Growing up Benicia: Marleen Deane Part 2 - First Street Foods

grew up in Benicia in the 1940s and became a Realtor in 1969. Real estate slowed in the early 1980s so Deane needed a challenge. “Many friends thought that I should be doing something other than real estate.” At the same time, others kept saying that Benicia needed a nice coffee house or cafe. Dona Francesca's restaurant was the favorite in town back then. 

Some Benicians may not know that  opened as First Street Foods in the early '80s. The building was owned by artists Bob Arneson and Sandy Shannonhouse, who had recently moved their studio next door. Deane was hired to find someone to open a cafe in the space. “I interviewed several people... but they just didn't have the right idea,” says Deane. “So Sandy, Bob and my friend Judy Chicago all said that I should do it.” Her response? “People that do food service businesses are nuts.”

Sacramento grocer Darrell Corti advised Deane, “If you have a passion, and you seem to have a passion, then go look around. See what you like and copy it.” She began to explore cafes in Oakland, Berkeley and San Francisco. Deane found her model in San Francisco's Vivande cafe. “They had cases with prepared salads and did some lunch things to order,” she recalls. “It sparked something.”

First Street Foods opened in 1983 with chef Kathleen Martin from Dona Francesca's, who shared Deane's passion for food. Deane was not professionally trained but did have her own flavor of home-style cooking. “There was a definite learning curve for me.” Deane continued selling real estate, but realized she had to focus on the restaurant to do it right.

The effort paid off. First Street Foods became Benicia's favorite eatery with Aram sandwiches, Greek salad and a wine country style chicken salad with a ginger-juice dressing. Everything was made from scratch; the chicken stock for soups, vinaigrette and even the mayonnaise.

Homemade soups such as butternut squash and roasted red pepper tomato were served long before they became standards. “I really liked to make soups,” says Deane. “I could have been the Soup Nazi of Benicia.” Her curried cauliflower soup recipe won her a trip to London. She was having lunch with her sister and saw the contest in the Chronicle. She remembers thinking, “I'm going to win this contest and take her to London,” and she did.

It was an education for locals who had never experienced espresso. Deane remembers, “They would say, what kind of coffee are you making here?” Even the house coffee was better than people were used to because it was fresh ground and not cooking on a burner.

Pasta Night was held every Thursday and eventually Fridays, making it the place to be. “The pasta thing was fun, very fun and crazy, all that labor... no one was making fresh pasta at that time,” says Deane. Unique hand-made pastas like roasted red pepper, buckwheat and corn meal fettuccine were elegantly combined with ingredients such as goat cheese, pesto and sun-dried tomatoes, which are common now.

The weekly specials depended on seasonal ingredients Deane found on weekly shopping trips to the East Bay's Berkeley Bowl and Monterey Market. In summertime, she'd make regular visits to Erikson's Ranch for tomatoes and peaches. “We used quality ingredients like good olive oil, fresh herbs and Acme bread,” she says.

Deane traveled to European culinary meccas such as Bordeaux and Tuscany with cooking school groups. “I've always felt that I can read a recipe, consider what foods might go together and whether it would be acceptable for people, or if it would be too crazy,” she says. 

She sold First Street Foods after eight years. Of course, Deane still loves food. “I love to go out and eat. I love ethnic foods, Mexican, Asian, Indian. I'm still surprised and amazed at new combinations of things.” Deane still makes regular trips to Berkeley for supplies and enjoys cooking holiday meals for her three grown children and four grandchildren.

Deane is a Realtor at and can be spotted shopping for produce at on Thusdays. In keeping with her love of all things culinary, she is reading .  “I really recommend it.”