Sonoma Plaza Lost Some Regulars This Fall. Here's Where the Routines Went.

"When it came down to it, it was too costly to spend the money on a building we don't own," chef David Bush told the Sonoma Index-Tribune in September, before he and Kelley Bush closed OSO Sonoma and the Parkside Wine Bar next door on Sept. 26. OSO had been on East Napa Street for 12 years, and readers of the same paper named it Best New Restaurant in 2015.

That closing had a second effect. Parkside also hosted live music, and losing it changed when the Plaza is busy at night. The places closing around the Plaza this fall were mostly places people could drop into on any evening. The businesses arriving keep shopkeeper's hours. Between now and Thanksgiving, an evening on the Plaza depends on the event calendar.

East Napa Street lost a restaurant and a stage on the same night

Parkside, at 5 E. Napa St., was more than a wine bar. The Sonoma Valley Jazz Society, which has been booking live jazz in the valley for 37 years, ran its Friday night series there. In an Oct. 2 column, the Index-Tribune counted Parkside as one of two local live-music venues that went dark in September. The other was Sonoma Speakeasy, which announced a temporary closure on its Facebook page.

Other long-running businesses near the Plaza closed in the same weeks:

• Vella Cheese Company, Second Street East. Its last retail day was Sept. 4, earlier than planned because the remaining stock sold out quickly. A notice on the company's site, quoted by the Index-Tribune, says "Cheese production has ceased. Our retail store and mail order are permanently CLOSED." This ends a 94-year run that started when local dairymen asked Gaetano "Tom" Vella to open his own fromagerie.
• The Passdoor, 452 First St. E. The gallery and jewelry store's last Sonoma day was Aug. 29. It reopened Oct. 1 at 1160 Fourth St. in Santa Rosa, as the Press Democrat reported.
• Passaggio Wines, Jack London Village. Owner and winemaker Cindy Cosco planned to close the tasting room on Oct. 25 and retire the label after 20 years. She told the Index-Tribune that falling wine sales made rebuilding the business unviable.

Vella's owners say they plan pop-ups to sell the remaining aged cheese but have not set dates. No new tenant has been announced for the Vella shop or for the OSO and Parkside spaces on East Napa Street.

Friday jazz moved to the same block and an earlier start

The Jazz Society kept its Friday series going by moving it to Gehricke Wines, in the old firehouse at 32 Patten St. According to the Index-Tribune, the new venue is on the same block as Parkside, so Friday listeners only have to walk around the corner.

The start time is the bigger change. The Oct. 2 announcement said 7 p.m., but the Sonoma Valley Jazz Society's Gehricke page now lists 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The Oct. 30 listing on Sonoma Valley Events also shows a 5:30 p.m. start. So Friday jazz now ends around the time people would once have been arriving at Parkside, and it fits between work and dinner.

The Society hasn't posted performers for the coming Fridays, so check its page before you go.

What's arriving keeps daytime hours

The best-known spot changing hands this fall is the Passdoor's old storefront at 452 First St. E., on the same stretch as the Sebastiani Theatre at 476. Overland Sheepskin Co., a family-owned maker of shearling, leather and wool outerwear founded 53 years ago in Taos, New Mexico, is moving in. The Sonoma Planning Commission approved its use permit unanimously on July 16. Because Overland runs 24 stores nationwide, the city treats it as a "formula business," and that label comes with conditions inside the Historic Overlay and Plaza Retail Overlay District. The Index-Tribune reports that the company asked only for cosmetic work on the building, such as paint, flooring and wall finishes. Cody Phipps, its vice president of operations, said the store would open by mid- to late November, "Definitely before Thanksgiving," with five to seven employees.

Most of the other new arrivals are daytime businesses too. At Cornerstone Sonoma, 23570 Arnold Drive, owner Veni Vicente opened Marin Backyards and held a grand opening on Oct. 24. Classic Patio opened Cornerstone Casual Living Sonoma beside it, and together they form a larger outdoor-living showroom.

The one new restaurant is west of the Plaza. Sonoma Eats opened at 561 Fifth St. W., in the former La Hacienda space. When the Index-Tribune covered it on Sept. 8, owners Efrain Balmes and Hayley Cutri were still settling on its direction.

Over a few weeks, then, the Plaza lost a 12-year restaurant, a wine bar with live music and a 94-year-old cheese counter. In their place it is getting an outerwear store, a patio showroom at Cornerstone and a restaurant on Fifth Street West. The new arrivals fill different hours.

Until Thanksgiving, Plaza evenings come from the calendar

Without a standing venue to drop into, most evenings on and around the Plaza through the end of November are scheduled events. Here is what remains after this post goes live:

The Sebastiani Theatre does most of the work here, with five dates between Oct. 31 and Nov. 20. If you liked stopping by Parkside after a show, the Sebastiani calendar now covers more of that need. One entry there, the Nov. 21 Duo Quartet show, is marked "Rescheduled," so check before you plan around it.

The Día de Muertos installation at Jack London State Historic Park has a participatory community ofrenda. Visitors can add to it until the installation closes on Nov. 6.

Two November dates close the season. The Lighting of the Sonoma Plaza on Nov. 21 brings live music, food vendors and the community tree lighting from 5 to 8 p.m. One week later, the Annual Lighted Tractor Parade circles the Plaza at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 28. The City is putting it on in partnership with the Vintners & Growers Alliance, and the listing thanks the Chamber separately. Overland expects to open the former Passdoor storefront on First Street East before Thanksgiving, which falls two days before the parade.

At Krystow & Kemp, we follow how the shops and stages on and around the Plaza change hands, because a home's value depends partly on what's within walking distance. If you own near the Plaza and want to know how this fall's changes on First Street East and East Napa Street affect your home's position, request a complimentary home valuation and bespoke listing consultation.