There’s no question Healdsburg has evolved dramatically over the last 10 years.
While our population has grown slightly, the number of businesses in and around town has nearly doubled.
The tourism and hospitality industries account for a significant portion of this growth—there are now more hotels, restaurants, and wineries in Healdsburg than there have been at any point in the city’s vibrant 166-year history.
These businesses are powering an even brighter future. Literally.
It’s a simple mathematical equation—one that most locals and visitors likely don’t even know about. We call it the Tourism Improvement District (TID) model.
Essentially, for every dollar spent on hotel rooms within the city limits, our local government entities charge a total of 16 percent tax—tax that goes directly back into the community. Fourteen percent of that amount is the city’s Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) tax, which is distributed into community services (10 percent); public safety (2 percent); and affordable housing (2 percent). The remaining 2 percent goes into marketing Healdsburg to generate more TOT money down the road.
Overall, in 2022 collection from the TID model yielded $11 million. That means visitors to Healdsburg put $11 million straight into the betterment of our community. Put differently, it means tourists contributed roughly $1,000 per resident.
It’s safe to say that the more people who come and spend nights in Healdsburg hotels, the more resources our community possesses. These resources trickle down in many forms. More senior services. More summer programs. More public art. More transportation options. More public events. More development grants to local nonprofits. More policing. More housing. More parks.
Perhaps most important: TID dollars are a direct benefit—they don’t include the money that visitors contribute directly into the local economy in the form of beers at John & Zeke’s, sticky buns at the Downtown Creamery, or Reformer classes at The Studio.
The reality: Visitors help make Healdsburg better. For everyone. In a multitude of ways.
Understanding what makes Healdsburg special for locals and visitors alike.
There’s a moment on the soon-to-be Grammy-award winning album from rock band Boygenius where Lucy Dacus sings about the magic of a walk in the redwoods. The singer/songwriter waxes poetic about how she’ll remember the walk forever, how it changed her life.
It’s no surprise those redwoods are right here in Healdsburg.
Dacus and bandmates Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker wrote most of “The Record” here in Healdsburg back in 2021 when they were guests of Jeff and Laurie Ubben, who own Little Saint.
The musicians descended on our tiny town for what they called a writing retreat. For two weeks that summer, the trio holed up in a barn on the Ubbens’ ranch on West Dry Creek Road, intermittently exploring North County for coffee, wine, hikes, and other adventures. They emerged from the time away with nearly 18 songs—including “Not Strong Enough,” the early front-runner for Record of the Year.
These internationally famous artists could have gone anywhere on earth to write their music, stayed at any number of fancy and sophisticated tourist destinations around the globe.
They chose Healdsburg. And they chose it for a reason. Or, rather, a multitude of reasons.
Perhaps it was the creative thinking that grows like grapevines around these parts—fertile, verdant, and always part of something special. Perhaps it was the sense of community—the way in which people from all walks of life always come together to lift each other up. Maybe it was the sumptuous food and delicious wine—byproducts of hard work in fields, crush pads, laboratories, and kitchens.
The truth is that Healdsburg is at a confluence in more ways than one. Literally, the city of roughly 12,000 sits at the intersection of the Russian River, Dry Creek, and Alexander valleys. Metaphorically, of course, the ‘Burg is at the intersection of art, culture, imagination, individuality, and joie de vivre.
For those of us who live here, Healdsburg is a way of life; a world-class small town with a humble and understated influence on the national stage.
For those who choose to visit, Healdsburg is a rainbow worth chasing; a destination dreamscape where—for a weekend, a week, a retreat, or even a summer—people can tap into the zeitgeist and feel closer to the ideals they’ve always embraced or aspired to be.
This dichotomy makes our city what it is today.
We locals need the tourists, as their presence fuels our economy and our infrastructure. The tourists need us locals, as they crave the authenticity we perpetuate by being who we are.
No matter how you look at it, the story of our town is a delicate and inclusive balance of creativity, community, history, design, entrepreneurialism, adventure, elegance, and inspiration. It’s all rich and deep and good. And it all comes together in Healdsburg.
Anatomy of a ‘Best Place’
Look up “Best Places to Live,” and Healdsburg is on just about every list from the last 10 years.
We’ve gotten attention from national magazines such as AFAR, National Geographic Traveler, Travel + Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, as well as from national newspapers such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and more.
CNN covered the opening of SingleThread, which subsequently became the first restaurant in Sonoma County to earn and keep three Michelin stars. Peptoc, a post-pandemic telephone hotline that dispenses positive aphorisms from students at West Side Elementary School, has been spotlighted on ABC Nightly News.
Architectural design gurus have hailed our hotels and our real estate developments, philanthropy denizens have ballyhooed our community’s spirit of giving. Business leaders have marveled at the sheer number of female entrepreneurs in our midst.
If we expand the conversation to wine, literally dozens of Healdsburg wineries have garnered plaudits for the literal fruits of their labor, including several 100-point scores.
Most recently, the second story music venue at Little Saint was christened the hottest venue in America.
In short, people are talking about us, and the buzz has firmly planted Healdsburg on the map of destinations for outsiders to watch.
While this recognition is nice, it certainly doesn’t sustain us. For those of us who live here, fulfillment and happiness come in vastly different forms. We dance near the gazebo during Tuesday night concerts in the plaza. We stand-up paddle from Del Rio Woods to Memorial Beach Park. We cheer on the three-time California Collegiate League Champion Prune Packers at Recreation Park every summer. And we wave our flags every May for the annual Future Farmers Country Fair & Twilight Parade.
We also lean hard into philanthropy. Corazon Healdsburg supports brothers and sisters in the local Latinx community. The Healthcare Foundation provides medical care to those in need. Healdsburg Forever leverages an endowment to help local nonprofits of every shape and size. The Healdsburg Education Foundation empowers the public school district to invest in kids’ future.
These are not the programs you’ll find in news stories about Healdsburg, and yet we celebrate this sense of belonging every day. Put differently, we know we’re a “Best Place to Live” because we live here ourselves.
Why Healdsburg
Kyle and Katina Connaughton arguably are two of Healdsburg’s most famous residents right now.
The married couple is the duo behind SingleThread Restaurant + Farm, the only restaurant to earn and keep three Michelin stars.
But 24 years ago, as newlyweds coming back from their wedding on the Mendocino Coast, they were just like any other visitors who have happened up on Healdsburg and unexpectedly determined, ‘This is the place we want to be.’
The Connaughtons were on their way to Chez Panisse, of course, the iconic Berkeley restaurant that was the brainchild of Alice Waters. Healdsburg was the midway point. The lovebirds parked near the Plaza to stretch their legs. What they experienced blew them away. Live music. Kids frolicking. Great restaurants serving simple food. The sense that the community made space for people to be themselves.
“The idea of this place got stuck in our minds,” remembers Kyle. “We said to each other, ‘Can you imagine being a part of this community, living here, having a restaurant, and maybe even a farm?’”
“The idea of this place got stuck in our minds,” remembers Kyle. “We said to each other, ‘Can you imagine being a part of this community, living here, having a restaurant, and maybe even a farm?’”
Kyle and Katina never forgot about Healdsburg. They came back whenever they could. They moved to Japan and make a point of returning to Healdsburg every time they were home. Finally, in 2011, they moved here full-time. Phase 1 of the dream was complete.
The next phases of that dream happened quickly. The Connaughtons spent a few years planning and preparing for their restaurant and opened SingleThread in 2016. The restaurant won two Michelin stars in 2018 and three the next year. The farm, from which the couple sources most of its produce for service every night, followed shortly thereafter in 2021.
Because of this connection to the land, a meal at SingleThread represents Healdsburg at a fixed moment in time.
“SingleThread serves to tell the story of this area,” Kyle explains. “Dine with us and you are experiencing that day on our farm. That means that what we do is quintessentially Healdsburg—the best of the best here. Our Michelin stars recognize that what we create for our guests every night is worth the journey. In a sense, that means our Michelin stars are as much a testament to Healdsburg as they are to us.”
“SingleThread serves to tell the story of this area,” Kyle explains. “Dine with us and you are experiencing that day on our farm. That means that what we do is quintessentially Healdsburg—the best of the best here. Our Michelin stars recognize that what we create for our guests every night is worth the journey. In a sense, that means our Michelin stars are as much a testament to Healdsburg as they are to us.”
SingleThread has contributed to the fabric of the community in other ways, too.
Since 2019, several SingleThread stars have left the restaurant to start businesses of their own—many of which are right here in Healdsburg as well. Among them: Quail & Condor bakery, Troubadour Bread & Bistro, Molti Amici restaurant, and the new Maison Healdsburg wine bar.
Even now, just four years later, the result around town is a more diverse restaurant industry, for locals and visitors alike.
“Our family has grown into extended family here in Healdsburg, and we all support each other and lift each other up,” Kyle says. “There’s enough space here for all of us to try new things and grow into who we want to be. This is what community is all about.”
“Our family has grown into extended family here in Healdsburg, and we all support each other and lift each other up,” Kyle says. “There’s enough space here for all of us to try new things and grow into who we want to be. This is what community is all about.”
Staying power
It’s one thing to open a business in a city like Healdsburg. It’s another thing to stick around a while.
Perhaps no local business exemplifies this better than Costeaux French Bakery, which celebrated its 100thanniversary in 2023.
The bakery opened in 1923 and has been owned by the same family—the Seppi family—for the last 40 years. Will Seppi, who learned the business from his parents, Karl and Nancy, has run the show since 2004.
For Will, the secret to longevity in a small town is simple: You have to listen to your customers. When guests said they wanted more seating, he redesigned the old takeout-counter model and created a café. When guests said they wanted more of a diverse menu, Will expanded the available options (and made sure to hold on to old faves).
The result: A bakery that has become beloved for products and service alike.
“It doesn’t matter if guests live here or if they’re visiting—they still expect the same level of excellence,” Will says. “Beyond that, we’ve been way more than just a bakery over the years. We’ve been a therapy office, a conference room, a conversation starter, and a community hub for decades.”
“It doesn’t matter if guests live here or if they’re visiting—they still expect the same level of excellence,” Will says. “Beyond that, we’ve been way more than just a bakery over the years. We’ve been a therapy office, a conference room, a conversation starter, and a community hub for decades.”
Serena Lourie and Alan Baker have owned the downtown tasting room for Cartograph Wines since 2011, and they agree that a sense of community is a big part of why they’ve stayed so long.
Serena notes that support from other businesses has been “invaluable” to Cartograph’s growth.
“My favorite things about Healdsburg are that I can walk around and that I know the business owners,” she says. “That’s why we love downtown—it gives us a place where we feel comfortable, and we can communicate with fellow community members. As a small business owner, you learn quickly about how much you rely on your neighbors. It’s nice to know people have your back.”
“My favorite things about Healdsburg are that I can walk around and that I know the business owners,” she says. “That’s why we love downtown—it gives us a place where we feel comfortable, and we can communicate with fellow community members. As a small business owner, you learn quickly about how much you rely on your neighbors. It’s nice to know people have your back.”
Finally, there’s Ernest Vineyards, a Russian River Valley-winery that opened a tasting room just off the southwest corner of the Plaza earlier this summer.
Ernest was born in 2012 and built a tasting room at a custom crush facility in Windsor since 2017. But co-owner Erin Brooks always knew she wanted the wine brand to have a home in Healdsburg. Her reasons were simple: location, location, location. In short, she wanted Ernest to be in the center of the action.
What Erin didn’t expect was compassion.
In the weeks that followed opening day, fellow business owners and random locals poked their heads in and took it upon themselves to welcome the Ernest team and offer support on the new endeavor.
“We have experienced such strong allyship from other wineries and businesses,” Erin says. “That matters—not just because it impacts the bottom line but also because it feels good to know our neighbors and colleagues have our backs and want us to succeed.”
“We have experienced such strong allyship from other wineries and businesses,” Erin says. “That matters—not just because it impacts the bottom line but also because it feels good to know our neighbors and colleagues have our backs and want us to succeed.”
What’s next
Because Healdsburg is the place where it all comes together, because we serve locals and visitors alike, co-existence is key to evolution.
Our identity as a “Best Place to Live” must jive with our identity as Sonoma County’s No.1 tourist destination. Our small-town vibe must also connect to our world-class sensibility. Healdsburg must be both.
And we can be.
Just as we have built a community that includes individuals from all ethnic, political, and socioeconomic backgrounds, so too can we continue to build an environment that welcomes all—those who live here full-time, and those who live here only when they make a conscious choice to escape the rest of their busy lives.
The reality is that Healdsburg needs visitors—not only to support our institutions but also to fuel the creative spirit that keeps Healdsburg, Healdsburg. Yes, visitors bring resources. They also bring with them new ideas, new energy, and new perspectives that always make our community rich in other ways.
We locals need tourists, as their presence fuels our economy and our infrastructure. The tourists need locals, as they crave the authenticity we perpetuate by being who we are.
It’s symbiosis. Yin and yang. Two parts of a whole.
No matter how you look at it, the story of our town is a delicate and inclusive balance of creativity, community, history, design, entrepreneurialism, adventure, elegance, and inspiration. It’s all rich and deep and good. And it all comes together in Healdsburg.
“One of the things that’s appealing about Healdsburg is that it’s not an urban environment. Artists come here to perform, and they get treated well, they get to live a good life. They don’t have to worry about parking their van in a place where someone might steal their stuff or putting on a show that no-one will appreciate. People here are kind and cultured and respectful and appreciative of great art. They’re open to new things. Even if people don’t know an artist’s music, they’ll come and listen and be present and be gracious. This is one of the things that make Healdsburg special. This is what makes Healdsburg unique.”
—Laurie Ubben, co-owner, Little Saint
“The community is why we chose to be here. It’s such a special place. It’s a gathering. For transplants like me, falling in love with this area was all about community. One of the things I’ve learned with opening [Molti Amici], we must pay homage to what is and embrace the new. Whether it’s growth in development or new businesses, you can’t stop that. We had to embrace the fact that our restaurant can be a community place, and a hub for incoming visitors. Everyone is welcome. That sense of togetherness is what makes Healdsburg, Healdsburg.”
—Jonny Barr, owner, Molti Amici
“There is a fierce loyalty of local [Healdsburg residents] who represent a soul and a spirit connected with the legacy of this town in terms of its agriculture and hospitality and retreat. Having a special place to go to and be a part of – that ferocity, coupled with the generosity of the people who live here is the most attractive piece to me.”
—Kathryn Hecht, founder and executive director, AV Film
“Being from Missouri, [I] have a lot of friends and family who visit Healdsburg, and I can attest Healdsburg has a real sense of community that folks feel almost immediately—that goes for people who live here and visitors alike. When we moved here, I [thought] it would take about three years before we felt like we had established roots here. I’d say it was six months. That says everything about this place.”
—Kelly Dorrance, co-owner, Bloodroot Wines and Reeve Wines