Welcome to Arcangeli Grocery Company
Thank you for stopping in to visit our web page. Many newcomers to the coast and people passing through Pescadero ask about our history. Those of you who are acquainted with Norm know how longwinded he is, so we decided to write a brief story about our beginnings and the direction we're headed.

First off, for those of you visiting us for the first time here, online, you should know that we are located in historic Pescadero California– a beautiful country town about two miles off Highway 1 on the coast between San Francisco and Santa Cruz.
To our knowledge, we are one of the oldest family-owned businesses on the Coastside.

Sante Arcangeli (pictured at right holding baby Norm), Norm Benedetti's maternal grandfather, founded the Pescadero Bakery and Grocery in 1929. The market was originally situated across the street from its present location.

After World War II, Norm's mother, Louise, and her brother, Alfred Arcangeli (both pictured Below), changed the company name to Arcangeli Grocery. In 1957, Norm Benedetti took over the family business and it became known as "Norm's Market." Norm initiated an extensive renovation program in 1979 that filled the store with wonderful specialty goods and a full California wine stock. The 24 varieties of hot French bread later won acclaim in Northern California's Home and Garden magazine.

In 1980, Norm's son, Mike Benedetti, graduated from college and partnered with his Dad. "Let's not play the supermarket game! Let's create something special," they decided. Norm's Market was to become the most unique, personalized service market on the coast!

The market boasts a full-service deli with good old fashioned service. Custom sandwiches are made on our own scratch–baked rolls. Over 70 varieties of cheese are available. We stock enough lunch meats to satisfy any palate. Many prepared foods are ready to go– from rotisserie chicken to fully cooked beef tri tips– for the commuter as well as the weekend picnic crowd. We also feature Harris Ranch USDA choice meat and our own line of homemade pork sausages: artichoke sausage, linguica, chorizo, sundried tomato & basil, and Italian sausage - our specialty.

After Mike joined the family business, he stocked the market with an extensive line of California wines, as well as some vintage Cabernets and French Bordeaux that are housed in Grandpa Arcangeli's wine cellar. Many of the vast selection of California wines have been stored in the wine cellar for 10 years or more.

The Bakery
All of our breads are scratch baked and handmade the old fashioned way. Many of our breads have no preservatives The Garlic Herb Sourdough and Artichoke French are our specialties. We also offer over 24 other varieties of French and Italian breads.

At Arcangeli's Country Bakery, we specialize in partially baked breads. Our customers contact us from all over the country to ship our breads to them. So we developed a process by which we partially bake the French breads so they can be finish-baked at home. The par baked product can be frozen up to 45 days, thawed, baked, and tastes like it was made that day!

As you stroll down the aisles, you'll also notice the fragrant aromas from our gourmet coffee selections, which offer the most popular and flavor-enhanced of the coffee beans.

Recently we expanded our gourmet food lines to include many exotic items, such as artichoke salsa, garlic salsa, garlic pesto sauce, and a large line of vinegars and oils. These gourmet items are also shipped to all 50 states.

We fill the produce department with grade "A" produce, hand selected daily by the owners. We stock more than enough groceries to tide you over until your next trip to the supermarket. In fact, with the quality of merchandise we offer, our personalized service and down-home country atmosphere, many people have given up standing in line at the supermarkets and prefer to be pampered by us.