Acclaimed Chef Set to Open Swanky New Hotel for Food-Obsessed Guests in Healdsburg

If you’re looking for a culinary getaway in your own Bay Area backyard, chef Charlie Palmer is planning just the spot: Palmer teamed up with Four Seasons veteran Christopher Hunsberger to build a new hotel called Appellation in Healdsburg. Set to open in late 2023, it is the first of a small chain of hotels from Palmer and Hunsberger under the Appellation name; beyond the Healdsburg hotel announcement, a second hotel is planned to open in Sun Valley, Idaho in 2023, and a third in Pacific Grove in 2024.

The chain is billed as “hotels specifically built around a destination’s distinct culinary experiences,” Palmer said in a press release statement. The 108-room hotel, for instance, will have “maker spaces” for guests to choose from a roster of interactive demonstrations and classes led by local creators, like winemakers, farmers, or cheese makers. Among the other unique offerings is a prep kitchen space that will serve as the hotel front desk, with chefs to “interact” with in the lobby; each hotel floor will feature a pantry with local products, such as snacks and cocktail kits, and a cookbook library; other typical hotel amenities, such as a fitness center, two pools, spa, and event space, are available. To top it off a Charlie Palmer restaurant and bar will be installed at each hotel location. Opening room rates for the Healdsburg location is $600 a night, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Chili pepper shortage affects Sriracha production

The makers of Sriracha sounded the alarm of a chili pepper shortage back in April, but that news is now finally making its rounds as fans stock up on their Sriracha supply. Representatives of Huy Fong Inc. confirmed to CNN there is an “unprecedented shortage” of its product due to a chili pepper crop failure. New orders for Sriracha from distributors made before Labor Day won’t be fulfilled until fall, the company stated.

New 26-story apartment building proposed for downtown Berkeley

The corner of Shattuck and University avenues in Berkeley where McDonald’s is currently housed is now the potential home for a new 26-story apartment building. Rhoades Planning Group, NX Ventures, and Trachtenberg Architects submitted a pre-application for a new building at that corner, which would be Berkeley’s tallest building if made, Berkeleyside reports. The structure would take over the building with McDonald’s, Spats, Missing Link Bicycle Cooperative, Turkish Kitchen. The current plan for the building would include ground-level retail, and Spats owner Mark Rhoades (who is involved with the new building plans) wants to bring the bar into the new building. The development could also feature a 5,000-square-foot rooftop restaurant.

Meet the Sebastopol family behind Bachan’s Japanese Sauce

The family behind condiment favorite, Bachan’s Japanese Sauce, is featured in a recent SFGATE profile which covers the growth of the local business and the origin of the sauce, based on a family recipe.