Bonnie Bagels & Co. sold out within three hours on its opening day in mid-August. It sold out again the next day, according to Sonoma Magazine. The line formed at 280 S. Main St. in Sebastopol, across from HopMonk. Until January 2025 that room was Hippizzazz Pizza, the family-owned shop whose closing after eight years the Press Democrat covered.

That pattern holds for most of West County's dining news this year. Most of this year's notable openings in Sebastopol and Occidental moved into buildings that already had a local name attached, and in at least one case, one move made room for the next. "The old Barley & Hops," "the Woodfour space" and "where Hazel used to be" still work as directions. They now lead to different meals than they did a year ago.

Occidental Traded Two Buildings on the Same Highway

The clearest example sits on a short stretch of Bohemian Highway.

Hazel, the comfort-food restaurant run by Jim and Michele Wimborough, closed its longtime location at 3782 Bohemian Highway. Less than a year later it reopened down the street at 3688 Bohemian Highway, in a 150-year-old yellow clapboard Victorian overlooking downtown Occidental. Sonoma Magazine reported the reopening in August. That building is the former Barley & Hops. The tavern's departure drew a 2017 Press Democrat story about locals missing it, and the space had sat empty for several years. The Wimboroughs spent eight months reworking it before Hazel soft-opened on Aug. 13.

The room comes with a historic bar full of 19th-century charm, a pale blue dining room that looks out onto a redwood grove, and old wood floors. The opening menu brought back the dishes regulars came for: the braised beef with mashed potatoes, roasted half chicken, vegan Caesar salad and the OMG Sundae with caramel and hot fudge. Flatbreads topped with Point Reyes blue cheese, caramelized onions and bacon are new. Hazel's own website lists hours of 5 to 9 p.m., Wednesday through Monday, the same schedule Sonoma Magazine printed at the August reopening.

Hazel's old address didn't sit empty for long. By early June, 3782 Bohemian Highway had become Bohemian Bistro, with chef Ray Martinez running the kitchen. In its June feature, Sonoma Magazine traced his path from his family's café in Morro Bay through Harbor House in Elk, Ox + Anchor in San Luis Obispo and Troubadour in Healdsburg. The two restaurants now cook very differently on the same street. Hazel serves comfort food. Bohemian Bistro sources its ingredients from within 15 miles of Occidental and changes dishes week to week. When it opened, its four-course prix fixe with an amuse-bouche cost $88.

The dining room leans on the 1920s, with geometric art deco wallpaper, dark wainscoting and rust-colored banquettes. Co-owner Erica Kniess told Sonoma Magazine, "We wanted it to be a throwback to a happy time." The restaurant's website now describes wood-fired cooking with a French foundation and global influences, including Martinez's Mexican heritage. It offers four- and seven-course prix fixe menus. Dinner runs Thursday through Sunday from 5 p.m., with last seating at 8. On Wednesdays, a Community Night pop-up runs from 5 to 7 p.m.

So one closing filled two addresses. One restaurant revived a building that had been empty for years, and a new one took over a room people already associated with dinner out.

Main Street's Bagel Room Arrived Slowly

Bonnie Bagels took longer to come together than its sellout opening suggests. Owner Michael Sousa grew up near Boston. He told Sonoma Magazine that the timing lined up about 18 months before opening. The Hippizzazz space was vacant, friends at Bageltopia in Berkeley were willing to mentor him, and he had met Greg Kalergis, now his executive chef, at a family Thanksgiving. More than a year of planning and construction followed.

The shop is close to Grateful Bagel, a longtime Sebastopol favorite, and Sousa addressed that directly in the same article: "I'm hopeful that we can provide something different enough that we can coexist in harmony." The difference starts with method. The bagels are kettle-boiled and then baked. Flavors run from salt, plain, sesame, poppy seed, onion and everything to cheddar jalapeño and Asiago. Schmears include caper dill, smoked salmon, scallion, green olive and chile crisp. The shop also carries gluten-free bagels and vegan cream cheese, along with breakfast sandwiches and espresso. In August, the posted hours were 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday. The shop's online ordering page still shows a Wednesday 7 a.m. opening, but it doesn't list a full weekly schedule, so check before a weekday trip.

The Barlow Keeps Changing Tenants

Occidental's moves happened between buildings. At The Barlow, the changes happen inside one complex, as spaces open up and new operators take them.

Chippy soft-opened in mid-June at 6751 McKinley St., Suite 130, the space Acre Pasta used to occupy. It's run by Steve DeCosse, owner of Acre Pizza. The menu centers on fish and chips, with a burger, New England-style clam chowder, chicken katsu, a fish sandwich, a shrimp po'boy, salads and a mushroom sandwich with furikake. Sonoma Magazine noted at the time that hours hadn't been set yet.

The bigger Barlow story is the former Woodfour Brewing space. Woodfour was one of The Barlow's original tenants, and the Press Democrat reported its closing in November 2024. Wild Poppy, the west Sebastopol café on Bodega Highway, plans to open its second location there. Sonoma Magazine's fall dining roundup, published Sept. 22, said it was expected to open in late September. The plan calls for grab-and-go meals plus daytime and evening menus that were still in development. Chef-owner Martin Maigaard, formerly of Gypsy Cafe, opened the original Wild Poppy with his wife, Danielle, in 2024. He also hopes to open a tofu factory in the former brewery next year.

As of mid-October, we haven't been able to confirm that the Barlow location has opened. Wild Poppy's website still labels it "coming July 2026." Reports also give different suite addresses, so the safest guide for now is "the old Woodfour space." The Bodega Highway café, at 9890 Bodega Highway, is the location with confirmed service.

The Updated Map

Fall Dates in the Same Rooms

The next few weeks bring several events to these same streets and buildings, including two at The Barlow.

1. Oct. 17, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.: The Ultimate Apple Trolley Experience at Gold Ridge Organic Farms, 3387 Canfield Road, Sebastopol, with orchard tours, an artist meet-and-greet and cider-syrup ice cream.
2. Oct. 18, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.: The HEAD WEST Marketplace at The Barlow, 6770 McKinley St., with more than 50 makers and local music.
3. Nov. 7, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Sourdough from Scratch with Monica Flaherty, a hands-on class back at Gold Ridge Organic Farms.
4. Nov. 14: The Bowl 2026 at Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 282 S. High St., a dinner-and-movie fundraiser that comes with a handmade bowl and an entrée from a local chef.
5. Nov. 15, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.: HEAD WEST returns to The Barlow with another round of more than 50 makers.

If Wild Poppy's Barlow location opens before either marketplace, The Barlow will have two new kitchens operating within a short walk of each other on market day.

Steve Hecht and John Chute at Coastal Agent keep track of what West County addresses used to be, from Bodega Bay to Sebastopol. They're glad to share that history for any property you're thinking of buying or selling. Contact Your Sonoma Coast Experts.