Production moved north so that Fieri could spend more time with his wife and two sons, who attend Santa Rosa schools.
"He wanted to shoot in his backyard so he could go home and see his kids every day," said Francesco Pace, co-executive producer with Relativity Television, the show's production company.
In "Guy's Grocery Games," competing chefs race through the grocery store aisles selecting ingredients they will use to prepare a meal in the set's kitchen.
The 15,500-square-foot Flavortown Market was built in two weeks, Pace said. The shelves were stocked with $700,000 worth of food. At the end of filming each week, items that could spoil were donated to local food banks, Pace said.
Production on the second season wrapped at the end of March. Non-perishable items remain on the shelves in anticipation of future episodes.
Relativity Television leased the Sutton Place warehouse for six months but could extend the lease if the Food Network orders more seasons of the show, according to Rhonda Deringer, a real estate agent with Keegan & Coppin, which represented the production company.
"They're hoping to be there long-term," she said. She did not disclose financial terms of the lease.
Many members of the Los Angeles-based production team stayed in Sonoma County during filming, Pace said. The production also hired local carpenters and crew members.
Ben Stone, executive director of the Sonoma County Economic Development Board, said each crew member from outside the area likely spent up to $300 per day on food and lodging.
"It adds up," he said. "It's a real boost to our economy in our off season."
Stone's agency also runs the Sonoma County Film Office, which helps attract film, television and commercial productions to the area. He said the office consulted with the producers, but mostly stayed out of the way since Fieri knows the local landscape.
"Guy knew what he was doing," Stone said.
Fieri co-opened Johnny Garlic's restaurant in Santa Rosa with Steve Gruber in 1996. His meteoric rise to celebrity chef status began after winning "The Next Food Network Star" competition in 2006.
Fieri now hosts several Food Network shows, has a line of packaged foods and has written five books on cooking.
His restaurants include seven locations of Johnny Garlic's, Tex Wasabi in Santa Rosa, Guy's Burger Joint on Carnival Cruise ships and Guy's American Burger and Bar in New York.
A Food Network spokesperson said Fieri was unavailable for comment. Fieri described the set of "Guy's Grocery Games" in an interview on the network's website.
"This gigantic warehouse has never been a grocery store before, but now it is home to Flavortown," he said. "This is literally the greatest grocery store, supermarket you will ever find in your life. Every single item you could want as a chef most likely will be here."
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