Swiss Hotel matriarch passes away

Helen Dunlap, matriarch of one of Sonoma’s landmark restaurants, passed away in her sleep on Dec. 10 at the age of 95.
In a business known for turmoil and frequent turnovers, the Swiss Hotel, on the north side of the Plaza, is exceptionally long-lived, the location having remained in the same family for 85 years. The restaurant is now operated by fourth-generation member Hank Marioni, Helen Dunlap’s nephew. It was Marioni’s great-grandfather, Mose Mastelotto, who purchased the building in 1923; it passed from him to his daughter Antonetta and her husband, Henry Marioni, in 1929. In 1945, their daughter, Helen, and her husband, Ted Dunlap, took over and ran the Swiss until 1991. Ted Dunlap passed away in 1992. Hank Marioni then remodeled and retrofitted the building, reopening it as a contemporary restaurant and hotel (there are five rooms upstairs) and running it since then.
The Swiss, as locals call it, was built in 1850 as an addition to an adobe building constructed by Don Salvador Vallejo, General Mariano Vallejo’s brother, between 1836 and 1840 for use as a family home. Now California Landmark #496, it became a hotel, and in the 1870s, possibly a stage coach stop. In 1892, it was acquired by the Toroni family and run as the Ticino Hotel, catering to railroad passengers and employees staying in Sonoma overnight. When a hotel on the west side of the Plaza burned down, the Toronis simply took its name, and to this day the Vallejo home is known as the Swiss Hotel. (Look for the Swiss, Italian and American flags fluttering above the sidewalk tables at 18 W. Spain St.) Patrons have ranged from locals looking for a hearty meal at decent prices to sports figures and newspapermen, including the late San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen.
Helen Dunlap is survived by her son, Dr. Thomas Dunlap, and his wife; Ingrid, and daughter Teddi Respini and her partner, Don DeRenzo; her sister-in-law Marion Marioni; grandchildren Renee Gerken and husband John, Joey Balistreri and husband Joe, Tom Dunlap and wife Julia, Kristin, Timothy and Peter Dunlap. Her grandson Rico Respini preceded her in death. She is also survived by her nephews Dan, Jim, Bill and Hank Marioni and great grandchildren Dominic, Kylie, Xavier, Gabrielle, Isabella, Anna and Thomas.
A memorial service will be held at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 27, at St. Francis Solano Church, 469 Third St. W., Sonoma.