Fremont Diner owners eyeing Sonoma gas station location

Fans of the funky-chic Fremont Diner on Highway 121 are welcoming the news that the diner’s owners are deep in negotiation to open a restaurant inside Sonoma City limits – at the current location of a historic gas station.

Bennett Martin, of the design firm STRATA, gave a presentation to the Sonoma Planning Commission last Thursday, March 9, that elicited a litany of praise for the project plan and high anticipation for its promised family-style restaurant, and four 2-bedroom apartments, at 899 Broadway at MacArthur.

That’s the present location of Sonoma 76 Truck and Auto Service, a classic corner gas station that Marie Lambert took over following her husband Stu Lambert’s death in 2001. While Stu Lambert was a popular figure around town, who at one point owned three gas stations and a car wash, this is the only remaining piece of his legacy.

The gas station business has been owned by long-time employee Jeff Martinez since 2007, though Lambert still owns the property. (“Hopefully not for long,” she said to the commission.)

But it’s not so much the historical nature of the gas station, nor the fact that it’s one of the few places in town where a diesel-owner can fill up, but the identity of the prospective new owners that’s creating the buzz: Chad and Erica Harris, owner-operators of the Fremont Diner.

The Fremont Diner is the popular roadside attraction five miles from downtown Sonoma, in the Carneros area en route to the Napa County line. While once a little-known café, now waiting lines are almost invariably part of the dining experience. Buttermilk pancakes, fried chicken and biscuits, burgers and catfish creole are typical menu fare.

The Planning Commission heard a brief presentation on the project from Martin, as part of a “study session” on the agenda to gauge the commission’s response to the design approach. The project would be in three stages, the first being the closing of the gas station and auto body business, and the subsequent removal and clean-up of the underground fuel storage tanks, gas pumps and equipment. Though clean-up of underground gas storage tanks can be difficult and expensive, Bennett pointed out that the owners had already taken out the old tanks and replaced them with new ones several years ago, and he did not anticipate a significant problem this time around.

The second part of the remodel, Phase Two, would be to remodel the existing gas station building, add an extension while retaining its historical features, into a “family style restaurant that serves locally sourced produce, meat, beer and wine at an affordable price point for the local community,” as described in the documents submitted to the Planning Commission by the Harrises.

“As Sonoma residents with three children we have found that there is a lack of affordable, family-oriented, casual, non-chain restaurants on this side of town,” they wrote. “There are very few restaurants south of the square and we feel that the neighborhoods off of MacArthur east and west would appreciate a restaurant that is both within walking distance and a good option for young families and seniors.”

Once the restaurant is underway, Phase Three will demolish buildings on the rest of the lot, which runs along West MacArthur to First Street West. A long warehouse stretches the length of the property, behind a dilapidated stick fence. The lot is a grazing ground for old trucks, some of which may run.

Here, four 2-bedroom apartments would be built, available for long-term, local rentals.

Remodeling an old service station into other uses is far from uncommon. Another converted gas station is just one long block up Broadway, where Dutch Bros. Coffee is located on the corner of Andrieux. In fact, as Planning Commission Chair James Cribb pointed out, the Department of the Interior even has a document that addresses reuse of these buildings, Brief 46.

“Abandoned historic gas stations have in the past been viewed as a hindrance to the redevelopment of a neighborhood or community. Yet sensitive rehabilitations can ensure that the historic character of these buildings is preserved while providing for an economic reuse,” as noted in the brief.

Though Martin was unaware of the Dept. of the Interior brief, he promised to look into it. For Cribb, though, the gas station was apparently an object of much personal attention. “I was imagining having to strap myself to the pump some day when they tore it down,” said the chair.

Then he pivoted to his enthusiasm for the prospective new use as a family-style restaurant: “My biggest concern is my waistline – my business is a five-minute walk from there.”

Other commissioners were equally positive in response to the proposal. “This is the first project I’ve looked at in a while that hasn’t been over the top, or wild,” said Commissioner Robert McDonald. He applauded that it spoke to “the fun, quirky part of Sonoma.”

“I love that this building still exists,” said Chip Roberson, also barely able to contain his enthusiasm. “The fact that someone isn’t coming in and scraping this, putting in a bank or townhouses or whatever – to me, that you are trying to preserve this piece of Sonoma is wonderful; that you have respected the mixed-use character, fantastic. That’s exactly what we want.”

Roberson also noted that with its location at Broadway and MacArthur, it could contribute to a revitalization of the southern approach toward the Plaza. “Cocoa Planet is two doors south; across the street is going to get redeveloped at some point. What you’re doing contributes to a really nice vitality to the surrounding neighborhood.”

Strata’s Martin emphasized that his firm had not even been hired yet to architect and design the development, saying they were going to meet with the Harrises this week to “lay that whole process out. I believe the commissioners provided some pretty straight-forward direction as far as what we were planning, which helped out.”

Marie Lambert herself has not officially sold the property to the Harris couple, evidently waiting for the reaction of the Planning Commission to the proposal.

Since the presentation was only a “study session” to gauge the commissioners’ response, no vote was taken. But following the conclusion of the hearing on converting the old gas station into a new diner, one commissioner was overheard to say, “I do hope you upgrade the bathrooms.”

Contact Christian at christian.kallen@sonomanews.com.