We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Steven Sadri . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Steven below.
Steven, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
We came up with the idea of Tahona Mercado during the height of the COVID pandemic in 2020. My wife and I were working at our sister restaurant in San Diego at the time and were on our fourth concept pivot to accommodate the constantly changing restrictions on dining. We thought “If we open a market, then we are considered an essential business, and therefore do not have to go through the process of closing and then re-opening all the time” and grew the concept from there.
We looked at the high demand for liquor during the pandemic, especially agave spirits, and thought, “we know agave, we know Mexican food and products, why don’t we take the spirit of a unique, high end restaurant experience and make it pandemic proof?” We were nervous and excited because there was no other store like ours in the San Francisco Bay Area at the time. Nob Hill, let alone San Francisco had no outlet for the incredible food that was being created by up and coming chefs and we wanted them to have a space to share and honor their craft.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
We are a bottle shop/market with specialty food and drinks from Mexico and inspired by Mexico, we also have a small deli which we call a Mexicatessen. Many of the products that we stock you will not be able to find anywhere else unless you purchase directly from the vendor. We taste everything that comes through our doors and refuse to stock products that taste bad or are made with bad ingredients or in ways that are harmful to the environment or the people who work for the business. This includes our selection of mezcal, tequila, and other agave spirits–you will not find any celebrity brands or brands that use additives because they are mass produced and lack the diversity of flavor that can be found in agave spirits.
We are proud to have created a platform for smaller producers who are making recipes in the same way that their families have for generations. Many of these brands do not have the marketing budget, or a celebrity endorsement and we are proud to be a voice for the smaller producer.
We both (my wife, who I own the business with and I) got started in the hospitality industry at a young age and came to be hooked on the pleasure that it brings to others and ourselves.
How’d you meet your business partner?
My wife, who is also my business partner and I met while working at the now closed restaurant Cala, in San Francisco. We both began working there because of our love of Mexican food and spirits, specifically mezcal. We are lucky that we have always, and continue to work very well together and are both passionate about our business and supporting smaller producers. If we have different visions for moving forward we hear each other out before we make a decision, there is minimal arguing involved. We also just had a son so can be considered an official mom n pop shop! ;)
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Our reputation is very important to us. We will not stock a well known big name brand that is not in line with our vision even if it will bring in more customers or sales. Right now it is very tempting to bring in more sales, especially in January, but we can not take the easy way out. People have come to trust our selections and we do not want to let them down. For every big celebrity brand there is an alternative that once tried is infinitely more interesting to the palate.
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Image Credits
Lorena Masso