The close-knit community of Graton is missing something most of us take for granted: a coffee shop. Not a restaurant, but a place to run into neighbors over a latte, bring the kids, linger with the dog or sit at a table with nowhere else to be.
That is the idea behind Graton Station, a new cafe and bakery being created in the heart of town by Ferrell Carter, Adrian Apana, Tori Immel and Matt Jorgensen, four locals with a shared goal.
This summer, the group opened the first phase of the project: a weekend coffee cart outside the former Graton firehouse, serving from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. The building has sat mostly empty for nearly 13 years. Now, behind the espresso machine and patio tables, construction is underway on its next life: a full cafe and bakery with communal tables, lounge space and room for dinners, music and other gatherings.
But the coffee shop is only part of the plan.
Fine-dining chefs, communal thinking
For Immel, the project is rooted in a broader question: What makes a town feel alive? Her answer has less to do with grand attractions than with the ordinary places where people can linger, talk and get to know one another.
She and Jorgensen have been pursuing that idea through ReVillage Foundation, the nonprofit they co-founded to strengthen Graton’s local economy and create more shared community spaces. The nearby Graton Town Square is another piece of that effort, connecting Graton Station to a larger attempt to make the center of town more active and welcoming.
That vision appealed to Carter and Apana, who were looking for a way to take what they had learned in ambitious restaurant kitchens and apply it to something more everyday — and more communal.
The two chefs have worked at restaurants and bakeries including SingleThread, Troubadour Bread & Bistro, Quail & Condor and Maison Porcella. But they were not interested in opening another destination restaurant where the price and formality might put it out of reach for the people who live nearby.
Instead, they launched Preservatory, a food preservation and reclamation project that eventually brought them together with Immel and Jorgensen.
The connection was natural. ReVillage was looking for ways to strengthen Graton’s town center. Carter and Apana wanted to make the traditions of local food and preservation part of everyday life.
The common ground was simple: Bring Graton to the table.
Good food, good vibes
As Graton Station grows, its menu will move beyond coffee and pastries to breakfast and lunch, changing with the seasons and whatever local farms and producers have in abundance.
The early ideas include breakfast sandwiches, savory porridge, mushroom toast, soups, salads and roasted chicken sandwiches, alongside housemade breads and pastries.
That “of the moment” approach is central to Preservatory.
Carter and Apana are interested in extending the life of Sonoma County’s abundance — apples, tomatoes, berries and other produce — by turning it into jams, pickles, sauces, shrubs and other pantry staples. Instead of disappearing when the season ends, the harvest can reappear months later.
At the weekend coffee cart, their shrubs are already being served as refreshing sodas.
The chefs also want to revive some of the kitchen knowledge that has largely disappeared from home cooking: canning, fermenting and other forms of preservation. Classes and demonstrations are planned for the future.
Another idea in the works is a community-supported kitchen, loosely modeled on a community-supported agriculture program. Members would receive a rotating selection of baked goods, prepared foods and pantry items based on what local farms have in abundance.
For now, the Graton Station team has packed an ambitious list of ideas into a small former firehouse: local food, preservation, shared knowledge, community ownership and a more active town center.
But at its heart, it’s a simple recipe: Graton needed a coffee shop, with some cake and conversation to go with it.
Graton Station is raising money through Wefunder, allowing community members to invest directly in the project.
