Along Highway 1 in Sonoma County is the pleasant town of Valley Ford and there is a nice upscale country store there worth your stop should you need supplies for your picknic-king or just a place to get some food and much more. This smart looking store has a lot of choices for wine, a nice well-stocked veggie section, all the stuff you'd find as a small corner store, a deli where fresh sandwiches and food are made, and best of all, a small ice cream counter. I suppose I admit that I'm an ice cream lover and they serve the Rainbow brand, a San Francisco product. It is a great joint, clean and everything is nicely presented. It's a great place should you need a place to take a break from your drive, stretch your legs and at the very least, a bathroom stop. read more

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We stopped here on the way to the beach for some sandwiches and were met with the most unpleasant woman behind the counter. I asked how the ordering process for custom sandwiches worked. She looked at me rolled her eyes and looked up at where the menu was on the wall without saying a word. I lost my appetite and we ended up not eating them the only saving grace was a man who checked us out and was pleasant. Overall I could not tell you if they were good but the food environment was less than proper customer service. read more

If you're not in a rush, I would recommend to get the 10/10 sandwiches. The bread is local that cheese is local and the deli has a fresh selection of meats. read more

We were staying in Dillon Beach and were looking for the best stops for affordable groceries. The Valley Ford market had an ok produce section, but clearly they were the go to for local meat, sausage, bacon, etc. It was all high end, but it was also home brand and local. They even had quite the variety of beef and bison jerky that was also made locally. The market had a little bit of everything, but it was pretty pricey. From eggs to pints of mayo, expect to pay top dollar. read more

I don't like to give negative reviews, but this is an adorable location and I'm sure they could fix it up some, but it looks like the general, run-of-the-mill mom and pop liquor store. They did have some refrigerated sections along with some meats and sandwiches that were freshly prepared. Although I wonder how sanitary everything is. Some of the red meat in the other refrigerated areas looked a little brown or perhaps green?! Eekk Gats! Sometimes I'm glad I'm pescatarian. There's no way I would ever eat fish from this location, but they didn't have any in their refrigerated areas. Hee However, they did have blocks of cheese in another section and we were able to get a couple of slices of cheese to feed our puppies. That was only $.40 a slice and the dogs liked it. It was nice and cold and smelled fresh, we got sharp cheddar. I didn't take any pictures inside the store, but the white walls were covered with cobwebs and looked like they needed some sprucing up. There were two school-age children may be around 7 and 9 years old inside with their father who did not have masks on, although clearly there's a sign hand written on the front asking customers to wear a mask. I would not buy anything that wasn't packaged from this place. read more

Valley Ford Market - the front of the store - Grocery Near Me - Valley Ford, California

Stopped here on my way to explore beaches. I ordered a made to order sandwich, and it was amazing. Ingredients were fresh, lots of meat, and bread was yummy. That staff was really sweet, two gentlemen were working. Lots of amazing choices for drinks, snacks, charcuterie ingredients. It's a great place to grab food if you plan on making a beach day. read more

Excellent Sandwiches, Selection, Service. It is located in quaint Valley Ford, close to Bodega Bay, Dillon Beach, and other areas. The deli sandwiches are great, and they have ice cream and gelato service--in addition to ice cream to go on the freezer section. Plenty of groceries, beer, wine, liquor, and anything else you might need. read more

Great Store well stocked Stop at Valley Ford Market when you are on Highway 1 You can find a lots of local good at this spot. Great beer selection too! read more

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This is one cool place, it's definitely like stepping back in time and there's no doubt it's a popular destination so I don't want to rain on anyone's parade but there are issues here that I just couldn't ignore. I stopped in here for a snack, a sandwich, beef jerky, nothing in particular just anything to hold me over while making my way up the coast. After fighting for a parking stop I finally made it to the front porch and through the doors and ohhhh what a surprise awaits you! To the left are two walls lined with enclosed glass refrigerated meat cases fill with meats, prepared foods and stacks of pre-made sandwiches wrapped in butcher paper, behind the counter is a friendly staff on a mission to sell the crowd building at the register, as for me I was third up and still hadn't made a decision- in my opinion everything I looked at looked old and the open bowls of macaroni and potato salads looked crusty. I just couldn't pull the trigger on anything I had seen as the line shorted. As the old man collecting the money shouted something that resembled "batter up" I belched out one pepperoni stick please then using a set of pinchers I grabbed one out of the plastic drawer and slid it in a single serve bag. This place is definitely nostalgic and a cool place to browse especially if you like looking at a few things from yesteryear but after taking my first bite of my pepperoni stick it was as dry as a chew of Redman tobacco that had sat open for a week in the hot sun on my granddads dashboard. The word crap doesn't do it justice it was soooo bad, its hard for me to understand that with the amount of customers pouring into this general store that the merchandise can be of such poor quality sorry this place reeks of tourists trap for me... read more

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Small local convenience store that includes local specialties, wine, cheese and pastries. Not to be confused with the creamery next door but it has some of the same options in a no nonsense manner. read more

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Incredible Beef jerky, I'm thinking of making a trip just for Dennis' amazing jerky! Such a friendly place and the food is great! I would also recommend the breakfast burrito, it was big and filling and extremely tasty. read more

This place is AMAZING. We stopped by before our visit to the beach. The beef jerky is superb, the breakfast burritos are delicious. The service is great very kind people and very helpful. The mood of this place is very excellent and very nice. I will for sure be stopping by again! read more

Stocked with great stuff. Garlic marinated hanger steak was exceptional. I'll go back for sure. read more

5 stars for the house-made beef jerky alone. I have been stopping here for years on the way to Bodega Bay to pick up beef jerky for the road. It's as close to steak as beef jerky can get. Truly different than any other I've ever had. read more

Literally the best smoked salmon you've ever had. Home made beef jerky is really good too, along with all sorts of local goodies. This place is a must if you wanna leave with a full stomach of yummy goodness read more

I love this place, I always stop for their world class house-made beef jerky when I'm heading north. The market and the property has just been sold and I was told the market will be freshened up and or possibly be remodeled by the new owner. I hope the new owner respects the culture of the community and doesn't try to make it more than something then it's not...i.e. a tourist trap selling high-end wine and cheese and such, this is a local's market that also happens to attract tourists. read more

I seem to always stop at Valley Ford Market when driving out to the coast. It is a nice grocery market in the middle of Valley Ford along Highway 1. Parking can be a bit tough with limited spaces, but turnover is usually quick. This is an old school market with small selection of dry goods. The real stars are the local cheese and wine combined with other homemade goodies. I always get some Valley Ford cheese which is impressive, and after trying their beef jerky I am hooked. The jerky is mildly flavored with a good amount of fat making it more like a good steak than the normal mass produced product. All the little things add up to a perennial favorite on my many coastal trips. Valley Ford Market has some unique and well done items nestled between the standard grocery fare that makes them really stand out. read more

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Very friendly, great customer service! Bought sausages made in Valley Ford, plus luscious cheesecake and chocolate mousse cake. YUM! Just found out that they make their desserts themselves! Now I am doubly impressed! read more

The Valley Ford Market is like a general store of yesteryear. Parking is easy to find in their fair sized lot. The staff are friendly, helpful, polite, and sweet. The elderly ladies that we had the pleasure of being assisted by treated us with good old fashioned southern like hospitality. They have a variety of bait, beer, beverages, cheese, delicatessen, dessert, food, meat, snack, and wine items. Prices were fair for being near the bay area and slightly off the beaten path. I had a turkey bacon avocado sandwich that was made with love. The ingredients were fresh and tasty. The carrot cake was delightful. It was moist and was the best I've had in ages. They're a little off the beaten path but worth the drive. Unfortunately like many places in the nearby area there are no real bathrooms to be found. They have a portable handwashing sink and a few portable toilets. Not ideal but better than nothing. I'll definitely be back whenever I'm in the area. read more

"Masks? We don't need no stinkin' masks" At their busiest time of day on probably their busiest day of the year the proprietor at the cash register was wearing his mask at half mast and apparently locals are welcome to shop with no mask at all. These are just the facts observed at noon on Saturday Memorial Day weekend. read more

This store has the feeling of what grocery stores used to be like back in the day. The employees were all really nice and spent time chatting with us. We really liked that! We were at Dillon Beach for 5 days and actually came by the store all 5 days. We loved this place! My husband constantly drooled over their fabulous dessert case. Great place! read more

Just came to this spot earlier. Turned out way better then I thought. We were hungry and with no other place to go! I ordered 3 sandwiches lady behind the counter was really nice!!! Got turkey club, turkey avacado and roast beef. Man all 3 of those sandwiches was delicious. Man at register was really nice as well. So if in the area and hungry stop by and get a sandwich! read more

This is an ABSOLUTELY!! WONDERFUL place!!!! With wonderful people running it!!!! The old guxxxx ....more mature gentleman REALLY!!!! Knows how to make GREAT!!! sandwich's!!!! My wife and I REALLY love this place!!!!! I hope it stays the same for ever and ever..............Amen read more

Small general store before hitting bodega bay. Drinks, snacks, limited selection of meat and cheeses. Water $1 and I can't remember the last time I've seen that price anywhere read more

Valley Ford Market - Grocery Near Me - Valley Ford, California

Worse over priced breakfast burrito I have ever had. Like 2 small piece of sausage and no cheese. It was eggs wrapped in a tortilla. Hot sauce couldn't even make that thing edible. read more

When you walk in you turn left and there is a counter. To the right of the counter a deli case. Right there where that counter meets that case you will find brown paper bags with prices written on them with Sharpie. Inside those bags is the best beef jerky I have ever had. Maybe one of these days I wIll remember to take a picture of the bag and the jerky before it gets eaten. Don't let the look of the bags fool you. If you like jerky, this is stuff you will drive out of your way to get every time you can. read more

Cool little market just outside of Dillon Beach. Not a great selection of drinks! But enough to make do. Looked like they had great deli and homemade deserts. I'll try them next time. read more

Inexplicably good sandwich alchemy. My wife and I have been getting sandwiches here for years and years when we come through the town, which is often and usually in the context of a picnic. Having looked through some other reviews, I realize we are not alone in wondering how their sandwiches can be so much better than others'. Clean Sonoma County living? An unknown beneficial effect of the intense local dairy cow smells? A Faustian bargain? Who can say? We have standardized to what we have come to call a "Valley Ford Sandwich," which is a version of the classic "avogobble": Turkey & Swiss on sourdough with avocado, and all-the-way with onions, lettuce, and whatnot (but NO SPROUTS -- not for us). Wow. It should not escape mention that the Valley Ford Market reminds one of Lee Chong's grocery in Steinbeck's _Cannery Row_, in that it has everything one needs in order to support a modest way of living: fresh meat, great desserts spinning around in a case, lots of beverages, videos, ... PVC PLUMBING fixtures, frozen local fish, and so on. Worth a stop even if you're not hungry just to revel in the eclecticism. read more

This review is primarily for their homemade beef jerky, but when I do travel through Valley Ford I like to enjoy their delicious deli sandwiches and good beer selection. Ok, onto the beef jerky. Wow! What else can I say other than it is absolutely the best beef jerky I have ever eaten. For those of you who like real food, without all the filler and preservative garbage our food industry is so fond of, you'll love tearing your teeth through their outrageously good jerky. The stuff just makes other jerky look like artificial attempts at the real thing. I love it! They recently shipped me 5 lbs of the stuff and I can't get enough. I can see this being a food staple in my family for years to come, or at least as long as it can be shipped to Hayward. Thanks Steven! read more

The sheep milk ice cream is $7 and was described by the owner as "heavenly" but actually has a lot of ice crystals. The local cheese is decent though expensive. They have lots of alluring signs advertising their food. read more

Somebody told us this was the ONLY place for clam chowder in the area. They are a big fat stinky poo poo pants liar. It was $4 for the oiliest cup of clam chowder I have ever had in my whole entire life. The saltine crackers were good, but only to sop up all the freaking oil. I did love all the bacon though. Go across the street to Sonoma Fish Bank...much better read more

This place has been around ever since I've been going to Bodega. We used to always stop there around 6am to get lunch and snacks for the days out fishing. Their sandwiches are great, especially the BBQ. Most of their deli items are homeade and the folks are very friendly. It's more of a farmers grocery, but I really like that about this place, always feels like your one of the Valley Ford residents. Anyway if you need a quick simple bite drop in this place. read more

Valley Ford Market - Valley Ford Market - Grocery Near Me - Valley Ford, California

The best sandwiches when you are on the way to the Coast. We stop here all the time for whatever we don't feel like packing in the cooler. Not to mention, sandwiches always taste better when someone else makes them :) Plus, try the seasonal fare, such as lasagna, bangers, meatloaf, etc. And the beef jerky is homemade, just get there early before it sells out! read more

BBQ tri tip sandwich was spectacular! Fresh meat, local cheese. A must stop place when going down rt 1 read more

Valley Ford Market - Grocery Near Me - Valley Ford, California

This place is a roadside treasure. Were heading to Bodega Bay, and happed upon it. Food was rich, authentic homemade, order at the counter, goodness. Fresh, savory ingredients! Even my picky kids loved it! Wish I was coming back through here! read more

My wife and I discovered Valley Ford Market by accident several years ago. We were early to visit friends in Bloomfield so we took a drive and found the market. Now we cannot go to Sonoma county without visiting the store and buying their fantastic dry salami. Yes, I know we can get it in SF but we love the atmosphere and the people at Valley Ford Market. It a little slice of living history. Terry and Donna Gallian, Tulare Calif. read more

Great market to stop at when you have forgotten something like sliced bread in order to make sandwiches. If it was not for this market we would have had sandwiches without bread. .They offer essential items that you would need. ~irina. read more

This market is NOT closed. In fact, it's been open ever since I moved to Sonoma County 3 years ago. I was just in there 2 days ago and they made me a fantastic sandwich! read more

What an unfriendly place. The owner (I presume) shoved her way in front of me while I was trying to select a bottle of wine, the turned off the lights and virtually screeched at us, "Closing!" Hard to imagine a hole in the wall like this gets so much business that they can afford to be so rude to customers. Suffice to say, they got none of my money. read more

Thank you Dennis for having such a great meat counter. This is a real butcher with local meats, sausages, poultry and beef jerky. It has been my go to meat counter for 9 years. I love all the faces that have worked there and do work there. Fantastic prices and service top notch! read more