Brown Ranch Marketplace company information, Employees & Contact Information

• Brown Ranch Marketplace is locally owned and operated by the Brown Family. James A. Brown, who moved to Capitola and founded the Brown Ranch in 1911. Initially Mr. Brown planted several acres of different types of berries. He also became interested in the culture of various flower bulbs. By 1917 the Brown Ranch had purchased a registered herd of Guernsey cattle and developed a dairy. Retail stores called Moo Cows were opened in Capitola, Santa Cruz and Watsonville by 1927. Moo Cow ice cream was carried on cruise ships around the world and "Golden Guernsey" milk products were supplied to the Southern Pacific Railroad for their dining cars. • By the 1950s, the dairy had been completely closed and the third generation, Barclay, Todd, and Joel Brown, joined the family business. The firm was now the recognized world leader in the production of tuberous begonia bulbs. In 1954, the Capitola Businessmen’s Association inaugurated the First Annual Capitola Begonia Festival and proclaimed Capitola to be the "Begonia Capital of The World." By 1960, the Brown Bulb Ranch became the largest distributor of bulbs to retailers west of the Mississippi River. • In 1986, Brown Ranch changed the name of its bulb growing operation to Golden State Bulb Growers and moved from Capitola to just outside of Watsonville. The Brown family continues its presence in Capitola with a shopping center built on the old ranch property. Brown Ranch Marketplace is located next to the Capitola Mall, which itself is on land that was previously part of the Brown Ranch. Barclay Brown, Andrea Rivers, his daughter, and Bob Rivers, his son-in-law, who is general manager of the center, developed this retail complex which features Trader Joe’s, Bed Bath & Beyond and many other great store. Brown Ranch Marketplace opened in mid-1992 and has since become one of the premier shopping centers in Santa Cruz County.