Evelyn Cheatham, executive director of Santa Rosa's Worth Our Weight culinary apprentice program, has purchased property that houses The Cook House at 327 South A St. with the help of a silent partner.
Cheatham plans eventually to turn the tiny diner into a graduate program for the young culinary apprentices who have already trained at the WOW Cafe on Hahman Drive, across from Montgomery High School.
"Hahman Drive is the training ground, and at the new location, they will be able to have a job and get paid," she said. "It will be the graduate program."
The Cook House, a beloved greasy spoon that dished up generous portions of country-style breakfast dishes for decades, is located across from Spinster Sisters restaurant in Santa Rosa's artsy A Street neighborhood. Since 1989, it has been owned and run by Larry and Rose Vivier. Larry died a year ago. The eatery has a two-year lease, Cheatham said.
Cheatham purchased the property from the G. K. Hardt Foundation.
"It's a little shack that I've wanted for a long time," Cheatham said. "Our cart can go over to Juilliard Park for the events there."
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