At 6 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 25, a line had already formed outside 315 Second St. E. The day before, Vella Cheese Company had announced on Facebook that it would close after 94 years. Fourth-generation cheesemaker Gabriel Luddy spent that morning walking customers in and out and telling them the shop would stay open for several more months while it sold off the remaining inventory, the Sonoma Index-Tribune reported.

It lasted about ten days. The shop made its last sale on Sept. 4. So many people came in that the owners closed far sooner than they had planned, according to a follow-up in the Index-Tribune.

That makes this the first holiday season in living memory without a Vella wedge on the table. Vella was one of several Plaza departures this fall, and nearly all of them came down to cost. Meanwhile the free, organizer-run holiday calendar is complete, with the lighting, the parade and the craft fairs all dated. This year, those events are what hold the season together.

Three departures, the same math

The fall's changes on and near the Plaza came fast:

Oso's closing ended a 12-year run. Chef David Bush, who co-owns both places with his wife Kelley Bush, told the Index-Tribune that the kitchen and building badly needed updating, and "it was too costly to spend the money on a building we don't own. We enjoyed serving the community, but the numbers just didn't make sense." Oso had won Best New Restaurant in the paper's 2015 People's Choice Awards.

The Tuesday Night Market followed the same logic in public. In 2025, the city's new Parks and Recreation Department found that crowds dropped sharply after Labor Day weekend. For 2026, the city cut the season from 21 market nights to 19 so the market could fully cover its costs without drawing on the general fund, the Index-Tribune explained. Parks and Recreation Director Dave Jahns told the council that the total span shrinks by three weeks but "really only two less markets," because there has never been a market during the week of the Fourth of July.

Each of these was a decision about money. The farmers, the cooks and the cheesemakers all had customers. Vella, after all, ran out of cheese because the town lined up for it.

What moved into the gaps

Many of the newcomers are formats with lower overhead, or short-term by design.

• SMASH, a fast-casual burger counter from Ari Weiswasser of Glen Ellen Star and Stella, opened in May at 497 First St. W. It was listed as open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily in August.
• Dead Letter, from the Girl & the Fig team, was listed as open in September at 101 E. Napa St. Its menu is cooked on a Spanish charcoal grill, and it sits on the same street Oso left.
• Sonoma Eats, owned by Efrain Balmes and Hayley Cutri, took over the former La Hacienda space at 561 Fifth St. W.
• Fine Eye Gallery moved from Sutter Creek to 535 First St. W. and opened Sept. 2. Owner Dora Martin plans to show work by independent American artisans.
• Crème and Crumbles, Linda Zaiss's cheesecake business, which also involves her daughter Nicole Brown, started at the Sonoma Valley Certified Farmers Market at 284 First St. W. instead of in a storefront.

Two more arrivals are tied to the holidays. Overland Sheepskin Co. plans to open in the former Passdoor storefront at 452 First St. E. by mid- to late November, "definitely before Thanksgiving," and expects to hire five to seven people, the Press Democrat reported. See's Candies is opening a temporary pop-up in mid-November at Sonoma Marketplace, 201 W. Napa St., Suite 10. It will sell prepackaged products and close after the holidays, per the Index-Tribune.

The Vella owners have said that pop-up sales of remaining aged cheeses may happen, but they have not set dates.

The calendar that kept its dates

The big Plaza traditions are free to attend and run by organizers, not by shops paying rent around the square, so this fall's costs didn't touch them. Here is how November lays out, starting the weekend of Nov. 7:

1. Nov. 7–8 and Nov. 14–15: Sonoma Valley Woman's Club Holiday Arts & Craft Fair, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at 574 First St. E.
2. Nov. 14–15: The fourth annual Veterans Holiday Market, run by VFW Auxiliary Post 1943 at the Sonoma Valley Veterans Memorial Building, 126 First St. W. It runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday and is free.
3. Nov. 14–15: Sonoma Valley Moose Lodge #2048 Holiday Craft Fair, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at 20580 Broadway, free.
4. Nov. 15: The final session of the 35th annual Victorian Christmas Crafts Workshop at Vallejo Home, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., presented by Sonoma Petaluma Parks. Children 12 and under are free, and adults pay the $3 park entrance.
5. Nov. 15: Holiday Mercato at Jacuzzi Family Vineyards, 24724 Arnold Drive, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is free, and RSVPs are encouraged.
6. Nov. 21: Lighting of the Sonoma Plaza, 5 to 8 p.m., free, at One Sonoma Plaza, with food trucks, cider, cookies, live music and the tree lighting. The Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau listing names the Bureau as presenter, and the Index-Tribune credits the nonprofit Music in Place.
7. Nov. 28: Sonoma's Lighted Tractor Parade around the Plaza at 6:30 p.m., free, presented by Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers Alliance with the City of Sonoma.

The weekend of Nov. 14–15 packs in five of these events within two days, and most sit within a short walk of First Street. The Veterans Memorial Building is on First Street West and the Woman's Club is on First Street East. The Moose Lodge is a short drive down Broadway. Vallejo Home and the Jacuzzi Mercato fill the Sunday.

The Lighting of the Plaza listing suggests finishing the evening with dinner around the square. This year, the tables near the square are a different set from last December. Dead Letter on East Napa and SMASH on First Street West are both a few minutes from the tree.

December moves indoors

Once the Plaza is lit, the season shifts to theater seats, garden paths and church halls.

The Sebastiani Theatre at 476 First St. E. has a full holiday lineup on its event calendar:

The Dec. 6 Holiday Spectacular is Music in Place's production of Duke Ellington's Harlem Nutcracker. The organization lists two more holiday concerts, "Candlelight Holiday Classics" on Dec. 12 and "Soulful Sounds of the Season" on Dec. 19, both at 4 p.m. Tickets for each run $45 to $75 on the Music in Place site. Before those, its fall series includes a Cole Porter tribute on Nov. 7 and "Bel Canto" on Nov. 14.

Elsewhere in December:

• Dec. 5: Faith Lutheran Church of Sonoma Valley's Christmas Craft Fair, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at 19355 Arnold Drive, with free admission and parking.
• Dec. 10–13: Winter Wonder Lantern Walks at Sonoma Botanical Garden, guided walks through the garden after dark from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Registration is required, and tickets cost $20 for members, $30 for nonmembers and $10 for youth 17 and under.
• Dec. 18: Organ by Candlelight at Jacuzzi Family Vineyards. Doors open at 5:45 p.m. and music starts at 6 p.m. A ticket includes a welcome glass of wine.

Still waiting on next year

Several of the fall's gaps have reopening plans on paper but no confirmed dates. Sonoma Family Meal's Unity Kitchen at 17400 Sonoma Highway in Boyes Hot Springs was scheduled to close Oct. 27 for renovations, with its services moving one mile south for now. A January reopening is expected, but no date has been set, the Index-Tribune reported.

The Tuesday Night Market's future is also on the city's calendar. The Sonoma City Council is scheduled to review a proposed 2027 plan, along with a recap of this year's 19 market nights, at a meeting late this year or in early 2027.

Until then, the closest thing to the old Tuesday night crowd on the Plaza comes on Nov. 21 at 5 p.m., when the tree is lit.

Change on the Plaza affects the buildings around it, too. If you own a historic storefront, a home near the square, or a country property with roots in the Valley's food and wine history, and want to know what this season's turnover means for its value, Kathleen Leonard Team would welcome the conversation. Request a private Wine Country consultation, and we'll talk through it over something good from a local maker.