By Simone Wilson
The last couple of months have brought another wave of change to the brick-and-mortar scene in town. Here are the latest business openings, closings and other goings-on, from a new place to get a fresh juice or smoothy, a hot old winery and a hot new bakery, plus a new fire station to cool things down if it gets too hot for Healdsburg.
New Juice
A new cafe, called Carmella, opens on the Plaza soon, with plenty of healthy stuff on its menu: smoothies, acai bowls, avocado toast and the like. Carmella replaces The Nectary, another juice-and-smoothie shop at 312 Center St. that closed in fall 2023, after six years in business. This prime storefront, sandwiched between the Mr. Moons and Forager boutiques, has been empty ever since.
Carmella owner Tara Somers hosted a series of sold-out menu tastings in December as a soft launch of sorts; a couple of attendees shared rave reviews on Nextdoor. “Oh my gosh, what a crazy month it’s been,” Somers said in a recent Instagram video. “We are so grateful to all of you for coming in and testing our menu and trying things out.”
The shop reopens for good on Jan. 8. Hours will be 8am to 5pm, Wednesday through Sunday for now according to Somers—but will increase to daily in the near future.
Tasting Barn
Who says the wine industry is in trouble? Not Phil Hurst. Last spring, in an act of defiance, he bought back his beloved wine brands—Truett Hurst and VML—in order to save them, years after he sold them to corporate overlords.
Soon after the triumphant indie buy-back, Hurst partnered with Ken Wilson of Wilson Artisan Wines to open a tasting room for Truett and VML alongside the Rockpile Vineyards room on the roundabout, at 113 Mill St.
Now, Hurst is shooting even higher with a vast new “tasting barn” for Truett Hurst inside Old Roma Station, where the Hudson Street Wineries tasting collective used to be. (That whole operation shut down over summer, FYI.)
Hurst’s smaller VML label, meanwhile, continues to host tastings at the Mill Street location. And as for Hurst’s original winery headquarters at 5610 Dry Creek Rd., a picturesque rural property beloved by locals: Another boutique label, Aesthete Wines, took it over a year ago.
Hot Bakery
According to the New York Times, the country is experiencing a “bakery renaissance” right now—and what’s more, it says we’ve got one of the nation’s 22 best right here in little old Healdsburg. It’s not our historic Costeaux, of window-display fame (see below), nor the Downtown Bakery, another hometown favorite.
Instead, the food critics at the Times have given their attention to Healdsburg’s newest and fanciest bakery, Quail & Condor, as a crown jewel of the renaissance.
“Melissa Yanc and her husband, Sean McGaughey, run the gamut with luscious chocolate Champagne cakes, sourdough smacked with tang and pastries with lamination close to translucent,” the Times writes. “The bread program here stands out, which is no surprise given Ms. Yanc’s experience working at some of the best bakeries and restaurants in the country, including Bien Cuit in New York, Gjusta in Los Angeles and SingleThread also in Healdsburg.”
New Substation
In a rare case of on-time public construction, the Healdsburg Fire Department’s new outpost at the far north end of Healdsburg Avenue is almost ready for action across from the North Village neighborhood. This 4,162-square-foot “substation” took around 14 months to build, as promised by the City.
Nearly two-thirds of the $5.6 million build cost came from the developers behind the North Village and nearby Montage resort, since they’re part of the reason Healdsburg needs more firefighting resources at that end of town.
The station will include a parking bay for fire trucks and other emergency vehicles; bathrooms and showers for staff; some office space; and a conference room for meetings and community events.
“This will provide stronger fire protection for North Healdsburg while ensuring the downtown core remains covered by the current station,” City officials say.
Winning Windows
Healdsburg Chamber of Commerce officials just announced the winners of the holiday window decorating competition, which seems to become more competitive with each passing year.
“Your creativity and holiday spirit have transformed downtown Healdsburg into a magical holiday destination,” Chamber leaders said in a recent email to members and followers.
OK, so here’s who won: Best Overall goes to the Maison Fiori flower shop, with an honorable mention to the Gathered clothing boutique. Most Creative: the Forager home-goods store, with an honorable mention to the Hand Fan Museum. Most Sparkly: Healdsburg Bubble Bar, with an honorable mention to the Healdsburg Center for the Arts.
And lastly, Most Iconic Window Display goes to Costeaux French Bakery—now “celebrating 100 years of bringing the holiday spirit to Healdsburg” with a collection of 800-plus nutcrackers and other stunts and delights. Kudos to all, as the window scrubbers come out to scrub the slate clean for January 2025.
Will the North Village also pay 2/3rds of the salaries, benefits, and pensions of the firefighters at the new North Fire House? The last numbers I saw in The Spittoon were that a rookie firefighter cost the city $200,000 a year for salary, benefits, and pension.