🌱 Steakhouse Rumors + Police Shooting Update + Who Owns River Belle?

Hello all! It's me, Simone, your host of the Healdsburg Daily. Happy to be back in your inbox with all the community news you need to know right now. Today you'll learn about:

• A possible steakhouse going in next to Duke's on the plaza
• Who bought the River Belle Inn on Front Street
• A pardon for the police who shot a Healdsburg man last year
• And more...

But first, your daily weather:

• Thursday: Foggy, then mostly sunny. High: 84 Low: 49.
• Friday: Fog and clouds turning to sun again. And warming up a little! High: 88 Low: 49.

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Air over Healdsburg:

Here are the top 4 stories in Healdsburg today:

1. This week's issue of the Healdsburg Tribune tentatively confirms rumors of a steakhouse coming to the plaza sometime next year. The new restaurant will reportedly live in the "narrow business space at 113 Plaza St., next door to Duke’s" — right where the Ferrari-Carano tasting room and gift shop used to be. "Though the applicant, builder and owner won’t answer directly, the restaurant is widely presumed to become a steakhouse," the Tribune reports, and "the big Texas Lone Star motif in building plans does little to challenge that presumption." The architect says the star "is a tribute to the owner’s grandfather, who was a Texas Ranger." Here's more from the story, which has some great in-depth reporting from Trib writer Christian Kallen: "The plans presented to the city’s planning commission in 2021 are for an 89-seat restaurant, modifications to the front façade of the building, a new 750-square foot mezzanine added to a second floor and a new roof terrace of approximately 150 square feet. Ironically, these are the same sort of changes that caused a furor in Healdsburg not so long ago just across the Plaza, at 106 Matheson. That project became the Matheson Restaurant, which has since earned high marks from foodies, and its Roof 106 bar and restaurant is popular with tourists as well as locals. ... In contrast, the planning commission hearing on 113 Plaza went virtually unnoticed by the public." Click out for the full backstory. (Healdsburg Tribune)
2. We're also learning more about the recent buyer for the historic River Belle Inn at 68 Front Street, a few blocks north of Memorial Bridge. The San Francisco Business Times reports that the nearly 150-year-old luxury boutique hotel "was sold late last month to local hospitality developer and manager Vertice Hospitality for $7.25 million, or $659,091 per key, public records show. Vertice, led by CEO and company co-owner Tony Greenberg, will take over management and add to a star-studded local portfolio that includes Michelin-renowned hotel and three-starred SingleThread and last year's new vegan wine shop and café Little Saint." Greenberg describes the River Belle as "such a lovely property," and says: "I remember when it opened in 2016 around the same time as we opened SingleThread. We've grown together in Healdsburg and we've shared many guests throughout the years." He adds that the entire existing staff "will continue to run the property and join Vertice as employees," but that the River Belle acquisition should also "'provide new management and development opportunities' for Vertice's growing team." Read the whole piece for more of the inn's fascinating history. (San Francisco Business Times; paywall)
3. Healdsburg resident Matthew Lyons, 31, has been arrested for his alleged role in pretty bad car crash Tuesday night down in Rohnert Park that injured a middle-aged woman from Santa Rosa. Police believe he was drunk at the time. From the Press Democrat: "About 8:35 p.m., the Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety received a report of a rollover crash with a person trapped inside one of two vehicles on State Farm Drive, according to the department in a news release. At the scene, police and fire units found a white Subaru sedan and a gray Subaru sedan on its side with a woman trapped inside, police said. Crews extricated the woman... through the car’s front windshield. She was taken to a nearby hospital with moderate injuries that were not life threatening, according to the release. The other driver, Matthew Lyons... was arrested on suspicion of two felony counts, DUI resulting in bodily injury and DUI resulting in bodily injury with a blood alcohol level over 0.08%, police said. Investigators believe Lyons was behind the wheel of the white Subaru near 5625 State Farm Drive when he entered the southbound lane into the path of the gray Subaru, causing the crash." (Press Democrat; paywall)
4. Down in Milpitas, a Bay Area suburb, local police have been let off the hook for shooting and killing a man from Healdsburg almost exactly one year ago. The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office just released its investigation into the deadly shootout between 42-year-old Healdsburg resident Michael Nelson Jr. and four Milpitas cops — and it finds that officers acted in self-defense. On the afternoon of Oct. 15, 2021, the officers say they approached a stolen vehicle parked near a local shopping center. They say Nelson opened the car door against their orders — at which point they spotted a handgun in his lap. Here's what happened next, according to law-enforcement accounts in the Mercury News: "The officers yelled at Nelson again, before Nelson responded, saying 'this isn’t going to end the way you think,' according to the report. Two officers shouted 'gun,' and one officer fired at Nelson. A two and a half minute shootout ensued, resulting in fatal wounds for Nelson. He was taken to a hospital with seven gunshot wounds to his head, chest, arms and feet, according to the report. Nelson died on Oct. 19. He had traces of methamphetamine and amphetamine in his blood, according to an autopsy. Four of the five officers initially on the scene fired shots, the report says. A total of 58 shell casings were found on the scene, with just four fired from Nelson’s gun." (The Mercury News; paywall)

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Today and tomorrow in Healdsburg:

Thursday, October 13

• Farm to Pantry Veggie Glean at SingleThread Farm (9AM-12PM)
• Healdsburg Chapter of American Association of University Women (AAUW) Hosts Forum Series at the Raven Theater: "Hollywood Comedies of Remarriage - Beloved Films From 1930s & 1940s" (Weekly, 10-11:45AM)
• Monthly Drawing Series at the Healdsburg Center for the Arts: "Drawing Autumn Leaves in Colored Pencil" (10AM-3PM)
• Sonoma County Officials Host Virtual Drought Town Hall (4PM)
• Pizza To-Go Dinner: Fundraiser for Healdsburg High School SkillsUSA & Culinary Arts (5-7PM)
• Troubadour Bread & Bistro Hosts "Le Dîner" Experience With 5-Course Prix Fixe Menu (Oct. 13-29, 5:30-10PM)
• Healdsburg Running Company's First-Ever Forestville Run (6PM)
• Baile Folclórico at Corazón Healdsburg (Weekly, 6PM)
• Elvis Perkins in Dearland Performs at Little Saint (7PM)
• Todd Snider Performs at the Raven Theater for His "American Troubadour Tour" (8PM)

Friday, October 14

• Free Electronics & Mattress Recycling Event in Cloverdale (Oct. 14-16, 9AM-5PM)
• "Wee Read Bilingüe" Bilingual Storytime for Kids Under 2 Years Old at the Healdsburg Library (10:30-11AM)
• Healdsburg Running Company Hosts Critical Mass Bike Ride to Bacchus Landing, With Fogbelt Station Finish (5PM)
• Pizza & Wine on the Piazza at Bacchus Landing (5-7PM)
• Friday Evening Wine & Song at Hudson Street Wineries, Featuring Live Music by Blues/Swing/Americana Band Youngblood & Co. (5-8PM)
• Corazón Healdsburg Workshop / Taller: Camino Hacia la Equidad (6PM)
• Healdsburg High School Football Game Vs. Ukiah at Rec Park (7PM)
• HonkyTonk StumbleWeeds Live at Coyote Sonoma (7-10PM)
• Boot Juice Live at the Elephant in the Room (8-11PM)

From my notebook:

• Have you heard about the big City Council controversy happening down in Los Angeles? Basically, a handful of local politicians are under fire for some very nasty things they were caught on tape saying about people of color. And now, Healdsburg Mayor Ozzy Jimenez has joined a group of Sonoma County pols — along with other government officials across the state and nation — calling for the L.A. councilmembers to resign. "United we stand against hate!" Ozzy says. (Osvaldo Jimenez via Instagram & Press Democrat; paywall)
• The Press Democrat ran a great piece recently on the Rafanelli and Rochioli wine family legacies in Healdsburg, plus a few other big Italian wine names across Sonoma County. (Press Democrat; paywall)
• A bunch of new Guinea Pigs just went up for adoption at the Healdsburg animal shelter. (Healdsburg Patch)
• The Healdsburg Police Department is looking to hire a new dispatcher. (City of Healdsburg via Facebook)

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Events:

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You're officially in the loop for today! Catch you tomorrow for more...

— Simone Wilson

About me: I was born and raised in Healdsburg, CA, where I was the editor of the Healdsburg High School Hound's Bark. I have since worked as a local journalist for publications in San Diego, Los Angeles, New York City and the Middle East. I'm currently a senior product manager for Patch.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Healdsburg Daily? Contact me at simone.wilson@patch.com