Local Business

Not too many works of art have changed the course of wine appreciation, but Sideways is on the short list. The 2004 movie, with its scenes extolling the virtues of pinot noir and the dismissive line, “I am not drinking f—g merlot!” changed not only...

Chalkboard, the high-end Healdsburg restaurant on the ground floor of Hotel Les Mars at 27 North St., closed abruptly late last month. Under the hotel’s signature striped awnings, its street-facing windows are now covered in brown paper. Both the hotel and restaurant space are owned...

The founder and owner of the popular knitting shop Purls of Joy is retiring at the end of this month and, in an effort to keep the shop going and the friendly store spirit alive, a group of about 50 local knitters are working to form a member-driver co-op to maintain the business.

Oftentimes, when businesses move to a new building, they may paint some walls and bring in new furniture. For the folks at Miserlian Baker Real Estate, starting creating a home for their business — and for themselves — meant starting from the ground up.

The welcome mat for Sonoma County’s wine country was rolled up several weeks ago in the midst of the COVID-19 shelter-in-place, and there is no prediction of when it might be rolled out again. Only a little over one quarter (27.8%) of the county’s 7,000 lodging rooms were occupied at the beginning of this month, down from an average occupancy rate of 78% from a year ago.

Amy Covin, who parlayed a life-long affection for Boston-style “slush”—a fruity ice confection with drizzles, sprinkles and playful attitude—into a Healdsburg dessert destination, announced over the weekend that she would be closing the flagship shop in early September. “I think we outgrew this facility the...

As dozens of random midafternoon onlookers gaped in amazement, surprise and a kind of quiet thrill, the annual Christmas tree arrived and “planted” at Healdsburg Plaza on Monday, Nov. 14. City staff, including community services director Mark Themig and parks & open space superintendent Jaime...

One of the longest-running winery events in Sonoma County is set to resume this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 14-15. It will be the 30th anniversary of Winter Wineland, one of four major weekend tasting events from Wine Road, a Northern Sonoma County destination...

As Q1 2025 data reveals, Healdsburg’s real estate market is defying conventional wisdom with a 150% surge in luxury home sales while Sonoma County’s high-end market continues to decline. These counterintuitive trends are reshaping our understanding of the local market in ways that might surprise even longtime residents.

The Healdsburg housing market saw a decrease in sales in 2023, with median prices increasing by 9% to $1.23 million, due to high interest rates and a rise in investors and second-home owners.