Carmen’s Bistro opens in downtown Santa Rosa, a year after departure from Town and Country Village

Carmen’s burgers are back in Santa Rosa.

This week, Carmen’s Bistro and Bar made its downtown debut on Fourth Street with their namesake half-pound burgers as well as an expanded bistro menu in the former Sweet Spot pub.

“It’s such a great location, and I’ve always looked for a place downtown,” owner Carmen Campos said.

With a spot offering more than 3,000 square feet of space and a capacity for nearly 50, Campos and her business partners, Jaime Robledo and Jonathan Altamirano, plan to bring not only their signature burgers and fish tacos to downtown, but also some new items like daily soups, pan-seared stuffed chicken breast with garlic mashed potatoes, grilled ribeye steak, beet and orange salad and homemade bread pudding.

The restaurant will also have a full cocktail bar and a 10-barrel beer tank to make their own brews.

Campos, speaking at her Larkfield burger bar location at 90 Mark West Springs Road, said it had been a long haul to remodel the longtime downtown bar, which became available earlier this year. But the timing was right after shuttering her popular family burger spot in the nearby Town and Country Village.

“Everything happens for a reason,” she said, “I sincerely believe that.”

In May 2018, Campos lost the lease to the neighborhood burger bar she had operated for more than a decade. It was a blow, she said, to find out that Willi’s Wine Bar would be replacing it. She closed the restaurant in June, though the lease extended until September 2018.

“At the point where I lost my lease on the other location, I wasn’t in a good place in my personal life, and … I was upset after so many years of being there. I decided to leave early, because you don’t have the same feeling when you know you have to leave,” she said.

For months, neighbors publicly lamented the closure of Carmen’s on the social forum Nextdoor, but Campos said that many previous Santa Rosa customers visited her Larkfield location.

“They said how much they missed me, but I told them, ‘I gotta move on,’?” she said.

Longtime Santa Rosa residents Christine and John McLarty were regulars at the old city location and said they were so sad to see it close. But now they are within walking distance from the new Carmen’s downtown.

The couple was munching on Cajun calamari and had just ordered fish tacos on flour tortillas as the Wednesday Night Market was well underway.

“We already plan on coming here a lot since it is at the perfect location,” Christine McLarty said.

The bistro concept was a step up for Campos and her partners, and they hired chef Jesus Soriano to consult on a new menu.

“They’re making a lot more stuff. They make their own fries, onion rings, fish and chips and all the dressings,” she said.Campos declined to say how much the renovation at 619 Fourth St. cost.

“A lot,” she said but adding that they had to do major upgrades to plumbing and electrical along with the interior.

Restaurateur Shawn E. Hall helped to bring together a look that’s simple, but family-friendly.

The hope, Campos said, is to create a place where families and couples can dine, but will also stay open until 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays to accommodate the downtown bar crowd.

“I just think this location is going to be great. It’s close to everyone and I’m hoping for everyone’s support,” she said.

Staff Writer Alexandria Bordas contributed to this story.You can reach Press Democrat Dining Editor Heather Irwin at 707-526-8544 or heather.irwin@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @biteclubeats.