Marin resident opens herb shop, refillery in Novato

The desire to shop more sustainably and reduce one-time-use packaging waste is widespread, but turning that intention into a weekly habit can be a challenge. It takes time, planning and a shopping experience that conventional grocery stores aren’t set up to offer, challenges Novato resident Cara Edwards is ready to meet with last month’s opening of Hohm Pantry.
The downtown Novato bulk refillery and apothecary stocks a wide range of household staples, pantry goods and wellness ingredients. Customers can bring or buy refillable containers and take only what they need, cutting down on both packaging and excess.
The shop is divided into two sections. In the larger room, rows of labeled glass jars and bulk bins run the length of one wall and are organized into pastas, grains, beans, snacks, nuts and seeds, and herbs and spices. You’ll find everything from lemon pop energy squares, dark chocolate peanut butter cups and barbecued cashews to black whole sesame seeds, taco seasoning and trail mix. Pasta options range from familiar shapes to more unusual varieties made with spelt, brown rice flour and whole-grain einkorn wheat.
On another wall, common and specialty herbal teas and dried botanicals are laid out across two narrow wood shelves and along a white quartz counter below. Varieties include adaptogenic mushrooms such as reishi, cordyceps, lion’s mane and turkey tail; dried herbs and roots, including skullcap, burdock root, mugwort leaf and slippery elm; and flowers and powders like rose bud, calendula, hibiscus, chamomile, lavender, matcha and peppermint. Two reference encyclopedias, one on natural medicine and another on healing remedies, are available on the counter for perusal.
A second room holds a selection of bulk home and body care products, including laundry and dishwasher detergent, eco-friendly powdered bleach, shampoo and body oils. Behind the weighing counter are cooking oils, vinegars, honey and maple syrup.
Shoppers are encouraged to bring their own reusable containers, but Edwards also offers craft paper bags, glass bottles and jars in various sizes, beeswax wrap as an alternative to plastic wrap and mason jar accessories that double as olive oil or soap dispensers.
The shop carries ‘Hohm-made’ small-batch loose-leaf tea blends in refillable jars, along with herbal tinctures, natural soaps, candles, bamboo bottle brushes and other sundries, plus boxed grow-your-own mushroom kits from KM Mushrooms in Santa Rosa.
Edwards is committed to limiting her inventory to “just the good stuff.” All food products are organic and sourced locally when possible, including coffee beans from small-batch roaster Palio Coffee and From the Fields granola, both San Rafael businesses. While she continues to build local partnerships, Edwards works with two larger natural food suppliers based in Oregon that are connected with regenerative farms in the Northwest.
On Sundays, chef Alex Tishman of Novato-based artisan bakery Fire Swamp Provisions drops off a selection of sourdough breads, muffins, pastries, croissants and other baked goods, available until sold out.
The spacious interior, which was previously home to Teeny Cake bakery and Wicked Slush, was designed for browsing. Seating is limited to a children’s chalk table and a vintage rocking chair. Edwards plans to use the full kitchen in back for cooking workshops on fermentation, herbal preparations and tea blending, including fire cider, an apple cider vinegar-based tonic.
Edwards brings a long-standing interest in wellness to her new endeavor. A yoga teacher for 15 years, she has led retreats and workshops on herbal crafting and tea blending, a practice that gradually evolved into a small line of products sold at markets and craft fairs.
“Then I found a little space for rent, and it snowballed into, what if it’s not just herbs but refillable bulk foods, body care and home goods?” said Edwards, pointing out the lack of food product refilleries in Marin.
Edwards grew up in a household focused on natural food, with a mother who worked in food science at a university and a father who explored plant-based remedies.
“It wasn’t until my 20s that I got more interested in learning how to make my own herbal remedies to address anxiety, stress and other things young people deal with, and it really helped,” said Edwards, adding that she later pursued more formal training in herbalism and foraging. Sharing those practices with friends and family deepened her interest in the role of food and plants in everyday wellness.
Edwards wants to inspire the community to start small when it comes to reducing plastic waste.
“We have everything there to feel accessible to everyone, and we’re trying to be competitive on pricing,” she said. “People are often surprised how cheap everything is at checkout.”
She adds that her own price comparisons with packaged products at traditional markets have backed that up.
“People don’t realize they’re also paying for packaging,” she said.
Hohm Pantry is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily at 7400 Redwood Blvd., suite 101, in Novato. An inventory list goes live on the website this week at hohmpantry.com. For more information, call 415-895-1265.