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‘Bachelor’ a boom for Valley business

Love it or hate it, Sonoma native Ben Flajnik’s starring role on “The Bachelor” has brought international attention to Sonoma Valley, to the delight of business owners.

“We’re getting a ton of people stopping in to ask questions,” said Wendy Peterson, executive director of the Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau. “They’re asking ‘Are we going to see him on the street? Where is he?’”

Flajnik told the Index-Tribune in a previous interview that he hoped the show would help bring the spotlight to Sonoma, pulling it out of the shadow cast by the Napa Valley. He hit that point home in the second episode of the ABC reality dating show, when he brought the ladies to the Valley and managed to say “Sonoma” dozens of times throughout the two-hour episode.

“Having the Sonoma brand out there like this is just great for us,” Peterson said.

During the Sonoma-centric episode, he brought Kacie B., an administrative assistant from Tennessee, on a late-night date around the Plaza, filmed between 10:30 p.m. and 2 a.m. when the square was all but deserted. It began with a visit to the Centre du Vin at the Ledson Hotel where the pair played piano before heading to Tiddle E. Winks for some quirky toys.

“I had a question on my website with in the first 20 minutes of the show airing,” said Tiddle E. Winks’ owner Heidi Geffen. Despite only showing the name of her store for a second in the episode, Geffen said she has seen a rise in interest from fans of the show.

“The funny thing is people ask if I carry batons, which I don’t,” she said, referring to the scene where it appears as though Kacie B. buys a baton from the store to show Flajnik her twirling skills.

“They brought that baton and planted it in the store. But I might have to start carrying batons,” Geffen joked. She added that the day after filming, a producer came back to the store to buy candy and gifts for the crew.

“They spent money while they were here,” she said.

From Tiddle E. Winks, the couple headed to the Girl and the Fig for dinner before going to the Sebastiani Theatre to watch home movies on the big screen.

“I get a lot of people saying they saw it, but I’m not sure how much business it’s brought in,” said Roger Rhoten, owner-operator of the Sebastiani Theatre.

Later in the episode, Flajnik brought some of the women to the Willow Stream Spa at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn.

“‘The Bachelor’ has been a huge coup for us,” said Michelle Heston, spokeswoman for the Sonoma Mission Inn. “The reach has been unbelievable … We had a huge spike in interest. We’ve literally had people come in and ask which pool they were in … We may have to rename it Ben’s pool.”

During their stay, the ladies were put up at the Vineyard Knoll Estate in Glen Ellen, a vacation rental of BeautifulPlaces. Arlene Winnick, a spokeswoman for BeautifulPlaces, said the night the episode aired, the business had so much traffic on its website that it nearly crashed.

“It’s really been quite amazing,” Winnick said. “We’ve gotten a lot of calls from travel agents. They call to find out more about it, it’s definitely on their radar now.”

Businesses are finding their own ways of capitalizing on the popularity of “The Bachelor.” Sonoma Market now boasts a special display in their wine aisle of Flajnik’s Envolve wines (formerly Evolve wines), which he makes with partners Mike Benziger and Danny Fay.

The Big 3 Diner at the Sonoma Mission Inn held “Bachelor” viewing parties, complete with Envolve wines and a visit from Flajnik’s mom.

The Centre du Vin at the Ledson Hotel is now holding weekly viewing parties on Mondays where they serve “Ben’s Martini,” described as a dirty martini with a Sicilian olive stuffed with blue cheese, bacon and a gala apple. Ledson is donating 5 percent of proceeds from its Monday night purchases to the Harmony Foundation to support area nonprofits.

“People are poking around. We’re starting to get a lot of attention, especially on the Ben martini,” said Michael Coats, spokesman for Ledson. “There is certainly Ben-mania everywhere and we’re happy to be apart of it.”

“The Bachelor” airs on Monday at 8 p.m. on ABC.