The National Biscuit Company (Now The Andante Condos)
The southeastern corner at 40th & San Pablo was first developed for The National Biscuit Company in 1912. The National Biscuit Company, or “NBC” was the precursor to Nabisco, best known for its Ritz cracker and Oreo Cookie brands.
NBC was established in 1898 through a merger of several East Coast bakeries. Their “In-Er-Seal” sealed wax-lined boxes, invented around 1900, helped retain freshness of their baked goods.
This packaging innovation helped drive demand of their products. They soon began a rapid expansion across the country, including the thriving Bay Area market.
They initially opened a temporary agency in Emeryville at the southwest corner of Park Avenue and Hubbard. In 1911, NBC purchased this tract on the east side of San Pablo Avenue and 40th Street. In 1912, they built a two-story brick building spanning 3994-3998 San Pablo Avenue that served as a distribution center for their goods. The location was chosen because of its proximity to a major railway.
The first floor was occupied storerooms for distribution. The second floor consisted of office space.
They operated a fleet of horse-drawn wagons that delivered their baked goods to local stores.
By 1920, NBC had expanded to the Richmond waterfront and abandoned their Emeryville location.
In 1921, the building was leased by the Dryden & Humphries Co. Ice cream manufacturers who produced Kream of Kream ice cream brand and were operating at 5702 San Pablo Avenue.
The plant was in the process of being retrofitted with refrigeration when a blaze was started by hot tar that nearly destroyed the building.
Repairs commenced shortly after, but it’s unclear if Dryden ever occupied the building. Dryden was acquired by Crystal Ice & Storage Co in 1923 and the Kream of Kream brand disappeared from news archives shortly thereafter.
Following the end of prohibition in 1933, it became a brewery for Pacific Brewing and Malting Company, which brewed the popular John Wieland’s extra pale lager. Wieland was a German immigrant and among the early pioneers to brew beer in San Francisco.
In the 1950s, the building was occupied by Stanley Home Products, which manufactured and sold a variety of household and personal care items through a direct-sales model.
The last mention of the structure in local newspaper archives was 1954. It’s unclear if it was demolished or succumbed to disaster, but the space was primarily used for parking for the adjacent card clubs after this. It was acquired by the city for redevelopment in the late 1990s.
