You can’t miss it: a big yellow and white tent in the warehouse/office complex at the intersection of Petaluma Avenue and Riverside Drive. An arrow-shaped hand painted wooden sign hangs on a fence and points towards the tent with “open” painted in big black letters. Enter and you’ll find an aisle of fresh organic produce: avocados, rainbow carrots, citrus, potatoes, dinosaur kale and more. All the produce is certified organic from California. Step past the market and find a menu featuring seasonally inspired crepes, sandwiches and soups. The atmosphere is casual and reminiscent of a farmers market turned bistro, with its wooden folding chairs, cafe tables, and brightly colored declarations of “All Organic – All the Time” and “Human Kind, Be Both” written on chalkboards.
This is a local’s place. On a Saturday afternoon, you’ll see a family enjoying savory and sweet crepes after church (Goat for It! with goat cheese, herbed chicken, caramelized onions, avocado and sour cream, $9; This Is My Jam! comprises butter, home-made, fresh berry jam, powdered sugar, $9) or a couple sitting outside in the sunshine drinking house-squeezed lemonade. You seem to forget you’re in a tent adjacent to a parking lot of an office complex. And then there is the bánh mì sandwich (pictured) – the legendary sandwich of Vietnam filled with a protein, pickled carrots, daikon, jalapeno, cucumber, and topped with cilantro. This is the only place in Sonoma to get these sandwiches – and crepes, too. You know they’re good when local restaurateurs are picking them up: Camellia Talbert of Rocket Sushi was picking up her to-go sandwiches as I was buying produce. It must be good.
The Divewalk Cafe sources its ingredients from Planet Organics, an organic grocery delivery service. Founded in 1997 by Lorene Reed, Planet Organics was one of the first of its kind in the country, delivering regionally sourced organic veggies, fruits, dairy, eggs, and more, to families throughout the Bay Area. Reed built it into a $5.5 million company and proceeded to open a retail store in Sonoma, with plans to open a store in Berkeley. However, because of a combination of the economic downturn in 2008, the growing popularity of organic delivery by companies like Amazon and Safeway, and easier access to organic products at retailers, Reed had to downsize. “Our business was growing, and the economy was diving…and I had to close the [Sonoma] retail store to save the business,” she expressed with a sigh. Plans for a Berkeley store were canceled and The Planet Organics distribution center remained in Sonoma, continuing to deliver to customers from Sonoma to San Francisco to San Mateo.
In 2013, Reed set up a farm stand at the distribution center, selling organic produce at or just above cost ($1 bundles of kale anyone?) that wasn’t distributed during weekly deliveries. Marc Sloop, a talented homecook and a friend of Reed’s, began helping at the market, which evolved into Sloop serving BBQ on market days. This led to an invitation to serve crepes in the morning at Grandma Linda’s Ice Cream parlor, on the Square. “I always wanted to do a creperie,” says Reed, “Grandma Linda’s approached us to do a cafe in the morning when they weren’t open, we thought it was a good idea.” But, challenges with attracting regular customers and issues with cafe seating on the sidewalk led to frustrations with the arrangement. “As soon as we re-opened the creperie here, after leaving the Square, sales went up,” says Sloop, “sales were lagging at the Square – it’s not a magic bullet. Just because you’re on the Square doesn’t mean you’ll be successful. Locals did not frequent the cafe and tourists would just walk by and declare “Ooh, crepes!” and keep walking.”
Hence, their relocation to the Planet Organics facility and the installation of the tent. Business picked up, only to be halted by the Bon Marche fire, which led to Planet Organics being closed for a month. Thousands of dollars worth of groceries were lost in the fire, and Reed and Sloop had to re-gather and re-energize themselves to re-launch the Divewalk Cafe. Since then, the cafe is busier than ever and has expanded its menu to include Asian-inspired tacos and soon, pho. “We want to serve things from around the world, anything from around the planet that is new and different for Sonoma,” says Sloop. In addition to international offerings, the cafe hopes to acquire a pouring license to serve wine and beer and plans to enter into a partnership with the soon-to-be opening Sonoma Springs Brewery, located in the adjacent building. They want to create a symbiotic relationship that celebrates the best of Sonoma Valley: grab a pint, order a crepe, pick up your groceries, and relax. “I have never had doubts about this place,” says Reed as she gestures towards the interior of the tent, surveying the space with a smile. Neither do we, Lorene, neither do we. The Divewalk Cafe is open Thur-Sat, 9AM-3PM; divewalkcafe.com
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