Valentina Stoll helps her mom Adelle squeegee water from her business, Adelle Stoll, in the Barlow business district in Sebastopol on Thursday. (photo by John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
“The Barlow is open!”
Kathrin Green, co-owner of floral design shop California Sister, is eager to spread this message to the public. Her shop, located at the Sebastopol marketplace, survived the February floods with its showroom unscathed, but foot traffic has since been reduced to barely a trickle.
And Green is not alone in her efforts to bring customers back to The Barlow and other West County businesses affected by the flooding.
“None of us can pay our rent if people don’t come to shop,” said watercolor artist Nan Still of Russian River Art Gallery in downtown Guerneville. The co-op gallery suffered some water damage but has opened their doors to the public after a rapid cleanup. “People can use us as a museum…to take a break from the cleanup,” Still said.
To aid recovery efforts, local businesses are now banding together. “It is a community,” said Green of the merchants at The Barlow. “We’re all backing each other.”
Several stores and restaurants at The Barlow are hosting pop-up shops for neighbors that suffered significant damage and loss of merchandise. Fern Bar, for example, will host juice and smoothie bar The Nectary, while designer boutique Scout West County makes space for handbag designer Adelle Stoll.
Stoll opened her Barlow retail space just nine months before the flooding. Her entire inventory, including machines and handcrafted wool and leather goods, was destroyed. Like other small business owners, Stoll now faces the task of raising money to replace inventory while recreating her collection of handbags and accessories. As part of this effort, she will create a “capsule collection” inspired by Scout West County’s aesthetic. (We predict a perfect match between Stoll’s spectacular craftsmanship and Scout West County’s simple and serenely-colored style.)
In Guerneville, many retail spaces avoided significant water damage but some businesses, like Boon Eat + Drink, closed temporarily so that staff could help with the cleanup effort in the community. This sense of community is also reinforced by locals and visitors shopping in Sebastopol and Guerneville stores.
In addition to patronizing businesses impacted by the flooding (in stores and online), there are also fundraising efforts to support. Here are a few campaigns to consider. We’ll continue to add to this list.
Adovada chili at Chili Joe’s in Petaluma. Heather Irwin/PD
When’s the last time any chef used the words Brunoise and Texas caviar in the same sentence? Turns out more recently than you might think, and right in our own backyard.
Mark Yuwiler, the owner of Petaluma’s Chili Joe’s cafe, is explaining a popular Lone Star state condiment best known for being a favorite recipe in 1970s women’s magazines. It’s traditionally made with canned beans, chopped onions, jalapeños and a little Rotel to class it up.
The classically trained French chef who’s worked at spots like the Stanford Court Hotel in San Francisco has re-envisioned the caviar-free tortilla chip dip with a mix of heirloom Santa Maria pinquito beans, black eyed peas, and carefully diced — or Brunoise cut if you’re a chef — jalapenos, red peppers, celery and red onion. It’s topped with a zesty lime vinaigrette atop a bed of leaf lettuce. In other words, he’s making it into something you’d actually want to eat.
New Mexi Joe Hamburger with flame-roasted Hatch and poblano peppers, Petaluma Creamery jack cheese, flame-charred sweet white onion slab, and green onion-garlic mayoli, on a toasted potato bun at Chili Joe’s. Heather irwin/PD
That highbrow-lowbrow juxtaposition of classic comfort foods gussied up with top-shelf local ingredients and a culinary master’s touch is exactly what’s making Yuwiler’s tiny chili cafe such a hit.
Having given up his starched white chef jacket for a brown work shirt and apron, he’s found his bliss at the bottom of a chili bowl.
Yuwiler and his wife, schoolteacher Wendy Travis, opened their dream restaurant in a tiny standalone building last summer. It happened to be on their 10th wedding anniversary, Yuwiler says, though they kind of forget that bit as the doors opened. Since then, it’s been a runaway success with customers coming back week after week for his LA Street Chili doused tamales, chili cheese tater tots, charbroiled burgers, hot dogs and ever-rotating list of regional chili favorites from San Antonio to Cincinnati. And yes, there many, many kinds of chili which Yuwiler is happy to explain and frequently adds as specials to the menu.
LA Street Tamales at Chili Joes in Petaluma. Heather Irwin/PD
“I was French trained and I love fancy food, California cuisine and all the wonderful stuff we have around here. This is heaven for cooks and eaters. But what I wanted to do was recreate something nostalgic, something retro but not contrived,” Yuwiler said. Raised in Santa Monica, he remembers a time when chili cafes were familiar —and economical — family eateries. In Santa Rosa, Ingram’s Chili Bowl reigned supreme for nearly half a century until its closure in 2000.
“LA is the home of chili cheese fries, chili burgers,” he said. “I grew up eating different styles, and I remember the fun I had going with my dad to all the cool places. In terms of comfort food, you’ve got mac and cheese, spaghetti and meatballs, but chili is up there as as a top five, for sure.”
That kind of humble grub has pretty much gone the way of the dinosaur, relegated mostly to home kitchens where it’s made with canned ingredients, hamburger and prepackaged seasoning. “You just don’t see it anywhere. They’ve all disappeared,” he said, adding that the few restaurants that do serve it usually use frozen or canned versions.
Yuwiler treats his chili more like Boeuf Bourguignon than the skillet chili most of us are familiar with at home. He carefully seasons and braises the meat, toasts the spices, and uses plenty of Petaluma Creamery cheese, heirloom Rancho Gordo beans and sweet white onions. His sous chef Martin Perez also does double duty, working in a high-end restaurant at night and by day at Joe’s.
“By night he does fancy Italian, by day he makes chili,” says Yuwiler, whose small staff do everything from bussing to dishes.
Yuwiler says his customers of all ages appreciate the familiar tastes. When asked if he has a children’s menu at the restaurant, he says, “Here, the entire menu is a kid’s menu. Its for little kids and big kids.” The idea is to appeal to everyone’s inner child.
Prices are generally moderate, like the heat in his dishes. Yuwiler says that’s what the whole “Joe’s” restaurant genre is all about. For him a restaurant with the name “Joe’s” in it meant you’d be well fed, you won’t walk away hungry and you won’t go broke.
Frito pie at Chili Joes in Petaluma. Heathe Irwin/PD
Burgers and hot dogs those have a significant spot on the menu too. But don’t expect mushroom burgers or Western burgers with bbq sauce. Instead, his burgers have a clear point of view. He’s also included a crowd-pleasing lineup of beers, including Texas favorite Shiner Bock, Sonoma wines and canned sodas.
What’s most important, though, is that customers feel like family and know that when it comes to chili there is no wrong way to eat it or make it.
“Chili is whatever you want it to be. It’s like coming into our home and being family,” he said. As long as your family knows how to do a proper Brunoise.
Best Bets
Chili Joe’s Chili, $4.75/9.75: Just like mom’s, but way better. Made with ground beef, heirloom beans, toasted spices and tomatoes, this is classic family-style chili.
Topped with onions and cheddar and served with a side of oyster crackers. Mark’s workhorse chili is available with turkey or meatless. “This is every mom’s skillet chili, and a big comfort thing to a lot of people,” Yuwiler says.
Green Go Chili, $13.95: Also a specialty that’s not always on the menu. A riff on chile verde, a green chile made with tomatillos, his has ground turkey, beans and peppers. It’s a lighter, brighter chili with strong Southwest influences.
Frito Pie, $4.50: What could be more unsophisticated than a bag of Fritos topped with thick LA-style chili, cheddar cheese, sweet onions and pickled jalapenos? Not much, and that’s the beauty. A Southwest classic. “So it’s kind of sleazy, but it’s when it’s good, it’s really good,” says Yuwiler.
Santa Fe Carne Adovada at Chili Joe’s in Petaluma. Heather Irwin/PD
Santa Fe Carne Adovada, $13.95: This special chili isn’t always available, so if it’s on the menu, grab it. Pork shoulder is slow-cooked in a velvety red chile gravy has sweet spices and a deep, complex flavor of the southwest. Traditionally made without cumin, its more like a comforting stew topped with fresh cotija, fresh jalapeño, and cilantro. Served with a side of beans and tortillas.
New MexiJoe Hamburger ($9.95): Though the Big Boy-inspired Valley Joe Burger is the top seller, this charbroiled beef patty is topped by mild Hatch and poblano peppers, slab of flame-charred sweet white onion and enrobed by melty Jack cheese that caramelizes around the edges. Served on a solid potato bun that holds up to the handful inside. The Valley Joe ($8.95) is an homage to classic cheeseburgers, grill-seared and topped with American cheese, shredded iceberg lettuce, mayo and their secret red relish on a toasted sesame seed bun.
Doggie Dog, $6.75: No one judges you if you want a little ketchup on your dog here. Classic Miller hot dogs, however, get a San Francisco style dress-up Doggie Diner-style. Topped with Mark’s secret red relish and sweet onions. The ends of the toasted bun are clipped short to expose just a little more of the all-beef weenies.
LA Street Tamale: Sides are some of the most fun at Chili Joe’s, and this is no x-ception. A base of XLNT brand tamales from Southern California made with seasoned beef and masa, they’re topped with thick LA Street chili (no beans, lots of Mexican spices).
Chili Cheese Tots, $4.50: Tater tots fried in rice bran oil for a light, crispy crunch. Smothered with LA street chili and the works. Served in a paper boat.
CJ’s Cornbread, $2.75: Fluffy cornbread dotted with red peppers and green jalapenos “Christmas” style. Whipped honey butter with orange zest brings it home.
Jalapeno Cole Slaw, $2.75: A tart and tangy salad with a base of shredded cabbage, red and green peppers and sliced radish topped with pickled red onions and jalapenos. Lime vinaigrette ties it together with a bow. Yuwiler calls it “the grease cutter”, a bright, crisp salad with just a hint of heat.
Overall: Comfort classics of the homiest sort from a chef who knows how to make some serious grub. A local joint that can sometimes get crowded on weekends, but that’s half the fun.
Details: 312 Petaluma Boulevard South, Petaluma, (707) 971-7537, chilijoes.com. Open 11:30am-2:30pm Wednesday-Sunday. Closed Monday and Tuesday.
Semla at Stockhome Restaurant in Petaluma. Heather Irwin/PD
Season for Semla
The advent of Lent means Swedish Semla are on the menu at Stockhome.
These tasty cardomom-spiced wheat buns are filled with sweet almond cream and topped with a big swirl of whipped cream. They’re decadent little bombs of deliciousness that are only available through March. (Would you like to sample more Swedish delicacies in Sonoma County? Check out these tips from our Swedish editor.)
Available at Stockhome, 220 Western Ave., Petaluma, stockhomerestaurant.com.
It’s been a tough week of mucking out for our friends at Village Bakery, Zazu, The Nectary, Barrio Cocina Fresca, The Farmer’s Wife, Community Market, Sushi Kosho, Rio Nido Roadhouse, the R3 Hotel, Community Market and a number of others.
Most have created Go Fund Me campaigns to recoup losses and help pay salaries for workers. You can find details here. Also, make sure to patronize Sebastopol and West County restaurants that remain open. We’re in this together!
Sonoma County Restaurant Week Continues
If you haven’t experienced the prix fixe menus of restaurants throughout the county already, you have exactly two more days to do so.
One thing I’d like to correct from my articles, however, is the very unintentional exclusion of Cloverdale in my write-ups.
Several Cloverdalians let me know I’d forgotten their lovely hamlet, and mea culpa, I did.
You’ll have to head up today, or just put it on your list for the future because these Cloverdale restaurants are closed Monday.
At Trading Post, — a destination in itself — Chef Erik Johnson has come up with a $39 prix fixe menu that includes beet vichyssoise with sourdough furikake and citrus creme fraiche, grilled Marin Sun Farms lamb shoulder and a rustic apple tart with Ras al Hanout and cultured cream.
Piacere Italiano Steak and Seafood (504 N. Cloverdale Blvd.) is doing a four-course dinner with plenty of choices — shitake mushroom ravioli, steamed clams, jumbo prawns, a New York steak and homemade tiramisu for dessert.
KS Tian Yuen in Cloverdale (which just opened an outpost in Windsor) does a pan-Asian menu for $19 with unagi nigiri, pot stickers, cashew nut chicken with rice, a choice of several rolls and deep fried ice cream or cheesecake.
A cheese plate featuring (from left to right) Pennyroyal Farm Bollie’s Mollies, Amexia D’Elvas Convento de Serra natural preserved plums, Bleating Heart Cheese Fat Bottom Girl, raw local almonds, and Point Reyes Cheese Company Gouda, aged two years, assembled by cheese monger Omar Mueller of Freestone Artisan Cheese, in Freestone, California on Tuesday, November 29, 2016. (Alvin Jornada / The Press Democrat)
Colette Hatch – aka Madame de Fromage – has worked as a cheesemonger at Oliver’s for more than a decade. Click through the gallery for some of her favorite local cheeses.
Madame de Fromage doesn’t take cheese lightly. Literally.
Balancing a large wooden board nearly the size of her petite torso, she’s snatching up wedges of all her favorite local cheeses from the refrigerated cases of Oliver’s Market in Windsor.
Most of us only know her by her nom de guerre, Madame de Fromage. She has worked for Oliver’s for more than a decade as cheesemonger and buyer and knows all the ins and outs of the local cheese trade. She is a tireless champion or opinionated critic of every slice that comes under her experienced nose.
The whole mass of samples is threatening to topple onto the floor as Madame — whose name is Colette Hatch — walks and talks about everything from mascarpone to mozzarella in a fast-paced, thick French accent. With Madame you either keep up or get out of the way.
Undaunted by the pile, she continues pulling cheese, looking for one particular wedge.
“The one with the bloomy rind?” she says to one of her white-coated cheese department staff, sifting through the piles of triple cream brie, Camembert, goat cheese, sheep’s milk cheese, fresh cheese, and aged cheeses. The way Hatch says it sounds more like “zee wan wis zee blumay wind.”
It’s entertaining just to watch Hatch poke deft fingers through the hundreds of varieties and pull out her favorites. We’re about to go on a tasting expedition together, with Hatch explaining some of her current favorites.
“You’ve had this one, of course,” she points to a wedge of Joe Matos St. George cheese, an aged raw cow’s milk cheese that’s been a local favorite since the family set up business in Sonoma County in 1979. It’s a nutty, hard cheese that along with Sonoma’s Vella Jack and Laura Chenel’s goat cheeses set the stage for artisan cheesemakers in the region. It’s also a familiar flavor, so she passes over it and continues the search for more obscure favorites.
In the nearly three decades since Hatch came to Sonoma County, the local cheesemaking scene has leapt into the national consciousness. First there was Chenel, who brought goat cheese to American plates from her Sonoma County dairy in the 1980s. Then came Redwood Hill Goat Cheese, Bellwether Farms, Marin French Cheese, and perhaps one of the largest success stories of all, Cowgirl Creamery — whose Red Hawk and Mt Tam are dairy darlings.
Not to mention the dozens of tiny artisan cheesemakers whose small-batch creations grace dozens of local restaurant cheeseboards.
Colette Hatch sources a broad variety of local artisan cheeses from producers in Marin, Sonoma, and Mendocino counties. (Photo by Chris Hardy)
“Cheese is very creative. Every day the cheesemaker has to worry about the milk. It’s a living thing. You have to be in touch with every element of the terroir,” Hatch says of the weather, seasons, and natural influences on sheep, goat, and cow’s milk. That’s why geographic boundaries — Marin, Sonoma, Mendocino — fall to the wayside when discussing local cheeses.
Because from Point Reyes to northern Boonville, it’s more about seasons and styles than the permeable borders between dairies. “Cheese is like wine. It changes every time it’s made. Some may change from season to season with what the animals are eating, using different cultures. You have to know your milk,” she says.
“But it’s also like a child. You have to constantly take care of it.”
What may have most defined the local cheesemaking business in the last five years, Hatch says, is a significant consolidation that brought in international ownership, something she is ambivalent about.
“When Sue and Peggy sold, I was devastated,” says Hatch of the sale of Point Reyes-based Cowgirl Creamery by founders Sue Conley and Peggy Smith to Swiss dairy processor Emmi in 2016. “We all started at the same time,” says Hatch, wistfully. Six months prior to the Cowgirl sale, local goat dairy Redwood Hill Farms sold to Emmi as well. But two years later, Hatch sees opportunity in the corporate cash infusion.
“Now there is more opportunity to make more cheese. There’s more equipment they couldn’t have bought to make cheese locally with good milk,” says Hatch, pulling out Cowgirl Creamery’s newest cheese, called Hop Along. The young, cider-washed rind is creamy and rich with a hint of tart cider flavor.
Some smaller cheesemakers have suffered as milk prices have gone up, spaces available for cheesemaking have become harder to find, and the very real challenges of artisan cheesemaking have come to light.
“Regulations are tougher, finding space is difficult, and it’s a lot of work for very little money in a very competitive market,” says Vivien Straus, the creator of the California Cheese Trail (cheesetrail.org), which promotes artisan cheesemakers and family farmers. Straus, who grew up on her family’s dairy farm in the rural Marin town of Marshall, sees hope, though. “Some will survive and some won’t. God, it’s a lot of work, but people keep trying. All the cheeses here are so different and so amazing. The whole world looks to us for our cheese.”
Along with Wisconsin and Vermont, Northern California — specifically Sonoma and Marin — are the big leagues of cheesemaking, says Keith Adams, partner and cheesemaker at Sebastopol’s Wm. Colfield Cheesemakers. “We’re persistent and we believe in what we’re doing. You have to operate at a very high level to compete with those who’ve been here a lot longer,” says Adams, who still considers himself a newcomer after two years in business.
Artisan cheesemaker Sheana Davis, whose Delice de la Vallee fresh cheese is a favorite with renowned chef Thomas Keller, agrees. “Some of the smaller producers are struggling to find a marketplace for their cheeses, based on price point, as it is hard to compete with the larger companies.”
In the end, however, places like Oliver’s and the Petaluma Market continue to be champions for local cheesemakers, offering up a wide variety of sheep, cow, goat, and even buffalo milk cheeses at a variety of prices.
“Artisan cheese is expensive, and not everyone can try it,” says Hatch, who believes that great cheese should be accessible to as many people as possible. “I look at what is most exciting,” she says of cheeses that she puts on sale at Oliver’s each month. “I want to give everyone an opportunity. I might be opinionated, but I know what I give you is the best thing for the best price.”
To learn more about all of these amazing cheeses, and for a chance to taste them all in one spot, check out the 13th Annual California Artisan Cheese Festival, March 23-24, 2019. The Festival events happen throughout Sonoma County, including Farm Tours, Seminars at the Flamingo Conference Resort and Spa, Cheese, Bites & Booze! at the Jackson Family Wines Hangar at Sonoma Jet Center, and the popular Artisan Cheese Tasting & Marketplace at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds with over 22 artisan cheesemakers under one roof!
Steve DuBois cuts hair in his one seat Plaza Barber shop in Healdsburg. (JOHN BURGESS / The Press Democrat)
The lone upholstered chair at the Plaza Barber Shop on Center Street in Healdsburg was occupied by a regular named Larry, who was probably exaggerating when he complained that his eyebrows were so overgrown they were interfering with his backswing.
Steve DuBois, the proprietor, trimmed the bramble-like brows of Larry while explaining to a visitor why barber shops across the republic are experiencing a boom. “Beards are back. Men’s grooming, and grooming products, have just become part of the culture. I mean, guys are getting their ears waxed.”
“I didn’t know you did ear waxing,” remarked a wiseacre waiting his turn in one of the shop’s vintage Candlestick Park folding chairs. (DuBois doesn’t. Yet.)
With their memorabilia, lather machines, and Rockwellian poles, barber shops offer both nostalgia and a hipness factor best described as “lumbersexual.” That’s helped drive a tonsorial renaissance evident around the county, but especially in Healdsburg, which supports not one, but two thriving one-chair shops.
At his eponymous operation on Healdsburg Avenue, Erik Wagner has been cutting hair for 17 years. Four years ago, he switched to an appointments-only model, giving him more control over his schedule, and allowing him “to see more of my kids’ games.”
Barbering, he notes, has provided him with more than a mere livelihood. “If I just had a desk job somewhere, I wouldn’t have the relationships that I have. I wouldn’t be so close to the community.”
Nodding in agreement was 30-something Joseph, whose neckline Wagner was cleaning up with a straight razor. He’d nodded earlier, upon first settling into the chair, when Wagner posed the eternal barber’s question: “The usual?”
Plaza Barber Shop, 319 Center St., Healdsburg, 707-433-9833, plazabarberhealdsburg.com; Erik’s Barber Shop, 433 Healdsburg Ave., #A, 707-433-7466
After two decades of fast-paced city life and a bustling photography career, Tania Soderman packed up her family and left San Francisco for Sonoma, where she envisioned giving her children a more humble, down-to-earth existence.
In creating this new life for her family, she sought to create a “slice of Norway” — where she was born and raised — by creating a small farm on her 3-acre property on the outskirts of the city of Sonoma. Now her farm has approximately four dozen chickens, along with ducks, quail, rabbits, geese, and a herding dog named Ollie.
Walking into Soderman’s farm, which she has named Sonoma Chicks, is like walking into what one can only imagine is a chicken’s idea of paradise. Beautiful red and white coops with artistic accents are strategically placed for the chickens to be able to easily roam among them, flowers line the fenced areas where the animals are kept at night, and chickens of all colors, sizes, and breeds are spread throughout the property.
All of the structures are customized by Soderman, who takes basic frames or older coops and refurbishes them into charming homes for her animals. Everything from the sanding to the painting is done by hand, and she outsources only for heavy-duty items like roofing (for which she uses local vendors). The theme of red and white is consistent from the coops to the red and white roses to custom name plaques that indicate which animals are in the different coops.
There is one large coop in the center of the yard, adorned with a vibrant barn door. Smaller coops built to look like small houses are attached to the central coop, with electric doors that automatically open for chickens to pass from the main areas to the specific nesting areas (each with a small, hand-painted name plaque for chickens incubating eggs).
Soderman estimates she has roughly 30 breeds of chickens, if not more. She has gradually added chickens over the last four years, some coming from eggs shipped from around the world that she incubated and some coming to her as rescues, including several that arrived after the 2017 Wine Country wildfires. One of her goals is to have a wide variety of different colored eggs, as each breed lays different shades.
Soderman currently allows some visitors to her farm — primarily through word-of-mouth and local schools visiting for class field trips. In the springtime, Sonoma Chicks is blooming with flowers and surrounded by greenery, which is Soderman’s favorite time to entertain visitors. To learn more about Sonoma Chicks or contact Soderman for a visit to the farm, check out her Instagram at @SonomaChicks.
Vineyards are bursting with new growth, rain is mostly over for the season, and so it’s time to plan your tasting room adventures for spring. Annual events kick into gear in March and April, starting with the two-weekend, wine-intensive Wine Road Barrel Tasting (March 1-3 and 8-10). At least 40 wineries also participate in Passport to Dry Creek Valley (April 27-28), celebrated for its food-and-wine pairings and entertainment. Click through the gallery for Sonoma County wineries to visit this spring.
Some travelers think the best airports in the world are shiny and big with amenities like yoga rooms and luxury department stores. They’ve obviously never flown out of Charles M. Schulz – Sonoma County Airport (STS).
Traveling from STS is a breeze compared to SFO and Oakland International Airport. Leave the car at home, take Uber/Lyft or SMART train to the airport, and be greeted by Lucy’s colorful help desk along with some of the shortest security lines you’ll ever see. Daily nonstop flights take off to destinations like Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Portland, Seattle, Denver (beginning March 8) and Phoenix. There are seasonal flights to Minnesota and Las Vegas and in June, Dallas gets added to the departure list.
With so many options, where should you jet to next? To help you decide, we’re putting together getaway guides on where to eat, sleep, and play at each destination.
Just in time for spring training (and maybe to escape the rain), here’s our take on how to do the desert in style in Scottsdale, Arizona. From hot air ballooning to kayaking in the company of wild mustangs, there’s so much to do here even die hard baseball fans might find themselves thinking about skipping a game.
Sweet T’s George Ah Chin talks with customers, Monday, March 4, 2019 during a soft opening of the restaurant’s new location in Windsor. Sweet T’s was destroyed during the Tubb’s fire as it roared over Fountaingrove and in to Santa Rosa. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat) 2018
As Dennis and Ann Tussey sifted through the burned wreckage of their Fountaingrove restaurant after the 2017 wildfires, the one thing they knew for sure — maybe the only thing — was that they’d reopen.
When and where were still up in the air, but the dream of welcoming longtime customers, friends and family back to their restaurant, Sweet T’s, would become their driving force over the last 17 months.
After more than $1 million in renovations to a former Denny’s in Windsor, their restaurant will finally reopen Thursday (March 7) in its new home.
“It took us a couple months just to get our minds around what we could do, but it was never a question in our mind that we would reopen,” Dennis Tussey said Friday as hundreds of well-wishers poured into the space for a preview.
The couple secured a lease in a shopping center on Brooks Road South in Windsor soon after the fires. Though the opening date was pushed back several times from summer 2018 to fall, and finally to March, the preview was both a homecoming and closure to many painful memories of the fire.
“Tonight was like a family reunion rather than opening a restaurant,” said Tussey. “These are customers who helped us rebuild. Now, we finally get to see them again in a normal environment.”
Lines queued around Tussey throughout the night as he gave hugs and handshakes to fans of the original restaurant. As he made his way through the room, he pointed out myriad features of the new space — the smoker, the wrap-around porch and the hundreds of small details he and Ann had carefully considered in the rebuild.
Insurance money from the fires covered the cost of renovating the 3,700-square-foot restaurant in Windsor, according to Tussey. The large bar area, spacious tables and enclosed outdoor dining space make it feel larger, though Tussey said the footprint is exactly the same as the Fountaingrove location.
“It took us a little longer than we imagined. The remodel was much more extensive than we understood,” said Tussey. “I think it’s going to be a better location. (Fountaingrove) was special, but for visibility this is better. It’s new, the decor is even more attractive.”
Longtime customer Joyce Coletti, who lost her home on Vintage Circle in the fires, was emotional when discussing why she and her husband Ed attended the preview.
“We came by a couple weeks ago and Ann (Tussey) was here. It felt like ‘Oh, it’s okay now,’” she said, gently touching her hands to her heart and smiling. “She knows what it’s like for us.”
“It was a mutual love fest,” said her husband. He added that their dog, Sam, was probably the one who most missed the old restaurant. “George used to feed him scraps,” he said of the longtime Sweet T’s pitmaster. The couple relocated to a quiet cul-de-sac in the Junior College neighborhood, but still miss what they refer to as their “home” just behind the old restaurant.
Wes Shirley sat with his wife and other regulars in a booth with nibbles of new and old menu items piled on the table including pork nachos, tri tip, mac and cheese and fried chicken sliders. Shirley, who said he visited the old restaurant two to three times a week, also lost a home in the fires.
“We ate everything off the old menu because it was comforting,” he said. “Thank goodness they are back.”
Tussey said that customers demanded they keep the Southern-inspired menu the same, with richly smoked and barbecued meats, creamy mac and cheese, shrimp grits, fried chicken and key lime pie. Additions to the menu include beef sliders.
“I’m so beyond excited for the two of them who have worked so hard to put this back together,” said Dennis Tussey’s daughter, Jennifer Tussey, who attended the opening with her husband. “Seeing photos of them (Dennis and Ann) viewing the old property shows how affected they were. There was a lot of thought, and they considered quite a few different directions.”
Kenneth Minton said he celebrated several birthdays and special occasions at the former location and was planning to bring his sister, who lives out of town, to the new restaurant for her favorite fried chicken sandwich. “Windsor is really gaining something. We had my sister’s farewell dinner here because she wanted their fried chicken. She’s already told me her order when she comes back home,” said Minton, who lives in Windsor.
As someone who knows the heartbreak of losing a restaurant, Tussey said restaurateurs in the Barlow and west Sonoma County who lost their businesses in last week’s flood face a difficult road ahead.
“My heart just goes out to them. If you have the wherewithal just get back open,” he said.
When the restaurant originally opened in 2009, not everyone thought rich, Southern comfort food would appeal to Sonoma County residents. Lily Akimoff of Santa Rosa, who is also an investor in the restaurant, said she originally thought the Tusseys were crazy for having a restaurant in a food culture “where everyone eats rabbit food.”
“To see their success has blown us away. It seems like a sad thing has turned into a beautiful thing. They’ve gotten even better, and the number of people here tonight is a testament to that,” Akimoff said Friday.
In Sonoma, ambitious green thumbs can garden year round. But, for the rest of us, the end of winter rains and signs of early spring is usually what gets us going. If you feel like you want to get in on the growing action this season, we’ve lined up a few gardening items to make things easier, more fun, and much more beautiful. Click through the gallery for details.
