Adventurous chefs in Lompoc and beyond now have a place to buy unusual, high-quality cheeses, meats, pastas, and sweets. Need some buffalo’s milk cheese? How about some kangaroo meat? Would you like to try Galactic Gelato? (It’s described as “mint astronaut gelato floating in spacy dark chocolate.”) Well, look no further than Central Coast Specialty Foods, located in Lompoc’s College Center plaza next to Tom’s Burgers.
Rick Obsorn and his wife, Lisa, opened the shop about about six weeks ago as the new storefront to their specialty foods business of the same name, which they bought in 1999.
According to centralcoastspecialtyfoods.com, Rick started his grocery career more than 30 years ago as a box boy at the locally owned Williams Brothers Market. After working his way up the company ladder, Rick decided to venture out on his own and bought a tortilla distributorship. In 1999, he bought The Sausage Company from a well-known Santa Maria family and eventually rebranded it as Central Coast Specialty Foods.
“I decided to bring in more cheeses and salamis and truffle oils—the things nobody else has,” Rick told the Sun in a recent interview. “But we’re still a little, family-owned business because that’s what we’re all about.”
Rick and his team, including wine and cheese expert Kevin Henning, pride themselves on carrying local and hard-to-find specialty products such as Central Coast Creamery cheeses, Vande Rose Farms pork, and Molinari & Sons salame. Vande Rose Farms, for example, raises heritage American Duroc pigs whose meat, according to the company’s website, is “known for its rich red color” and is considered especially juicy, tender, and flavorful.
“Everybody who comes in is really happy that they can buy these products here at this value,” Rick said. “I’m passing along my distributor value, which basically means they’re getting specialty food products at a grocery store price.
“We’re not a health food store, but if you want a natural, anti-biotic-free product, we’re your place,” he added. “[The shop] kind of fit a niche that wasn’t here.”
Central Coast Specialty Foods also offers a smorgasbord of gourmet sandwiches, Paninis, wraps, and salads for vegetarians and meat lovers alike. Some choices include the Buffalo sandwich with sliced buffalo chicken, crumbled bleu cheese, and shredduce (shredded lettuce); the Farmers Market sandwich with tomato, onion, cucumber, avocado, red bell pepper, carrots, herbed goat cheese, artichoke hearts, spring mix, and vinaigrette; and the caprese panini with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, and balsamic glaze.
Rick said he started offering sandwiches as a way for customers to taste the various products he sells, but that that venture soon turned into a full-blown service deli.
“We made the first sandwich and then the second, and then, next thing you know, we’re making nine to 11 sandwiches and then 75 to 100,” he said.
Central Coast Specialty Foods also offers wine pairing, catering, and consulting services.
And like its predecessor, Bruce’s Prime Cuts—which called the same location home for more than two decades before closing in 2012—Central Coast Specialty Foods offers special pricing on meat for fundraising barbecues.
“We are the king of specialty orders,” Rick said. “I get so many customers who come in saying, ‘When I was a kid, I used to get this certain kind of cheese or certain kind of bologna from back East,’ and I’ll say, ‘Oh, I have that.’ You should see the look on their faces.”
Central Coast Specialty Foods is located at 115 E. College Ave. For more information, call 717-7675 or visit the shop’s Facebook page.
Managing Editor Amy Asman wrote this week’s Biz Spotlight. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, email, or mail.
This article appears in Jun 5-12, 2014.
