Update: The Fremont Diner Has Officially Closed

Employees of the Fremont Diner — a mandatory stop for tourists on the way to and from wine country — write on Facebook that they’re suddenly looking for work: The restaurant is rumored to have closed according to locals, though the circumstances are unclear.

Calls and emails to the business have gone unanswered, and Eater SF has reached out to employees and neighbors for confirmation and further details.

Update, 10 p.m. Wednesday: In an Instagram post this evening, the roadside haunt confirms its closure. “Today we are closing the doors on what we consider to be a very successful chapter,” writes a representative for the business, which Chad Harris opened in 2009. “We have plans to sit down and reopen the space with a fresh food concept...”

Located at 2698 Fremont Drive, the Fremont Diner earned a reputation as a wait-worthy staple for southern-style barbecue, fried chicken, and biscuits. With no shortage of customers, it’s pretty clear the diner didn’t close for lack of business, and motives for the closure aren’t immediately clear.

Harris was reportedly at work on a second, larger location of the diner at the present location of Sonoma 76 Truck and Auto Service, a corner gas station nearby. Sonoma-based journalist Sarah Stierch, who has been following the saga, points out that the 76 suddenly announced its closure today as well — an interesting coincidence, to say the least.

The loss of the Fremont Diner is just the latest blow to the area’s dining scene. St. Helena favorite Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen, for example, is set to close in early July.

Stay tuned for updates.

• Sonoma’s Popular Fremont Diner in Flux? [Sonoma Magazine]