The cleaning staff had just left from their morning 5-7:30am shift, and the restaurant was quiet. Two dining areas, one a bar; kitchens; and wine closet—waiting for the day to begin.
It was Saturday of the first high-season weekend in Healdsburg, Memorial Day, and Lisbeth Holmefjord and Shari Sarabi, the owners of Baci Café & Wine Bar, looked forward to another successful year, their 16th on Healdsburg Avenue, one block from the Plaza.
The quiet, and the promise, literally shattered at 7:50am when a late-model Honda CRV, white like all the rentals seem to be, burst through the twin glass front doors, crashed easily through a curtain wall and pushed a long greeting table in front of it the length of the room—35 feet.
Chairs, tables and stools lay piled up at the far side of the room when police arrived, before 8am. It was the driver of the vehicle, a 36-year-old man from New York, who called police at 7:51am to report that his rented car was “partially inside the structure.” When they arrived he told police he had bought a cup of coffee, which spilled as he turned the corner of North Street onto Healdsburg Avenue. He lost control of the car, mistook the throttle for the brake pedal and drove entirely into the building.
On the morning of his wedding day, no less.
The police released him at the scene following questioning, though the owners never got a chance to meet him. Although the police department assessed that “reckless driving” was involved, no charges were filed. As such, the competing insurance companies—of the driver, the rental car company, the owner of the building and the business itself, Baci Café & Wine Bar—will battle it out among themselves.
Holmefjord is adamant that the settlement must be fair to them. No victim is more passive than a building. “I’m going to fight them,” she said in that familiar Norwegian accent that the hostess greets all customers with (up to 80% of them repeats). She has been the course of the drive to rebuild the restaurant. Despite the setback, Baci will again open for reservations on Thursday, July 30, just over two months after the May 23 “incident” (as the police termed it when they called her that Saturday morning).
She and her husband, executive chef Sarabi, started the Healdsburg restaurant after running three Italian restaurants in Hawaii, 16 years ago. They could not accept the random, reckless accident that could have derailed them; and it did not. Their building lease goes till the end of 2027, and they are determined to fulfill it.
They sought the necessary permits and inspections from the City of Healdsburg, working closely with Sr. Building Inspector David Willoughby to get all the permits lined up and taken care of so the rebuild process could begin. “I could not have done this without the cooperation of the city; they’ve been wonderful,” Holmefjord said more than once.
“We are a small jurisdiction with a lot of construction going on in the city, and it is always appreciated when we hear a kind word,” Willoughby said. “We do our best to give all our customers top-notch service.”
Contractor emeritus Jerry Eddinger dropped by while we were there to check on the progress of the reconstruction he’s been involved with since the beginning. As did an alarm systems technician, a tabletop delivery crew and staff getting the back-of-house prepared for the July 30 opening. It was a busy place, and it wasn’t even open yet.
It’s always been a popular restaurant in Healdsburg, if a bit quieter than some of its neighbors. It doesn’t compete for the plaudits of culinary stardom, but accomplishes them nonetheless: It’s on the short list of restaurants in Healdsburg that tourists should visit. More importantly it’s on speed-dial for a number of locals who rely on its expert preparation, deep wine bar and personal hospitality.
Next Wednesday afternoon, Baci Café and Wine Bar will hold an Open House to show off its new interior, 4-9pm. Despite all-new tables (aside from a pair of heart-shaped linoleum beauties that survived the carnage), a new alarm system and a few other upgrades, it will be the same Baci Café of the last 16 years.
One can even find the familiar warning, “Unattended Children Will Be Given Espresso and a Free Kitten.” The wine bar, thankfully, remains intact. A sampling of wine will be shared on Wednesday, as well as “nibbles”—an imprecise yet alluring promise from the kitchen of chef Sarabi.
Dining reservations will be accepted at Baci Café and Wine Bar, 336 Healdsburg Ave., starting July 30, when it officially reopens for business. Call 707.433.8111 or visit bacicafeandwinebar.com.
