G.B. Ratto’s Market & Deli is located on 821 Washington Street in the heart of Downtown Oakland, California, just a few blocks from the Oakland City Center BART station.
We are open Monday through Friday from 9:00am to 5:30pm and Saturday 10:00am to 3:00pm.
During business hours, we can be reached by phone at (510) 832-6503 or (510) 836-2250.
Map
Click on the red marker and enter your address to get directions to our store.
History
Giovanni Battista Ratto was born in the province of Alessandria, in 1868. At the age of 13, inflamed with the spirit of emigration, he sailed as a cabin boy on a four masted schooner; destination: Buenos Aires.
He received his his first inspiration about South America from his sister Virginia. For several years, she’d been living there with her husband, a cattleman named Croce. With the help of the Croces, Giovanni became a Gaucho.
A popular word of that period which seemed to fit the energetic and restless young Ratto was Argonaut, meaning, “adventurer engaged in a quest.” Most likely his quest was entrepreneurial and perhaps that’s why the Bay area appealed to him.
Soon after arriving in Northern California he had another stroke of good luck—he met a prominent produce farmer named Garbarino who gave him a job. One of Ratto’s chief responsibilities was to cater to the produce needs of the most luxurious restaurants and hotels in pre-quake San Francisco.
During that period, he married Rose Garbarino, the boss’ beautiful daughter. Eventually they had four daughters and a son.
Still searching for his niche, the always enthusiastic Giovanni took a very positive interest in the East Side of the Bay. Documents on file at the Oakland Museum show that he was one of the founders of the Colombo Bakery. After running that business for seven years, he decided on a new venture: he’d buy and operate a retail food store on lower Washington Street in Oakland.
Because the area was loaded with run–of-the-mill grocery stores, Giovanni decided to feature imported foodstuffs; in other words, right from the opening day of his enterprise, Ratto’s became an international grocery, a one-stop store to satisfy the craving for Old World cuisines.
Today, this unique International Grocery is widely accepted as a bustling memorial to its founder, Giovanni Battista Ratto, an Italian immigrant who initiated some truly enduring principles in customer relations. How else could the store, still run by his descendants, have thrived through revolutions in retail marketing, several recessions, a major depression, a four-alarm fire in 1974, and a 7.1 earthquake in 1989?
Press
Oakland Turns Over a New Leaf – Wall Street Journal, September 16, 2010
The Grocery List: Ratto’s Deli and International Market, Oakland – Italy in SF, September 8, 2008
Oakland Market’s Fabulous Feasts – OpenRoad.TV with Doug McConnell
Best of the Best – Destination Oakland Food and Drink – VisitOakland, September 10, 2007
A Tour of Old Oakland – Bay Area Bites, July 31, 2005
An East Bay Top Spot for Imported Foods – San Francisco Chronicle, June 10, 1998
I have lived in the same home for 31 years. Last year, we unfortunately received tornado damage and had to have a complete remodel done on our home. The result was going through a lot of boxes of things I had saved over the years to eliminate things for the remodel. One of the things I found was a catalog from your company with the prices guaranteed through September, 1993. I have always been a foodie, and have always subscribed to a lot of cooking magazines. I was wondering, do you still have a catalog department? It doesn’t appear that you have many of the items in the catalog available on the website. I live in Bossier City, Louisiana, and will be in California in a few weeks. I’ll try to get by the store!!!
We discontinued our catalog business in the mid-nineties, but we’ll soon have a portion of our product selection available for sale here on the website. If you’re looking for anything in particular, please let us know.
Please sell your great G.B. Ratto’s olive oil on line!! I have not had anything like it even after 16 years away from Oakland. Thanks!
Hi Portia! We can arrange to mail you some olive oil. Has it been 16 years?!
When did you discontinue the opera singers?
Will you ever have them back?
Thank you,
Terry
We closed the restaurant portion of our business and stopped the operatic evenings over ten years ago. But we plan to start having live jazz in the afternoon in the deli in early 2011. We’ll announce the details here on the website soon.
can i get a current spice list? i used to order my spices from you pre-web days, is that still possible?
thanks
bill
We sell an extensive selection of spices, but we don’t currently have a list. But please check back soon, as we plan to begin selling some of them on this website and will also have a list of spices that we carry in the store. Thanks.
Hi Eleana,
The Turkey Pesto Sandwich was terrific! Just too much for one person to eat.
Thank you
Virginia R. Coleman
Do you sell curing salt?
No, we don’t sell curing salt. You might try Taylor’s Sausage Co. located in Swans Market.
Is Elena related to Alice Waters? They bear a striking resemblance to each other, like sisters.
No, Elena & Alice are not related.
Hi,
We just went to Cuba with the Jose Carreno Ballet group out of Sarasota, Fl and your father Martin was with us. He is the most delightful and energetic retired person I have ever met. What a great trip we all had listening to his stories and adventures. My wife has a painting website http://www.Lightcaught.com which will have some paintings posted of our trip. Please give Martin a big hug from Larry and Johanna of Massachusetts.
Regards,
Larry Berk
Hello Larry & Johanna,
Martin was very pleased to hear from your, and has wonderful memories of his trip to Cuba with the Jose Carreno Ballet group. He has visited your website, and is now on your mailing list. If you are ever in our area, please come visit our store!