The Press Democrat is reporting that Vertice Hospitality Group, the company that oversees Michelin darling SingleThread, is closing the River Belle Inn along Healdsburg’s western riverbank — just two years after buying and reopening it, to much fanfare. Here’s what the PD learned:
A Healdsburg mansion built in 1895 that was transformed into a luxury bed and breakfast will close its doors at the start of the new year.
The River Belle Inn is expected to see its last guests on Jan. 3, 2025 … . The inn sent an email notice Sept. 30 advising that it was taking the “opportunity to welcome you back to the River Belle Inn for one last stay in our quaint rooms, charming halls, and vintage spaces before we close our doors,” and was signed “Brianna Davis & The Whole River Belle Team.” Davis is the inn’s general manager.
The Press Democrat couldn’t get anyone at Vertice to confirm they’re closing the River Belle; I’ve reached out to the team as well to try and get more info. It does look like all dates after Jan. 3 are grayed out in the inn’s online reservation interface, though, for what it’s worth.
The handsome River Belle building at 68 Front St., once painted a flashy lavender that earned it the name “grand old painted lady,” served as the lifelong home of Isabelle Simi Haigh, a trailblazer for women in the wine industry. After she died, it remained a funky old home for a while, until an architect named Thomas Bangs reportedly flipped it into a ritzy bed-and-breakfast around seven years ago, in 2017. He then sold it to the growing Vertice and SingleThread empire five years later, in 2022 — for a whopping $7.25 million. These days, a stay at the River Belle costs around $300 or $400 per night.
Anyway, I’ll keep you posted on what happens. You might remember that Vertice bought another iconic Healdsburg property last year: the old Raven film center at the south end of the CVS shopping center, along with a big red office building around the corner on North Street. The company has yet to announce exactly what they plan to do with these new holdings, but the ideas they’ve been throwing around are all hospitality-related — restaurant stuff, hotel stuff, etc. Two steps forward, one step back, I suppose…
