Meet Sonoma ‘man about town’ Codi Binkley

We have all heard about the immigrant who arrives on these shores with only $7 in his pocket and goes on to create an empire. These stories are still happening, and Sonoma’s Codi Binkley is living proof.

Binkley came to Sonoma from the far away land known as Texas in 1982. And he had absolutely no money in his pockets, because he was only 3 years old.

Binkley had been loaded into his parent’s converted school bus along with the other members of his mom and dad’s country rock band, Savannah. They crossed the southwest in true hippie style, warming themselves with the built-in wood burning stove, and settled in the Valley of the Moon.

Binkley has since started an empire, Sonoma style. Many know him as the front man of the Whiskey Thieves, a well-traveled band of a few years ago. He has since started the adulting process in earnest.

Binkley shared his story recently while sitting in a booth at Burgers and Vine, the restaurant and bar he co-owns with Carlo Calvallo. He talked about music, steaks, cleaning windows and family.

Binkley is a product of Sonoma schools. An El Verano Elementary School alum, he rattled off the names of his elementary school teachers – “Alessio, Kettler, Aja, Neubacher.” He graduated from Sonoma Valley High School in 1999. It was in school that he met many people who remain close and important friends.

While a student at Sonoma Valley High, Binkley was enrolled in a class called “Rock Ensemble,” taught by Audie Tatum. The structure of the class was that the students had Monday through Thursday to work on a song, with the “show” on Friday. Each week the students were mixed into different groups. It was there that Binkley leaned the power of collaboration and performance.

His music led him to a pretty high-profile presence here in the Valley of the Tunes. Many people have recognized his vocal talents and band leading prowess. The gigs of the Whiskey Thieves were marked by searing guitar parts, soulful grooves and Binkley’s smoky voice.

One of those gigs was at Meritage, a restaurant in the space where Belly Delhi is now located. Calvallo was the owner and he and Binkley became friends. The pair of entrepreneurs “got to talking, and he saw what the Whiskey Thieves were drawing, and Carlo was impressed,” said Binkley.

Binkley went on to explain the budding of their business relationship, “I told him that I had a plan. A night spot. I told him I really wanted the building on the corner. I gave him my business plan and we talked and talked and talked.”

The building on the corner was the then-shuttered Sonoma Creamery building. Richard and Mary Anne Cuneo owned the building and, according to Binkley, they “basically said, ‘Whatever you want.’ It wouldn’t have been possible without them.”

Binkley exudes confidence. It wasn’t too difficult to line up potential investors. Binkley remains cagey about who the pair was in talks with, but he did say, “There’s only three of us. Me, our silent partner and Carlo.”

B&V has been in business for five years. Binkley is proud that he has had the same chefs working the line for that time period. Binkley explained his feelings about B&V: “My favorite part about our menu is that all of our pastas are handmade from scratch. All of our desserts are made, handmade, from scratch. All our beef products and poultry, our cheese is all local.”

Binkley is a proud, active and interested member of the business community on the Plaza. Like others, he is concerned about wages rising and the difficulty in hiring qualified employees. However, none of those problems are enough to temper his enthusiasm for his role at B&V.

Binkley is not done with the music thing, though. “I just want some music time, I miss it so much,” he said. Binkley has plans to cut a record in the near future. He recently made a “tour stop” in Las Vegas, where he performed at the House of Blues on a Monday and the following night at the Barbershop Club in the Cosmopolitan. When asked how he got those gigs, Binkley replied, “I just show up, play with their band.”

Binkley’s band, “Codi Binkley and Friends,” will open the show for Eric Hutchinson when he plays the Sebastiani Theatre on Sept. 22. The event is called “Hearts for Huntington’s” and benefits the efforts to find a cure for Huntington’s disease.

One of those “friends” is local harmonica player Junior Boogie. Boogie and Binkley have been friends, “for the longest time, best friends,” said Binkley. “We own Sonoma Valley Painting Company together.”

Band. Restaurant and bar. House-painting company. Binkley is a busy guy, plus he has a family.

His wife of two years, Christian, is also in the restaurant business. They have two boys: Jaden, 8, and Cruz, 19 months.

“Jaden is a singer. His vibrato is amazing, it’s crazy. And Cruz bangs on everything,” Binkley said.

Music is a common thread running through the Binkley family. Rick and Lisa Binkley, Jaden and Cruz’s grandparents, were in a country band while Codi was hiding out in utero. All that music apparently passed through the placenta, to say the least. Rick recalled a time when Codi was only about 3 years old: “Codi was in the other room on his knees playing with his Tonka trucks. I had a cassette mix tape on the stereo, and on came Albert Collins with his screaming Telecaster. All these hot licks. I noticed a faint echo to his notes, and realized that it was Codi mimicking the lead licks of Collins’ guitar.” To which Lisa added, “He still does that when he performs!”

Kind of a rock ‘n’ roll scat thing, Codi style.

Christian is Cruz’s biological mother and has been around Jaden since he was 1 year old. “I think of him as my own,” she said. Christian also commented that, “Codi is a wonderful father, he is always there for his boys. He always takes the time. I do wish he could play more music, though.”

Binkley concurs. And like any business owner, Binkley wishes he had more time to spend with his family. A restaurant takes lots of life out of you. Binkley said he spends, “about 15 hours on a Saturday.” But he is also very excited about Burgers & Vine. “I am loving the way it is going. I am so excited to watch the growth.”

This fall, Calvallo and Binkley will change the name of their restaurant to Bistecca & Vino. It will offer high-end steak and pasta dishes, “and start shutting down at 9, so I can get some sleep.” They have already made many physical improvements to the interior in advance of the name change. He points out that they intend it to be the quintessential Sonoma Valley dining experience.

Binkley is realistic about his role as a business leader and employer. He works hard and gives his heart and soul to the restaurant. He even washes windows. He said, “Most restaurants last three years. I’m like, I want this to last a lifetime. That’s what I want. I want it to last the lifetime. Put too much blood, sweat and tears into this spot. Not gonna let it go away.”

As an afterthought, Binkley hastened to add, “I am super blessed.”

Caysi Jean Burns, Binkley’s younger sister and Sonoma resident, chimed in with this final note: “I was always the one pursuing music,” she said. “My brother would always make fun of me, saying ‘It’s easy.’ I would say, ‘You do it, then.’ He did. And look at him now.”

Indeed, look at him now. And keep your eye on him.