Wayne Speer remembers decades ago when logging trucks would roar past his Forestville Club at all hours. Today, the lumber mill is long gone. Even his dark, windowless dive bar is a throwback to another era.
But walk down Front Street (aka Highway 116) for a block or two, and you’ll see signs of a new spirit taking root in Forestville. Maybe it’s the trippy Ricky Watts mural in front of the Record Mill vinyl shop. Or the newly opened, Asian-inspired Bazaar Sonoma next door, serving an addictively simple egg salad sandwich with yuzo mayo and crispy lotus on milk bread.
Leading the charge, Sonoma Pizza Co. opened shop across the street two years ago, building an instant following with wood-fired pizzas stacked with everything from peaches and pork cheek bacon to mushrooms and fennel sausage. Under towering redwoods and glowing paper lanterns, the shop’s back deck is a great place to savor a night out.
“Forestville is kind of like the last area in Sonoma County to get gentrified,” says Brian Borchers, who owns Russian River Cycle Service, which makes custom bikes and rents to riders eager to get out on the 5.5-mile West County Regional Trail. Connecting Forestville to Sebastopol and Graton, the popular route runs past farms, vineyards and cafes.
Nightingale Breads owner Jessie Frost isn’t too worried about Forestville turning bougie, she says. “It’s still funky, and sweet and lively, but it’s also weird — and I mean that as in good weird. It’s west county weird.”
You want weird? Try naming a town “Forrestville” in the 1860s, after an early settler named Andrew Jackson Forrester, and then dropping the “r” and changing it to “Forestville.” True story.
Turn right at Rick’s Auto, and you’ll wind up at Ryme Cellars, where husband-and-wife owners Ryan and Megan Glaab have a thing for Italian varieties like Vermentino, Fiano and Aglianico.
Come late fall and early winter, Forestville is one of those towns where everyone pitches in during the holidays. A guy nicknamed “Falcon Mike” hangs the Christmas lights along Front Street. Teaming up with the local chamber of commerce, Record Mill owner Chris McDonald started a new holiday town fair last year that returns on Dec. 7 with 30-40 local vendors and a roaming New Orleans brass band.
In the three years he’s owned the Record Mill, McDonald has seen nearly every walk of life coming in and out of the redwoods that surround the town. “It’s a drive-through town, but blue-collar locals are still here,” he says. “I feel like it’s one of those last west county towns that has a rural vibe that spans a full spectrum of people.”
Where to visit
Nightingale Breads
Loyal customers would probably riot if owner Jessie Frost discontinued her best-selling sliced seeded sourdough. For the holidays, Frost makes boxed panettone and a delicious gingerbread, adding Moonlight Brewing Company’s Death and Taxes black lager to the batter. 6665 Front St., 707-887-8887, nightingalebreads.com
Sonoma Pizza Co.
Try the wood-fired Pepperoni Nirvana pie prepared Chris’s Way with hot honey and ricotta, paired with local Joseph Jewel zinfandel. Or the “Italian Stallion” sandwich — what more could you need? 6615 Front St., 707820-1031, sonomapizzaco.com
Canneti Roadhouse
Chef-proprietor Francesso Torre makes his own olive oil, focaccia and fennel salame, and his classic “Tuna of the Chianti” swaps pork shoulder for fins. 6675 Front St., 707-887-2232, cannetiroadhouse.com
Farmhouse Inn
Last year, wine mogul Bill Foley purchased a majority stake in this exclusive luxury hotel (once bought out by Elon Musk for his birthday party) from siblings Joe and Catherine Bartolomei, who grew the 1873 vintage farmhouse into a world-class destination. 7871 River Road, 707-887-3300, farmhouseinn.com
River Bend Resort
A budget-friendly option with a giant Paul Bunyan statue out front. Where else can you spend the night in a 1970s VW Bus restored with hardwood floors? 11820 River Road, 707-887-7662, riverbendresort.net
Ryme Cellars
This Italian-leaning boutique winery hosts appointment-only tastings and super-tasty BBQ pickup parties. 6450 First St., 707820-8121, rymecellars.com
The Record Mill
Crate-digger alert: Owner Chris McDonald’s Japanese pressing of Bobby Charles’ self-titled 1976 album is a pretty good score. 6566 Front St., 707-820-7666