It was probably not until 1979 that Gilroy emerged as a national phenomenon. That year local agricultural leaders joined radical gourmets to launch one of America’s legendary food events: the annual Gilroy Garlic Festival. A few years later, in 1986, Garlic World was born. The store’s founders, Don Christopher and Carolyn Tognetti, transformed a large, rustic fruit stand at the south end of Gilroy alongside Highway 101, a main artery between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Here the freeway narrows for a mile or so, cars can pull on and off the thoroughfare, and travelers can stop to load up with garlic specialties available nowhere else.

Garlic World for the past 18 years has been the pride of the Oteri family. Third-generation Santa Clara Valley residents and successful grocers, they and their staff hand-select every item in the store. Their long-standing connections to the Gilroy community and its garlic industry give them first choice for exceptional, locally-produced garlic products and other specialty foods. Some say our garlic braids are too beautiful to eat!

We look forward to meeting you on your next journey to the Gilroy area. In the meantime, you can select from about 100 items from our gourmet inventory here at garlicworld.com. Thank you for shopping with us, and buon appetito!