Outstanding Single Store: Cardiff Seaside Market, Cardiff, Calif.
Expansion doesn’t always mean a second location. Instead, Cardiff Seaside Market owners John and Pete Najjar decided to remodel and expand the location they had, growing it from 13,000 square feet to 18,500 square feet. (The market does operate a small store inside PetCo Park, San Diego’s major-league baseball stadium.)
“We decided long ago not to expand to a second location,” says John Najjar. “That was our big deal. We live and work in the neighborhood — I live a block and half away — and we just wanted to be the best community market anywhere. We don’t consider ourselves upscale, which everybody says we are … We consider ourselves good and better than anybody.”
In addition to supporting the community through several civic opportunities, the store offers a variety of unique items that can only be found at Seaside Market. One such item is the Burgundy Pepper Tri-tip that’s sold nationwide through ecommerce. It has become known as “Cardiff Crack” and is extremely popular — it even has its own Wikipedia page. The tri-tip is made from Stone Porter bone-in pork chops marinated in either the exclusive Burgundy Pepper or Spicy Chipotle Marinade, both of which are also bottled and sold separately.