Marina Bay Local Businesses

The ability to reflect a community’s character and interact with their neighbors on both a business and personal level is something many large corporations are unable to do. Local business in Marina Bay is more than just complimenting its quirk or hipster audience — it’s recognizing and cherishing the positive impact it holds around our community, plus all of the independent and unique products or services.

Below is a small list of local businesses in Marina Bay. During the pandemic, some members visited and reviewed their presence in Marina Bay. Now that we are able to move about more freely, we are adding to the list as we receive information. Feel free to Contact Us should you want to be listed here.

Armistice Brewing Company:
845 Marina Bay Parkway Ste. 1
http://www.armisticebrewing.com/
Pickup: seven days a week from 2-7.

MBNC volunteer Suzanne Nielsen visited this family-owned-and-operated boutique brewing establishment. It’s open every day, Monday-Sunday from 2-7pm. Owner/operators, the Zobel siblings, have done a fantastic job adapting their business to the new realities.

All orders are currently online only, and the turnaround time is amazing—zero-to-five minutes. Leave your crowler at home since Armistice currently supplies the container so there is no contact with the customer on any surface.

The recently added outdoor seating is inviting, but off limits. Never mind, take-out orders are flowing. Taproom Manager Kunjan Joshi said that the brewing operation has its full range of product. Current favorites are “Smoothie Sour Ale” and “Hazy IPA”. Snacks and non-alcoholic drinks are also available.

Artisan Kitchen Café, left
865 Marina Bay Parkway C33,
http://www.artisankitchenandcafe.com
Select ChowNow for pick-ups, or GrubHub for delivery.
510-235-2323

MBNC Vice President Anita Mermel visited with Liane Ingham, founder and chef of the Artisan Café. Known for its tasty menu inspired by fresh, seasonally available, high-quality ingredients, the café is currently open shorter hours, from 9-2pm, Mon-Fri for take-out and delivery only. You can order and pay online, and pick up at a specified time (best method for observing anti-viral protocols), or walk in and order, mask on of course! The full breakfast and lunch menus are available to order online, and new dinner hours have just been launched, 5-8pm Thursdays and Fridays. Call or visit Wednesday or Thursday mornings to explore and pre-order the dinner options, as they will change weekly and are not posted on the website. Liane is also experimenting with some very delicious desserts that will vary daily; you can purchase these on the spot. Sadly, the fresh berry crumble had just sold out when Anita visited, but she did voraciously consume her BLAT!

Bubbaloo Café:
1402 Marina Way South, Suite B in Richmond
510-680-5126
Monday through Friday, 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM
https://www.bubbaloocafe.com/

“If you haven’t been, it’s a miss” ...that’s what MBNC President Margarita Mitas said about “Bubbaloo Café”. She dropped by for lunch and met Jowan, the nephew of owners Gio Gelera and Candice Nguyen. Bubbaloo Café is a family-owned business and the couple also owns “Anh Restaurant & Bar” in Marina Bay, which is closed during the shelter-in-place order. Jowan said Bubbaloo Café serves the community by taking pick-up orders via phone or having customers drop by for take-out while maintaining the “social distancing” protocol. The service is friendly, and the food was fast delivered. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner and the menu offers a variety of selections with an Asian flair. Margarita opted for “The Blue Ribbon Chicken” sandwich, and said it was “delicious”. MBNC would like to remind the community of this gem of a café right in our neighborhood. We hope you all will stop by to enjoy a meal while helping keep the doors open and the food serving and we also wish the best for Anh Restaurant & Bar and look forward to seeing it open again soon.

Dissident Spirits Co.
855 Marina Bay Pkwy Suite 28
Richmond, CA 94804
Tasting Room open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 1-6 p.m.
803-917-4022

Dissident Spirits, a new distillery housed in the Marina Bay community of Richmond, has officially opened the doors of its new tasting room to the public.

Located in the shopping plaza with local favorites Armistice Brewing and Artisan Kitchen, the distillery produces classics like gin, vodka, and rum, along with innovative small-batch spirits like their recent barrel-aged Rose Gin and Peated Gin. Since March, the distillery has offered free tastings to the public two days a week from their production site as they’ve built the official tasting room in the same building.

La Lupita Mexican Eatery:
2167 Meeker Ave, (510) 680-5410.
For takeout or delivery go to https://www.lalupitamexicaneatery.com
M-F 7am–8:00pm, Sat - Sun 10:00am–8:00pm
Breakfast/Lunch and Dinner served

“If you love Mexican food like I do, this is the place to go”, says MBNC Secretary Amelia Morgan. She has been eating at this restaurant since they opened in late 2016. It is family run and the quality of the food is great. One of Amelia’s favorite dishes is Chile Verde; she comments that it has a nice kick to it. Their food is home made from quality meats and seafood. Since the pandemic, their food can be ordered online, and be delivered still hot. Can’t beat that!

Quiznos:
2175 Meeker Ave, (510) 965-0857.
For takeout or delivery go to https://www.quiznos.com
M-F 11-8 pm Sat- 10-6 pm Sun 11-6

This is a franchise restaurant within walking distance for a quick lunch, says MBNC Secretary Amelia Morgan after a recent visit. While she’s not much of a ‘fast food’ person, Quiznos has always been her ‘go to place’ for something tasty and nutritious to grab and go. She likes the “freshness of the food and that the food is made to order with the choices she wants on her sandwich.”

Richmond Food Market:
corner Cutting Blvd and 23rd:
Hours: seven days a week from 8-11.

MBNC volunteer Suzanne Nielsen stopped in the Richmond Food Market, a family-owned business that knows its clientele very well. Its compact size belies the wide diversity of grocery and household items available. It also has a highly recommended, customized meat department.

Enthusiastic manager/owner Mohammed Nasser has risen to the challenge of the new situation. He commented that there have been no layoffs or downsizing in his market and none are anticipated. Mid-March, the store initially had a run on masks, grits, milk, eggs, toilet paper - the usual suspects - but is now fully stocked. Next week a large shipment of the top-of-the line N95 masks will arrive. They also have full-face plastic face shields.

Next week Nasser will also launch a dedicated on-line ordering app (“B R Club,” available on google) so that customers can order from their cell phone. Nasser is busy adding photographs of the store’s products to the online inventory. Customers can pick up their order in the store or have it brought to their car. The next step is to create online payment possibilities.

Of course, this sorting out a new business model has brought some anxiety, Nasser admitted, but “Each day is more normal.”

THE UPS STORE:
2163 Meeker Ave @ Harborgate Shopping Center
(M-F: 8am to 6pm; Sat: 9am – 5pm)
https://locations.theupsstore.com/ca/richmond/2163-meeker-ave

UPS happens to be one of our newest local businesses. MBNC President Margarita Mitas stopped by to welcome them to the neighborhood. She was greeted by Rakesh Anand, the new franchisee. He mentioned they have been open since mid-April and that he just hired 2 new employees. Such good news to hear that a small business is able to hire locally during a pandemic. Rakesh offered a coupon as a first-time customer and mentioned the community would also be receiving coupons in the mail. Hopefully, everyone has received theirs and will use at your next visit to UPS when stopping to seek Rakesh and staff ‘s support with your mailing, packaging, notary and other office-support needs.