Ken Mattson’s Sonoma Cheese Factory gathering draws Wake Up Sonoma protesters, then police

Real estate investor Ken Mattson’s wine and cheese store aimed to build goodwill with fellow business owners Tuesday night, hosting a happy hour titled “Sip. Savor. Stay.”

But another group, Wake Up Sonoma, savored using the event to spotlight how it is investigating the business mogul’s vast land holdings throughout Sonoma Valley.

Amid Mattson’s invitees sipping wine inside his Sonoma Cheese Factory store and protesters wielding signs outside of it, police ended up at the event, too.

Shortly after 5:30 p.m., protesters began to show up with signs lambasting Mattson, among them ones that read “Not Local!” and “Just say ‘No’ to Cheesy Butchermen.” Passing cars occasionally honked in support, and some protesters wore noise-making jingle bells.

“We wanted to let people know that they're not local,” Wake Up Sonoma protester David Eichar said of Mattson’s Sonoma Best Hospitality Group LLC, which owns the cheese factory. “They say they're local. They pretend to be local. But they're really not.”

Around 6:30 p.m., two Sonoma Police Department deputies and a California State Parks ranger met with protesters on Spain Street, on Sonoma Plaza. Deputies relayed that ‘911’ had received a report of a woman being hit with a protest sign. Protesters denied the accusation to both police and the Index-Tribune.

A short time later, police met again with protesters to remind them to remain clear of public walkways. Protesters complied, and there were no arrests.

Ken Mattson and his business partner, Tim LeFever, have purchased at least 116 properties in Sonoma Valley for nearly a quarter-billion dollars over the past decade. These controversial purchases have inspired a level of public scrutiny about the duo’s motives.

Ken Mattson, who remained inside Sonoma Cheese Factory during the event, declined to comment for this article. His son, Alex Mattson, who also attended the gathering, described it as a way to bring together fellow business owners in Sonoma Plaza.

“We want to create a community across the plaza,” Alex Mattson said. “We have an ex-French Laundry chef who's running the butchery in there. And so we want this experience to be something that people can come and take part in. And ultimately, a lot of that comes through word-of-mouth.”

Inside the Sonoma Cheese Factory, plaza merchants and other business owners ate bruschetta and charcuterie and sipped wine. A neon yellow sign reading “Say Cheese” faced out toward the protest.

“Our whole goal is to provide a business here to kind of honor what was here originally,” Alex Mattson said. “We want everything that we do to respect the heritage, and grow Sonoma into the future.”

Outside, protesters weren’t buying it.

“I wouldn't trust him as far as I can throw him,” Veronica Napoles, a member of Wake Up Sonoma, said. “(Mattson) has not come to the community. This is not the community at large. This is pandering. They are not local. They come from Piedmont, Citrus Heights, Vallejo, Vacaville.”

Reacting to the police presence, Napoles said, “I would’ve got busted, but (another protester) reminded me that I can't spend the night in jail because I have two dogs.”

After breaking into smaller groups, the protest lost momentum, and Wake Up Sonoma members began to go home as event attendees left Sonoma Cheese Factory.

Napoles said law enforcement had been called to previous Wake Up Sonoma protests at CocoaPlanet tasting room and the General’s Daughter, both Mattson-LeFever-owned properties, so she wasn’t suprised by their presence Tuesday night.

“(Mattson and LeFever) really have not done a thing,” Napoles said, “other than greedily [purchasing properties] and not being transparent about what their end game is with Sonoma.”

Chase Hunter covers the Sonoma city government, breaking news, crime, agriculture, housing and homelessness. Contact him at chase.hunter@sonomanews.com.