Sonoma, your table is ready – on the Plaza

A new City of Sonoma program is offering local restaurants and businesses the opportunity to serve more customers using dedicated public space on the Sonoma Plaza, but there has been limited interest to date.

Three notable downtown businesses, however – the Girl and the Fig, B&V and the new Plaza spot Valley – have signed on for the program and are in varying stages of implementation.

The City of Sonoma and the Sonoma Valley Chamber of Commerce launched the Plaza Dining program in early June as part two of a larger plan to help downtown businesses whose operations are limited due to county physical distancing requirements.

The city’s Economic Reopening and Recovery Ad Hoc Subcommittee – led by Mayor Logan Harvey and City Councilmember Rachel Hundley in concert with the Sonoma Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau and the Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers Alliance – developed a basket of ideas and initiatives that were adopted by the City Council at its May 18 meeting.

The first program, implemented on May 25 and still ongoing, allows downtown businesses to use surrounding/adjoining public and private space like sidewalks and parking lots to add square footage to their service area.

The second program, which opened for applications in late June, offers downtown businesses the use of the designated areas in the Sonoma Plaza as well.

Restaurateurs Sondra Bernstein of the Girl and the Fig, and Codi Binkley of B&V were the first two applicants to be approved for the new program.

B&V is in the process of buying new tables and chairs to accommodate additional seating for around 40 people in the northeast quadrant of the Plaza closest to the restaurant. According to co-owner Binkley, B&V will start offering waitered table service in the Plaza, in addition to its current sidewalk seating and interior seating, after the 4th of July weekend.

Binkley and co-owner Carlo Cavallo are now in the process of staffing back up, but they are finding that not all their employees are ready to return.

“Some don’t want to give up the unemployment benefits they are getting and some are nervous about whether it is totally safe to be working,” Binkley said.

He also said that B&V’s menu in its first weeks open may be somewhat abbreviated.

“We don’t know if restaurants could be shut down again,” he said. “There is a lot of risk involved for all of us.”

Bernstein told the Index-Tribune that there were a lot of moving parts to implementing the program, and she couldn’t specify a date when her overflow seating in the northwest quadrant of the Plaza would be up and running. But Binkley guesses that Girl and the Fig will launch before he does.

“And closely following Sondra is always a good spot to be in,” he said with a laugh about Bernstein’s magic touch in the local dining scene.

Other downtown restaurant owners expressed appreciation for the program but most told the Index-Tribune that they did not plan to apply for Plaza space.

“I just plan on maintaining my sidewalk seating,” said Saul Gropman of Café La Haye on East Napa Street. “The Plaza is too far for us for (to be) moving food and monitoring cleanup.”

Taub Famly Outpost, the new two-story spot on the southwest corner of the Plaza, also declined the offer to use the Plaza for outside dining space.

“We’re focused on hiring, training and COVID-preparedness to be able to welcome guests inside,” said general manager Martin Gobbee. “We considered the responsibilities of maintaining order, safety, and cleanliness across the street; the legal requirements; the insurance requirements, etc.; and we feel the manpower, time, and attention this would take away from what we're trying to achieve on premise is too great.”

While the program is free, some caveats apply. The Plaza can only be used 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Thursday through Sunday. The “operator” is responsible for the cleanliness of the space (including COVID-19-preventing disinfection), garbage collection, security and the overall community impact of their assigned space. They must also make their own restrooms available to customers. Applicants also need to file paperwork with the state’s ABC (Alcohol Beverage Control) agency if serving alcohol and get additional insurance indemnifying the City of Sonoma. Music is prohibited.

Applicants who do apply and are approved will be assigned an area of up to 4,000 square feet, and restaurants will provide their own, appropriately-spaced tables near a pathway for ADA access. All seating must be removed weekly on Sundays for ground maintenance.

City staff said they are attempting to assign spaces as close to each restaurant storefront as possible, and issuing permits within a few days to a week of receiving a completed application.

Vince Albano, CEO of Mary’s Pizza, said he loved this solution being offered to restaurants but he would not be applying.

“We have already expanded our patio into the alley between our building and the Swiss Hotel,” he said. “And so long as dining is allowed in-house with social distancing, we’re content with our current seating capacity.”

Binkley stressed how much he appreciates the hard work of city staff to make the extra Plaza seating an option.

“The city has been working hard behind the scenes, around the clock, on this program,” he said. “Everyone deserves a pat on the back for how they have worked together.”

Contact Lorna at lorna.sheridan@sonomanews.com.