The Humble Hive Bee Co.

While many of us run away from bees, Angie Logan and her team at the Humble Hive Bee Co. are protecting and preserving the bee population up and down the Central Coast!

The Humble Hive has been around for seven years! They are dedicated to producing the best local organic honey. Their bees and honey can be found in many local areas. They are continuing to grow, despite many bee keeping obstacles. “Our ultimate goal is to provide premium organic honey and other products that are both enjoyable and luxurious. With our top priority being preservation and protection of the bees’ well being,” Logan said.

Humble Hive is sold in many local stores and shops. “Small business adds unique store fronts for tourism, fun items to shop for, and enhances coming together of people in your community,” Logan said. You can find Humble Hive Bee Co. in San Luis Obispo at Lincoln Market and Deli, SLO Provisions, Sausalito Canyon, and right here at the Mercantile! They are also in Paso Robles, Atascadero, and Morro Bay.

Without the Humble Hive, the Central Coast would simply not have the opportunity of enjoying the best honey locally harvested. The different colors, flavors, and pollen each jar contains is individually unique. Like other small businesses on the rise, Humble Hive continues to support local, as well.

Humble Hive Bee Co. Seven Bee Principles:
1. Bee Kind: Practice kind harvesting methods to ensure happy healthy bees’.
2. Bee Aware: Educate continually on the survival of honey bees and how we can help sustain them.
3. Bee Environmentally Conscious: We try to use only recyclable packaging, and biodegradable if possible.
4. Bee Grateful: Appreciate the community and all who support it to make it a better place to bee.
5. Bee Healthy: Eat organically, shop at local markets, and ingest nutritious foods that are so abundant in our area.
6. Bee educated: Help educate people on the importance of the bees and the wonderful gifts the offer
7. Bee buying Local: Buying local products is what helps sustain small business owners, and adds uniqueness and charm to our community. You also reap the rewards of all the love small business owners devote to their companies.

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Back to School SALE!

We would like to give a big, warm welcome back to all the Cal Poly Mustangs and Cuesta Cougars! In honor of having both colleges back in school we are having two big sales! Yes, you read right… SALE TIME!! We are having a 15% off sale for all Cal Poly and Cuesta students on September 7th from 11am- 6pm. We are having an ADDITIONAL special sale on September 9th from 11am- 6pm… 15% off the entire store for anyone!

We have so many back to school items any student could use, no matter what their age is. However, for the littles, we have adorable back packs and lunch pales. Along with our new SLO apparel and Cattaneo Bros apparel.

Do you have a special teacher you would like to welcome back, as well? We have many items for classroom fun and great products to put together a custom gift basket.

Shout out to all you momma’s out there we have some pretty adorable new mugs for your morning coffee! Don’t worry college students, they will work for you, as well!

Our cute aztec bags are perfect to throw your books in! Need a make up bag for your back pack? We have SO many cute options for you to choose from!

Stop in on the 7th and 9th! Show us this post along with your student ID (if you go to Cal Poly or Cuesta) and get 15% off your purchase! We can’t to see y’all!

Labor Day is here!

Got any fun plans for the day off? Labor Day is tomorrow! However you are celebrating the relaxing holiday, stop by the Mercantile and get some necessities. Drink ware, flasks, beer kits, napkins, snacks, sausages, and so much more are available to enjoy the day.

In 1894, Labor Day became a federal holiday to celebrate the hard working Americans. The first Monday of September was the perfect day, because the end of summer is coming up, kids are going back to school, and it is the still nice enough outside to get out and do some fun activities!

Here at the Mercantile we have many versatile items that are not only great for Labor Day, but any other day here on the Central Coast, as well! Whether you’re spending your day wine tasting in Paso Robles, at the lake, or at the beach in Avila, we have so much fun things in stock! Wine caps, beach bags, blankets, nap mats, apparel and hats, and tons of food products!

If you haven’t had the chance to check out all our new apparel, then you are missing out. We have so many men, women, and youth shirts to sport on your day off. Our “Take Me To SLO” style is quickly becoming a customer favorite. Not to mention, our various styles of hats are flying off the shelves. Get your littles a snack to pack along to the beach with them, as well!

Come in today from 11am- 5pm and get all your goodies! P.S. Look out for our big news we will be sharing with you all in a couple days. You DON’T want to miss this!!!

Santa Maria’s Finest

Growing up in Santa Maria, Susan Righetti always dreamed of sharing the secret of her family’s well known and liked recipes. As Susie Q’s Brand continues to grow, their business stays family owned and operated creating top quality food products. As the dream keeps growing they have added various items to their long list of products. From seasonings, sauces, salsas, pinquito beans, and more they continue to share their local products featuring Santa Maria-style artisan foods.

Susie Q’s Brand is the ideal attribute to American traditions. It all starts with an idea that turns into a dream then a dream that turns into reality. Here at the Mercantile we love to see what the dreams come true here on the Central Coast. We feel very lucky to experience seeing businesses grow first-hand.

Like many of the other local butchers and grocers that sell Susie Q’s too, we love to idealize all our food section that is locally made. This makes Susie Q’s that much better, because it is coming from our neighbor in the Santa Maria Valley.

“Our local roots are what make Susie Q’s respected as the leader in Santa Maria Style food products.” Said William Fernandez, Susie Q’s Brand Manager. We cannot wait to see what Susie Q’s has in store for the future!

Susie Q’s also offers no MSG as one of their seasoning options. Not to mention, their seasoning is a great addition to any of our other local food products and a well-liked item to put in many of our customer’s custom gift baskets. Come in and grab some of the finest food options that the Santa Maria Valley has to offer the Central Coast!

Product pictures provided by http://susieqbrand.com/

La Panza Ranch

Ditto! We absolutely LOVE having La Panza Ranch olive oils and honey available in our store. Their products are yet another reason why our store has the purpose to exist. The Central Coast is extremely rich with a variety of crops that are able to be grown here. The locals and visitors are just a few of lucky individuals able to cherish the fresh produce and products that we make right here on the Central Coast!

“We absolutely love supporting our local shops and wineries in our area. They are our longest and most loyal customers.” La Panza Ranch shared with us. Not only is it their goal to make the finest olive oil, but to support local, as well. “Agriculture is the backbone of California and we have a reputation to uphold as producers.” La Panza Ranch stays true to their Central Coast roots and maintains the top selling olive oil in our store.

We don’t just love La Panza Ranch because it is the best, but for their goal set that matches ours. “From the start we wanted our focus to be local and then branch out from there.” Just as our backbone company, Cattaneo Bros. started out to be a local company and branch out from there. La Panza Ranch even has stores that sell their olive oil in Nevada and Pennsylvania!

“The California olive oil industry has been built on the shop local trend. We hope that this trend continues to grow across our state and into other states that see the importance of carrying domestic products.” La Panza Ranch shared with us. Their bottles are the perfect addition to any custom gift basket for any house warming, auction basket, event, or any other occasion.

We hope next time you stop in the shop you head over to the food section and try some of the Central Coast’s best olive oil that can be found on our shelves! Below you’ll find a recipe from La Panza Ranch’s website to enjoy some their olive oil.

La Panza Ranch Recipe:

ROASTED GARLIC WITH FRESH BREAD (Serves 4-6)

Ingredients
• 2 large heads of garlic
• La Panza Ranch Olive Oil
• 1 loaf crusty bread, sliced fresh or grilled
• Aluminum foil

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove the outer, papery skin from each head of garlic, leaving the skins of the cloves intact. Using a sharp knife, cut off the top 1/4 inch of each head to expose the cloves.

Place the garlic in the center of a large sheet of aluminum foil. Drizzle liberally with California COOC-certified EVOO. Bring together the edges of the foil to form a packet and close tightly. Roast until the garlic skins are golden brown and cloves are tender, about 1 hour.

Allow to cool, then squeeze roasted garlic cloves from their skins. Spread on sliced fresh or grilled bread and drizzle with olive oil to serve.

Got a Sweet Tooth?

If you have a sweet tooth craving, don’t you worry! The Mercantile has a wide variety of nuts, candies, chocolates, taffy, and always more in store. We love supporting our local artisans, especially when they make our favorite sweet treats!

One of the best things about having Cattaneo Bros. as our backbone is the nuts and candies line that comes along with the jerky! The hand-craft to perfection motto is carried on through out all our nuts and candies selection. It is the best addition for any lunch treat, craving, or custom gift basket. Any gift basket for a certain individual, house warming, present, or whatever else the occasion may be could always include one of the many snack options Cattaneo Bros. nuts and candies department has in store.

Don’t forget to come try some Cal Poly chocolate made specially by the students! We love being able to support and promote the “Learn By Doing” teaching method Cal Poly is well known for.

Here at the Mercantile we are proud to sell Mama Ganache. In 2004, Chef Tom Neuhaus opened Mama Ganache Artisan Chocolates here in San Luis Obispo after his many years of experience and travel. Tom himself was the person to create the Cal Poly chocolate enterprise while he was teaching in the Food Science and Nutrition department. We are lucky enough to enjoy his chocolate expertise right here in the stop! Mama Ganache has an outstanding reputation with our store customers and is always pa customer favorite.

Mama Ganache’s ultimate goal is “to make people happy… We want to offer the local community a place to come and relax.” They are becoming very well known for pairing their chocolate with local wines and beers and can be found at many of the wineries right here on the Central Coast. Mama Ganache would love to watch the shop local trend grow, just as they too started local and love their loyal local customers and neighbors that keep them growing!

As summer is coming to an end don’t forget to stop in and check out all the nuts and candy options for your next adventure, birthday, lunch addition, or just because! Be on the look out for all our goodies that you can always count on to hit your sweet spot! Don’t forget to support local by “[Joining Mama Ganache] for wine and chocolate tastings every first Friday during Art after Dark, 6 – 9 pm, or second Fridays during happy hour, 5 – 7 pm, or anytime between 10 and 6 or 7, for sweet treat” at their shop downtown located at 1445 Monterey Street.

Augie & Lola

It is hard to come across good quality baby items these days. You know the kind that doesn’t fall apart the very first time you wash the messy bib, burp rag, or even that super soft blanket your little one can’t sleep without at night. Well, we found the perfect secret for you… Augie & Lola.

Krista Bandy started Augie & Lola back in 2011 just doing shoes for friends. She expanded in 2012 and started selling her quality hand-made items on Etsy. Now Krista is a whole sale local artisan who is well known on the Central Coast. Many of our returning customers come in just for her items.

Wanna know Krista’s secret? Start off by not knowing how to sew! Krista was a self-taught sewer and focuses on producing quality items for clients. She started out simple and sewing with her eye and now follows a pattern. “Quality is number one!” Krista said. Customer service comes right after that. She loves to work with local shops who carry her items and feels that shopping local is always important.

“I love it! It’s a great way to shop. I am a strong believer of staying local and shopping local.” Krista said after talking about how shopping local is so important. Not only to her, but her company, as well. “I love where we live, buying Augie & Lola keeps me here,” Krista added on when she thinks of the years to come for her business. Doing business right here on the Central Coast is all local designer needs.

Always count on The Mercantile to carry Krista’s hand-made items. Look for teething rings, bandana bibs, regular bibs, diaper changing mat, burp cloth, and so much more! We love Augie & Lola!!

Thank you, Mid-State Fair!

Just like that our favorite time of the year has come and gone!

The 2017 Mid-State Fair was quite a whirlwind, but we wouldn’t of wanted it any other way. This year we had so many great memories that we will never forget. Our unforgettable new customers and always loyal customers are the reason we make the fair a tradition this year and for many more years to come. We absolutely LOVE seeing the look on our customers faces when they fall in love with something in the booth or when they see the old familiar Cattaneo Bros. jerky on the shelf.

We would like to say a BIG thank you to the Mid-State Fair for allowing us to spread the word of our passion and business with the rest of the Central Coast community. Not only do we reach individuals that have never been in our store, but people from all over California who come to check out the Mid-State Fair. We love the sense of community that the fair gives off.

We would also like to thank all the 4-H and FFA members who came by our booth. Our passion is making custom gift baskets for any occasion, especially for 4-H and FFA. These programs mean so much to us and we love the chance and opportunity to give back. Nothing makes us smile brighter than seeing a gift basket walk around the fair and know that we made that for a 4-H and FFA supporter.

This fair would not be at all possible without out back bone… Cattaneo Bros. We have a special place in our hearts for this family owned company. We feel so fortunate to have the chance to participate in any event with the well-known jerky company. Without Cattaneo Bros. our store would not have it’s purpose, which is to serve as Cattaneo Bros. downtown location in San Luis Obispo and as a boutique gift shop. We have so much love and honor showcasing Cattaneo Bros. and our passion of giving back whenever the Mid-State Fair roles around.

We can’t wait for next year!

What 4-H Means to us

“I pledge my head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service, and my health to better living, for my club, my community, my country and my world.”

As a 4-Her, you take that pledge to serve your community. 4-H is a youth program that gives back to the community in any way possible. Being past members of a program that taught us so much, we can’t help but want to give back in any way we can. The best memories, responsibilities, and lessons are learned through the challenges that shows 4-H members how to handle tough situations.

At the California Mid-State Fair kids are able to show their animals at the young age of nine. By nine they are able to create solutions for challenging problems. Without 4-H, our team would not be as self sufficient as we are. 4-H taught us many life lessons we are able to carry on throughout our whole life.

By having our booth at the fair, we love to make gift baskets. The Mercantile allows 4-Hers to give their buyers a one of a kind gift for buying their animal. This is not only supporting the youth, but the individuals who buy the animals from the 4-H members. We strive to give the best gifts for all the 4-H members and supporters.

We have many selections for 4-H buyers gifts. Our home decor and kitchen section is filled with core home pieces, that any 4-H supporter would love to have. We also have our section of Cattaneo Bros jerky that is the perfect combination to add to a buyers gift.

Come on down to our fair booth or our shop downtown! We are so excited to see everyone at this years fair and help our youth out!

Keeping Up With Family Traditions

The Mercantile serves as the downtown store for Cattaneo Bros. Brand, a family owned and local jerky company originated in San Luis Obispo. Cattaneo Bros. is the heart and backbone of our store. The store would not exist without our founding company and we feel lucky enough to serve at the company’s downtown location since November of 2013.

It was Cattaneo Bros. president and store owner, Katelyn Kaney’s personal goal to not only successfully run Cattaneo Bros., but open up a local shop in downtown San Luis Obispo, just like her mother had. It is really nostalgic and unique to be in the exact location that Katelyn’s mother, Jane Kaney, had once had a shop. But it doesn’t stop correlating there. It has been Katelyn’s dream to integrate the shop local trend in her store since Cattaneo Bros. started local, as well. It gives us a chance to be the hub for SLO’s local products. Katelyn’s ultimate dream was create a one-stop-shop for any of the gift giving essentials, and she has done that with The Mercantile!

“Over 70 years Cattaneo Bros. image and reputation has not changed all that much. It is very important to us to stay true to our roots, but also stay current with the times,” Katelyn said. Opening a downtown gift shop and boutique fit in the plan perfectly. The shop allows us to stay true to our Cattaneo Bros. roots and help our community in every way we can.

The company is also well known for the way they treat their employees. Katelyn saw the business ran correctly for 20 years while her parents ran it. Anyone who goes to work for Cattaneo Bros. knows they are getting involved in a close knit and traditional company that exceeds any and all business morals. They hire Cal Poly students to work in the factory and The Mercantile.

Lastly, don’t forget our booth at the California Mid-State Fair will also have our favorite jerky. Cattaneo Bros. jerky is a great addition to 4-H and FFA gift baskets! It is also the perfect snack to fuel your fair festivities and eat some tasty protein. Whether you’re looking for the perfect gift basket or needing a treat, we will have all our Cattaneo Bros. goodies to fill your expectations!!