Pacific Pickle Works: Local artisanal pickles!

Here at The Santa Barbara Company, we have developed a bit of a passion for the pickles from Pacific Pickle Works. We have friends and family stopping by, marching into the kitchen and opening our refrigerator in search of them. We leave them on the counter to snack on while we cook. Since they have so few calories, they are the perfect quick, wholesome and refreshing appetizer. And we like to keep them on hand as an impromptu housewarming gift. They are fabulous alongside some spiced nuts, Ojai Olive Oil or a bottle of wine.

What makes these pickles so special? It starts with the people behind them. Brad Bennett began making pickles on a small scale over a decade ago. His friends and family became increasingly addicted and he finally went official in 2010 with his partner Emi Umezawa. Brad is the quintessential Santa Barbara artisan— down to earth, humble and passionate about what he does.

Made with California produce in Santa Barbara, by Santa Barbarans, these artisanal pickles not only taste fantastic, but are fantastically local. They have some heat and the perfect amount of crunch.

I asked Brad to answer a few questions for us. See his responses below:

What about Santa Barbara inspires you?

I love the scale of life in Santa Barbara. There is enough of a small town feel that you can know the people and the community around you, but big enough that you can meet new and interesting people every day. For as small of a town as it is, there are a lot of people that live and work in Santa Barbara with a passion for food. People are trying new restaurants or other food related business ventures all the time and it's fun to try them out and watch some of them grow into successful businesses.

Why do you value being a vendor with the Santa Barbara Company?

We were excited to be asked to be included in The Santa Barbara Company's online store from the beginning. For a small company like us that doesn't yet have a direct to consumer e-commerce business, a partnership with with The Santa Barbara Company is perfect. There really is no other place for a one-stop-shop of locally made products that can ship anywhere. We love being represented here and having a place to send our customers to purchase our products online.