Bill Foley firmly planted his personal flag in Healdsburg on Friday last, using the Stanley Cup as a magic talisman to enchant residents, visitors and tourists with a championship promise fulfilled.
The Stanley Cup was on display at the Plaza gazebo at noon on Aug. 4, and before long a line of some 300 hockey fans had circled around the green for the opportunity to touch the silver monolith, hand their cellphone to a waiting staffer and have their photos taken for posterity (or social media, whichever was closer to hand).
The Stanley Cup, a 135-year-old symbol of ice hockey excellence, is awarded to the National Hockey League champion team. It’s the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America. The 2023 NHL champion is the Vegas Golden Knights, new to the league only in 2017 and owned by a consortium that includes Bill Foley. He promised the Cup in six years, and he delivered.
Another of Foley’s works opened its doors that same evening, with the Stanley Cup holding a place of honor at Goodnight’s Prime Steak and Spirits, at 113 Plaza St. The newest restaurant in Healdsburg looks like nothing else—a Texas-style steakhouse with a Wild West motif and a mural of larger-than-life gunfighters guarding the restrooms.
The last time a steakhouse opened in Healdsburg was late in 2010. That’s when Doug Keane’s Shimo Modern Steak premiered to great fanfare next to Healdsburg Bar and Grill. But Healdsburg wasn’t ready then for the pricey menu, and it closed in a few months.
Ironically, Keane built his reputation on Cyrus, a truffle-heavy sensation at the Le Mars Hotel that closed in 2012 after a dispute with the hotel’s new owner—Bill Foley.
While Keane’s resurrected Cyrus is thriving in Geyserville, Bill Foley has a trophy.
