Where Petaluma Goes When It Wants Something Between Fine Dining and a Dive Bar

"There are a lot of fine dining restaurants and dive bars in Petaluma, but not much middle ground," Rachel Pignata, general manager of Old Caz Backyard, told The Press Democrat when the brewery opened on Grey Street in August.

Her remark fits a lot of what has happened in town since summer. Most of the casual, come-as-you-are places that opened or grew in Petaluma this year are shared rooms. A brewery puts out a rotating lineup of food trucks. A riverside café gives a taco stand four days a week. A winemaking couple folded four businesses into one room on Washington Street. If you have been looking for an easy Tuesday dinner or somewhere the kids can come along, the new options mostly come as several businesses under one roof.

A backyard on Grey Street, built with kids in mind

Old Caz Backyard took over the former site of The Block Petaluma at 20 Grey St. It soft-launched on a Thursday and held its official opening on Saturday, Aug. 8. The opening day had a parade feel. The Press Democrat reported that about 300 cyclists and 50 walkers made a 7.3-mile procession from the Old Caz taproom at SOMO Village in Rohnert Park, carrying the handmade tap handle that poured the brewery's first beer. About 500 people were waiting in Petaluma when it arrived.

The place is set up for families. Co-founder Tom Edwards described it as somewhere parents can enjoy a beer "and not have to worry about their kids banging on the tables or running around." There's a play area with a miniature Old Caz trailer. For adults there's a fire pit, 30 taps of Old Caz beer, and local wine and cider. Food comes from rotating food trucks and from an in-house menu of pizzas, salads and small bites. The opening menu included the seasonal Pig N Peach pizza, made with house spicy sausage, roasted local peaches and crispy pork skin, and the Cap N Stem, made with Mycopia mushrooms, fontina, thyme and lemon. A seasonal "Local Veg" section has included beets with pomegranate molasses, chili crisp and hazelnuts.

The location matters to the founders. Edwards and Bryan Rengel met as Sonoma State rowers and used to row on the Petaluma River, close to where the taproom now stands. "Bryan and I met 100 feet from here when we were 19 years old," Edwards said.

Where The Block's taco regular landed

If you remember The Block on Grey Street, you may remember Tacos Don Pepe. The Petaluma Argus-Courier profiled founder Eduardo "Eddie" Rodriguez-Carreño in September. He started with a farmers market booth and became a fixture at Brewsters Beer Garden and The Block, plus parks, fairs and festivals around Sonoma County.

Now the stand has a regular home at Grand Central Petaluma, 226 Weller St. Rodriguez-Carreño said the stand started showing up there regularly about seven months before that September story, and "that's where we're really focusing our energy right now." Grand Central is a family-owned café on the Petaluma River, inside the original Petaluma and Santa Rosa railway ticket booth. It's run by Juan Carlos and Natalie Vinueza, and its stated mission includes partnering with local food providers. The café's own menu is coffee, empanadas and chocolate. On taco days, one stop on Weller Street gets you coffee, empanadas and carne asada tacos.

The Argus-Courier listed these hours for Tacos Don Pepe at Grand Central:

• Thursdays, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 4 to 8 p.m.
• Fridays and Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Sundays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Grand Central's homepage lists the stand for Friday through Sunday only, so check before planning a Thursday taco night. Rodriguez-Carreño also said he was securing a kitchen space in Penngrove that could use the Penngrove Pub's seating area, but that plan was "a little on hold."

Four businesses, one room on Washington Street

The clearest example of a shared room is downtown at 120 Washington St. Lorraine and Mike Barber have built several businesses over the years. They opened Petaluma's first downtown tasting room inside Hotel Petaluma in 2015. In 2017, Mike co-founded Barber Lee Spirits with Aaron Lee in a former brick warehouse next door. Later they added the Petaluma Cheese Shop and Nightcap Dessert Bar.

The Argus-Courier reported in April that the Barber Cellars tasting room and the Petaluma Cheese Shop at 112 Washington St. would close, with June 5 announced as the closing date. In early July, the couple opened Taste Petaluma inside the Barber Lee Spirits distillery, bringing the wine, spirits, cheese and dessert bar into one space. "The financial reality of the wine business and tourism was definitely a factor," Mike Barber told Sonoma Magazine. "The ability to have one space that melds everything we create just made sense."

The room also features other local makers, as Sonoma Magazine described:

Truffles come from Mad Chocolates, and the menu includes nonalcoholic cocktails, coffee and a tea service. The magazine described couples, friends and families in the tasting room, with dogs napping on the wooden floors. Hours are 3 to 10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 3 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 3 to 9 p.m. Sunday.

A local diner in the old IHOP

Blue Plate runs on its own rather than sharing a room, and it still fits the in-between idea. Emily and Louis Hoang turned the former IHOP at 5312 Old Redwood Highway North into an east side diner and held a grand opening at 7 a.m. on Aug. 22. It's open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. The Argus-Courier's preview described a menu former IHOP regulars would partly recognize: pancakes and waffles, omelets, benedicts and breakfast burritos, then sandwiches and burgers later in the day. After 11 a.m., Blue Plate Specials take over. The paper listed a NY steak dinner with a side and soup or salad at $22.25, a chicken strip basket at $16.95, and a four-piece fried chicken basket with cheese toast at $17.95.

The east side has gone from a national pancake chain to a locally owned diner that serves breakfast at dinnertime, with kid-friendly options and a long list of sides. By Aug. 24, the Argus-Courier reported Blue Plate was open.

What the closures say about the openings

Once Upon a Slush, the small blue dessert shop on American Alley run by Dave and Juliet Pokorny, closed Sunday, Aug. 30, seven years after opening as Wicked Slush. The Argus-Courier reported the closure was mainly due to rising costs and a harder environment for small businesses. A line stretched up the alley on the last weekend.

Both the Barbers and the Pokornys pointed to costs. Most of this year's new options come from businesses sharing a room. Some share by pulling several businesses together, like Taste Petaluma. Others share by hosting someone else, like Old Caz with its food trucks and Grand Central with Tacos Don Pepe.

Liquified Juicery shows another approach. Owner Ashley Comora runs her production facility in Point Richmond. She opened in Petaluma's Warehouse District after learning The Juice House was leaving its Second Street space, and she painted and decorated the shop herself. It's at 421 Second St., Unit 33, serving small-batch cold-pressed juices. Bestsellers include Electric Glow, Tropical Dream and Mermaid Nectar, which had sold out by mid-morning on the day the Argus-Courier visited. In late September the shop was in a soft opening, and Comora said she plans a ribbon-cutting when it officially opens.

Still on the way

Two downtown and south side projects have been announced but haven't opened yet:

• Sapo Coffee, 125 Petaluma Blvd. N., in the former Starbucks. Stephanie Martinez is opening it as a family business connected to Petaluma Pie Company next door. In April, the Argus-Courier reported a target of summer to fall 2026. Sapo's website still says "Coming Soon."
• Stellina Cucina, 2620 Lakeville Highway in Lakeville Square. This is the third Petaluma spot from Christian Caiazzo and Katrina Fried, after Stellina Pronto on Kentucky Street and Stellina Alimentari on Petaluma Boulevard North. They're remodeling a 1,503-square-foot space, and on Aug. 27 Patch reported that staff had not set an opening date.

Quick reference

These are the hours each business reported in late summer. Hours can change as the seasons turn, so check with each place before you go.

I grew up in Petaluma and still keep an eye on which storefronts change hands. If Sapo or Stellina Cucina opens before I update this list, or you've found a casual spot in town worth adding, I'd love to hear about it. Reach out to me at Kristen Parrish Tamayo. Let's Connect.