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Behind the Scenes at Diablo Foods, Lafayette’s Iconic Independent Grocery Store

Thomas SmithJanuary 20, 2025

LAFAYETTE, CALIFORNIA – You shop there every week, but have you ever thought about what goes on behind the scenes at Diablo Foods in Lafayette, California?

Diablo Foods is an iconic family-owned store that has been serving the Lafayette community for over 60 years. I recently had the exclusive opportunity to go behind the scenes on a tour of parts of Diablo Foods that most shoppers never get to see.

The tour was led by one of the original members of the Stokes family. Ed Stokes started the store in 1968, and the same family still runs it today. Over 15 members of the family now work at the store.

The People

We started by getting to know some of the staff members in the different departments. One of the coolest things about Diablo Foods is that many of the staff have been there for years, even decades–over 40% have worked at the store for 10 years or more.

As we walked around, I got a chance to meet staff from the meat department, cheesemongers, deli staff, and others. They shared their stories—tales of working there for 15 to 20 years, or even up to 40 years.

That’s a big part of what people love about Diablo Foods. The staff genuinely care, and it comes through in the service they provide. It sets them apart from the big chains and is likely a major reason for their success over all these years.

I also learned some interesting facts about Diablo Foods. They serve over 1,000 people per day, and during the busy holiday season, that number rises to around 1,500.

If the average shopper spends $200 on groceries, the store could be bringing in nearly $300,000 per day (that’s our estimate–they didn’t share specific revenue numbers). Over the course of a year, that’s over $100 million! For a small business, Diablo Foods is making a significant impact.

After touring the various departments, we got the chance to go behind the scenes into staff-only areas that most people never get to access.

Going Behind the Scenes

One interesting thing about Diablo Foods is that their physical space is very small compared to most supermarkets.

A giant big-box store like Costco or Walmart might have extensive behind-the-scenes areas for inventory storage. Diablo Foods has almost none of that.

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The vast majority of their food is out on the floor, and their kitchen and deli areas are minuscule compared to the large spaces you’d find even at a local chain like Safeway.

This means Diablo Foods has had to get creative with their use of space. For example, the floral department is outdoors in front of the store, and they have grills set up for outdoor cooking. In the back, there’s an outdoor patio where they squeeze fresh juices.

That same space efficiency extends to their storage areas. I got to peek into one of the few storage rooms at Diablo Foods, where they keep spirits and wine that haven’t yet made it onto the shelves.

The walls were covered with funny posters, personal messages, and other memorabilia from 60 years of employees leaving their mark.

Into the Fridge!

One of the coolest parts of the tour—literally and figuratively—was stepping inside the large refrigerator behind Diablo Foods’ dairy case. The dairy case is on the right side of the store along one of the side walls. The display cases open directly into the refrigerator. When you walk inside, it feels as cold as a winter day at the top of Mount Diablo!

Inside the refrigerator, there are little metal doors. When opened, they reveal the back of the dairy case, allowing staff to reach in from the refrigerator to arrange butter, milk, eggs, and other items on the shelves.

Metal doors open into the back of the dairy case

It was fascinating to peek through and see shoppers on the other side, completely unaware that someone was refilling the shelves from behind.

Other neat items in the behind-the-scenes area included a gigantic metal safe and an overhead loft used for storage. The whole loft had an air of mystery about it.

What I Learned

From my tour, I walked away with a new appreciation for how impactful this local business has been—not only on the lives of people in the community but also on many of its longtime staff members.

I also gained a better understanding of how hard it is for Diablo Foods to do so much with such a small space. Their efficient use of the kitchen, the placement of nearly all their products on the floor instead of in a backroom, and the innovative combined display case/refrigerator all show how they’ve maximized their downtown Lafayette location.