Ramekins
Vicki Campbell & Gary Saperstein
Vicki Campbell worked with Darius Anderson on Ramekins, the Sonoma Valley culinary school that Anderson purchased in 2008. Ramekins was a widely respected food and wine academy, but its facilities needed updating and revenues had languished. Anderson brought in investors and provided the money needed to make the school’s physical assets and programs a match for its illustrious reputation.
“It was a challenge,” says Campbell, the general manager of Ramekins, The General’s Daughter event center and Cornerstone Sonoma, a community marketplace. “But Darius brought in a diverse team, he believed in us, he stood by us, and then he allowed us to our jobs. We ultimately turned it into a $5 million business.”
But Anderson provided more than funding and moral support, Campbell emphasizes.
“Darius is an ideas guy,” she says. “That’s what he really brings to the table. He always wanted to do things bigger and better, and he really pushed us, brought out the best in us. That’s what made the difference.”
Anderson’s investment group bought The General’s Daughter at the same time it acquired Ramekins, and it later purchased Cornerstone Sonoma.
“Darius managed them in a synergistic way,” says Campbell. “He saw them as a means for showcasing the best of Sonoma, and people really responded.”
Ramekins proved more than a commercial venture on the night of October 8th, 2017 – the date the disastrous North Bay wildfires ignited, ultimately taking scores of lives and immolating thousands of homes.
“I got a call from Darius at 1:00 in the morning telling me to open Ramekins,” she recalls. “He got people from all over the valley there and held a meeting about possible responses. Rebuild North Bay – which helped tremendously in fire relief – was established because of Darius’ ideas and leadership. I have to say that meeting really renewed my faith in Sonoma Valley.”
Gary Saperstein, the owner of Out in the Vineyard, a Sonoma County hospitality company focused on the LBGTQ community, said there was a certain inevitability to meeting Anderson, given both men share a fierce commitment to Sonoma County.
“Each of us is deeply involved in the community, so it’s natural that our paths crossed,” says Saperstein. “Darius isn’t afraid of growth and change, and neither am I. We’re both dedicated to sustainable economic activity, including visitation. That’s what was behind his acquisition of Ramekins, the General’s Daughter and Cornerstone. He envisioned them as destinations for both tourists and locals, and it worked.”
Saperstein says Anderson is a rarity in the business world: an aggressive and successful entrepreneur who is also genuinely concerned about the welfare of the people around him.
“Business is business, and as a businessman I understand there’s absolutely nothing wrong with making a profit,” Saperstein says. “But the most successful businessman is the one who gives fully to the community, knowing the community gives back to you. Darius is that kind of businessman.”
Anderson is also committed to supporting people who are launching their own ventures, Saperstein says.
“He doesn’t care if there’s anything in it for him,” Saperstein observes. “When I started Out in the Vineyard, I sat down with him to discuss what I was doing, because I always found him so accessible and willing to listen. He was immediately interested in my business model, and what it might mean for Sonoma County. No one else was doing what I was doing, and that resonated with Darius. He respected that, and he genuinely wanted me to succeed. He believes a rising tide raises all boats, and that if you bring people together over a common goal, you’ll succeed.”
