After a 19 month closure, Guy Fieri’s Santa Rosa outpost of Tex Wasabi’s will reopen in May. According to Fieri spokesman Brett Hutchison, heavy reconstruction on the the “Rock and Roll Sushi-Barbecue” restaurant, which shuttered in September 2009, is nearing completion.
“It will be well worth the wait,” said Hutchison. With the kitchen finished and new employees hired, Fieri’s crew are shooting for an ambitious early May debut — possibly just weeks away.
Keeping the “Far East meets Wild West” theme, familiar dishes are expected to stay on the menu, but with a bit more reserve. Hutchison said the layout and slightly consolidated menu will be more family-friendly to compete with other nearby restaurants. “The bar won’t be the first thing you see when you walk in,” he added. An upstairs mezzanine will have seating for 50, along with it’s own bar and the restaurant recently got final approval for limited outdoor seating.
So why the wait? The restaurant closed in after a faulty sewer pipe ruptured, causing severe water damage. As crews began renovations on the old building, more damage surfaced and more repairs were needed. “When you start pulling things away, we found out how bad it was, and we wanted to do this the right way,” Hutchison said.
The restaurant is one of five operated by Fieri’s restaurant group, including a Sacramento Tex Wasabi’s and three Johnny Garlic’s restaurants in Santa Rosa, Windsor and Roseville. A new Johnny Garlic’s is slated to open in Dublin in June. Rumors of a flashy Las Vegas restaurant for Fieri continue to make the rounds, but Hutchison brushes them off as purely speculation as Fieri ramps up for an upcoming book tour for Guy Fieri Food: More Than 150 Off-the-Hook Recipes (out in early May).
It’s the second major reopening in downtown Santa Rosa this spring as La Rosa Tequileria and Grille debuted in late April.
I knew Guy Ferry and his parents in Ferndale. That was before Guy tried to become Italian. I laugh at all the Santa Rosa and Sonoma folks who talk down about him. He’s not my cup of tea, but he has been successful, if you deem making a buck success
not satisfied with mediocre pseudo Italian he has to ruin every genre he can think of….
… but will the food be ANY good? I tried both resaurants several times. I wanted SO much to like them. Love them even. The menu’s were fun and inventive, however the execution was non-existent. I know the difference between ‘opinion’ and just plain ‘wrong’. Things were seriously ‘wrong’. I gave “TEX” another shot after Guy had gained some fame. I was hoping that notariety would have forced them to get their act together. It didn’t. I will reluctantly give the place one more try. I just hope I am not disapointed AGAIN …
i have seen him but i thought it was a wanna be. when i got home i realized it was this dude. anyway, i will not go to any of his joints, period. what’s with hosting those game shows. i am not a hater. just sayin’
Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone was perfect. Cut Guy some slack, for heaven’s sake! I’ve met him a few times and he has been nice to me. I love Tex Wasabi’s fish tacos and am looking forward to them.
i have had the pleasure of meeting / doing business with Guido on two occasions… even before his success with DDD. Now realize that those that have success typically have leeches as friends, it was just the way he treated them that bothered me…. Great TV personality and seems to be a decent father…. Ehh whatever
I think all the hate is because Guy is viewed as King of the “tools” you know the straight brimmed hat tattoo’ed guys with facial hair and their over done lady friends. Nothing wrong with wanting to look like Vanilla Ice, but for some its a bit much. Take a look at any town on 680 or Rohnert Park…
I’m not a fan of his ‘shtick, but absolutely love his DDD show. He seems to be a down to earth guy, a coworker is a friend of his and says the same. I think most can’t disassociate the image from the person.
i’ve always liked Johnny Garlic’s not anything to rave about, but always a fun place for a nice meal. Tex Wasabi’s was too much style over substance for me, but i’m a purist for good fish, and cringe when I hear a SR patron say “now this is sushi!” when its wrapped in ricepaper and has sauce.., but I think it works in certain markets, like SR and Sac. so more power to em’!
Probably never go into Tex Wasabi’s but its not my crowd so no big deal, but still like his show.
It’s like a little bit of Disneyland, right here in Santa Rosa — they should add ‘Goofy Handrolls’ and ‘Vodka Splash Mountains’ too.
P.S. Guy’s a really good guy and his restaurants have their place in the world (just like that Panera Bread joint), I just can’t eat there without needing my stomach pumped.
Hater!
You beat me to the punch!
I’ll be honest, the only time I ate there, I had the pulled pork sliders and they were good. I would never recommend Tex Wasabi or Johnny Garlic’s because I don’t think the food is very inventive. Certain cooking that contains a lot of butter, oil, fat, and strong sauces like BBQ are pretty hard to mess up. Aside from the food, I think the atmosphere at Tex Wasabi (and at the Cantina) at night was not safe and Santa Rosa simply isn’t a big enough city to be able to handle the types of problems that tended to arise around 1 am. Most importantly, I know MANY people that worked for Guy before he was famous and they did not like the way they were treated, by him in particular. I hope that famed has changed the way he runs his businesses and I hope that the changes happening at Tex Wasabi are positive for our downtown Santa Rosa restaurant and bar scene. I am not sure how soon I will be checking it out for myself, however.
Great drinks and loud music did not make up for the so-so food.
Tex Wasibi’s was (and hopefully still will be) a good time. Simple as that.
Great drinks! I’ve never eaten anything there, except the pulled pork sliders as an appetizer, but I’m totally looking forward to it re-opening.
Not sure about all of the Guy hating. He’s been totally kind and courteous every time my girlfriend and I have approached him. It you hate just because of the way he looks? You’re the one with a problem.
Dear Guy Ferry,
You would have far less haters if you took the time to :fix your ugly bleached spiky hair, lay low on your bling (remember you work with food with your hands, not conducive for wearing a bunch of rings) , just once wear your stupid sunglasses the right way, stop saying those annoying catch phrases (Off Da hook! On Like Donkey Kong!) fix your damn restaraunts to what you say on television is the most important thing for a restaurant (“Fresh is always best, fresh vegetables and meat is what its all about!”) I’ve been to Johnny Garlics and your not putting out fresh food you phony balogny. And stop doing ads for crappy food like Ritz Crackers and TGI Fridays. People aren’t going to respect your culinary skills if your hocking frozen fried food for a pay check.
And last but not least, be more humble and modest. You don’t have to put out some crazy image if your a talented and creative person, those things will show if you have them. I’ve seen you around town and you walk around with a sort of disgusting arrogance that dramatically shows. So many people don’t like you because your not modest, your a creep show-off who claims he cares about quality food. But you don’t care because your restaurants that you brag about all the time don’t have quality food.
And don’t change your last name to sound more Italian, thats pure douchebaggery 101.
I gotta say that Guy bashing is as tired as a pair of Ed Hardy sunglasses.
We all know the score. Rehashing it way more d-bag, friend.
Personally, I give the Spiky One a ton of credit. In the few interactions I’ve had, he’s been incredibly kind and genuine. If you hate his restaurants, don’t go. If you hate his hair, don’t watch his show. I guess I don’t spend a whole lot of time worrying that anyone’s going to confuse Johnny Garlic’s with Cyrus.
Ride the wave, Guy!
You should learn the difference between ‘your’ and ‘you are’.
…or you’re… ;^>
Hater. Who takes the time to post this? Wow look in the mirror. If you don’t like him don’t watch or support. What’s the point of putting him on blast, he doesnt care about you why would you take the time and write such lame critiques? Get back to work.
I knew Guy Ferry and his parents in Ferndale. That was before Guy tried to become Italian. I laugh at all the Santa Rosa and Sonoma folks who talk down about him. He’s not my cup of tea, but he has been successful, if you deem making a buck success.
What a mean spirit some have online. Nothing but great times here the 1st G.F. before the hair dye back in 93 super nice. All his joints have been clean when I have visited maybe the HATERS should stay the F away and go drive up to Napa or Yountville for some over priced under sized meals AKA works of art that you eats
To Bwheeler. To clarify, Chop House was built after the former Johnny Garlic had a fire. Chop House closed and JG reopens in same location. Tex Wasabi was opened in an existing building that has had numerous plumbing issues due to the age of the entire building. However I think you have a point about insurance money on the theft of the Lamborghini.
Completely uninspired. Loved the Bourdain quote!
Chop house burns down, Tex Wasabi is built. Lamborghini is stolen, Tex Wasabi is reopened. The “culinary gangsta” took his self proclaimed title a little bit too far. Insurance money???
I was not a huge fan of the food here. The BBQ Sushi was just weird and the regular sushi wasn’t very good. However, the drinks were awesome!!
Looking forward to giving this place another chance.
Ate at Tex Wasabi’s once shortly before it close.. Loved it so much that we made a special trip from Washington State to have it again only to find out that it closed. Everytime my family & I visit Santa Rosa we drive by hoping to see that it has reopened. Very glad to hear it will. Thank you!
As Anthony Bourdain so aptly put it:
“I don’t dislike Guy Fieri, I realized, after many viewings of his cooking shows, much soul-searching at my personal ashram and many doses of prescription hypnotics. I just dislike — really dislike — the idea that somebody would put Texas-style barbecue inside a f**king nori roll.”
Yes, that…and the whole Ed Hardy/LA d-bag obnoxiousness. When I want a carnival, I’ll go to a carnival. When I want food, I look for someone who can cook.
I actually met the love of my life at Tex Wasabi’s bar, so I have a soft spot for TW. Long and very classy story…
I’ve never eaten there, but I’ve always sort of liked the idea of sushi rolls with BBQ fries in them. I mean, if you’re going to be a pleeb put all kinds of fried junk, mangoes and mayonnaise on raw fish and have the nuts to call it sushi — then why not just add bbq and french fries? At least it is ridiculous enough that no one in their right mind who confuse it will the real deal.
I find that a whole lot less galling than the crap most people try to pass off as sushi.
@HoldtheTexPlease – finally! A voice of reason in the cacophony of vomit that is all things Fieri-related!
One of the dirtiest restaurants in Sonoma county hands down. Hopefully they get some staff in the clean the place, clean the bathrooms, wipe down the bar and tables, ect.
YES YES YES YES YESSSSS!!!! I cannot wait to go back to the YUM!!!