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consumer in our product. The, ‘Wow I really like this,’ be effective leaders for the future of Vallejo,” Jack
or, ‘This is great,’ we don’t get to really see that McArthur, Vallejo Fire Chief and Leadership Vallejo
directly. So, it’s a nice thing for our employees to Chairman, said in a chamber news release last year.
get to see the public’s response to our products.”
“I’ve had seven employees who’ve participated in
The sale features all their brands, roughly 1,200 the leadership program. It has been an excellent
different types of items, and attracts approximately development program and gives the individuals
1,000 people per day from all over the Bay Area. a taste of small business in Vallejo,” Jenny said.
Repeat customers can sign-up to be “Friends of
“It touches on the local economy, and all the
What is Meyer” and receive a 30-percent discount. folks I know who have done the program have
“I’ve had consumers who I’ve known for 20 years enjoyed it and felt that they learned a lot.”
cooking because they come every year to the sale,” Jenny For folks interested in purchasing Meyer US products,
they aren’t hard to find; every retailer in the country
said. “I’ve seen a lot of the same people every year.
stocks something from them. You can also browse
Everybody in Vallejo has a well-stocked kitchen.”
their wares at www.potsandpans.com, or visit
at Meyer down-the-road neighbors, the Humane Society www.meyerus.com for additional information on
Meyer US uses the factory outlet sale to assist their
the company. Meyer US’ corporate headquarters
of the North Bay. They solicit donations for the
is at 1 Meyer Plaza, located near the intersection
Corporation humane society during the outlet sale and then of Curtola Parkway and Sonoma Boulevard.
match those donations, typically bringing in around
$30,000 annually for the humane society. “That’s
The Factory Outlet Sale will go from December
been going on for nearly a decade,” Jenny said. 5th through the 16th, and it’ll be open daily from
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. On opening day ONLY, doors will
By: Nate Gartrell Between the Fairfield warehouse and Vallejo office open two hours early at 8 a.m. The two locations are
building, Meyer US employs just shy of 300 people. Its 300 Chadbourne Road, in Fairfield, and 525 Curtola
CEO, Stanley K. Cheng, also invested in the area in a
any city residents don’t know it, but Vallejo is home to one of the largest cookware distributors Parkway, in Vallejo. For in-depth information, visit:
in the country, Meyer US, which ships to every retailer in the United States. With its corporate different way; he and his wife, Helen, own and operate www.meyerus.com/meyer-outlet-sale-2019.html.
headquarters off of Curtola Parkway, and its primary distribution center in Fairfield, Meyer US is Hestan Vineyards, with grape fields in Napa and a You can also RSVP on Facebook by visiting:
tasting room in Yountville. The name Hestan combines
Mthe center of operations for a mammoth-sized corporation’s North American operations; its Hong both Stanley and Helen’s names, which is why Meyer US’ www.facebook.com/events/548441505922191.
Kong-based parent company, Meyer Manufacturing Co. Ltd., rakes in close to $300 million in revenue each corporate headquarters has a small vineyard outside.
year. Meyer US, on its own, is nationally the second-biggest cookware distributor.
In addition to hosting an upcoming chamber
Nowadays, its brands are among the most well-known Jenny has worked in Vallejo for nearly 30 years— mixer in March 2020, Meyer US participates in the
coast to coast (among them: Farberware, BonJour, she was with Marine World (now Six Flags Discovery Vallejo Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Vallejo
Rachael Ray, and Ayesha Curry’s new cookware line), Kingdom) back when the park was known primarily program, which pairs participants with established
but before coming to Vallejo, Meyer US was a San for elephant rides and dolphin shows, and she’s business leaders in Vallejo for a series of daylong
Francisco-based company with only two affiliated witnessed Vallejo weather economic storms—the sessions focused on all things Vallejo. The goal is to
brands. That changed in 1995 when they acquired closing of Mare Island, the dot com crash of the “attract, educate, and develop participants who will
the license rights for Farberware. The acquisition late ‘90s/early 2000s, and the city’s bankruptcy a
brought with it a new challenge: Meyer US needed a decade later. Now, the city is emerging from it all.
bigger headquarters than its current home provided.
“I’ve seen Vallejo go through the downturn in the
“That was going to be adding a significant, economy, when police and fire departments and other
well-known brand to our brand portfolio, so we city services were cut, drastically,” Jenny said. “And
needed more space,” said Jenny Bledsoe, Vice I’ve seen Vallejo come out of that and have much-
President of Human Resources for Meyer US. improved city services. I know the city has invested
“Vallejo’s economic development and the City in improving the planning department process.”
Council at the time gave us a nice deal on the
property in Vallejo, so we elected to purchase the Now is a busy time of the year for Meyer US, as the
property and build here on Curtola Parkway.” company prepares to do something a little out of
the ordinary. While it is a distribution company that
That was nearly a quarter-century ago, and doesn’t sell directly to consumers, each December,
Meyer remains here in Vallejo, where the Meyer US makes an exception for the locals, opening
company has expanded many times over. its doors in Fairfield and Vallejo for a 12-day outlet sale.

“Now fast forward 23 years later: we’ve gone from “It has become a crowd favorite,” Jenny said. “It’s
having two brands to having 13. We’ll also have a fun event for our employees, too. Because we
some brand additions in 2020,” Jenny said. sell to retail, we don’t generally get to see the

28 Winter www.vallejochamber.com