Anidel Hospitality — the company that recently acquired the Sonoma Cheese Factory and Sonoma’s Best Modern Mercantile from embattled developer Ken Mattson — has announced plans to take over a beloved piece of Cloverdale history.
Pick’s Drive-In, a nearly century-old hamburger stand, will become Pick’s Roadside later this summer, according to Amber Lanier, a Cloverdale resident working with Anidel to renovate the iconic eatery.
The restaurant has changed ownership twice in the past decade, most recently purchased by Nicole Hinchcliff in 2021. Its future seemed uncertain after it was listed for sale in August 2024.
“Pick’s has always been more than just a restaurant,” said Lanier. “It’s a gathering spot, a piece of history and a place that has shaped the memories of so many in Cloverdale.”
A fifth-generation Cloverdale resident, Lanier told The Press Democrat that her grandmother used to go to the the drive-in as a little girl in 1923, when it opened as Reed and Bell’s Root Beer Stand — an offshoot restaurant chain of the A&W Root Beer franchise founded by Lewis Reed and H.C. Bell.
The partnership with Anidel Hospitality, led by San Francisco-based software developer and venture capitalist Chris Fanini (founder of Weebly), will aim to preserve the restaurant’s vintage charm while making some much-needed modern updates.
“We’re putting a lot of love and care into the space and making sure that the heart and soul of Pick’s remains at the core of everything we do,” Lanier said.
This is a developing story.