Napa Insider
Teardowns and treasures
By Christina Julian
F our years into my brush with days of being able to drink red wine without a headache being gone, baby, gone—acceptance has been harder than planned. Especially when it comes to embracing the swinging-door syndrome of Napa County businesses, which has become as commonplace as the proliferation of pumpkin- spice-everything come fall. And, as much as I love the heavenly scents and tastes of the season, when it comes to business closures, the taste is not nearly as sweet. All of this could explain my overly emotional response to the closing of the St. Helena location of Napa Valley Coffee Roasting Company, which midlife, I’m still working at the art of acceptance. Be it my head of once stick-straight hair now full of unwanted waves, or those youthful
The closing bells rang After more than four decades of serving the North Bay, Elaine Bell Catering closed in October displacing as many as 164 employees. The Napa- based business, owned by Elaine Bell and John Merritt, became known for carefully curated menus flaunting locally sourced goods—long before it was an “it thing” to do—and catered high-profile events across the valley and wider Bay Area, averaging more than 500 events. Post pandemic, events hovered at 350, due in part to hiring challenges. The business operated out of a 17,000-square-foot facility that Bell and Merritt built themselves and, while the catering company is no more, the building will stay in the family, with their son taking over the space for his vineyard management company.
The coffee is still brewing in downtown Napa.
Stolen treasures and takedowns Wine conglomerates aren’t likely what tourists think of when booking their lush wine country getaways. But for those of us who live here, smaller family run operations getting squeezed out by the Big Guy/ Gal feels as commonplace as wine outweighing water at a party. And as much as I crave a good David and Goliath takedown tale, the bankruptcy filing of Vintage Wine Estates offered no such victory. Instead, its demise became one more example of mega-money types for the win. Copart Executive Chairman Jay Adair’s Dallas-based Adair Winery Inc. snatched up Clos Pegase and Girard wineries in Napa and BR Cohn, Kunde and Viansa in Sonoma Valley for $85 million, while Foley Family Wines Inc. won its bid of $15 million for Swanson, Sonoma Coast Vineyards, Cosentino, Bar Dog and Cherry Pie, with bulk wine deals still up for grabs at the time of penning this column. In other Goliath-grabbing news, I received my first (and likely one of many) unsolicited Amazon Health emails. Yes indeed folks, and especially female readers, you too can turn to Amazon for all of your womanly needs. From UTI meds, birth control, anti-aging skincare and more, the big A has you covered. Proving once again, that the war of small biz over big—and middle age over youth—is an underdog rivalry that won’t easily be won. u
served its last cup of joe in August, after 33 years in business. It was there I had an unexpected meet-cute with the man who would become my husband, finished writing my novel, and wrote some of my earliest articles and columns for this very publication. The fact that the coffee company was one of only a handful of spots that offered an affordable gathering spot for locals young and old made the closure more bitter than sweet for me. While java junkies will find a new spot to raise a mug at the same location later this month—with the opening of Sam’s General Store (the flagship opened in 2019 in Calistoga)—one has to wonder if this will be yet another place where community connections slide to the side for preening tourists flaunting their wares and wallets. Thankfully, the nostalgia and daily grind will live on for Napa Valley Coffee Roasting Company at its Napa location and via a new roasting facility, which are sure to keep things percolating in the downtown. Monday, Monday In other moves and shakes, Monday Bakery, with locations in Napa and Sonoma, closed both stores along with its production facility on Jefferson Street. The closures came on the heels of rising operating and rent costs, a decline in foot traffic at the Napa location, and a fire at the production plant in Napa. While those doors closed, a new one swung open for Ohm Coffee Roasters and owner Derek Bromley, who was able to parlay his coffee truck into the company’s first brick-and-mortar store in the former Monday space. Bromley rolled his truck into town in 2016, with the goal of elevating the coffee experience in Napa Valley to the caliber of its wines. Since then, Bromley built a robust wholesale business as a coffee supplier for key accounts throughout the valley including Whole Foods, the Archer and Andaz hotels, along with Monday Bakery, where Ohm coffee had been served since the beloved bakery’s opening.
After years in the technology and advertising trenches, Christina Julian traded city life for country and unearthed a new philosophy— life is complicated, wine and food shouldn’t be. Her debut novel, a romantic comedy called The Dating Bender , is now available. Learn more at christinajulian.com . You can reach her at cjulian@ northbaybiz.com.
November 2024
NorthBaybiz 23
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