Goodbye Jeffries, post office → hotel, and other news 📫

Issue 63

NEWS TO US

• Jeffries General. Is closing…
  I’m not sure Valley Villager would exist without Jeffries General. Chrissy, we will miss you so much! Not as much as Napa’s dogs will miss you, though; we are going to need a new treat source. No final closing date has been announced; go pick up some merch while you still can!

• Napa County. Declares downtown building surplus.
  County supervisors declared a county‑owned downtown building surplus, a formal step that clears the way for appraisal and sale. What’s this mean for you? It means that the ugly brown building across from the First Street Starbucks will become either a hat boutique, a tasting room, or Don Perico’s corporate offices.

• Napa Valley College. Recreation swim now open.
  Recreation swim at the college pool is open to all ages — Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays 1:30–3:30pm and Saturdays 2:00–5:00pm. Take a DIP.

• Second Street Post Office. Site planned as hotel resort.
  A proposal would replace much of the Franklin Street post office site with two five‑story buildings: a 120‑room hotel at 1351 Second Street and a second mixed‑use building at Randolph & Second with 37 new for‑sale hotel units plus three conversions, while preserving roughly 4,650 sq. ft. of the existing Post Office.
  
  Tell you what, things are really changing around here! Is anyone else worried about who is going to stay in all of these hotel rooms? Do we have enough wine for all of them?? Enough pinball rooms??

• Lencho’s Food Truck. Lands at St. Clair Brown.
  Michelin‑honored chef Alex Soto is bringing his acclaimed cooking back to the road with a parked residency at St. Clair Brown Winery & Brewery. It’s no bowling alley, but it’ll do.

• Napa Valley Card & Hobby. Opens on Jefferson Street.
  Partners Shawn Manriquez and Ryan Mons — “overgrown collectors” — opened the new trading‑card and collectibles shop earlier this year. Will they buy my pog collection? To be determined.

• Don Perico. Coming (back) to First Street Napa.
  Signs are up and the countdown is on for this longtime Napa favorite to return. Love a comeback story.

• Boat Napa. Debuts electric Duffy cruises on Napa River.
  Private electric Duffy boat cruises are now available on the Napa River — BYOB, scenic views and a guide doing the steering while you sip.

• Napa County Animal Shelter and Adoption Center. Needs help — adoptions slow.
  Staff say kennels are almost always at or just below safe capacity as intakes rise and adoptions slow. The shelter is asking the public to consider adopting, fostering or donating.

• Addendum. Debuts Thomas Keller pizza this summer.
  Napa Pizza Wars continue: Thomas Keller has added pizza to the Addendum menu this summer… but only for lunch time. Which is kind of lame. I don’t like a hot lunch. Give me my night pizza!

• Forma Pottery Studio. Coming soon.
  Patrick Swayze references incoming.

• Smiling Owl. Banh Mi pop-ups.
  Slinging sandos at The Garage (at Action)..

• Capo 29 Restaurant (St. Helena). Open now.
  Hailing from Santa Monica, Capo 29 has officially landed in St. Helena. Fortunately, they’ve brought the pasta, not the traffic.

• The Plaza at Napa Yard. Thursday artisan markets.
  Walked in for a beer, left with earrings, olive oil, and a ceramic mug.

• Dovetail consignment. Is closing.
  Sad news for vintage hunters: Dovetail consignment is closing. No date or further details were provided. I hope that kindly gentleman with the guitar continues to soundtrack the amble to the farmer’s market.

• Matrix. Opening in Napa Valley this summer 2026.
  ”Designer handbags. Designer cocktails. One destination.” Efficient!

• Napa River Cinema. Summer screening series.
  21+, and it’s free (RSVP req’d). Hold onto your butts.

• Sarmentine. Now open in Calistoga.
  French bakery with Sonoma roots, lands at the Calistoga Depot.

• Club EclipS3. Back at Morimoto Asia.
  Come for the Peking duck. Stay for pop-and-lock.

Over the Hill

• Dead Letter (Sonoma). Reservations now live on OpenTable.
  “The wait is over” for this new spot by the girl & the fig team.

• Sam’s General Store (Sonoma). Now open on the square.
  Calistoga received a French bakery from Sonoma, so it’s only fair we gave them something in return.

COMING IN HOT

Events and happenings

Free Concerts in the Park. Begin soon.
Free Concerts in the Park will be popping up across downtown Napa, Yountville, St. Helena and Calistoga this summer — local vibes, live music and easy community nights. Stay tuned for the full guide to summer concerts and festivals in Napa Valley.

Jul 14: Novack Concert for Kids. CIA Copia, free

Jul 16: The Wizard of Oz with Live Orchestra. Charles Krug (St. Helena), $35

Jul 17: Willie Nelson & Family. Meritage, $100+

Jul 17: Gin Blossons, Blues Traveler, Spin Doctors. Green Music Center (Sonoma), $45+

Jul 18: Melissa Etheridge + Wynonna Judd. Green Music Center (Sonoma), $58+

Jul 18: Screening: Meet Me in St. Louis. Jarvis Center, $15

Jul 20: Kids & Critters Comes to Napa Humane. Napa Humane Pet Education Center, $10

Jul 25: Boots On The Rooftop Line Dancing. Quilt & Co, $26

Jul 25 - 26: Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon. Through Carneros, $84+

Jul 26: SoFi Battle of the Bands. Second Street, Downtown Napa, free

Jul 26: Screening: Goonies. Sebastiani Theatre, $10

Jul 26: Screening: Honey I Shrunk the Kids. Sebastiani Theatre, $10

Jul 27: Screening: Dazed & Confused. Sebastiani Theatre, $14

Advance Notice:

Aug 2 & 5: Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory Screening. Cinemark Napa, $13

Aug 7 - 16: Sonoma County Fair, $14+

Aug 8: Thunder Down Under. Uptown Theatre, $36

Aug 8 - 9: Gravenstein Apple Fair. Ragle Ranch Park (Sebastopol), $23+

Aug 24: Screening: The Harder they Come. Sebastiani Theatre, $14

Sep 5: Con Funk Shun with special guest Lenny Williams. Meritage, $52+

Sep 6: Babyface. Meritage, $88+

Sep 12: Gimme Gimme Disco, Dance Party. Napa Music Hall, $22+

Sep 26, 27, 30: Princess Mononoke Screening. Cinemark Napa, $13

Oct 2 & 3: Palm Tree Music Festival. Meritage, $229+

Oct 9: Air Supply: A Matter of Time Tour. Meritage, $88+

Oct 10 - 14: Gone With The Wind Screening. Cinemark Napa, $13

Oct 29: Lyle Lovett. Green Music Center (Sonoma), $66+

Oct 30: The Psychedelic Furs. Uptown Theatere, $72+

Paid subscribers: Check out our Events Calendar for the fullest list of goings on!

Unpaid subscribers: Pay us and then check out the events calendar! Or borrow someone’s password, that’s what we’d do.