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REBYL Food has been providing local groceries to Coastside homes for the last four years. Now, it finally has a home of its own.
“I’ve been waiting to do this, and I really love the spot that I’m at,” said Ryan Salet, founder and owner of REBYL Food.
Salet opened his brick and mortar in Shoreline Station in Half Moon Bay in January, allowing shoppers the opportunity to pick up their groceries and meet Salet face-to-face. REBYL Food began as a local farmers market delivery service in 2019 with the goal to feed the Coastside with food from the Coastside. Later this month, Salet is planning on launching REBYL Coffee, a cafe located within REBYL’s warehouse space. While Salet is still finalizing the menu, REBYL Coffee will offer lattes made with beans sourced from Santa Cruz-based Cat and Cloud, pastries from Pacifica-based Rosalind Bakery and other grab-and-go food items.
“People can come in and have a coffee, sit down, enjoy a latte, place a (grocery) order on their phone with a QR code, and we’ll pack it up for them,” he said. “But we’re still going to be operating as a warehouse. When you go and order coffee, we’re probably packing groceries while that’s happening.”
REBYL Food is not your traditional grocery store. You can’t walk down manicured aisles and throw groceries into your shopping cart. Rather, you’re scrolling online from a carefully curated selection of locally sourced products and either choosing delivery or pickup. Shoppers can find seasonal local produce from Pescadero farms like Blue House Farm, Fifth Crow Farm and Hippo Harvest, pasture-raised beef from Pomponio Ranch in San Gregorio, pasture-raised chicken from Fogline Farm in Pescadero, pasture-raised eggs from Twisted Fields in San Gregorio and much more.
“We’ll be packing identically to the way that we had it,” Salet said. “It’s just now people can see that. And then we’ll be serving coffee, and people could sit there and watch us pack if they want to, if that’s entertaining for them.”
Salet worked at his parents’ now-sold Half Moon Bay cafe Salet Cafe in high school, and he said it’s a nice feeling to be able to once again serve coffee to his hometown community.
“The sense of community here is amazing,” he said. “The sense of community hasn’t changed, and that’s what makes this place special. It’s a food mecca too. We’re surrounded by amazing ingredients … Half Moon Bay is, for a lack of a better term, a goldmine for food.”
Currently, REBYL Food allows pickups from noon to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, but once REBYL Coffee is launched, pickups will be from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with REBYL Coffee available to order from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Eventually, he hopes to expand operations to be open daily.
“I’m just listening to our REBYLs and seeing what they want to do, and then I follow suit with everything,” Salet said. “But I want to be available to everybody, (and make) this as accessible as possible so people have the opportunity to eat this way because it’s hard to eat this way.”
Salet is looking to hire cashiers, packers, drivers and baristas before launching REBYL Coffee later this month.
REBYL Food, 225 Cabrillo Highway South, Unit 106 C, Instagram: @rebylfood.