Hopland undergoing resurgence with additional businesses

It’s a balmy evening and the south end of Hopland’s three-block downtown is surprisingly busy considering it’s Thursday in a town with fewer than 1,000 residents.

Dozens of people are gathered at the bocce ball courts at Brutocao Cellars, where league games are held. Across the street, diners at Piazza de Campovida sip wine on the patio.

Except for the two gas station markets, the rest of the downtown corridor, located along Highway 101, is pretty much closed for the evening.

But an infusion of new and resurrected businesses promises to liven up the place in the near future. Construction is underway on at least three buildings being remodeled with plans to serve food and spirits, offering more choices to visitors.

Locals say there hasn’t been this much activity since the 1980s, when the Hopland Brewing Company, which later moved to Ukiah, and the Hopland Inn were going strong.

“I’ve seen a definite revitalization of the downtown,” said Jon Passow, tasting room manager at McFadden Farm, one of at least six tasting rooms on the main drag. There’s also an antiques store, coffee and tea shop, and several restaurants, including the ever-popular Bluebird Café. Just south of downtown is the Real Goods solar living center, which now includes a pot dispensary.

The in-progress businesses include the Golden Pig, which will feature locally grown organic pork and beef, said owner Julie Golden, who also owns SIP! Mendocino, which carries more than 150 wines.

Golden said she decided to restore a one-time 1800s saloon and open it as a restaurant largely to have a place to utilize the pigs, chickens, eggs and produce she raises on her ranch north of Ukiah. She also will carry produce and beef grown by other area organic farmers.

The restaurant’s offerings will include sandwiches in an effort to make the high-quality local food more affordable, Golden said.

She is excited about the revival of the landmark Hopland Inn, also known as the Thatcher Inn. The oft-shuttered building - which includes a restaurant and bar - is being renovated by partners that include Gary Breen and Anna Beuselinck, owners of Campovida, formerly the Fetzer Valley Oaks food and wine center east of town. They also own the Piazza de Campovida restaurant and hotel along the downtown strip.

Like Golden, they are investing in Hopland because they care deeply about it.

Hopland “is a small and mighty American town with great roots that deserve some investment, love and attention,” Beuselinck said in an email.

They and Golden are among a group of business leaders actively promoting the town and area wines.

“They’re organizing, bringing people to town,” said Mendocino County Supervisor Dan Hamburg, whose district includes Hopland.

The businesses work cooperatively, rather than as competitors, because they realize their neighbors’ successes will improve their own, Passow said.

And all the hard work and investment is paying off.

Tourists are beginning to see Hopland as a destination rather than a mere stop on the way to somewhere else or a place to visit only for special events, like the Hopland Passport wine tasting, Passow said.

The event in May attracted 618 wine tasters compared with about 400 in 2016, another sign that business is picking up, he said.

Passow said the number of people stopping in to taste wine at McFadden Farm has increased by an estimated 15 to 20 percent in the last year.

“Hopland really is what Napa and Sonoma used to be like,” Passow said.

You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 707-462-6473 or glenda.anderson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MendoReporter.