Our heartiest congratulations to Byrd’s Filling Station on winning the Sustainability Award from Sustainable San Mateo County! Your commitment to environmental stewardship and community well-being is truly inspiring.

At Community Bank of the Bay, we’re proud to support initiatives and local businesses like Byrd’s Filling Station that champion sustainability and make a positive impact on our local communities. Whether it’s through providing financing for eco-friendly ventures or offering resources to help sustainable businesses network and grow, we’re committed to building a greener, more sustainable future together.

The Bay Area has always been at the forefront of the environmental movement, so it’s no surprise that Byrd’s Filling Station was home-grown in San Mateo. As a leader in combating the consumption of single-use plastics, Byrd’s is looking beyond her retail store to make the world greener.

Impressed by the bank’s streamlined services and commitment to safeguarding the environment, Laura Porter, owner of Byrd’s Filling Station in San Mateo, chose Community Bank of the Bay as her business bank of choice.

Laura, an activist-entrepreneur with nearly 20 years of experience working in finance for iconic brands such as the San Francisco Giants, appreciates how CBB shares her business and personal values.

“Byrd’s Filling Station is happy to partner with Community Bank of the Bay because of the sense of community,” Laura said. “It was really through community philanthropic organizations that I met the bankers.”

“And over the years, they have been a great partner in helping us understand how we can look at our finances, how we can access capital, and how we should consider setting up the business to make sure that we can be the most profitable and get the best terms.”

Byrd’s Filling Station, San Mateo’s first “zero-waste” store, won the 2020 Green Award from the San Mateo Chamber of Commerce. A zero waste store avoids the use of plastic products, for starters. 

“Every toothbrush we’ve ever used still exists somewhere,” Laura said. “Every disposable diaper that we’ve ever put on our children still exists. Every disposable diaper that may have been put on us still exists—it’s a horrifying thought. And we think that they’re going to exist for hundreds more years.” 

“It’s not just our children’s future that we’re addressing here. It’s really the future of our grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and what we’re leaving for a much longer time than we are on this planet.”

 Laura credits CBB with helping Byrd’s Filling Station, which she’s owned since 2019, become an iconic green business in the Bay Area. 

CBB also finds the perfect partner in Byrd’s. Since its founding in 2006, CBB’s Bay Area Green Fund seeks out businesses and projects that align with its mission and values—to create a more environmentally sustainable economy. 

“We appreciate CBB’s values around not only investing locally and investing in small businesses, but also putting that investment towards businesses that are green that might be within the Certified Green Business network or that are doing things in such a way that they are contributing to the community—both environmentally and socially,” Laura said. 

Keep up the fantastic work of making San Mateo and the Bay Area a greener place today and into the future! Your dedication to sustainability sets a shining example for us all. Together, let’s continue to pave the way towards a more environmentally conscious and thriving community.

Bisa Grant, President and CEO of the Dublin-based Anchor Engineering firm, credits Community Bank of the Bay for easing her transition from bookkeeper to company president and CEO. 

Grant, who holds an MBA from California State University at Dominguez Hills and a bachelor’s degree in sociology and African American studies with a business specialization from the University of California at Los Angeles, started working for Anchor part-time in 2010. When then-owner Chris Coles announced his plans to retire, he offered Grant the chance to buy the business. She hesitated at first, but her brother and CBB helped make it happen.

“After being introduced to Community Bank of the Bay, we were able to set up a meeting and go in and have a great conversation,” Grant said. “And I totally felt like our values were absolutely aligned.”

“What the bank perceived as a strong client was exactly who we were…this was refreshing. They wanted to help us, and we wanted to be a good client. We, as a company, wanted to provide deposits; we wanted to access a line of credit and to access any other resources that the bank could provide us in our relationship — so that we can continue to grow. And it’s been great ever since.”

Anchor, which serves as the field representative for public agencies during construction projects, went from being a $1 million company to a $5 million one. Grant said CBB’s ability to help Anchor access resources while waiting on payments from government agencies has been critical to that kind of growth.

“CBB was just the solution to a challenge at a pivotal time in our company’s history of growth,” Grant said. “Without CBB, we really would not have been able to sustain our operations. Honestly, we could have easily been put out of business. So, I can attribute our ability to pivot rather than sink to our relationship with Community Bank of the Bay.”

Thanks to CBB’s support, Anchor is also expanding its community service initiatives. Through a public-private partnership with the Alameda County Deputy Sheriffs’ Activities League (DSAL), food hubs are being built to serve area residents.