Two New Healdsburg Tasting Rooms Open Amid Winery Shakeup
About five months after boutique Healdsburg wine brands Truett Hurst and VML went on the market, they found a buyer: the same man who founded them back in 2008.
Phil Hurst sold his beloved brands to a large, Washington-based company called Precept Wine & Spirits...
Christmas Makes Early Appearance Downtown
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...
Taste of Tea co-owner was a pillar of warmth in Healdsburg community
Donna L. Tokugawa, the co-owner and host of The Taste of Tea, wasn’t just known in Healdsburg as a restaurant co-owner, she was known as an outgoing and compassionate community member and a friend to all, the kind of friend who accepts everyone with...
Group of dedicated local knitters organizing co-op to maintain Purls of Joy store
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.
Popular cafe reopens in new incarnation
One quiet morning last week, the long-closed corner store at Matheson and Center took down their plywood walls and threw open the doors of 300 Center St.—the newest incarnation of Healdsburg’s longtime favorite coffee bar, the Flying Goat.
First in, tentative singles, then couples, then...
Restaurant gives life to historic building
El Milagro incorporates family recipes, fresh food
Shuttered businesses facing unmet challenges
The coronavirus pandemic is taking a devastating economic toll on Sonoma County’s economy: tourism, once a mainstay, is non-existent; 16,000 local workers have filed for unemployment; more than a thousand small businesses have applied for the federal Small Business Administration (SBA) Payroll Protection Plan (PPP). Meanwhile local governments continue to provide essential public health and welfare services, while their normal revenue sources trickle to near-zero.
Local real estate duo revamp boulevard house for 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.
Public life goes dark
One month ago, all of Sonoma County’s “public life” was put off limits. No schools, locked parks, barricaded beaches, no dining out or casual shopping trips. Gathering places where conversations and friendships get shared are taboo. Libraries, coffee shops, brewpubs, art galleries and any space smaller than six feet square, are now officially declared uninhabitable.

















