Marin County caviar entrepreneur turns the finer things in life into viable venture

Deborah Keane did not grow up with a silver spoon in her mouth. But these days as a business woman, she would be more apt to take a pearl caviar spoon.

The founder and owner of California Caviar Company in Sausalito knows the special spoon is designed to enhance the taste of the delicacy that has opened doors for her.

To the 57-year-old entrepreneur, getting serious about such a luxurious food group did not come easy — especially in a male-dominated industry where few women reside in the top spot in the industry. Despite catering to an industry associated with celebrities, executives and lavish parties, Keane grew up in a modest, middle-class household in Foxborough, Massachusetts, within walking distance from Gillete Stadium — home of the New England Patriots.

“This was back in the day of Jim Plunkett,” Keane said of the former, famous football quarterback.

Her father had season tickets and took his three daughters there often, when he wasn’t working as an electrician.

“We were all the sons he wanted,” she said.

Her journey to caviar foodie began with selling hot dogs at the stadium, then led to a variety of industries.

“I’ve done a little bit of everything,” she said.

She’s worked in dairy, jewelry, fashion, modeling, publishing and nursing, completing her education at Northeastern University in Boston. Each line of work provided skills such as sales that has enabled her to carry that experience to the next field. For example, nursing gave her the science knowledge she later transferred to the production of caviar.

“I can usually adapt,” she said.

That includes where she chose to live.

Keane moved west in 1990, finding a home away from home in the publishing business with Guest Informant magazine. She worked up the ranks to associate publisher while taking a four-year sabbatical in the mid-1990s in Paris to work with a French chef. It was there the finer foods came into focus.

“I learned what bread really tasted like,” she said.

Keane returned to the states with a penchant for both publishing and food. When the opportunity of a lifetime came up to work for a caviar company, she jumped at the chance — first as a worker, second as a founder of a company that farms and distributes the delicacy. She started California Caviar Co. in December 2007 and hasn’t looked back since.

“Caviar is a ride. I’ve gone to the Oscars and Grammys and been in lots of limos with no handles,” she said.

She loves caviar because it’s a challenge to produce.

“I love the fact that it’s like golf and wine. When you make it, you can’t perfect it,” she said.

Like many women, Keane admitted to channeling her “gutsier” self to make a go of it. Through the years, she’s had to overcome stereotypes about women having the strength to persevere in business — especially working with fish, a predominantly male industry.

“Women are not expected to have all the confidence in the world. But I’ve got the tenacity and integrity — and that goes a long way,” she said.

In the economic havoc of the COVID-19 crisis, she’s learned to adapt, as always. When the part of her business supplying caviar for restaurants plummeted by 95% in mid March, she built up her online presence to try and make up the difference. She’s even offered curbside caviar pickup. She’s surpassed her expectations, taking advantage of a recent trend that people sheltering in place have elected to treat themselves.

“What’s fascinating is we’re seeing a spike and finding that people are treating themselves more at home rather than going out,” she said, listing demographics ranging from men over age 50 to women in their 20s who are comfortable with serving the delicacy. “Cooking with caviar is more prominent too.”

Since the coronavirus outbreak, Keane’s retail operation has quadrupled selling direct to consumers. She produces one ton of caviar a year. Premium caviar can range in price from $50 to $500 an ounce.

Sure, the customer may be king in these uncertain economic times. But to entrepreneurs like Keane, the biggest reliance comes with assuring yourself with a this-too-shall-pass attitude and trust in your skills.

“I don’t have to rely on anybody else. I have the entire system locked and loaded. But you have to be flexible and be able to reinvent yourself and find markets,” she said.

“If you get your team through good times and bad times, you’re going to survive,” she said, sharing her business principles with a dedicated staff of eight and group of associates.

It’s this type of ambition, confidence and a genuine knack for reading people and trends that makes Keane a standout boss to her accountant Alma Linares.

The two met when Linares’ mother America worked in the packing department of Tsar Nicoulai Caviar in 2004 and introduced Keane to the 23-year-old Linares, who showed up once a week.

“It was very special. She always had this thing. She sees something in a person,” Linares said of Keane.

When Keane went into the caviar business for herself, she plucked Linares out of the group and brought her on board. Linares initially worked in inventory control.

“I told her, ‘I love numbers,’” she said, giggling.

When Keane’s bookkeeper left to tend to a family matter, Keane turned to Linares to gauge her interest in the important job. Linares agreed and learned on the job while attending accounting classes.

“She trusted me again,” Linares said.

The business has opened up a whole new world to Linares, who originally hails from El Salvador.

“It’s a fun product to work with, and it’s a lot of responsibility. You meet a lot of people you thought you’d probably never meet,” she said.

For instance, California Caviar was served at the 2019 Academy Awards.

“It’s amazing being with her. She knows caviar,” she said.

The delicacy didn’t agree with Linares’ stomach when she first started to taste test it, but the accountant has grown to love it. She’s even visited the large farm in the undisclosed Northern California location to view the operation where the fish eggs are harvested. Most of the white sturgeon, catfish and carp used to birth the eggs at the farm are obviously female, but there are exceptions, Linares quipped.

“Some are males. We need them sometimes,” she said jokingly.