Brunch, beef bourguignon and of course the best hamburgers in town will soon be on the menu at Healdsburg Bar & Grill, the venerable local establishment known to one and all as HBG. Chef Charlie Palmer—as if he doesn’t have enough on his plate—will be a contributor to the renewed dining venture, partnering with Danya Richter, who has co-owned the business since 2000. Now with a new business partner, Steve Alkire, they have embarked on another facelift for the venerable restaurant and watering hole, blessed by its southwest corner location across from the Plaza.
Palmer promises its appeal will remain local. “We’re not trying to make this thing anything else besides a really great hometown tavern—a place where people can gather,” said the James Beard Award-winning and multiple-Michelin-starred Palmer.
Nonetheless, Healdsburg Bar & Grill will become the 10th restaurant in the Charlie Palmer Collective, along with five restaurants in New York City, two in Napa and one in Reno, plus the Dry Creek Kitchen just up the street at 317 Healdsburg Ave.
HBG has made good use of that location for much of the past two decades, with Douglas Keane initially overseeing its kitchen. His interests became diverted to Geyserville, where Cyrus opened in 2024, and when the lease on the business came up for renewal, Richter reached out to Palmer.
“She not only wanted to continue to own and operate the Bar & Grill, but to also shake it up a little bit,” said Palmer, taking time out from his obligations at the new Folia Bar & Kitchen up the road at Appellation Healdsburg. “She wanted to do some new things, make it the place that may have lost a bit of luster over the years, and again make it the town’s go-to place for families.”
Family history
That focus on families is a natural, considering that Richter and Palmer are old friends, with children roughly the same age. Palmer came to Healdsburg with his family right around 2000. “We moved to Healdsburg, my wife Lisa and I, and our four kids, because we decided that we wanted to live in a different part of the country than New York City,” he said.
In fact, and this doesn’t seem to be a secret, two children in the families even dated. Their local memories include St. John School together, and perhaps a few shared adventures.
Decades ago 425 Healdsburg Ave. was home to Norm’s Bar, then the Sportsman’s Lodge, the Skylark Lounge and the Village Pub, eventually surfacing as Molly Malone’s in the 1990s. By the turn of the Millennium, it leaned into the tequila fad to become Tamale Malone’s.
“We took over from whoever owned Tamale Malone’s,” said Danya of the pivotal year, 2000. “They wanted to get out of their lease. So my ex and I went over and started talking to them.”
At that time, Danya and her then-husband Nick Nicastro undertook a substantial remodel that included adding windows and new doors on the Healdsburg Avenue face and, eventually, incorporating the patio. It opened in 2001.
When the Fred Young Mortuary behind them on Matheson burned down in 2002, the corner parking area became available. HBG added it to their lease and remodeled it into an outdoor seating area. It sees a lot of use for informal lunches for larger groups or after-wedding parties.
Palmer won’t directly oversee the HBG kitchen—that will be up to Hugh Dyer, formerly of Dry Creek Kitchen. Co-manager Alkire himself will do double duty running the new cocktail program.
However the chef did let it slip that, as a friend of Julia Child at one time, he had developed a local recipe for the dish he used to cook with her, beef bourguignon. He argues that beef bourguignon, hamburgers, fried chicken and brunch are what make a neighborhood tavern work. They will all be on the menu.
More than the menu has received a refresh. It turned into a significant remodel once the team was committed, including new red oak tabletops, a polished marble bartop, a new interior paint palette and “soft, moody Zafferano lamps glowing on every table,” according to their publicist.
Brunch added
The most immediate goal is getting the word out about the brunch, the neglected cousin of fine dining. The partners talk over each other listing the days they plan on opening at 10:30am for brunch, though they’ll stay open every night for dinner until 9pm (except Tuesday). Even that is new: Not that long ago the Healdsburg Bar & Grill closed at 7pm, early even for Healdsburg.
“One thing I’ve learned in the restaurant world, you can’t be everything to everyone,” Palmer said. “You know, is it a sports bar? Is it a bar-bar, where people drink late at night? It’s not that place. It’s a place where the food should be really good and we should be focused on a few things, not try to be everything to everyone.”
Richter said, “I think we both have the same vision. I think because we’ve known each other so many years, and Charlie feels the same way I do about Healdsburg Bar & Grill being the local tavern, the place to gather. Warm and welcoming. Great food and great atmosphere. And a great location—location, location, location.”
On Dec. 17, the fully re-envisioned outdoor garden and dining area will serve for the official Open House launch of the new HBG, from 5-7:30pm—the latest refresh at 245 Healdsburg Ave.
