A vintage fireplace with a view at Jenner’s Timber Cove Resort. (Timber Cove Resort)
Sonoma County hotels continue to roll out new experiences and offerings. From winemaker dinners to hot tubs in the redwoods to weeklong tours, here’s what you need to know about the local hotel scene right now. Click through the above gallery for a peek at the properties.
A new dining experience
Winter brings fewer crowds and new experiences along the Sonoma Coast.
Timber Cove Resort’s restaurant, Coast Kitchen, is launching a series of monthly winemaker dinners. Each four-course dinner menu will be paired with featured local wines. Upcoming winemaker dinners include RAEN Winery in February, and Small Vines Winery in March. Tickets are $150 per person and reservations can be made by calling 707-847-3231.
Weekend guests at the resort have another incentive to slow down and enjoy winter sunsets along the coast. The weekly Cheers to the Sunset experience takes place every Saturday and includes a complimentary champagne toast for all guests.
Two Airstreams at AutoCamp in Guerneville now feature outdoor, wood-fired hot tubs. (AutoCamp Russian River)
A new way to relax in the redwoods
Glamping in Guerneville just got a little more glamourous. Two of the sleek Airstreams at AutoCamp now feature outdoor, wood-fired hot tubs big enough for two to three people. Redwood Suites also boast a queen size bed, a sofa that converts into a full size bed, full bathroom, well-stocked kitchen and a patio with fire pit. Rates start at $329.
4120 Old Cazadero Road, Guerneville, 888-405-7553, autocamp.com
New excursions
Through the end of March, guests at Montage Healdsburg can go fungi foraging with a Sonoma County mycologist — better known as an expert mushroom-hunter. The two-hour Mushroom Foray experience (offered in partnership with Adventure IO) includes a guided forage and hike, a foraging pocketbook, a bottle of wine, mushroom-themed snacks and a gift bag. $699 for two people.
Guests at Montage Healdsburg can learn how to safely forage for mushrooms in Sonoma County. (Courtesy of Fabian Wiktor)
A new kind of tour
The Astro in Santa Rosa is launching weeklong tours of Sonoma County. Astro Adventures will introduce participants to local wine, beer, spirits, food and more. The inaugural adventure, set for mid-February, focuses on wine; a spirits tour follows at the end of the month, and two beer tours are on tap for late-March and early April. The $1599 per person tour charge (taxes included) covers lodging at the midcentury motor lodge, several meals at Astro’s sister restaurant, The Spinster Sisters, tasting fees, transportation and some goodies to bring home. Tours are being kept small, ranging from 10 to 20 people.
323 Santa Rosa Ave, Santa Rosa, 707-200-4655, theastro.com
The Point Reyes National Seashore has all the makings for a great weekend escape. Just an hour’s drive from Sonoma County, you’ll find beaches, wildlife, stunning views and a tasty list of things to eat and drink here. A day trip will leave you craving more so if you can give yourself a weekend to explore, you won’t regret it.
The Vi La Vita spa at Vintners Resort in Santa Rosa. (Vintners Resort)
Northern California may be sunnier than many places in winter, but that doesn’t mean we don’t get our fair share of rain, gray skies and gloomy weather. While we can’t do anything about the dampness and the cold, we can take steps to pamper ourselves a little extra this time of year. From a cozy cedar enzyme bath to a relaxing vegan body wrap, a trip to the spa can make you feel all warm inside, regardless of the weather outside. Click through the above gallery for some of our favorite winter spa experiences in Sonoma County.
Initial renderings of proposed remodels at Flying Ace Kitchen + Taproom restaurant at the Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport. (Images provided by SSP America)
Since the recent closure of Sky Lounge restaurant at the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport, there’s been plenty of buzz about the new tenants, SSP America, and their plans.
The 15-year-old Sky Lounge, owned locally by Jim Goff, changed hands in early January after a competitive bidding process awarded the contract to SSP.
The new restaurant will be called Flying Ace Kitchen + Taproom, a nod to Schulz’s “World War I Flying Ace” Snoopy (who frequently fought the Red Baron from his doghouse in the “Peanuts” cartoons), according to SSP representatives.
The global company develops and operates airport restaurants, including 1300 Fillmore and Union Street Gastropub at San Francisco International Airport and Oakland Draft House at Oakland International Airport.
“We want to create a taste of place and make sure passengers coming in know they’re in the middle of Wine Country,” said Kyle Phillips, Vice President, Concepts & Development at SSP America.
Plans include a major remodel and bringing in a high-profile Bay Area chef to create a new menu. Construction will happen in stages to keep the airport’s only full-service restaurant — currently operating under the name Tap & Pour, also from SSP — open for limited breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Renderings of the new restaurant show an open indoor/outdoor space nearly double the current size. Adjustable glass panels will allow outdoor bar seating, and a revamped patio will have tables and lounge seating around a fire pit.
Phillips added that most of the Sky Lounge staff were offered jobs at the new restaurant.
Chef David Lawrence will create the new menu for the restaurant, focused on local products and dishes. A resident of Sonoma, Lawrence has an extensive culinary background and owned 1300 Fillmore and Black Bark BBQ in San Francisco (both are now closed). In his native London, he worked with the French chefs Albert and Michel Roux at their U.K. restaurants, including Michelin-starred Le Gavroche and the Waterside Inn.
Lawrence’s menu won’t fully debut until the restaurant officially opens (possibly late 2023), but Lawrence has a few dishes he’s planning for the casual pub.
“Fish and chips, done fresh to order,” he said. He also plans to include the signature fried chicken sandwich from his restaurant in San Francisco, adding that sushi — a staple of Sky Lounge — will make an appearance.
“We want to keep people happy and incorporate things that are Sonoma. There’s an ocean right here next to us, and Sonoma is the garden of California because everything grows here,” Lawrence said.
JOHN BURGESS / THE PRESS DEMOCRATCheeseboard for a picnic includes, from left, Bay blue from Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co., St. George from Joe Matos Cheese Factory and Figaro, wrapped in a fig leaf, from Andante Dairy, prepared by Chef Duskie Estes.
Santa Rosa is officially a cheese lover’s paradise. We knew this already, of course, but in case there was any doubt before, we now have a survey from a rather unlikely source to back it up.
A questionably scientific but undoubtedly delicious curd-to-curd survey of 200 U.S. cities by lawn care services company Lawn Starter (yes, you read that right) ranks Santa Rosa a respectable eighth in the country when it comes to cheese access, quality, affordability and community interest.
The judging rubric, according to Lawn Starter, includes the number of cheese factories and plants (Santa Rosa ranks second) in the area, total points for past U.S. Championship Cheese Contest Awards, average per-pound price of cheese and the number of cheese-related events and festivals.
The kudos come as no surprise to anyone who’s put together a gourmet cheeseboard in Sonoma County. The North Bay wrote the book (or at least the Cheese Trail Map) on delicious, artisanal cheesemakers along the North Coast, including Sonoma’s Vella Cheese, Sebastopol’s Joe Matos Cheese Factory, along with nearby Bohemian Creamery, Spring Hill Jersey Cheese, Petaluma Creamery, Valley Ford Cheese Co., Bellwether Farms and Wm. Cofield Cheesemakers.
Laura Chenel practically invented goat cheese (not really, but she popularized it with chefs in the 1980s) here in Sonoma County. Cowgirl Creamery, now in Petaluma, brought small-batch sustainable cheeses to the forefront in the late 1990s and continues to produce exceptional cheese.
The list goes on and on, especially when we include our nearby friends in Marin (Marin French Cheese, Point Reyes Farmstead), and our neighbors to the north (Pennyroyal Farm, Cypress Grove).
No matter how you slice it, Sonoma County (and Santa Rosa) have some Edam good cheese, and that’s the whey we like it.
Don’t miss: The annual California Cheese Festival will take place March 24-26 at the Sonoma County Event Center and Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa. The event includes a cheese crawl and an artisan cheese tasting and marketplace. For more information and tickets, visit artisancheesefestival.com.
Click through the above gallery for a few favorite cheese from Sonoma County.
Fans of modern architecture have something to swoon over in a recently listed Calistoga estate overlooking Knights Valley. The property’s 3,100-square-foot main home is located at 2,200 feet above sea level and features three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, sleek design features and modern amenities throughout.
An 800-square-foot guest house echoes the aesthetic of the main residence and a recently constructed 2.5-mile of hiking trail allows the homeowner to experience the property to its fullest. The estate is listed for $3,995,000.
Photo by Steven Magner.Photo by Steven MagnerPhoto by Steven Magner.
Steel-framed floor-to-ceiling windows take full advantage of dramatic views from every room. The interior palette veers from “modern white” and goes into deep but peaceful hues: honey-stained wood paneling and paint in shades of greens and grays that blend with the woodsy surroundings.
An open plan layout offers the kind of spacious feel many homebuyers are now craving. A black-bottomed lap pool with a simple concrete surround blends with the surrounding landscape like a naturally occurring pond — if ponds were perfectly rectangle-shaped.
Photo by Steven Magner.
The home is constructed of concrete with spots of Cor-Ten steel siding, which develops a ruddy patina. This gives the building Wabi Sabi design characteristics, wherein transience is embraced and weathered imperfections are prized as authentic and, therefore, beautiful.
Click through the above gallery for a peek at the property.
Landscape designer Danielle Dávila recently added a new cedar-clad accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, to the Sonoma home she shares with her husband Salvador Dávila and their two young daughters. The ADU is notable for its beauty and functionality. But to Dávilla, it offers more than just a stylish compact living space. It has allowed her Michigan-based father to move in with the family three to four months out of the year to “winter” in Sonoma.
Dávila says the multigenerational setup has been healing because she didn’t grow up with her father. Her children love the arrangement, too. Her six-year-old “gets up at 6:30 to go wake grandpa up,” she says.
The Dávilas’ home sits on a 6000-square-foot lot in a neighborhood just a mile from the Sonoma Plaza. The family now comes together for dinners on the patio between the ADU and the main house.
The ADU, a partially prefabricated structure, was made by Colorado-based tiny home purveyor Studio Shed. It was flat-shipped in a kit, placed on a prebuilt foundation, and finished on the inside by local carpenters — the Dávilas hired Sonoma-based contractor Carlos Castros. (Studio Shed also offers a DIY option.)
From “conception through construction,” the addition of the ADU took roughly seven months, says Davila. Studio Shed provided assistance throughout the process, from securing the permits to finding contractors to do the finishing work.
Now, Dávila’s father is “living very well in 252 square feet of space,” she says, and adds that it’s surprising how spacious the ADU is. Before her father came to visit, the Davilas hosted a sleepover with four children. With a full bed and a five-foot-long couch, there was plenty of room.
The ADU’s cedar siding was an important design feature to Dávila and her husband, who also is a landscape architect. They loved its natural color, which inspired more landscaping to integrate the two homes. The Davilas added large concrete “steppers,” with planting in between, and a fountain. They capped off the outdoor dining area with a simple string of lights above. Dávila says the new additions have made them spend more time in their backyard, which she describes as a “jewelry box landscape.”
The ADU’s kitchen is a favorite spot for Davila’s father, who loves the cook. It is outfitted with a dishwasher, an in-mount sink and a compact range and the couple recently installed a backsplash to match the quartz countertops.
Click through the above gallery for a look inside the ADU.
Bag ‘o Crab seafood restaurant will soon open a new location in Santa Rosa at the former Steele and Hops location on Mendocino Avenue.
The Fremont-based restaurant chain specializes in seafood boils featuring lobster, crab (Dungeness, King, Snow), crawfish, shrimp, mussels and clams steamed up with a selection of Cajun and Asian seasonings.
Seafood boils are awesomely messy affairs for a crowd as steaming plastic bags filled with seafood, potatoes and corn arrive at the table. To fully enjoy the experience, you’ll need plenty of napkins, bibs and a penchant for eating with your hands.
There’s no word yet on when Bag ‘o Crab will officially open in Santa Rosa, but a sign at the site announces its arrival. The restaurant concept is similar to Simmer Claw Bar, which opened in Rohnert Park in 2020.
Not a seafood lover? The restaurant also serves hot wings, beef short ribs and a chicken po’boy.
The Santa Rosa restaurant will join ten other California locations from Vacaville to Rancho Cucamonga, as well as locations in Oregon, Texas and Washington.
The quality of light from the windows really makes this Healdsburg home its owners say. (Eileen Roche)
From the sunny side of their Healdsburg street, Katrina Schjerbeck and Danny Brennan’s vintage two-bedroom Healdsburg cottage looks freshly updated, with tall windows and a new roof and siding.
But getting to this end result took more than 10 years, as the family completed a series of projects over time. The cottage has grown into an expression of the family’s values. It’s sustainable, handcrafted and modest and no larger or fancier than it needs to be.
Schjerbeck, a jewelry designer and co-owner of Gallery Lulo in Healdsburg, and Brennan, a computer engineer who recently started a line of hot sauce, live in the home with their two sons, Lukas, 13, and Kristian, 9, plus an eager-to-please young pup, Charlie.
The couple met decades ago in Rome through a circle of expat friends. Schjerbeck, whose father was a member of the Danish diplomatic corps, grew up mainly in Africa. Brennan grew up in rural Louisiana. From Europe, the couple moved to New Orleans, where they renovated an older home together.
In 2007, after living in New Orleans through Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, they were open to making a move. On a whim, Schjerbeck visited Healdsburg while in the Bay Area for a jewelry show.
“She came back to New Orleans and said she thought we should move there. And I swear, there was a bottle of wine on the table, and it said Healdsburg on it. And I was just, like, well, that’s fine,” Brennan said, laughing.
Homeowner Katrina Schjerbeck sets the dining table with dog Charlie. The chandelier above the table is a handblown glass design from SkLO Studio. (Eileen Roche)Katrina Schjerbeck and Danny Brennan filled their home with objects that express their values, from books and ceramics to art. (Eileen Roche)
The perfect cottage
They rented in town for three years before finding their cottage, which is within walking distance of the plaza and Schjerbeck’s gallery.
“It just looked like it was real — these tall, beautiful windows and vintage wood everywhere,” Brennan said. “It reminded me of a 115-year-old house in New Orleans.”
Schjerbeck and Brennan said the circa-1915 cottage was a classic case of good bones and possibility, but conditions inside were rough. The floors were slanted. There was no heat. The foundation was pretty much nonexistent (“it was just sitting on mud,” Brennan said), and at the back of the house, a tacked-on utility room gave the overall layout an off-kilter feel.
They brought out the hammers and saws on Day One, determined to save money and do much of the work themselves, as they had in New Orleans. They hired contractors to do the heavy lifting with the foundation, but they tackled trim, tile and other finish work.
They removed layers of old paint to reveal beautiful original Douglas fir subfloors. “After the war, I think there was just a surplus of army green paint,” Brennan mused. “You’re thinking, that’s gotta be someone throwing it down in the ’50s just because it was free.”
Those first five years were a bit of a whirlwind, with two young children, Brennan’s full-time job, Schjerbeck’s gallery and major renovation projects taking up their free time.
“I remember we were constantly scraping down popcorn ceilings, and we didn’t have a dishwasher for years,” Schjerbeck said. “The house was up on stilts while we did the foundation. You look back and are like, wow, how did you do that?”
“It was less stressful when you had a glass of wine at night,” Brennan joked.
Quality of window light
They’re finally at a stopping point, Schjerbeck and Brennan said, after recently completing a long-awaited new kitchen and adding a new family room and wall of windows looking out to the back garden.
For Schjerbeck, the quality of light from the windows, both vintage original ones and the contemporary window wall in back, make the home. She and Brennan described the look as pared-down and cozy, true to Schjerbeck’s Danish roots.
“We always have music on and little candles in the winter. The kids love those things. And I love freshness. I love cleanness,” Schjerbeck said. She and Brennan have filled the home with ceramics, art and books, especially handmade objects with detailed craftsmanship. They’re not overly precious items, but things the family uses every day.
Katrina Schjerbeck and Danny Brennan did much of the work themselves on their 1915 Healdsburg cottage. (Eileen Roche)Katrina Schjerbeck and Danny Brennan want their sons to remember and appreciate all that went into the renovation of their family home in Healdsburg. (Eileen Roche)
The most popular place in the home is the kitchen island, used for cooking together, art projects and homework. Schjerbeck loves to bake with the kids, and every Friday is homemade pizza night.
“We’re big into farmers markets, and I’d say 75% of our life on the weekends revolves around food — shopping, prepping, eating,” Brennan said.
Brennan and Schjerbeck said they hope they’ve cemented a love of older homes in their two sons.
“I think it’s going to feel normal to them,” Brennan said. “Like, this is what a building that was built in the 1600s or the 1900s feels like — solidity of the wood, the quality of the light.”
Katrina Schjerbeck and Danny Brennan filled their two-bedroom Healdsburg cottage with art and handmade objects with detailed craftsmanship. (Eileen Roche)Katrina Schjerbeck and Danny Brennan enjoy a simple aesthetic in their Healdsburg home that includes lots of plants. (Eileen Roche)
Lukas and Kirstian remember the stages of the renovation, and the family often talks about the work they’ve lived through and the projects they still want to complete. The couple want the boys to understand their lives are enriched by the time and effort they’ve invested in the home, and the transformation evolved over time, slowly and sustainably.
“It’s like everything in our lives. We’ve had to do it little by little,” Schjerbeck said. “You grow that way — and you know the foundation’s really strong.”
Gallery Lulo, which Katrina Schjerbeck co-owns with Karen Gilbert of glass art company SkLO Studio, focuses on modern craft and design. The partners carry the work of 40 jewelry makers and fine artists, including many from the Healdsburg area. 303 Center St., Healdsburg. 707-433-7533, gallerylulo.com
Last year, Danny Brennan launched Healdsburg Ferments, offering fermented cayenne pepper hot sauce. healdsburgferments.com
Around Town
Homeowners Katrina Schjerbeck and Danny Brennan say their weekends fall into a relaxed cadence of food shopping and farmers markets. A few of their Healdsburg favorites:
THE PARISH CAFÉ
Schjerbeck’s go-to’s are the fried green tomatoes and eggs Benedict. And the whole family loves that you can sit outside and bring your dog. 60 Mill St., Healdsburg. 707-431-8474, theparishcafe.com
LEVIN AND CO.
They say they can easily spend an hour or two browsing the books and art and listening to jazz on the stereo at this family-owned spot on the plaza, not far from Schjerbeck’s gallery. 306 Center St., Healdsburg. 707-433-1118, levinbooks.com
FIDEAUX
Treats for Charlie at this downtown pet shop with funny toys and beautiful leashes and bandanas. 43 North St., Healdsburg. 707-433-9935, fideaux.net
PRESTON FARM AND WINERY
After a morning in town, it’s a short, scenic drive out to Preston, where the family likes to bring picnics and sit out under the olive trees, and the parents can enjoy a glass of wine. “We love the informality of the place,” says Schjerbeck. 9282 W. Dry Creek Rd., Healdsburg. 707-433-3372, prestonfarmandwinery.com
Rendering of the new Charlie Palmer Appellation Hotel in Petaluma. (Appellation)
Chef Charlie Palmer has announced plans to develop a culinary-focused 93-room hotel with a 190-seat restaurant and rooftop bar in downtown Petaluma. If approved, the 66,500-square-foot, five-story luxury property would be located at the corner of Petaluma Boulevard South and B Street. The new hotel project is a collaboration between Palmer’s recently-launched hospitality group, Appellation, and EKN Development Group of Newport Beach.
The news comes just months after Appellation announced another ambitious hotel and retail project in Healdsburg with a restaurant and rooftop bar. The company, co-owned by Palmer and Christopher Hunsburger, also has projects in Pacific Grove and Sun Valley.
Calling Petaluma a “foodie destination within a foodie destination,” Palmer’s hospitality group said food demonstrations, artistic presentations and nods to the region’s sustainable farming practices would be part of the visitor experience at the hotel.
“We intentionally designed this hotel to pay homage to the integral role that food and wine play in Petaluma,” said Ebbie Nakhjavani, CEO of EKN Development Group, in a press release.
Palmer, who is a Sonoma County resident and James Beard award-winning chef with 16 restaurants from coast to coast, said that he had been looking for an opportunity in Petaluma for years as “an emerging culinary destination in the region.”
In recent years, the once-sleepy dairy- and egg-producing area has surged onto the world stage with one of the country’s most recent AVAs (American Viticultural Areas), the Petaluma Gap, and has attracted talented chefs, including Stephane Saint Louis and Steven Vargas of Table Culture Provisions, Jevon Martin of Street Social and Roberth Sundell of Stockhome restaurant. Chef Tony Najiola’s Central Market also is a Petaluma food destination.
Palmer opened Healdsburg’s iconic Dry Creek Kitchen in 2001 and has eponymous steakhouses in New York, Reno, Las Vegas and Napa.
