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CANNABIS APPLICANTS VIE FOR 2 LICENSES IT’S JANE & SOLFUL
November 16, 2023 Date, Date, 20202020
LENGTHY PROCESS ENDS WITH QUICK, SURPRISING CONSENSUS By Christian Kallen
Photos by Rick Tang
It only took about half an hour for the Healdsburg City Council to make up their collective mind in choosing two out of eight applicants for cannabis business licenses in town. And, after a full year of process, eight months of application and review, an hour of presentations by the eligible candidates and 90 minutes of public comment, the council quickly decided to award the much sought-after licenses. Asked by Mayor Ariel Kelley to name their three top candidates, the result was surprisingly uniform. All five council members listed JF Healdsburg, doing business as Jane, and 465 Retail, dba Solful, among their choices. Chris Herrod’s third choice was Mercy Wellness, while the other four—Ron Edwards, Evelyn Mitchell, David Hagele and Kelley herself—included Garden PARC, dba Sparc, in their selections. With near unanimity among the electeds, Kelley cut to the chase and suggested the licenses be approved for Jane and Solfest, and without much further debate the council unanimously voted to do so. “I, too, was surprised by how quickly we reached consensus,” said Kelley the following day, “but applaud a very thorough process led by our staff, which provided all of the information we needed to deliberate and reach consensus.” But getting to the vote was more than half the
EMBOLDENED Iréne Hodes, of the Jewish Community Resource Coalition, holds a poster of one of the kidnap victims of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel
at the Nov. 11 gathering of solidarity in the Healdsburg Plaza. Organizer Gabriel Froymovich is at right.
Prayers for Peace and Community HEALDSBURG’S JEWISH RESIDENTS GATHER AT THE PLAZA ‘TO BE SEEN’ By Christian Kallen
Candlelight illuminated the faces of some 75 people under the Plaza gazebo roof an hour after sundown on Saturday, Nov. 11. The human circle was not just present to enact the ritual of Havdalah, to begin a new week at the conclusion of the Sabbath, but to meet in shared company over the ongoing grief of Oct. 7. The group was assembled by Gabriel Froymovich, a financial advisor to the wine industry, who lives just north of Healdsburg city limits. Social media, telephone trees and a full-page ad in last week’s
Tribune may have spread the word for the ad hoc gathering. What motivated many attendees may have been the city council’s decision on Oct. 23 to light the Healdsburg Memorial Bridge white, for the color of peace—and not the white and blue initially proposed, which would have expressed support for Israel in the wake of the horrific attacks on Oct. 7. Froymovich overtly criticized the council in his ad, saying it lacked “the moral courage to offer their Jewish community comfort and support.” “Instead of lighting the bridge in blue and white of the Jewish people, as is done every Hanukkah, they chose to show their indifference by lighting the bridge in white, ostensibly
This has been a very difficult time for local elected officials” MAYOR ARIEL KELLEY to symbolize peace,” the ad stated. But there was no discernable ill will at the Nov. 11 Plaza gathering, which saw four of five council members in attendance, holding candles in support of the Havdalah ceremony that began the gathering. (Councilmember Chris Herrod was out of state and could not attend.) Mayor Ariel Kelley, whose maiden name is
Ungerleider and who was raised in the Jewish tradition, spoke out movingly at the gathering. “This has been a very difficult time for local elected officials,” she said. “We have a number of Jewish mayors and elected officials in Sonoma county and across the Bay Area.” She mentioned the situation of Sandra Lowe, the current mayor of the city of Sonoma, who “had a personal attack against
➝ Cannabis Applicants, 2
her, an antisemitic attack just this week, and is receiving additional hurt and hate for her identity.” Kelley also mentioned that the city of Healdsburg, and other cities in the state, have had to end public comment by Zoom because of people who don’t live in the community, or even in the state, “saying some of the most hateful, disgusting things, that I will not repeat, but ➝ Prayers for Peace, 6
OAKVILLE GROCERY HEALDSBURG TO CLOSE FORMER CITY HALL SITE CHANGES TENANTS AS JC BOISSET LEAVES TOWN By Christian Kallen
Photo by Christian Kallen
CORNER STORE The Oakville Grocery, in Healdsburg,
will close at the end of November 2023.
Oakville Grocery Healdsburg, the popular gourmet deli and wine shop at the corner of Matheson and Center streets, announced it would close at the end of the Thanksgiving weekend, on Nov. 26. Also closing will be its Wine Merchant shop,
which opened as a standalone business in August 2022. Saying that it was time to “give a new business the opportunity to thrive in that location,” Patrick Egan, senior vice president of marketing & communications at Boisset Collection, made the announcement late on Monday, Nov. 13. Staff at the gourmet deli were still processing the news on Tuesday, as they themselves had only been informed the day before. Jean-Charles Boisset, the colorful winemaker responsible for DeLoach, Raymond, Buena Vista and JCB Sparkling wines, which used to have a tasting room at Plaza and Center Streets, purchased the Oakville Groceries in 2019. At one time there were five Oakville Groceries in the greater Bay Area, but now only the foundational Oakville Grocery in Napa
Valley remains in business. The other locations— in San Francisco, Walnut Creek and Palo Alto— closed before Boisset purchased the company. The business transition is the latest to hit Healdsburg, as the town grows beyond its agrarian roots to become a gourmet lifestyle destination. Increased rental costs follow demand for Healdsburg properties, and many of the businesses that once characterized Healdsburg’s downtown area have transitioned into more upscale establishments in recent years. But Egan kept his message positive. “Oakville had a long and dynamic tenure in Healdsburg and again we have been so grateful to the community, but it’s time for a new group to have the opportunity to make this special location thrive,” he said. ➝ Oakville Grocery, 4