By Laura DuPree
Boonville’s SŌBŌ Sake Bar & Sushi is one of over two dozen restaurants on the North Coast to receive financial aid, courtesy of the California Restaurant Foundation and PG&E.
The two foundations have partnered to provide $5,000 grants to 28 restaurants and commercial caterers in Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s North Coast Region, according to a news release from PG&E spokesperson Megan McFarland.
The PG&E Foundation’s contribution to the California Restaurant Foundation’s Restaurants Care Resilience Fund will help recipients pay for equipment and technology upgrades, unforeseen hardship, employee retention bonuses and training to help restaurant owners invest in their business and people, the news release states.
Christina Jones, chef and owner of SŌBŌ, plans to use part of the money to upgrade some equipment, particularly refrigeration, which is very important since she works with extremely perishable and expensive seafood.
But the rest of the funds will be used to try something entirely new.
“What’s left of the grant I’m going to put toward marketing and expanding SŌBŌ beyond just dinner service,” she said, clearly excited about the idea. “I want SŌBŌ to become a hub for sake education and experiences in Mendocino County,” Jones said referring to tastings, classes, pairing events, and even small-scale sake tasting festivals, similar to what a winery might offer.
“We are in the middle of an incredible wine region, but there’s so much opportunity to introduce people to sake, how diverse it is, how beautifully it pairs with food, and the stories behind the breweries,” she said, adding, “I see this as the next evolution of SŌBŌ, along with the intimate dining experience we’ve already created.”
Expanding matters because running a unique business in rural Anderson Valley is demographically challenging, Jones said referring to the fact that only so many customers come through the door and there are only so many people their small team can serve in a night, hence finding creative ways to branch out is important for the future of her business.
“That’s why this grant means so much. It gives me a little room to move out of survival mode and back into creative mode, to keep SŌBŌ running, but also keep it evolving with the changing times,” she said.
Asked why this second-time restaurant owner decided to open a Japanese restaurant, Jones said she was “looking for a creative culinary outlet” when she found this “little, tiny space” and was immediately inspired.
“I had this vision of the tiny restaurants and sushi bars you find in Japan, where the chef might be working with only one or two other people and their guests are right there in the room with you. It’s incredibly intimate, and that became my vision for SŌBŌ,” said the 48-year-old career chef, who went to culinary school right out of high school and has an extensive international culinary background as well.
“I spent years working as a yacht chef, cooking for high-end clientele and traveling all over the world. I’ve always had a huge love for seafood, so this felt like the prefect fit,” Jones said, noting she grew up in the area before she left and traveled the world. “I kind of came home like a homing pigeon, bringing everything I’d learned back with me to share with my community and the people who visit Anderson Valley.
“The part I never expected … one of the most special things about SŌBŌ for me personally, is being in the room while I’m feeding people. As chefs, we are usually hidden away in the kitchen. At SŌBŌ, I’m right there. Guests see what I’m doing, they can ask questions and interact with me as they experience the food.
“People are always amazed by what our tiny little team can do in our tiny little space. I never imagined how gratifying that would be for me as a chef. I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve created and I’m incredibly thankful that this grant gives me the opportunity not only to sustain it, but to keep imagining what SŌBŌ can become,” Jones said.
“Many of these restaurants are owned by families who live in our communities. They are places where we love to gather, celebrate and make memories,” Dave Canny, vice president of PG&E’s North Coast Region stated in the news release. “As small businesses that help drive our local economies, they are the hearts and souls of our communities. We’re thrilled to continue our partnership with the California Restaurant Foundation to support our local restaurants and help ensure their sustained success.”
The PG&E Foundation contributed the funding for the grants, as well as funding for the California Restaurant Foundation to run the grant program through its Restaurants Care Resilience Fund. Funding for the grants comes from PG&E shareholders, not customers.
The regional grants are part of a larger program that covers PG&E’s service area. Systemwide, The PG&E Foundation and the California Restaurant Foundation partnered to give $5,000 grants to 239 restaurants in 30 counties across PG&E’s service area. The charitable contributions will total $1.4 million. Both the number of grant recipients and the total dollar amount are records for the partnership since it began in 2021.
Since 2021, PG&E and the PG&E Foundation have contributed $5.7 million in funding to the CRF’s Restaurants Care Resilience Fund, providing grants ranging from $3,000 to $5,000. In total, PG&E has funded grants to 1,102 restaurants and commercial caterers in Northern and Central California. (To see past grant recipients in PG&E’s service area, watch our “From Kitchen to Community” video.)
For more information on the California Restaurant Foundation, Restaurants Care, or the Restaurant Resilience Fund, visit restaurantscare.org.
SŌBŌ, located at 14251 Highway 128, Boonville, serves dinner from 5 to 8 p.m., Friday through Sunday. For reservations call (707) 723-2727.
Dining and Cooking