GFF's History
The Girard’s brand had its beginning in San Francisco in 1935with a recipe for Girard’s Original French Dressing created by Wilfred L. Girard, who along with McCone W. Girard, opened Girard's French Restaurant. The restaurant was located on the 3rd floor above the historic John's Grill (established 1908) located at 63 Ellis Street in San Francisco. This was the first three story restaurant in San Francisco. McCone Girard's brother Kenneth Girard initially attempted to market Girard's original French Dressign to the retail trade. The dressing was purchased and marketed by the late Dusty Rhodes, a San Francisco broker.

In the early 1960s, the company was sold to Westgate Tuna Company and moved from San Rafael to San Diego. In 1966, Girard's was purchased by Early California Foods, who, in addition to creating and marketing additional dressings, moved the company to Los Angeles. In 1981, the current owners aquired the company from Early California Foods. New high quality dressings were added and merchandised in the now famous triangular bottles. The upgraded versions of these formulae remain in our food service and single service offerings to this day.