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There was a time when cows munched on open fields of grass in numerous peninsula locations, which included the land where upscale Stanford Shopping Center sits.
Indeed, in those simple days of yesteryear, said grasslands fed untold numbers of dairy cows, which were the source of numerous local dairies, including Peninsula Creamery in Palo Alto.
Founded in 1923 and purchased by John Santana lll in 1936, Peninsula Creamery grew into a substantial enterprise during the ensuing years. Other accounts suggest Santana purchased it in 1932.
It was a self-sustaining business.
The family owned the herds that produced the milk. Additionally, they owned a milk bottling plant and, at their peak, had no less than 60 home delivery trucks covering a substantial portion of the peninsula.
Their dairy products became the sole supplier for Stanford University and numerous local schools and businesses throughout the Peninsula area.
They also produced their ice cream in a facility they owned. As if this wasn’t enough, they also had a soda fountain and dairy store.
The entire operation was based in the city of the “tall stick,” aka Palo Alto.
In Peninsula Creamery’s early days, milk had to be produced in the county where it was sold. However, in the ’50s, powerful supermarket chains lobbied and were able to get that overturned. This marked the beginning of the end for local dairies.
After relocating their herds to the Central Valley, Peninsula Creamery remained in the milk bottling business until 1985, when it finally sold its Palo Alto facility.
In 1987, the family leased their property to Palo Alto Creamery, a full-service restaurant.
When new laws were passed regulating freezing, they closed their ice cream production plant in 1994.
Today, the original family runs Peninsula Creamery Dairy Store and Grill, which is located at 900 High Street.
Everything else is just history
