Drive past 8050 Bodega Avenue and you'll see the same thing you've seen for a while now: a building that hasn't served a meal since Gravenstein Grill closed in December 2023, according to Sonoma Magazine. A March Sonoma Magazine report said a new owner planned to reopen the space as Mansoor, a fire-forward restaurant serving tableside bananas Foster and crêpes Suzette. The target was "later this spring." Spring came and went. As of the most recent restaurant roundup from Sonoma Magazine in mid-June, Mansoor was still listed under "coming in 2026" with no confirmed date.
A second restaurant project is also awaiting an opening date. Across town at The Barlow, a Sonoma Magazine report said signage for Wild Poppy Cafe's second location appeared on the old Woodfour Brewing Company space in late January. The plan called for an early-summer opening. By April, owner Martin Maigaard was telling The Press Democrat he hoped to grow into the space by the first week of July. That date has now passed too, without a confirmed opening.
Sebastopol's restaurant and local business scene has continued to change this year. Here is the latest reported status of two anticipated restaurant openings, along with other businesses and events around town.
Two Storefronts, Updated Opening Timelines
| Address | Last Open As | Status Heading Into Fall |
|---|---|---|
| 8050 Bodega Ave | French Garden, later Gravenstein Grill (closed December 2023) | Reopening as Mansoor under owner Matt Sadati, originally targeted for spring 2026, still unconfirmed as of the most recent local reporting |
| 6780 Depot St., The Barlow | Woodfour Brewing Company (shuttered) | Becoming Wild Poppy Cafe's second location, targeted for early summer, then the first week of July, still no confirmed opening date |
Sonoma Magazine quoted Sadati, a Walnut Creek-based developer who has run several Bay Area restaurants, explaining his interest in the Bodega Avenue space:
"I want to bring something that is missing to Sebastopol."
The Wild Poppy expansion is a heavier lift than a typical restaurant build-out. According to The Press Democrat, Maigaard isn't just adding tables inside the old brewing room. He's installing an on-site tofu production setup sized to turn out up to 3,000 pounds a week, enough to supply both Wild Poppy locations and sell wholesale to other restaurants. That's closer to opening a small food production facility than a dining room. The report describes the production setup but does not connect it to the opening timeline.
Other Barlow Businesses That Opened
Two other Barlow businesses also completed projects during this period. Genero's Delicatessen opened in the food-court area on January 26, and owner-chef Ian Marks has been drawing steady lunchtime lines for his Italian-style sandwiches ever since. The Press Democrat quoted Marks crediting the other tenants for making the opening easier than he expected:
"They've been really helpful and know this business and what it takes to open and to thrive here."
A few doors down, Rust Boutique also expanded, according to The Press Democrat. Co-owners Tishia Merlo and Hayley Kaslar moved the clothing shop out of its original 500-square-foot space on April 1 and into a warehouse space behind it, more than doubling their footprint to over 1,300 square feet. Merlo told the publication the decision came down to needing room for what they'd already planned.
The Barlow's Head West Marketplace has kept its own schedule running too, returning to McKinley Street on the third Sunday of every month through December with dozens of local makers and live music. This year, organizers added parking and trash monitors as the marketplace crowds grew.
The 2026 Gravenstein Apple Fair
If there's one Sebastopol institution that never slips its own calendar, it's the Gravenstein Apple Fair. This year's edition, the 53rd, ran exactly as planned on August 8 and 9 at Ragle Ranch Regional Park. Sonoma County Farm Trails has produced it as their primary fundraiser since 1973, and the 2026 fair kept the scale that's made it a fixture: an Artisan Tasting Grove with more than 30 local food and drink producers, a Craft Cider Tent pouring from 18 producers using apples grown within 100 miles of the fairgrounds, and an Apple Alley near the entrance where about a dozen vendors sold nothing but Gravenstein-based goods. The fair typically draws around 15,000 people over the two days, and its Zero Waste program diverted roughly 95 percent of the 2024 event's discards away from the landfill.
The fair ran on its scheduled dates, while the two restaurant opening dates discussed above remained unconfirmed. Restaurant openings can involve permitting, equipment, and staffing timelines.
Regular Activities Around Sebastopol
The fair packs up for another year, but the rhythms that make Sebastopol worth living in don't take a break. The Sebastopol Farmers Market runs every Sunday of the year, rain or shine, from about 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Plaza on Weeks Way, with live music and growers like Middleton Farm, Radical Family Farm, and Dean Family Farm setting up the same stalls they've had for years.
A few other routines worth building a week around:
- Sundays, year-round: the certified Farmers Market at Sebastopol Plaza, roughly 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
- Wednesdays, 9 a.m. to noon: volunteer gardening mornings at the Luther Burbank Experiment Farm.
- Weekly at The Barlow: Acorn's Story Time at 10 a.m., followed by Barlow Builders, a free kids' craft hour outside Sarmentine Bakery from 10:30 to 11:30.
- Every morning, 7 to 7:30 a.m.: Taylor Lane Organic Coffee's early bird special, a dollar off any drink.
These activities continue alongside the restaurant projects discussed above.
Why This Matters If You Already Live Here
This isn't a pitch to move to Sebastopol. For residents on the west side or near downtown, the practical takeaway is that the two anticipated restaurant openings discussed above remained unconfirmed, while Genero's and Rust Boutique had opened or expanded and the Apple Fair had taken place. Checking for an opening update before visiting can help avoid a wasted trip.
Local business openings and other neighborhood changes can shape how an area feels to live in over time. Apryl Lopez tracks these same changes across Sebastopol and the rest of Sonoma County for a different reason: knowing what a neighborhood is becoming is part of knowing what a home in it is worth. If that curiosity ever turns into a real question about your own property, get a free home valuation and find out what these changes might mean for you.
