The Full Story
Welcome to Gianni's Fine Foods, the proud parent company of Balsamic Anonymous. I'm John Spenger, originally from the East Bay Area of Northern California, where I spent my high school years in Albany, a charming city nestled next to Berkeley. At the age of 28, while working as a waiter at Scala’s Bistro in San Francisco, I found inspiration in a delightful garlic bread dipper that I often served to enhance the dining experience. The idea struck me to bottle this flavorful creation, leading to the birth of Bistro Blends in 1997.
Venturing into unknown territory, I faced the challenge of figuring out where to sell my first flavor. The solution came unexpectedly when someone suggested farmers markets. Thus, on a Tuesday morning in Alameda, California, I embarked on this new avenue, selling $350 worth of my signature dipper within four hours. That moment marked the inception of the very first bread-dipping, balsamic vinegar line at a farmers market in the entire country. Over the next 12 years, I crafted a total of 13 recipes, securing 25 distributors across 20 states and achieving $1.3 million in sales.