Occidental’s vintage Italian restaurants Union Hotel, Negri’s adapt

Together they’ve got more than 200 years of history on either side of the Bohemian Highway in the tiny west county town of Occidental.

Naturally, then, neither Negri’s nor the Union Hotel is going to let a global pandemic bring them down.

The two iconic restaurants, which sit across the street from each other in the heart of the popular tourist town, have endured the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic much like every restaurant in the county — with fits and starts. Both shut down in mid-March. Both reopened in July.

Heading into the holiday season both are embracing changes to roll with the realities of the day. At the 141-year-old Union Hotel, which opened in 1879, this means a newfangled open-air shelter under which visitors will be able to dine at a distance from each other but also in the shadow of a decorated Christmas tree. At 77-year-old Negri’s, which dates to 1943, it means more of the same homemade ravioli and gnocchi, only all dine-in orders are served under a tent.

As of press time, both restaurants were open only three days a week: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

“We’re doing what we must to get through this,” said 87-year-old Evelyn Negri, the matriarch of the Negri family who still makes pasta by hand. “That’s the best any of us can do.”

Negri’s geared up for outdoor-only service in colder weather with a workmanlike attitude; instead of splurging on a host of fancy solutions for facilitating outdoor dining, the family secured a no-frills tent and some card tables to put inside it.

During a recent visit, there weren’t many heaters keeping things warm, but patrons seemed happy to be eating homemade gnocchi and linguini and clams.

Evelyn Negri said that during the pandemic, her restaurant also has changed what they serve. For starters, in “before times,” Negri’s was famous for its family-style dinners. Today, everything comes portioned for one. What’s more, all dinners used to come with antipasto, salad, soup and a few ravioli on the side; nowadays, everything is packaged — and billed — separately.

“I wish we could do family-style again,” Negri said. “I’m irritated and I just want to get through this.”

The scene at the Union Hotel — which survived the 1918 pandemic — is markedly different. Here, there’s no tent. Instead, the restaurant has been serving guests at big round metal tables in the courtyard and smaller tables in an area out in front of the saloon. Order a drink at the bar and a bartender will pass it to you through an old service window.

According to owner Barbara “Barb” Gonnella, the window itself is steeped in history — her husband and co-owner’s name is Frank, and his grandparents used to tie their horses just beneath the window.

The Union Hotel has been in the Gonnella family since 1925 and was run before Frank by his parents Mahoney and Lucille Gonnella and his grandparents Carlo and Mary Panizzera.

“The window had become this sacred spot around here, mostly because of a history that goes back to 1897,” she said. “Who would have ever dreamed that we would have been selling cocktails out of that window in 2020?”

The big story at the Union is the structure that Frank Gonnella built to keep customers warm, dry and safe. The structure is a cross between a pergola and a barn.

Frank Gonnella worked on the structure for most of November and put it into place shortly before Thanksgiving. As Barb Gonnella explained it, the plan was to string holiday lights from the roof beams and set up a Christmas tree amid the tables and heaters below.

When COVID-19 is behind us, she added, she expected Frank Gonnella to convert the structure into something to keep logs dry and ready for the fireplace.

To be clear, the menu at the Union Hotel is much more limited than usual — today it’s comprised of a few salads, some bruschetta, pizzas and some pastas. Barb Gonnella said the restaurant expected to churn out dozens of turkeys for Thanksgiving, and would likely prepare special treats for Christmas next month, as well.

“We always try to give out cookies to the kids,” said Barb Gonnella, 62. “Over the years, we’ve developed a very particular way of doing things.”

Despite evening temperatures in the 40s and 50s, visitors have responded positively to these efforts.

Last weekend both restaurants were hopping — so much so that one journalist worried whether he and his three daughters could find a spot that was more than 6 feet from the nearest party. (Spoiler alert: They did.)

Because food is prepared in take-away containers, every order can be transformed into a picnic — important for when it’s crowded and visitors still want to have an authentic Occidental experience.

Perhaps most important, despite changes associated with the coronavirus, dining at both restaurants is still a family affair. At the Union Hotel, Frank and Barb Gonnella’s daughter, Gien, still sometimes plays piano. At Negri’s, Evelyn and Joe Negri’s daughter, Sandra, and their two granddaughters, Amanda Pianatowski and Tori Miller, pretty much run the show.

“It’s always been a family affair,” Evelyn said. “This is one of the things people love about us.”

At the end of the day, while the two restaurants are competitors, leadership at both is vested in the future of the town, which means the families have worked together to get through this latest crisis.

Earlier this year, for instance, Barb Gonnella fought to have the town’s wastewater fees changed so they were not such a burden on local restaurateurs. While her efforts directly benefited the Union Hotel, they also benefited other business owners in town.

“It was nice to come together over that,” she said.

Aaron Carpenter, a Healdsburg resident who has been going to the Union since he was a child, is confident the place will endure.

After visiting on a recent weekend day with his wife and daughters, Carpenter stayed to soak up the atmosphere and chat with Barb Gonnella. Upon reflection, he said this moment was precisely what he loves about the place, and why there’s really no other place in Wine Country like it.

“There’s something about the Union Hotel that just feels different from anywhere else when you walk in,” he mused in a recent text message. “West Sonoma County is lucky that the Gonnella family understands this and takes care of it in a stewardship kind of way. Whether it be a wedding reception, family dinner or simply a Monday Night Football game, it is a place for any occasion, and it is special every time.”