Copyright Santa Rosa Press Democrat
Downtown Barbecue, the Santa Rosa restaurant that announced it would close after Halloween, is open again — this time under new leadership. The Third Street eatery, which opened in November 2024 amid controversy, shuttered briefly after Oct. 31 before reopening within days. Co-owner Lowell Sheldon said Tuesday that a local ownership group plans to take over operations once negotiations are finalized. Sheldon declined to identify the incoming group but said they have already installed a new chef, who began just four days after the restaurant’s initial closure and has been running the kitchen since. “I’m going to step away,” Sheldon said, adding that co-owner Julia Hsieh is also moving on. The restaurant’s Nov. 3 newsletter confirmed the change, announcing Downtown Barbecue, “will stay open while we negotiate a long-term future.” The message added that cooks were experimenting with pizzas and new side dishes — such as herbed potato salad and gouda mac and cheese — and that the eatery would continue operating under winter hours of 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday. No staff were laid off, Sheldon said, and the restaurant is expected to maintain its barbecue concept largely intact, though there may be some menu adjustments. Downtown Barbecue originally opened about a year ago with chef and pitmaster Gane Jackson at the helm. Its debut was delayed twice after staff turmoil that included the departure of its former chef Damian Brugger, who accused Sheldon of “toxic behavior” in the workplace. Jackson later left to focus on his Willits restaurant, Smokey’s BBQ, and Sheldon stepped in as chef in late spring. The new chef, whose name Sheldon did not share, has spent the past two weeks training with him. “He helped us get open and then we took over from there,” Sheldon said of Jackson. An Oct. 9 email to customers announcing Downtown Barbecue’s closure cited “rising costs, staffing challenges, and the unpredictable rhythms of modern dining.” It also alluded to The Press Democrat’s reporting on Sheldon as a contributing factor. Soon after that announcement, Sheldon said, members of the local ownership group approached him about taking over operations and emphasized their desire to keep the space open during negotiations. He declined to discuss financial terms. This is not the first time Sheldon has exited a Sonoma County restaurant. In 2021, business partners at three Sebastopol eateries cut ties with him following multiple allegations of sexual harassment, which he has denied. Sheldon was never criminally charged. A lawsuit filed by a former employee in 2022 accused him of making inappropriate comments and “touching her shoulders and waist in an unwelcome way.” That case was settled in July 2024 before going to trial.
