On Aug. 25, a Press Democrat photographer at Vella Cheese Co. on Second Street East took a picture of one wedge of Daisy Cheddar with jalapeño, alone in the refrigerated case. Earlier that month, Sonoma's oldest fromagerie had announced it was ending production after 94 years. The owners had expected it could take a few months to sell the remaining inventory. Customers bought it out so fast that the last day of cheese sales was Sept. 4.
Three weeks later, Oso Sonoma and Parkside Wine Bar on East Napa Street closed on the same Saturday. If you walk the Plaza this holiday season, you'll see that every business that left this fall sold food, wine or art, and almost everything arriving sells goods. The lights, the tractors and the open houses haven't changed. This year they also carry more of the Plaza's food and drink.
The counters that closed
Vella's retail shop at 315 Second St. E. closed with the rest of the company. Production, retail and mail orders all ended permanently. In its August report on the closing, the Sonoma Index-Tribune said the family cited post-pandemic economic conditions and falling demand for small-batch artisan cheese. The family also said it hopes to hold pop-ups for its aged cheeses.
Oso Sonoma closed Saturday, Sept. 26, after 12 years. Parkside Wine Bar next door at 5 E. Napa St. closed the same day. Parkside had only opened in September 2023 and had since added beer and live entertainment. Chef David Bush owns both businesses with his wife, Kelley Bush. He explained the decision to the Sonoma Index-Tribune:
"We have been in desperate need of upgrading and updating the kitchen and building in general. When it came down to it, it was too costly to spend the money on a building we don't own. We enjoyed serving the community, but the numbers just didn't make sense."
The paper described Oso as a restaurant that struggled for its first few years and then became a favorite of Sonoma Valley residents and visitors, known for local small plates, seafood and hearty main courses.
The third departure was art. The Passdoor, Jennifer Edwards's gallery and jewelry store, began in Sebastopol in 2014 and moved to Sonoma four years later. The Press Democrat reported that it was leaving the Plaza at the end of August for a new home at 1160 Fourth St. in Santa Rosa. If you bought holiday gifts at the Passdoor, it's now a drive up 12.
What's taking their place
Here are the storefront changes in and around the Plaza this fall, matched by address:
| Address | Before | New use |
|---|---|---|
| 452 First St. E. | The Passdoor, gallery and jewelry | Overland Sheepskin Co., heritage outfitter |
| 529 Broadway | Nanigins | Belongings, women's clothing and consignment, inside Nanigins |
| 201 W. Napa St., Suite 10, Sonoma Marketplace | Marketplace Haircutters, closed in July | See's Candies temporary holiday shop |
| 315 Second St. E. | Vella Cheese Co. retail shop | Closed |
| East Napa Street, including 5 E. Napa St. | Oso Sonoma and Parkside Wine Bar | Closed |
Overland is the arrival that took the most planning. The Leahy family's company is based in Fairfield, Iowa, and runs 24 boutiques nationwide. It expects to hire five to seven people in Sonoma. The First Street East space sits inside Sonoma's Historic Overlay and the Plaza Retail Overlay District, and that district puts conditions on "formula businesses." The Press Democrat reported that the Sonoma Planning Commission voted unanimously on July 16 to approve Overland's use permit. The company's permit application proposed improvements that respect the "unique and historic character of Sonoma." At that hearing, Cody Phipps, Overland's vice president of operations, said the store would open by mid- to late November: "Definitely before Thanksgiving."
Belongings is the most local of the newcomers. Sonoma resident Jennifer Adler owns it, and it shares space inside Nanigins on Broadway. It sells new and pre-owned women's clothing in the mid- to high-end range.
See's Candies is the one newcomer that sells something you can eat, and it's temporary. The shop at Sonoma Marketplace sells only prepackaged products, and only through the end of December.
The newest place to sit down opened in May
The newest restaurant near the Plaza is from earlier this year. Sonoma Magazine reported that chef Ari Weiswasser opened SMASH in May in the former Taub Family Outpost space at 497 First St. W. Upstairs is a speakeasy called the Beacon.
That matters in late November. Oso was a sit-down dinner spot and Parkside was a wine bar with music. SMASH is fast-casual burgers. So the Plaza goes into its busiest local weeks with one fewer dinner room and one fewer wine bar on East Napa than it had last holiday season. The calendar picks up some of the slack.
The holiday calendar, where the food and wine are
Nearly every event on this year's Plaza calendar pairs shopping or lights with something to eat or drink. In order:
- Saturday, Nov. 21, 5 to 8 p.m.: Lighting of the Sonoma Plaza. The Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau presents it, and it's free. The Index-Tribune lists performances by Marina Crouse, Clairdee, Spike Sikes and his Awesome Hotcakes, a Broadway Holiday set from Transcendence Theatre Company, and the Mexican folk ensemble Folklorico Quetzalen. There will be local wine, food, cider and cookies. Sponsors include the Sonoma Tourism Improvement District, the City of Sonoma, Sonoma Market, Music In Place, Sonoma Valley Hospital, Caddis Wines and Sonoma Valley Farmhouse. The Visitors Bureau's event page gives the address as One Sonoma Plaza.
- Saturday, Nov. 28, noon to 4 p.m.: Sojourn Cellars Holiday Open House. The free open house and artisan market is at Sojourn's tasting salon at 141 to 145 E. Napa St., on the same street Oso and Parkside left in September.
- Saturday, Nov. 28, 6:30 p.m.: Sonoma's Annual Lighted Tractor Parade. The parade goes around the Plaza. The Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers Alliance and the City of Sonoma host it, according to the Visitors Bureau listing.
- Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 28 and 29, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Wine Garden Holiday Market at Kivelstadt Cellars. It's free, at 22900 Broadway, south of the Plaza, according to the Sonoma Valley Chamber calendar.
- Saturday, Dec. 5, 2 to 5 p.m.: 4th Annual Sonoma Sip & Shop. The event runs around the Plaza and features local retailers and wineries, according to the Sonoma Valley Chamber listing.
Nov. 28 is the busiest day. You could go to the Kivelstadt market in the late morning, Sojourn's open house in the afternoon and the tractor parade after dark, without leaving Broadway and East Napa. Dec. 5's Sip & Shop pairs the Plaza's retailers with wineries, and this year that's a good fit, since most of the new storefronts sell things to buy and the wineries pour the drinks.
Planning your Plaza Saturdays
For the Lighting on Nov. 21, eat before or after. The event serves food, wine, cider and cookies for three hours, and the closest year-round options now include SMASH on First Street West instead of Oso on East Napa. For gift shopping, Overland's First Street East store, Belongings inside Nanigins on Broadway and the See's pop-up at Sonoma Marketplace are all within a few blocks of each other. If you're looking for Vella's cheese, the family has said it hopes to sell its aged cheeses at pop-ups.
Watching a block you know change hands raises questions if you own nearby. If you'd like to talk through how this fall's changes around the Plaza might affect what your home is worth, Jennifer Klein Real Estate is happy to sit down with you over coffee near the square. Start with a free home valuation, and we'll take it from there.
