As of Saturday afternoon, most Sonoma County shelters have reported being fine on food through Sunday. However, there are many chefs in Sonoma County and beyond who are desperate to help— and can make several hundred meals in commercial kitchens for as long as it is needed. People with special diets can be accommodated.
Chefs from San Francisco, Kendall-Jackson, Backyard and others have been working tirelessly, but need to know how to help.
Prepared meals for fire victims at Valette restaurant. (Facebook)
Any central location that needs food — be it evacuees, first-responders, government workers, media or other groups who are working through this event to help people — is welcome to contact me. Are you helping with animals and need food? Let us know.
Also, if you have a spot where people with family members staying with them can pick up meals, contact me. There are families with 10 people crammed into a house, and they need food too.
I am collaborating with food trucks and chefs who can continue to serve food throughout the next few weeks for folks that might be overlooked. If you have special needs — a shelter was trying to have a fun football themed dinner — I can try to arrange that. We are all here to help. Here are some ways to contact me:
“Craft” Mac and Cheese with mortadella and fried Brussels sprouts at Bird and The Bottle, a new Stark Reality Restaurant in Santa Rosa, CA
Updated Saturday, October 14, 10 a.m. Here is a list of restaurants serving the public, evacuees and first responders. Many offer free or discounted meals to those affected by the fires. Please add others in the comments. This list will be updated as I can. Some are direct quotes from Facebook that I can verify.
SANTA ROSA
Monti’s: Free food to evacuees, first responders beginning at 11:30am. 714 Village Ct
Bird and Bottle: Free food to evacuees, first responders beginning at 11:30am. 1055 4th St.
Flying Goat: Free Wi-Fi and phone calls. Food menus are limited but coffee if brewing. As of today, hours of operation will be as follows: Santa Rosa 7 AM to 1:30 PM. 10 4th St
Rosso Pizzeria: Open, free phone charging. 53 Montgomery Dr.
La Gare: Open. 208 Wilson St.
Jack and Tony’s: Open. 115 4th St.
Mary’s Pizza Shack: Most locations open EXCEPT Marlow Road, Windsor, Sonoma Plaza.
El Coqui:Possibly limited menu. Free food for first responders. 400 Mendocino Ave.
Sprenger’s Tap Room: Offering free breakfasts to those in need (the chimichanga above is an example of Chef Damon Gault’s pre-fire breakfasts). 446 B St.
PETALUMA
Wishbone: Co-owner Miriam Donaldson is helping coordinate Petaluma food efforts for West County shelters. 841 Petaluma Blvd N.
Drawing Board: Offering set meals each night to those in need. 190 Kentucky St.
Quinua Cocina Peruana: Free lunch and dinner for those in need, will be hosting a school supply drive. 500 Petaluma Blvd S.
Topsy’s Kitchen: Open. 131 Kentucky St.
Lagunitas Petaluma TapRoom & Beer Sanctuary: $1 for every beer at tap room!
HEALDSBURG
Bravas: Free food to evacuees, first responders beginning at 11:30am. 420 Center St.
Willi’s Seafood: Free food to evacuees, first responders beginning at 11:30am. 403 Healdsburg Ave.
SHED: Open for business, donating 25% of sales to efforts. 25 North St.
Bear Republic: Offering free meals to the first responders of the fires. 345 Healdsburg Ave.
Flying Goat: Free Wi-Fi and phone calls. Food menus are limited but coffee if brewing. As of today, hours of operation will be as follows: Healdsburg (324 Center): 7 AM to 3 PM; Healdsburg (419 Center): 6 AM to noon. 324 Center St.
Barndiva: “Donating our profits to disaster relief and are honored to feed first responders with our compliments. The bistro is opening up Friday and we plan on doing the same through the weekend at both restaurants.” 231 Center St.
ROHNERT PARK
Amy’s Drive Thru: Open 8am-8pm today. Offering free food to people displaced by the fire and first responders. Amy’s is making 100% match on any cash donations. 58 Golf Course Dr W.
Bear Republic: Offering free meals to the first responders of the fires. 5000 Roberts Lake Rd.
SONOMA
Unknown at current time.
SEBASTOPOL
Slice Of Life: providing meals to first responders and evacuees. They are also making it easy for people from out of the area to donate towards free meals. 6970 McKinley St.
Ramen Gaijin: is offering a free bowl of ramen or donburi as well as a glass of wine, beer or n/a beverage to those impacted by the fires as well as to those fighting them. 6948 Sebastopol Ave.
GUERNEVILLE
Unknown at current time.
VALLEY FORD
Estero Cafe: won’t turn anyone away for lack of funds and are offering free breakfast sandwiches or eggs and hash browns to evacuees and first responders. Working on getting home from family affairs in New York and eager to jump into relief efforts wherever needed! 14450 Highway 1.
BODEGA
Mark Malicki at Casino is also cooking for the cause at the casino, but he always is!!!
NAPA
Recently-opened Compline Wine Bar, Retail shop and restaurant in down town Napa has been open serving first responders. They are also responding to the community needs offering $15. Meals. 1300 1st St #312, Napa.
FOOD TRUCKS
Sarah from Fork is driving around feeding people with her food truck.
Bodega Food Truck
FOOD OFFERS FOR SHELTERS
Shelters and first responder teams can call Ceres Community Project if they need food delivered. Deborah (staff member) 415-235-9615
The most-anticipated restaurant awards of the year have been put on hold as fires ravage the North Bay. The awards were slated to be announced on Thursday, but the news will be held until “a future date, yet to be determined.”
“We have followed the crisis unfolding in Napa, Sonoma and other counties near San Francisco with grave concern and heavy hearts,” said Claire Dorland-Clauzel, Michelin Group’s executive vice president of brands, external relations, and the MICHELIN Guide. “Recognizing the turmoil and tragedy of the fires that are still burning, we understand this is a time for grief and recovery, not celebration. We extend our condolences to all who have been affected.”
Local restaurants with Michelin stars in Sonoma County and Napa include Farmhouse Inn and Restaurant, Madrona Manor, Terrapin Creek, French Laundry, Bouchon, Auberge du Soleil and La Toque.
Michelin stars among the most prestigious awards a restaurant can achieve and are published annually in Michelin Guides in notable food destinations in Europe as well as New York and the San Francisco Bay Area. The guides have been produced by the Paris-based tire company since 1900, highlighting destination-worthy restaurant locations. American restaurants have been eligible for inclusion since 2005.
The fires that rage through Sonoma and Napa counties have burned businesses, wineries, restaurants, hotels and landmarks. To see how the devastating fires have changed the local landscape, look through the gallery above. More before and after photos here. We will continue to track businesses affected by the fires. Please email us if you have more information. Find out how to support victims of the fires here.
Note: the following wineries, restaurants and businesses have been damaged (we do not know to what extent yet):
Chateau St. Jean, 8555 Sonoma Highway, Kenwood
Gundlach Bundschu Winery, 2000 Denmark Street, Sonoma (Blocks of vineyards were torched)
VinRoc, 4069 Atlas Peak Road, Napa.
White Rock Vineyards, 1115 Loma Vista Drive, Napa.
Volunteers at Backyard Restaurant in Forestville. Facebook
In the midst of chaos, grief, fear and exhaustion, many local restaurateurs, farmers, caterers and chefs are offering up the most valuable thing they can this week — warm meals.
From Mendocino to Petaluma, the rallying cry has gone out, with restaurants offering a respite from the storm, free meals, takeout food and food donations. They’re staying open as late as possible, opening early, organizing into teams on social media and getting out the word as best they can, that their kitchens are open and everyone is welcome. Some restaurants, like Backyard in Forestville and Valette in Healdsburg have become centers for chefs and cooks to gather and prepare food — some serving up hundreds of to-go meals for first responders and evacuees each day.
My fork is lifted to these hardworking folks, many of whom have lost homes themselves and are worried about family members, but are still scrambling to do whatever they can to bring a smile and a full belly to those who keep the North Bay strong.
Here are some of their stories, as well as the latest information on where to go if you need a hot meal and how to help. This list has been compiled based on information directly from the restaurants, though their supplies and hours may change. One note: Some shelters are unable to accept food that is not pre-packaged due to health code issues, so as much as evacuees might appreciate your warm chocolate chip cookies, you’ll need to check in advance, or donate some money instead.
In response to interview requests, most of the chefs we checked in with on social media said they were too busy cooking to talk — as it should be.
“Put your phone down and find a work assignment,” said Wishbone restaurant owner Miriam Donaldson, who has been helping to organize chefs and dishwashers on her Facebook page, sending them where they are most needed.
She’s also helping to drum up relief cooks to back up those who’ve been behind stoves for days on end, and need to head home (or to shelters) for some well-deserved rest.
Santa Rosa Restaurants
The massive kitchen of Kendall-Jackson in Fulton burst to life on Monday morning as chefs began preparing meals for first responders and shelters. “We had to do something,” said executive chef Justin Wangler by text. “We couldn’t just stand by and watch.”
Though Mark and Terri Stark lost their historic restaurant, Willi’s Wine Bar, on Sunday night to the Tubbs fire, the couple have opened their other restaurants to first responders and evacuees, which are Bird and The Bottle and Monti’s in Santa Rosa; and Willi’s Seafood and Bravas in Healdsburg.
On Monday morning, as folks were waking up to unbelievable destruction, and most were still in shock from the overnight fires, Dutch Bros. coffee trucks were seen in several spots, including the parking lot of the Santa Rosa Police Department with an outpouring of coffee and support.
Chef Damien Gault has been making incredible breakfasts at Sprenger’s Tap Room for months, but since Monday has been slinging hash for the cause. And no one at the Santa Rosa tap room will pass judgment on a customer who needs a beer a few hours before beer-thirty, he says.
Forestville Restaurants
Chefs, cooks and anyone else who can lend a hand are gathering at Daniel Kedan and Marianna Gardenhire’s Backyard Restaurant, who are preparing hundreds and hundreds of meals for the displaced and first responders. Tapping into their network of producers, farmers and friends at CropMobster (a farmer network that helps to distribute extra produce), it’s one of the biggest operations so far.
Prepared meals at Valette restaurant. Facebook.
Healdsburg Restaurants
Dustin Valette has been preparing hundreds of meals each day, ready for takeout. Though his restaurant is one of the most luxe in the county, simple meals are sometimes the best. Dustin’s father is a first responder, helping to drop fire retardant on the local fires.
Sebastopol Restaurants
Working with many local farms and Sebastopol markets, Ceres Community Project (which provides meals for critically ill patients) has rallied its staff to provide hundreds of nutritious meals for West County shelters and evacuees. Zazu Kitchen + Farm reported: “Had 12 dogs in the restaurant for breakfast,” said owner John Stewart. who opened the Barlow-based restaurant for free breakfasts on Monday. His family brought their own three dogs and daughters into work after being evacuated from their own home on Monday.
Sonoma Valley Restaurants
Many chefs and restaurants are offering up space, food and ongoing meals for one of the hardest-hit areas — at least as long as they can before being evacuated. Tri Tip Trolley mobile kitchen has been serving meals for first responders.
Petaluma Restaurants
Since Petaluma has been spared much of the fire destruction, chefs and restaurants have been especially active in helping other hard-hit communities. McNear’s Pub was an early refuge for many who needed a hot meal and a place to bring distressed children, showing movies on Monday night. It continues to be a gathering spot for families evacuated or homeless from the fires.
In the wake of the wildfires, as the air quality remains poor, many children are confined to the indoors; some, thankfully, still in their homes, while others have been evacuated to shelters and temporary housing. Many schools in Sonoma County remain closed and parents are now busy trying to keep restless and scared children happy and calm, while worrying about their homes and the future of their community.
To offer some relief in during this difficult time, a number of Sonoma and Bay Area museums and activity centers are offering free admission to families affected by the fires. Click through the gallery above for a list of places to visit with your kids in Sonoma, Marin, San Francisco and Berkeley. Remember to bring ID/proof of address to show you are from the impacted area.
We will continue updating this list, so please email us if you hear of other free, or discounted, family activities. For information about how to respond to your child’s emotional needs during this time of crisis, click here.
We are heartened by the kindness, compassion, resilience and resourcefulness evident in our community. Calls for help and donations continue to be answered by thousands of locals eager to support those affected by the fires. In the coming weeks and months, a number of fundraising events will be held to support Sonoma and Napa fire victims, in different ways. Click through the gallery above for more information. We will continue to update this list, so please check back in and email us if you have information about upcoming events. For more ways to help, including volunteering and donations, click here.
More Bay Area businesses planning fundraisers, with dates to be announced:Barndiva in Healdsburg, One7 Gallery in San Francisco, Donkey & Goat Winery in Oakland.
As assistance for Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino County fire evacuees continues to pour in – truckload after truckload – some shelters are beginning to turn away donations due to oversupply on some items and limitations of space. The challenge is to match the items donated with the specific needs of fire victims.
Petaluma pub owners at Jamison’s Roaring Donkey, with the help of Maguire’s Irish Pub, have committed their businesses to the coordination and delivery of the right items to the right people.
The space inside the Roaring Donkey has become a pop-up clearinghouse of sorts, where items received are organized by type. Over a dozen volunteers move at a quick pace to keep up with the deliveries from cars and trucks arriving continuously at the Kentucky Street bar. Once sorted, items are delivered to particular shelters where a matching need has been communicated.
Volunteers at the Roaring Donkey say they’re currently overloaded with donated clothing, which requires lots of volunteer-power to sort. There is, however, a great need for new items: new-in-the-package underwear (including teen bras), Ziplock bags of collected new toiletries, plastic bins (for use as “footlockers”), glass-free packaged food, and gift cards to fill in the gaps. Volunteers are needed to organize donations.
“Every time we empty one (truck), we end up getting more,” says volunteer, Tara Lanatti, a student and instructional aide, who learned of the need for volunteers after driving by the pub.
School supplies, being stored at Maguire’s pub, are delivered to Xandex Inc.’s office space at 1360 Redwood Way, where they are organized by the Active 20-30 Club in partnership with Petaluma-based Mentor Me program.
Megan McClelland, Active 20-30 Club volunteer and counselor at Petaluma High School, beamed as she told of the hundreds of new backpacks that arrived from individuals as well as from Camelbak and Jansport. The drop-off on Redwood Way has been visited by “an insane amount of people,” she says. “It’s awesome community here.”
Active 20-30 Club volunteers say they are well stocked with pencils and pens, but there’s a need for three-ring binders, graphing calculators, lunch boxes, pencil pouches and backpacks.
Roaring Donkey co-owner, Brian Tatko, who could only stop briefly while carrying a large box of delivery-bound donations, said they will be accepting goods on Saturday and Sunday until about 3 or 4 p.m. at which point they have to tend to their regular business as a bar, music venue and gathering place.
How to help: Jamison’s Roaring Donkey is located at 146 Kentucky St. in Petaluma. The Active 20-30 Club will be accepting donations at Xandex at 1360 Redwood Way in Petaluma on Saturday, October 14 until 2 p.m. Please check The Roaring Donkey’s Facebook page and Petaluma 20-30 Club’s Facebook page for updates. Keep in mind that needs are constantly changing. For more ways to support fire victims, click here.
Yellowtail with citrus at SHED Cafe in Healdsburg, California. Photo: Heather Irwin.
But here’s the thing: Picking the prettiest cheerleader for homecoming queen is easy and 36 hours in Sonoma is hardly time enough to suss out the wallflowers, rebels and new kids in the local food world deserving of some love too.
So, we’re here to help the next travel writer or visitor suss out the wallflowers, rebels and new kids that deserve love too. Let’s call them the not-so-obvious suspects.
From North to South, here are my picks for Totally Sonoma, Totally Wonderful, Totally Off-the-Beaten Path restaurants to check out–whether you’re spending 36 hours in Sonoma, or a lifetime.
Waffle from Savvy on First in Cloverdale. Facebook
Savvy on First (116 E 1st St., Cloverdale): Warm cookies, spiced brisket, ricotta buttermilk pancakes for weekend brunch, fresh bread and plenty of local ingredients. Cloverdale is still a bit overlooked by national media, but the food scene is exploding in this northern outpost.
Dumplings at Geyserville Gun Club in Geyserville. Facebook
Geyserville Gun Club (21025 Geyserville Ave., Geyserville): I sort of hate to “out” this locals spot, but come on–a bar with homemade pickles and campachi crudo? Diavola Chef Dino Bugica is behind the project so the focus on simple street food and fresh ingredients make for destination-worthy bar bites. Plus delightful seasonal cocktails and a distinct lack of attitude.
Mango and lemon slush at Amy’s Wicked Slush in Healdsburg. Heather Irwin/PD.
Amy’s Wicked Slush (13840 Healdsburg Ave, Healdsburg): Fancy farm-to-table spots get plenty of love in Hburg, but what about that spot where local congregate? Distinctly un-hipster, this Boston-inspired walk-up is known for serious Italian subs, bagels and cream cheese and their Italian ices. Forget the white tablecloth and just give us a handful of paper napkins.
Mushroom dish from Lowell’s in Sebastopol. Heather Irwin/PD
Lowell’s (7385 Healdsburg Ave., Sebastopol): Even I sometimes forget about this sweet eatery that brims with heart, soul and intention (which just rebranded from its former name of Peter Lowell’s). The essence of Sonoma County, 60 percent of the produce is grown at the restaurant’s own farm, just a couple miles away. Owner Lowell Sheldon pays workers a living wage, including healthcare as part of his philosophy, and with his partner Natalie Goble, also operates nearby Handline.
Breakfast muffin from Criminal Baking Co. in Santa Rosa, Courtesy YELP
Criminal Baking Co. (463 Sebastopol Ave., Santa Rosa): SOFA residents pile into this tiny cafe on the weekend, besotted with scones, indulgent breakfast sandwiches, muffins and sweets all made onsite. Butter, sugar and love are key ingredients in everything made by the Criminal staff.
Tamale with plantains and beans at Don Julios RInconcito in Rohnert Park. Heather Irwin/PD
Don Julio’s Latin Grill and Pupusas (217 Southwest Blvd., Rohnert Park): A tiny family-run pupuseria with several variations of the stuffed corn flatbread, as well as sweet corn tamales with mango salsa, homemade molé and flavorful orange-marinated chicken. There are no frills in this strip mall location, but it’s a great place to hang out on the patio and hide from the world.
Roasted potatoes with dill sauce at The Bodega food truck at The Block in Petaluma. Heather Irwin/PD
Bodega at The BLOCK (20 Grey St., Petaluma): It’s hard to believe the cuisine coming out of Chef Matt Elias’ cramped food truck. The Bodega sandwich with fried chicken, slaw and smoky aioli on an English muffin is already a classic. Don’t miss whatever veggies Elias’ is cooking up, along with salads and sliders.
