"You Say Tomato," the whimsical name of San Francisco's premier British import shop, is only matched in cheekiness by its owner, David Kidd. After first moving to the US in 2001, he and his wife moved to San Francisco in 2003. Tired of the IT and real estate jobs he'd been working since he moved across the pond, Kidd opened his British import emporium at 1526 California St. in 2004, and has been stocking British teas, biscuits, candy and savory snacks ever since. 

We caught up with Kidd the other day to chat about British taste, his experience as an ex-pat, and running, according to him, the only store of its kind in the Bay Area. 

Where are you from and how did you get here?

I'm from Stoke on Trent, in the UK, and I came over to do a bank job in New York. I was in IT, so I came over to sort out a company's software and hardware problems. When I finished the job, the systems didn't link up, so they asked me to stay another night, which I did, and that's when I met my wife.

How did you end up in San Francisco?

Well, my wife is American and she worked in PR. She's from Long Island, but she had to move out to San Francisco. I did real estate back in New York for a while, and then just decided to open the store here instead. 

Why did you open this type of business?

Well, because I didn't see any British stores around. I just thought that I didn't want to do IT, I didn't want to do real estate, so I just wanted to open up a store—which I did, and that was in 2004. 

How was business at first?

It's like any business. When I first opened the store, I thought that people would want this sort of stuff. Then you stock stuff, and people come in and ask you to get other things. Your stock changes all the time.

How do you go about getting all this inventory?

Well, I know all of the products from my own experience, and I order from two wholesalers, both in LA. They import the stuff, so it goes through the FDA and it goes through customs, and I buy it from LA. I don't import anything. 

Are you homesick?

No. 

Why not?

Well, I've got a daughter over here, and a grandchild over here, and a granddaughter coming along in about six weeks. My daughter is in the UK, and she comes over and we travel there as well. I'm not homesick.

Surrounding yourself with all these kind of products probably helps with that a little.

It does. It also helps with my accent. I haven't lost it because there's all these British people in here all the time. 

Is there a large British ex-pat community in San Francisco?

Yes there is. And also in India, Singapore, China ... a lot of the places where British have dabbled there fingers over the years—which is a lot of places [laughs] .Companies bring tech workers from the UK over here, so there's just a lot of UK people here.

What was your experience moving here?

It's been a good thing, and I haven't really found a bad thing. Really!

How does the British palate differ from the American palate?

The American palate is much sweeter. So when I go to get bread, it tastes like cake to me. Besides that, that's why I've the store. People prefer different products. People prefer different chocolate, because that's what they've been brought up on.

What's the difference between British candy and American candy?

Here's an interesting story. I do believe that in American candy, they put beeswax in it so that it doesn't ... let's say, "bloom." Because in English chocolate it sort of blooms.

What do you mean by 'bloom'? 

The milk. It separates and goes to the top, and when it cools down, the milk is on the top. A lot of American people think it's off, but it's not. It's just a normal thing.

What kind of flavors are quintessentially British?

Well again, things are nowhere near as sweet. I mean, ask me, 'What is the biggest seller you have'?

Not sure. Tea?

No.

Chocolate?

Nope.

Vegemite? 

Nope. Beans!

Really? 

Heinz beans. They're totally different. Way less sweet, not as greasy. It's a totally different recipe. Also, people in the UK sort of grew up on the beans. Beans on toast, beans on this ... then when they come to the US they find that the beans are way too sweet and way too greasy. It's just what they grew up on. 

Are there any other stores like yours in San Francisco?

No. There was a guy called Patrick, a wonderful guy. He was on 15th and Potrero and his daughter made him retire. He was 70, and that's what he did. So now there's only me.

What's been the best British cultural import to America?

That's a difficult question, isn't it? It's got to be British people!