Napa General Store: Art, food and wine converge downtown
Napa General Store is not much like the old general store you can still find in a few small towns -- except in one sense: it hews to the tradition of offering a wide variety of food, beverages and miscellaneous items to anyone who steps inside.
Is it an art gallery? A gift shop? A wine bar? A restaurant? It’s all those things, catering to downtown Napa tourists looking for a unique gift crafted by a local artist as well as locals who just want breakfast.
The dining area fills the back half of the barn-like space, with tables beside a fireplace and outdoors on a large courtyard overlooking the Napa River. Breakfasts ($6-$12) range from scrambles and corn-meal pancakes to smoked salmon. Lunch ($11-$14) is highlighted by creative items like Clay Pot Chicken (with sweet & spicy sauce on jasmine rice) and Tuscan Pizza (with fresh spinach, goat cheese, carmelized onions and mozzarella) cooked in a brick oven.
A small wine bar, a popular gathering spot among locals, hugs one wall in the middle of the building. Their selection—duh—emphasizes Napa Valley labels.
The most distinctive portion of the store is in the front half, which is equal parts crafts gallery and Wine Country boutique. Filling the shelves are items made almost exclusively by local artists and food purveyors: rows of jams, olive oils, soaps, candles, artisan jewelry, oil paintings and more.
Much of this is Wine Country-themed, of course, including a small selection of wines and wine glasses. But it isn’t just predictable items. For example, there are the items unmistakably made from recycled wine barrels: a bistro table, a lazy susan, a serving board. There are vases, candlesticks and wine holders made of wrought iron. And there are fun dog-related gifts, like a floatable dog disc and a picture book of wine dogs—those winery owners’ dogs who greet tasting room guests with a wag and a lick.
The Napa General Store opened in 2002, part of the wave of historic building renovations that’s swept downtown Napa. It occupies one end of the 1893 Hatt Building, a cavernous former mill that’s part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. An upscale inn, restaurant and sweet shop share the building.
HelloSanFrancisco Tip: If you can’t make it to Napa but the gifts interest you, many are sold on the store’s website (click here).
Posted by Bob Cooper
