Whole Foods Market

Angel City Lumber partnered with RAD Furniture to craft custom tabletops from a salvaged Valley Oak for the new Whole Foods Market in Sherman Oaks. Our contribution reflects a shared commitment to local sourcing, sustainability, and storytelling through material—transforming a majestic Santa Clarita tree into three stunning tables that anchor the store’s welcoming bar area.

Over the last 30 years, Whole Foods Market has helped usher in a new standard of food quality. Angel City Lumber shares similar values in celebrating local products and emphasizing transparency in sourcing and supply chain management. Needless to say, we were beyond excited when our good friends at RAD Furniture approached us to collaborate on providing these gorgeous table tops for the new Whole Foods in Sherman Oaks.

Initial design discussions involved a local white oak, and boy, did we have the perfect tree! Back in 2016, we salvaged a massive Valley Oak from Santa Clarita and had been waiting for the perfect application. If you’re driving down Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, stop by the Whole Foods bar area, gather around the three tables, and make a toast to the majestic Valley Oak of Santa Clarita.

Quercus lobata, commonly called the valley oak or roble, grows into the largest of North American oaks. It is endemic to California, growing in interior valleys and foothills from Shasta County to San Diego County. Mature specimens may attain an age of up to 600 years. It is California’s version of white oak, different from its cousin, Coast Live Oak which is in the red oak family. The acorns are sweet and edible; Native Americans, including the Southern Paiute people, roasted them and ground the edible portion into a meal to make bread and mush. The wood is occasionally used for wine barrels. Historically, it was primarily used as firewood and as a source of commercial charcoal. Valley oak wood was also utilized in the construction of the steamboats that once ran the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, and as keel blocks during World War II.