L-R Jose Morales, Bijan Noori and Pejmon Noori make Proper’s Pickles. The business started by selling at Long Beach farmers markets and now the product is available in Gelson’s Market and restaurants such as Rasselbock in Bixby Knolls with plans to expand. Long Beach April 3, 2018. Photo by Brittany Murray, Press Telegram/SCNG

L-R Jose Morales, Bijan Noori and Pejmon Noori make Proper’s Pickles. The business started by selling at Long Beach farmers markets and now the product is available in Gelson’s Market and restaurants such as Rasselbock in Bixby Knolls with plans to expand. Long Beach April 3, 2018. Photo by Brittany Murray, Press Telegram/SCNG

Proper’s Pickles started by selling at Long Beach farmers markets and now the product is available in Gelson’s Market and restaurants such as Rasselbock in Bixby Knolls with plans to expand. Long Beach April 3, 2018. Photo by Brittany Murray, Press Telegram/SCNG

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Proper’s Pickles started by selling at Long Beach farmers markets and now the product is available in Gelson’s Market and restaurants such as Rasselbock in Bixby Knolls with plans to expand. Long Beach April 3, 2018. Photo by Brittany Murray, Press Telegram/SCNG

Proper’s Pickles started by selling at Long Beach farmers markets and now the product is available in Gelson’s Market and restaurants such as Rasselbock in Bixby Knolls with plans to expand. Long Beach April 3, 2018. Photo by Brittany Murray, Press Telegram/SCNG



By Karen Robes Meeks

When insurance brokers Pejmon and Bijan Noori started Proper’s Pickle four years ago, the brothers recalled their grassroots start of purchasing their first vegetables to pickle and buying out a store of all its mason jars to sell at a Long Beach farmers market.

“The trunk of our car had four cases of jars and we thought that was a lot,” said Pejmon Noori, who sat with his brother, Bijan Noori, at Rasselbock Kitchen, one of many retailers that now serves their pickles. “Then just last week we got six pallets of jars shipped from us.”

In four years, Proper’s Pickle has grown from a small sampling at Long Beach farmers markets to dozens of retail and food service locations throughout the state, including 10 Bristol Farms locations and all 26 Gelson’s locations in California.

They are known for their refrigerated pickled Persian cucumbers, brined in dill and garlic, as well as their pickled cauliflower, green beans and Serrano peppers. The vegetables are sourced from a Los Angeles grocer.

The brothers, who grew up in Aliso Viejo, learned the art of pickling from their father, who was raised on a farm in Iran and learned through family how to grow and preserve their food.

“They made everything they ate,” Pejmon Noori said.

That family tradition continued in the U.S., where their father tended a robust vegetable garden.

“We had a refrigerator at our parents garage and … it’s always been filled with pickles—different kinds,” Bijan Noori said. “What are you going to do with 30 pounds of cabbage or cauliflower?”

Their parents—who also help in the Proper’s Pickle kitchen—were always in the kitchen when the brothers were growing up.

“They both cooked and we were always in there with them; we always wanted to help and cook different things,” Pejmon Noori said. “And our dad would bring out all the veggies and start chopping and break out the jars and you’d smell the vinegar. And he’d say, ‘So what are we going to pickle today?’”

One day, a manager at a farmer’s market approached the brothers about selling their pickles. They created their own pickling recipes and tested them out on friends. Neither had prior experience in the grocery or food industry. When they weren’t running BayPoint Insurance in downtown Long Beach, the brothers were growing Proper’s Pickle.

“It’s actually very grass roots and we add to it,” Bijan Noori said. “We don’t make a ton of money but it just keeps feeding itself and keeps growing.”

One farmers market became three markets. Six months later, they approached Gelson’s, which encouraged them to sell at its stores.

“Gelson’s was really one of those stores that was really open to helping you out because I don’t think we had even a logo or labels at that point but they liked our stuff,” Bijan Noori said. “We called them but they welcomed us in there … and they gave us the map to get to where we needed to get to.”

Now Proper’s Pickles produces about 1,500 to 2,000 jars a month from a shared kitchen in Long Beach and sent to retail locations throughout California. There are plans to expand into their own facility and introduce other uses of their product.

Their products also are part of the menu in restaurants such as Rustic Kitchen in Los Angeles, Walt’s Wharf in Seal Beach and Rasselbock Kitchen, where Chef Keith Hartwig uses Proper’s Pickle as an appetizer and with a sauce that accompanies a spicy brussel sprouts dish.

“They do a great product; it’s made here and it’s a chance to showcase what Long Beach is doing,” he said. “We tasted other stuff from other vendors and theirs shone through.”

In April, Proper’s Pickle is launching Snack Packs versions of their popular products, at Gelson’s locations.

“I had moms come up to my farmers markets who say, ‘My kids love your pickles. It’s the only way I get them to eat veggies so I take a few and put them in a Ziploc bag and put them in their lunch every day. They’re so happy.’” Pejmon Noori said.

For the brothers, Proper’s Pickle offers something genuine, a product that’s locally made and high quality.

“You really do taste the difference between a big brand that’s corporate and is all about volume versus you know a local brand that cares about the ingredients,” Pejmon Noori said. “That comes from somewhere that has a history of family. And I think people like that feeling as well. They taste that nostalgia.”