Fresh: Hemenway venue fills Skyhawk Village space

<p>You'd have to drive many miles to taste, drink and experience the best of what Sonoma County has to offer.</p><p>Now, well-known Sonoma County restaurateur Lisa Hemenway hopes to showcase the region's best cuisine, wine, dairy, produce and coffee all in one place, at the former home of the Skyhawk Village Market.</p><p>Fresh, Hemenway's new 7,800-square-foot venue on Highway 12 between Rincon Valley and Oakmont, will be like nothing anyone has ever seen in Sonoma County.</p><p>“She's a visionary,” said Dick Bourns, owner of Santa Rosa-based Econoline Wholesale Sign Services. He is helping set the stage for Hemenway's eclectic offerings.</p><p>“You can't describe it,” said Dick Carlile, one of several partners who own Skyhawk Village.</p><p>“It isn't a grocery store. It isn't a restaurant. It's just a lot of fresh Sonoma County food .<TH>.<TH>. good, fresh Sonoma County products.”</p><p>Hemenway herself can more easily describe what it will have than what it is.</p><p>“It's going to be sort of Frenchy. .<TH>.<TH>. The coffee shop will have leather love seats with little round tables,” she said. “We'll have a nice big dining room and a little wine bar, and a little bakery where you can sit down and have coffee.”</p><p>The concept was partly inspired by hawkers and open markets in places like Singapore, she said. The idea is to give customers three ways to eat: dining there, taking home prepared meals or buying the components to cook from scratch.</p><p>Hemenway is best known for her namesake Lisa Hemenway's Restaurant and Cafe, a popular destination in Montgomery Village and Town & Country Center for 20 years. She also founded Polka Dots restaurant, was the first sous chef and pastry chef at John Ash & Co., and has worked as a culinary kitchen consultant.</p><p>On Friday afternoon, Carlile installed insulation in the wood fired oven where Hemenway will make gourmet pizzas. He and his partners are contributing a good deal of pro bono work, including reconfiguring the building, throwing in some of the existing equipment and giving everything a facelift.</p><p>There will be a main seating area in the middle of the place for sit-down dining. The long list of offerings includes wine, cheese and sushi bars; fresh pre-cut produce; an indoor cafe (Flying Goat coffee) with extensive outdoor seeing; a bakery, and “grab & go” sections where customers can get Hemenway's prepared meals.</p><p>Hemenway has investors she prefers to keep private, including one of her oldest and best customers, who made a significant loan. The total investment is about $300,000, she said.</p><p>Her primary customers will be local Skyhawk residents, but the potential is there for tourists and nearby Oakmont residents.</p><p>“I think she's got an untapped market at Oakmont, and you know there really is nothing out here on this end of town,” said Carlile.</p>