A Building Sale on Bohemian Highway Left Occidental With One More Dining Room

On August 13, Hazel soft-opened in its new home. The tables were set, the cookies were baked and the pot roast was braising. One of the fryers broke, and the sourdough starter balked. Restaurant openings tend to go like that. The new home is a 150-year-old yellow clapboard Victorian at 3688 Bohemian Highway, a few doors up from where Hazel had cooked for nearly a decade.

When word spread in early 2025 that Hazel's building had been sold, the natural fear was that Occidental would lose a restaurant. It didn't. Hazel landed in the old Barley & Hops building, which had sat empty for several years. A new kitchen opened in Hazel's old space. Down the street, Howard Station Cafe passed to the daughter of the man who opened it. Every change on the strip this year was a handoff, and the town finished the year with more lit dining rooms than it started with.

How a Sale Became a Move

The chain of events started in January 2025. Jim and Michele Wimborough announced that the 1,300-square-foot space at 3782 Bohemian Highway, which they had leased for nearly a decade, was in escrow to a new buyer. Rumor had it the buyer was a chef. The building was listed at $700,000. The Wimboroughs said they had known it was slated to be sold. Their lease ran through December 2025, which gave them most of a year to plan.

"It's bittersweet to think about leaving this amazing community we've called home for nearly 10 years, but we're staying positive and embracing this as a new adventure," the couple wrote on Instagram at the time.

Sonoma Magazine's coverage put the move down to the sale of the building, not a rent increase. That timing explains why the handoffs went so smoothly. A sale with a long lease runway gave the outgoing tenant time to find a new address and gave the incoming owner time to build something new in the old one.

What Opened at 3782

The space Hazel left is now Bohemian Bistro, which opened in early June 2026. The owners are Todd and Erica Kniess, the founders of Acme Burger. Todd Kniess trained at the Fairmont and Ritz-Carlton hotels and ran a French bistro in Berkeley for 16 years before opening the first Acme Burger in Cotati in 2019. The couple now operates five Acme locations.

The kitchen belongs to Ray Martinez, who is 29. He grew up around his family's café in Morro Bay and has cooked at Harbor House in Elk, Ox + Anchor in San Luis Obispo and Troubadour in Healdsburg. He was hired as sous chef. When the Kniesses parted ways with their original executive chef a few months before opening, Martinez took over. Erica Kniess described the restaurant as "a chance to give someone else the chance he was given."

The food changes every week. Martinez sources ingredients from within 15 miles of Occidental. The early June menu had a strawberry shortcake riff and king salmon with lemongrass hollandaise. A few weeks later, braised lamb with Rockwell beans and lobster mushrooms had taken their place. Sonoma Magazine priced the four-course prix fixe plus amuse-bouche at $88 in June. The restaurant's site now lists both four-course and seven-course menus. It describes the cooking as wood-fire driven and French at its foundation, with influences that include Martinez's Mexican heritage. The dining room has art deco wallpaper, dark wainscoting and rust-colored banquettes, a nod to the 1920s.

The 1,300 square feet that held Hazel's pot roast for a decade now serve a weekly tasting menu. Hazel's comfort food didn't leave town, though. It moved a few doors up the street.

What Hazel Brought Up the Street

The Wimboroughs spent about eight months reworking the old Barley & Hops building. Sonoma Magazine reported that the old building and old equipment turned up surprises along the way. The building has a historic 19th-century bar, an airy dining room and small nooks for tables. The pale blue dining room looks out on a redwood grove.

Michele Wimborough told the magazine that regulars had already started coming back for their favorite dishes. The opening menu is limited but keeps the dishes that built Hazel's following:

• The braised beef with mashed potatoes
• Roasted half chicken
• The vegan Caesar
• The OMG Sundae with caramel and hot fudge
• A schnitzel that spills over its plate, served with red cabbage

Hazel opened in 2015 and became known for wood-fired pizzas. The new menu adds flatbreads topped with Point Reyes blue cheese, caramelized onions and bacon.

The Third Handoff Was Inside a Family

The change at Howard Station Cafe, 3611 Bohemian Highway, drew less attention. The website now says the café is under new ownership. The new owner is Jacki Wilson. Her father opened the café in 1982 and named it after the train station that once ran through the middle of town. "I grew up working here. I started working here when I was 13 years old," Wilson told a reporter for 6abc in June 2026. She said she had taken over about seven months earlier, which puts the handover around late 2025. The eggs Benedict with house-made hollandaise and the Double Decker, two waffles layered with fillings, are both still on the menu.

So three of the strip's restaurants changed hands this year, and none of them went dark. A sold building got a new kitchen, an empty building got a tenant, and a family café passed to the next generation.

How the Dinner Week Works Now

With these changes, the town's weekly dinner schedule looks different. Here is what each place currently lists on its own website or in its most recent coverage. Hours change, especially as the season shifts, so check before you drive over.

Wednesday is the busiest weeknight on the strip. Hazel is serving, Bohemian Bistro runs its community-night pop-ups from 5 to 7, and OX Wine Bar pours from 4 to 7. Its October 2026 list comes with cheese, charcuterie and spiced nuts. Monday dinner in town is Hazel. On Tuesday, none of the places in the table lists dinner hours, so a Tuesday plan starts with a late lunch at Howard Station.

The old guard runs on weekends. Negri's has been family-operated since 1943. Its site says family-style meals are no longer offered and that it takes reservations only for groups of 20 or more. The Union Hotel menu at 3731 Main Street lists salads, bruschetta, charcuterie and pizzas. Wild Flour in Freestone opens Friday through Monday and is closed Tuesday through Thursday.

One more change is still pending. The Inn at Occidental's Local Table program plans rotating chef and restaurant residencies in the Inn's kitchen. Its page still says "coming soon" and gives no opening date or names of resident chefs. Until the Inn announces a date, it isn't part of the week.

Pairing Dinner With the Fall Calendar

The Occidental Center for the Arts, at 3850 Doris Murphy Court, has a busy October. Most of its dates fall on nights when the strip is also open.

1. Saturday, October 10, 3–5 p.m. OCA celebrates its 20th anniversary and presents its Harmony Award, created in 2025, to Patrick Fanning. The event ends at dinnertime, when Hazel, Bohemian Bistro, Negri's, the Union Hotel and OX Wine Bar all list Saturday hours.
2. Saturday, October 17, 7–10 p.m. A tribute to Dr. Ralph Stanley with the Nathan Stanley Band and Mission Blue. With a 7 p.m. start, eat early. The bistro opens at 5.
3. Friday, October 30, 7–9:30 p.m. Halloween Eve with THUGZ.
4. Saturday, October 31, 1–4 p.m. OCA's free Kids' Halloween Party. Wild Flour is open that Saturday until 6 p.m. if you want to stop in Freestone on the way home.

OCA's current art exhibit runs through October 25. Starting in November, the Inn's Secret Song Club moves indoors to OX Wine Bar every Friday from 5 to 7:30 p.m., with an open mic followed by a featured performer. The Occidental Holiday Crafts Faire is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, December 12 and 13.

Hazel's phone number stayed the same through the move: 707-874-6003. Bohemian Bistro answers at 707-874-6888.

The way Hazel's building changed hands is common in West County. A long lease gave the restaurant time to plan its move, and the new owner was ready to open in the old space. If you own a building on a small-town main street or are thinking about buying one, Crystal Davis can talk through the details, from lease timelines to what a sale means for the people already inside. Let's talk about your next move.