Emporio Rulli, the creation of Gary and Jeannie Rulli, is the quintessential Italian pastry, caffe and wine shop located – not in Italy – but in historic downtown Larkspur in Marin County, twenty minutes across the Golden Gate Bridge, north of San Francisco.

Apprenticed to pastry chefs in Milan and Turin, Rulli returned to America determined to preserve their art. Since 1988 when Emporio Rulli was opened, Gary’s reputation as a pastry chef has spread across America. His panettone, the traditional Milanese Christmas bread, is sent worldwide.

This elegant Italian Emporio attracts people throughout the San Francisco Bay Area for panini, cakes, cookies, chocolates, coffee and wine. Through this website, though, anyone, anywhere can partake of the elegance that is Emporio Rulli. Come visit us at our other locations in San Francisco’s Marina District, San Francisco’s Downtown Union Square and at SFO’s International and Domestic Terminals.

Gary Rulli has earned national attention as one of America's finest pastry chefs, turning out a remarkable array of classic Northern Italian creations at his famed Emporio Rulli in Larkspur. Since its opening in 1988, Gary's pasticceria (pastry shop) - known to regulars simply as "Rulli" - has garnered a loyal and ever-growing audience, a devoted mail-order clientele, and universal critical acclaim. Born in San Francisco and raised in Terra Linda, Rulli is a life-long Bay Area resident who turned a drab after school job as helper to a mini-mart pastry chef into a Technicolor success story.

When Rulli was 19, he embarked on a fateful trip to Italy that sparked his interest in the Old World baking traditions. Inspired to become a leader in the pastry profession, Rulli apprenticed under master pastry chefs in Milan and Torino to learn the time-honored traditions of Northern Italian pastry making. Rulli entered his first international pastry competition at age 21 and was top finisher with a spectacular cake featuring a hand-made, chocolate Model-A Ford showcased on top.

Rulli returned from Italy to his home base in Marin and rented space in a large San Francisco pie factory for a wholesale business baking cakes and his signature Panettone. Rulli's reputation spread like wild fire and he eventually opened his downtown Larkspur pasticceria, with his wife, Jeannie, running the storefront while he labored in the kitchen. Greeted with overwhelming success, the Rullis expanded their pastry shop into two neighboring store fronts in the 90's. In March of 1997, they reintroduced themselves as Emporio Rulli, Inc. - Caffeteria, Pasticceria, Torrefazione, Enoteca (wine bar) and Emporio.

Despite marathon hours at the shop, Rulli remains extremely active in community service. A member of the Larkspur Chamber of Commerce and Larkspur Community Association, Rulli has been honored as "Larkspur Citizen of the Year" for his contributions to the community. Other beneficiaries of Rulli's philanthropic zeal include the Marin Association for Retarded Citizens, Hospice of Marin, San Francisco's St. Anthony's Dining Room, Taste of the Nation and local schools, including Redwood High School, Marin Catholic High School, and St. Patrick's School.

Rulli is equally devoted to the Italian community at large. He is a member of the National Italian American Foundation and the Amici Dell'Italia Foundation, in addition to supporting the Museo ItaloAmericano at Fort Mason. As the designated baker for special events honoring visiting Italian dignitaries and prominent guests, he has had his creations appreciatively devoured by the likes of Olympic Gold Medalist Alberta Tomba, President Jimmy Carter, actor Ralph Fiennes, and Saul Zaentz, producer of the Academy Award winning film, "The English Patient."