’s Home Improvement is the largest locally owned home improvement retailer in Sonoma and Mendocino counties.

“This is a great story for the Petaluma economy,” said Scott Stranzl, Vice President of Leasing for Basin Street Properties. “Three local companies, founded in Petaluma thriving and expanding.” The 50,000 square feet in these three leases are part of over 70,000 square feet of net absorption in the North Bay over the last 120 days.  “It’s fantastic to see this substantial leasing activity being driven by local businesses.  And it’s a strong indicator for the Petaluma economy,” said Scott.   This has led to vacancy rates dropping to 13.7% for the North Bay, a rate not reached since 2007.  In addition, unemployment has dropped to 4.8% for the region.

Amy’s Kitchen is expanding into an additional 14,743 square feet at 1650 Corporate Circle. “We have been growing our staff in order to support increased sales in the US and internationally,” said Susan Grelock senior manager of communications planning for Amy’s Kitchen. “Our offices in Petaluma work well for us, so it’s great that we can expand in our existing location.”

Petaluma is home to the founders of Amy’s Kitchen, so it’s a natural fit to have the offices in Petaluma. “As the company has grown, Petaluma has continued to be a supportive place to grow the business,” said Susan.  “It’s close to our main kitchen in Santa Rosa and it’s an attractive town for professionals who want to live in a great place to raise a family.”

When asked about living and working in Petaluma, Susan responded, “Petaluma is a great place to live and work, and it’s a vibrant community. It’s great to be a part of that growth and vitality.” Susan continued, “We’re always looking for good candidates to join us, especially people who share our passion for organic food and our commitment to quality.”  The most up to date information about current job openings is available at www.amys.com.

Clover-Stornetta’s new space at 1800 S. McDowell will house senior management, sales, marketing, finance, customer service and supply chain staff.  The new space has a more efficient floorplan, a dedicated testing lab and positions them to grow as more staff are needed.  It also puts them in closer proximity to their new distribution center.  “Our roots and history are here in Sonoma County and our new offices, lab and distribution center allow us to continue to succeed and grow here,” said Mkulima Britt, Clover-Stornetta’s CSO.  “Since the early 1900’s the Clover Brand has been doing business in Petaluma in one form or another.  Most of our dairy farms are in the Sonoma-Marin area and most of our 220 employees make their homes here.”

Outside of its core products Clover-Stornetta will continue to explore new opportunities like craft ice cream and Blue Bottle Coffee Milk.  They will also continue to extend their geographical reach extending into Southern California and other regions of the Western United States.

Friedman’s Home Improvement has seen considerable growth over the past few years.  “We added a new store in Petaluma in 2014 and have seen our team grow from 385 to 575 people between our four stores, distribution center and corporate offices,” said Barry Friedman, CEO of Friedman’s.

“The new location for our corporate offices addresses two important needs: First, the new space gets our entire corporate team (purchasing, marketing, HR, accounting, credit, technology and leadership) under one roof, allowing for greater collaboration and communication across departments,” said Barry. “We had outgrown our previous space and departments were split up across multiple locations. Secondly, Petaluma is the perfect central location between our Sonoma County stores and distribution center allowing for our corporate team to stay connected to our stores and to our valued customers.

Friedman’s, which was founded in Petaluma in 1946, sees this office move as a big step in their company history and will position them well for future growth.  “We are creating a fresh new environment for our team to thrive. We will be enhancing the way we function as a team and positioning ourselves well to attract future talent as we continue to grow,” said Barry.

When asked about staying competitive against the national competition Barry said, “It starts with a great team. Our team believes in our company and our mission to exceed the expectations of our customers.”

Representing Basin Street Properties was Trevor Buck, Steve Leonard and Brian Foster of Cushman & Wakefield while Friedman’s was represented by Brian Keegan of Keegan & Coppin.

About Basin Street Properties: Basin Street Properties, headquartered in Reno, NV, is one of Northern California’s and Northern Nevada’s most prominent developers, investors and managers of commercial properties. Basin Street has become widely recognized for its office, retail, hospitality and mixed-use developments.  Founded over 40 years ago, the company offers a broad range of real estate services, including development, property management, construction management, financial and asset management, and property acquisition and disposition.  For more information contact Mike Williams, Vice President of Marketing, 775-954-2900, mwilliams@basin-street.com or visit basin-street.com.

About Friedman’s: Friedman’s Home Improvement was founded in 1946 as a partnership between Benny and Joseph Friedman in Petaluma.  The original site was a salvage yard that also carried surplus materials and used furniture.  The two brothers jointly saved $4,000 from their Army pay during World War II.  Upon returning to the area where they grew up, they recognized the local demand for materials that had been difficult to obtain during the war.  Through their hard work the boys grew the business by taking care of customers one at a time, watching costs, and reinvesting their profits back into the company. In 1985, Benny & Joe retired with Joe transferring his interest to his youngest brother Harry, and Benny transferring his interest to his son Bill.  Under Bill and Harry’s leadership the Company expanded from the one store to three. Recently, Bill’s son, Barry Friedman, has joined his dad in the family business. Three generations of Friedman’s now celebrate over 65 years of success, over 65 years of being able to give back to their community, and over 65 years of forging customer relationships that mean more today than ever.  For more information on Friedman’s visit us at www.FriedmansHome.com.

About Clover: Third-generation family-owned and operated Clover Stornetta Farms is long recognized as a leader at the forefront of the dairy industry. The Petaluma-based company in California’s beautiful Sonoma County was the first dairy in the United States to become American Humane Certified and hold its partnership of family-owned dairy farms to a higher standard by developing its own unique North Coast Excellence Certified program. Clover is proud to bring clean, wholesome, high-quality dairy products direct from their family of farms to consumers and their families. The company’s passionate support of animal welfare, sustainable business practice and local community are hallmarks of the business. For more information, please visit:  www.CloverPetaluma.com.

About Amy’s: Founded 27 years ago by Andy and Rachel Berliner in Sonoma County, California, Amy’s is a pioneer in the natural and organic convenience foods industry. Named in honor of Andy and Rachel’s daughter, Amy, the company is family owned, privately held and fiercely independent. It is one of the last remaining U.S. food companies to craft its own recipes, source its own ingredients, and make its products in-house. Amy’s prides itself on being like a home kitchen, only bigger. For more information, please visit www.Amys.com.