Mendocino Flavors: Three beloved restaurants announce closures; Patrona under new management; and other food and drink news

MENDOCINO Co., 4/4/23 — It’s another tough week for the Mendocino County restaurant scene — three beloved restaurants are closing. Two of these establishments are local institutions in rural areas — Laytonville and Potter Valley. Both areas are among some of the most beautiful and close-knit in the county, yet anyone who works in hospitality knows how challenging it can be to operate in rural and isolated areas — from staffing to unpredictable business (slow or busy days, power outages, etc.). Add on top of that the increased cost of goods, the lack of affordable housing for workers, and opportunistic property owners. It’s a recipe for economic struggle. 

Laytonville has been weighing particularly on my mind lately. What does the future hold for a community once known as a vibrant melting pot for ranchers, hippies and cowboys, that had a cannabis boom and bust, and is now struggling with food accessibility due to the closure of its one full-service grocery store and now a historic loss with the closure of one of the county’s oldest businesses? Time will tell.