Movers and Shakers: Business news from across the Valley, Sept. 5

New tasting rooms (natch), groceries and pot delivered and more|

New farm stand: A new farm stand has opened in Glen Ellen. The Bee-Well farms stand is located at Gordenker Ranch at 101 Trinity Road, just off Highway 101. The stand will offers sustainably-grown produce, fresh eggs from pasture-rotated hens, and produce. The farm stand will be open on Tuesdays from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. through September. Learn more at facebook.com/beewellfarms/.

New healer: Longtime Sonoma Valley resident Dan Martin has opened a new office at Sonoma Holistic Center. He is a board-certified biofeedback therapist who has been practicing biofeedback clinically for six years at a pain-management clinic in Napa Valley. As a new member of the Integrative Health Network through Sonoma Valley Hospital, he is excited to be offering his biofeedback and stress management services to the North Bay community. Consultations are available free of charge for new clients. Visit sonomabio.com for more information.

New beer tour: In addition to its wine-and-food-pairing walking tours of the Wine Country town of Sonoma, Gourmet Food and Wine Tours has introduced Drew's Brews Tours, the first walking tour in Sonoma with dedicated beer stops. Led by Drew ReBell, the new tour visits four downtown pubs and restaurants, in order to taste at least five Sonoma County craft beers. The brews are paired with fried pickles, cheese, sausages and sandwiches. Tours are typically three hours long, and blend storytelling about local history and trends with wines and food. Go to gourmetfoodandwinetours.com

New tasting room: Kenwood has a new tasting room, Fathia Vineyards, at 8910 Sonoma Hwy. “Fathia” means victorious, and Fathia Vineyards is owned by Roy and Fausta Franco-Guerrero. They offer premium tasting of current release wines, and a truffle and wine pairing with Feve chocolate truffles. The tasting room is open noon to 5 p.m. Thursday through Monday, and Tuesday and Wednesday by appointment; reservations required for parties of six or more. Visit fathiavineyards.com

Groceries delivered: Instacart now serves most Wine Country areas, including all of Sonoma Valley. Households can order from a variety of their favorite local stores including Smart & Final, BevMo, Costco, Petco, CVS, Whole Foods Market and Safeway and have their groceries delivered to their door in as little as one hour. San Francisco-based Instacart first launched same-day delivery of groceries in the City in Jan. 2013 and has since received an overwhelming volume of requests for expansion across the North Bay.

New apartments: Have you noticed the new building going up behind Plaza Tequila? According to the Planning Department, there are eight apartment units that are a component of a mixed-use project approved by the Planning Commission back in late 2002. The office building at the front of the property was built relatively soon after the use permit was approved and the construction of that element of the project locked in the approval of the residential component. The property owners are the Giannis family, who also own the recently-closed Plaza Tequila property and the office building.

School produce for sale: Now at the Boyes Hot Springs Fruit Basket is produce from Altimira Middle School's garden. “The owner, Omar, has graciously has set up a spot in his store for our veggies,” said garden coordinator Kimberly Weber. The proceeds will benefit the horticulture program at Altimira.

Change at Hopmonk: HopMonk Tavern in Sonoma is now accepting all reservations exclusively on Yelp and their website at hopmonk.com/sonoma. The change is billed as a faster, simplified reservation experience, with confirmations via text and email. Also, when you come in on busy nights and need to be added to the waitlist, you'll now receive a text when your table is ready.

New beer releases: Sonoma Springs has released two new cans – a New England style IPA called Conan's Haze, and Nomaweiss (Hefeweizen). The beer team also partnered with Sondra Bernstein to offer its first cheese and beer tasting event at Murphy's Irish Pub. Up next, the team will be celebrating National Beer Lovers Day on Thursday, Sept. 7, at the brewery. They will be partnering with the chef from Vineyard Crust Company (for wood-fired oven pizzas) that day. Save the date.

Crime stoppers: The Sonoma County District Attorney's Office is presenting a free seminar for non-profit organizations and small businesses on how to avoid falling victim to embezzlement on Thursday, Sept. 28, at 9 a.m., at the Boys & Girls Club of Central Sonoma County, at 779 Sebastopol Rd. in Santa Rosa. To register, email Joanne.Miller@sonoma-county.org.

Moving: Chiropractor Jennifer Karns moved from her former office space at 186B West Napa Street to new digs in the medical office buildig with the blue tile roof at 181 Andrieux Street. They (re)opened for business last Friday.

Pot delivery: Pot Valet is a leading provider of premium-grade cannabis in California. The company says it offers patients safe, legal, and discreet access to their medicine, eliminating their need to visit a cannabis dispensary. According to Pot Valet, the state is growing too much weed, and legally-licensed businesses are already struggling to sell their products. Pot Valet bridges the gap between cultivators and consumers. Patients across California can now get their orders in less than 45 minutes. In Sonoma County, they are offering next day delivery. Visit potvalet.com.

New company: ThinOPTICS – an innovative new manufacturer of high-quality, affordable reading glasses – has officially marked Sonoma Valley as home to its newly expanded facility and headquarters. To celebrate its new location, ThinOPTICS Co-Founder and Vice President of e-Commerce Marketing Darren Lancaster recently gave a tour to U.S. Congressman Mike Thompson. The company is located at 1620 Carneros Meadows Lane. thinoptics.com

Congratulations: SF Magazine recently gave “Best of Wine Country” member awards to the following Sonoma Valley companies:

Best Wine & Food Pairing- Hamel Family Wines

Best View- Repris

Most Environmentally Friendly- Benziger Family Winery

Best Transportation- Pure Luxury Transportation.

Hiring: Sonoma Valley Hospital is now hiring for more than a dozens positions including medical secretary, information analysts, registered nurses, physical therapist assistants, part-time techs and more. Learn more at svh.com/careers.

Send business news to lorna.sheridan@sonomanews.com.

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.