The Rule That Sorts Chains From Locals Around Sonoma Plaza

On July 16, a vice president from an Iowa outerwear company stood before Sonoma's Planning Commission to explain a sheepskin store. Cody Phipps of Overland Sheepskin Co. told commissioners the company expected to open at 452 First St. E. by mid- to late November. As the Sonoma Index-Tribune reported, he added, "Definitely before Thanksgiving." The commission approved the use permit 5 to 0, and the meeting minutes show no public comments.

A store selling coats and leather goods went to a public hearing because of where it wanted to open. Sonoma's code treats a business on the Plaza differently from the same business a short walk away. That difference helps explain this fall, when several longtime local places around the Plaza closed and the replacements started to arrive.

What a chain has to prove to open on the Plaza

Sonoma's development code defines a "formula business" as a retail, grocery, personal-service or restaurant business that keeps a standardized set of features making it substantially identical to 10 or more other businesses in the United States, no matter who owns them. A small formula business occupies less than 10,000 square feet. A large one occupies 10,000 or more.

Under Section 19.50.035, any formula business that opens or expands in the historic district needs a use permit. The Planning Commission can approve it only if it finds that:

1. The business will promote diversity and variety, keeping a balanced mix of commercial uses for residents and visitors.
2. The use and its design are consistent with Sonoma's historic character and will preserve the town's distinctive appearance and its shopping and dining experience.
3. On a site in the plaza retail overlay, the business will also be compatible with existing uses and promote the zone's economic vitality "as the commercial, cultural, and civic center of the community."

The same section bans large formula restaurants from the plaza retail overlay entirely.

Overland's application shows how a small chain meets those findings. The space is about 2,000 square feet and sits inside both the Historic Overlay and the Plaza Retail Overlay. The company asked only for cosmetic work at 452 First St. E., including new paint, flooring and wall finishes, with no significant structural changes. City staff wrote in their report to the commission that the project "would not have any substantial changes to the façade of the structure." They also found that the store's handcrafted goods would add variety to the Plaza's mix.

The Leahy family founded Overland in Taos, New Mexico, 53 years ago. The company is now based in Fairfield, Iowa, and has a North Bay store in Napa, so Sonoma will be its second in the region. It expects to hire five to seven people for the Sonoma store.

Four shopping centers where the rule stops

The formula business rules do not apply in four named shopping centers: Sonoma Valley Center, the Marketplace, Maxwell Village and Fifth Street West Plaza. That exemption has been in the code since 2012.

This fall's other national arrival is headed to one of those centers. See's Candies planned a temporary holiday pop-up at 201 W. Napa St., Suite 10, in Sonoma Marketplace, starting in mid-November. The Index-Tribune reported that the shop will sell only prepackaged products and close after the holidays. Because the Marketplace is exempt, a seasonal candy counter there skips the findings Overland needed for a coat store on the Plaza.

The pattern holds farther out. Wingstop's grand opening was Oct. 28 at 200 Siesta Way, Suite 101, in the Fiesta Plaza center in Boyes Hot Springs, well outside the Plaza district. The Index-Tribune covered the long lines and live DJ at the opening.

The rule sets which addresses send a chain before the Planning Commission and which let it open without a hearing.

Why the local exits had nothing to do with chains

The fall's closures around the Plaza came from older buildings and costs, not from outside competition.

Chef David Bush, who co-owned Oso and Parkside with Kelley Bush, explained the decision to the Index-Tribune: "We have been in desperate need of upgrading and updating the kitchen and building in general. When it came down to it, it was too costly to spend the money on a building we don't own." In her Sonoma Valley Sun column, Kathleen Hill described the kitchen work as something local government required and called it too costly "in this economy."

Oso ran for 12 years and won Best New Restaurant in the Index-Tribune's 2015 People's Choice Awards. Parkside opened in September 2023 as a wine bar. In 2025 the Planning Commission approved Kelley Bush's appeal to add beer and live music, which brought jazz nights with the Sonoma Valley Jazz Society. The wine bar's own expansion had to go through the same commission that later reviewed Overland. On the Plaza, local and national businesses both answer to the commission.

The Vella family has said it might hold pop-ups later to sell its remaining aged cheese, though no dates have been set.

Who has moved in, and who is lined up

Most of the businesses that have opened near the Plaza since spring are independents. None of them needed a formula business permit.

• Smash, at 497 First St. W., is a fast-casual burger spot that chef Ari Weiswasser opened in May. He is also behind Glen Ellen Star and Stella.
• Dead Letter, at 101 E. Napa St., comes from John Toulze and Sondra Bernstein, with Jeremy Zimmerman as head chef, according to Sonoma Magazine.
• Sonoma Eats, owned by Efrain Balmes and Hayley Cutri, has reopened at 561 Fifth St. W., in the former La Hacienda space.
• Fine Eye Gallery, owned by Dora Martin, moved from Sutter Creek and opened Sept. 2 at 535 First St. W.
• Belongings, a women's clothing and consignment boutique from Sonoma resident Jennifer Adler, was scheduled to open Nov. 4 inside Nanigins at 529 Broadway.

As of this week, two national names are still on the way. Overland gave a mid- to late November target for 452 First St. E., and See's set a mid-November start for its Marketplace pop-up. One went through a public hearing and the other didn't, and the code explains why.

The East Napa Street spaces that Oso and Parkside left are still empty. Under Section 19.50.035, any chain that wants either one would face the same three findings Overland did, and a large formula restaurant could not open there at all.

If you're heading downtown in the next few weeks, the Lighting of the Sonoma Plaza is Saturday, Nov. 21, from 5 to 8 p.m. The tree lighting falls in the same window as Overland's planned opening and the See's pop-up.

This post is general information about how the city's code reads. It is not legal advice, so business owners and property owners should confirm their own situation with the City of Sonoma's planning staff or an attorney.

If you own a storefront or a home near the Plaza and want to talk about how changes like these affect your plans, I'm happy to walk through it with you. Reach out to Kristen Parrish Tamayo and let's connect.