“I’m so lucky. I get to go to work instead of having to go to work,” Nugget Markets Store Director Jazzmen Simms says. “I love this company!”

Jazzmen has been with Nugget Markets for the past 11 years. In 2008, when the Sacramento native was a senior in high school, she took a part-time job as a courtesy clerk to help her parents pay for her upcoming college tuition. 

She continued to work at the West Sacramento Nugget Markets while earning her communications degree with an emphasis on public relations at Sacramento State University. During this time, she rose from courtesy clerk to checker to the person-in-charge. 

After graduating in 2014, she says, “I realized I liked working for Nugget Markets,” and she stayed on, continuing to rise from manager-in-charge to assistant store director until, two years ago, when she was made Tiburon’s store director. 

In this capacity, Jazzmen “walks the store” checking the displays, helping to make sandwiches if the kitchen is busy, stocking groceries on shelves, taking orders in the meat department if guests are waiting – basically, providing support wherever it’s needed. She is also a dedicated leader providing her Nugget Markets associate team with support and development opportunities, and is committed to extending the Nugget Markets culture to the Tiburon community. 

“Two of our core values are family and fun,” she says, “and working here is like working with a happy team. Coming to work is so much fun!” 

Jazzmen is especially proud that this is the 14^th year that Nugget Markets has been on Fortune Magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list, ranking #81 in 2019. Noted for its work-life balance, Nugget Markets is also recognized as a top workplace for women and millennials. 

It offers its associates numerous professional development opportunities, such as classes, field trips and college scholarships, along with giving associates recognition, cash prizes and storewide celebrations. There has never been a layoff in all of its 93-year history, and benefits include a 401k with company match, a flexible work schedule and zero healthcare premiums for both full and part-time associates.

The family-owned Nugget Markets was founded in 1926 by father and son team, Will and Mack Stille, and is now run by the fourth and fifth generations of the same family. 

The number of stores has grown to 15, spread across Northern California, including three in Marin County: Tiburon, Corte Madera and Novato, plus one in Sonoma. It has a total of about 1,900 employees, with 63 of them working in the Tiburon store. 

These associates are stationed across the various departments: meat; produce; kitchen (front of house and a back of house); bakery; grocery and front of store. There’s also a “Gourmet to Go” pick-up catering program that, with a 48-hour notice, can fill chef-prepared food orders for any kind of event. 

Nugget Markets carries products and fresh perishables for every lifestyle: vegetarian, vegan, raw, dairy-free, organic, local, gluten-free, non-GMO, fair-trade, low-sodium, no added sugar, imported, heart-healthy and more.

Each Nugget Markets store is committed to building a relationship with its local community. Jazzmen listed a few of the Tiburon store’s latest contributions: “Run for Reed,” “Blackie’s Hay Day” and the “Tiburon Mile.” “We’re happy to be part of this community,” she says.

Nugget Markets is at The Cove Shopping Center, 1 Blackfield Drive. Phone: 415-388-2770. Its website is nuggetmarket.com.