Shawn Koenig
from
Donna's Tamales
An untold number of shoppers at the Grand Lake Market are hooked on Donna's Tamales and their Saturdays are never complete without a Tamale, Breakfast Burrito, Enchame or Pupusa. All are vegetarian and vegan and made with organic ingredients. As their name suggests, Donna's main claim to fame is their tamales. Five regular varieties are always available at the Farmers Market as well as retail outlets including Whole Foods, Berkeley Bowl and Farmers Joes. Two specials are offered each week at Farmers Markets only. This past Saturday, one of the specials was a Mediterranean tamale with Feta Cheese, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, kalamata olives and basil.
Donna's is based in San Rafael and is owned and operated by Donna Eichorn and Shirley Virgil. Their production staff numbers about seven people. In addition to their retail outlets, they sell at about seven Farmers Markets out of mobile carts with steamers and refrigeration that allow them to offer their wares either ready to eat or packaged and ready to take home.
Edgar Macchiavello has been an employee for about a year. He spends most of his time making deliveries, but for the last eight months he's been spending his Saturdays at the Grand Lake Market keeping his regular patrons happy. Marcelo Garbino has worked for Donna's for six or seven years, usually at the other markets.
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