Vintage Grocers will be given the 2015 Harvey Baskin Dolphin Award for Malibu business leaders and professionals who have served the community through funding and service.
Since its grand opening nearly two years ago in the west end of Malibu, serving the community has been Vintage Grocers’ primary objective.
“I felt so honored because I know how big of an award that is. Even before we opened and before I really understood the community, I’d hear about the Dolphin Award,” Vintage Grocers Community Relations Manager Mary Carbonniere said.
On any given day at the store in the Trancas Market Center, residents can find a wide variety of locally sourced goods, foods to please any dietary or allergen restriction, and, as of summer 2015, live music concerts.
“I was just trying to think of … keeping the community involved and what we can do to reach out and give back to this community that supports us so much,” Carbonniere said. “We’d have the bands play in the front patio, and that did so well, and I knew customers liked it and our employees liked it. I thought, why not do a concert in the park?”
So, as a way to bring more music to Malibu West and further cultivate relationships with their customers and neighbors, live music and entertainment filled the center on Friday nights through “Vintage Grocers Summer Concert Series.”
“It did start slow and progressively got bigger,” Carbonniere said. “Lenny Goldsmith was a huge help in bringing people to the concert and also helping me find talent to play, as well as Eric and the guys from The Roman Helmets. I couldn’t have done it by myself … those guys that really helped me push and get the community at the center.”
The store keeps closely connected to the community through various events and charitable contributions throughout the year, from catering meals at local surfing events, to hosting a yearly customer appreciation day on the store’s anniversary.
“We love to come up with cool little events like the Easter egg hunts … those types of things make us unique from a major grocery chain,” Manager Eric Fuchser said. “It’s a heartfelt business and our whole model about relationships being deeply rooted — we really believe in that. It comes back to that old fashioned, say hi to your neighbor, go dance on the grass, listen to some good music surrounded by good food.”
After a wildly successful summer series in 2015, the store’s already planning ahead for its concert series to begin in August.
“I’ve worked so closely with the bands to make it even better this year,” Carbonniere said. “I want to keep it very homegrown still, people bringing their picnic dinners on the lawn. I’m glad people took it for what it was worth and brought their friends and families … it was just so nice to be outside and enjoy our center and enjoy our community.”
Customers have become friends and friends have become family at Vintage Grocers, which comes as no surprise to Fuchser.
“Every one of our employees has everything to do with that,” Fuchser said. “We’ve got so much support, not only from the community, but also from our ownership, from all aspects of what we do … it makes it easy. Everybody has really embraced us, we feel like we’re all part of everybody’s families. We’re just grateful to be serving the community of Malibu.”