Rob Kirby traveled a long way to be a local. The Orcas Island entrepreneur was born in Brooklyn, and grew up in New Jersey, working in food service throughout his early life, cooking for restaurants in Boston, New York and taking him to tourist-driven destinations such as Nantucket, Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, and St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. In 1998, Rob landed on Orcas Island and found himself with time on his hands. Family and friends had already been asking for his signature Riesling-Basil salad dressing and requests for other recipes and sauces revealed the path to a new way to make a living and Local Goods was born.

It took time but slowly more and more restaurants and local shops began to carry his products. Local Goods roasts organic, shade-grown coffee and produces a variety of small-batch artisan food products like dressings, hot sauces, preserves, granolas, pastas and spice rubs focused on Northwest flavors that feature local and regionally-sourced ingredients. At Local Goods, they feel fortunate to live in a truly beautiful place, where warm summer days spent sailing last until late in the evening and long winter nights are for huddling around wood stoves with friends and loved ones. The beauty of these remote islands and the unique lifestyle they cultivate inspire Local Goods to continuously polish their crafts.

“What really excites me is in July and August when we're at our busiest and everything is running smoothly,” he says. The Local Goods family is “psyched, all the equipment is tuned up and running, coffee is being roasted, grinders going, bags being filled, pasta is being cranked out, the granola ovens are full, the dryer is packed, bottles are being labeled, orders are coming in, our waste veg oil car is doing deliveries, and the Saturday market is in full swing.” “We live where we work,” he says. “It’s like controlled madness keeping all the balls in the air and I thrive on it. Hopefully by sunset I can go for a sail." "I hope you’ll enjoy what we have to offer." — Rob Kirby