San Rafaels Sol Food heading to Petaluma

Popular Puerto Rican eatery signs lease for large downtown site.|

Editor's Note: After printing, Petaluma City Manager Peggy Flynn confirmed Sol Food is opening in Petaluma.

After years of rumors, it appears that Sol Food is in fact coming to Petaluma.

Word on the street was that Sol Food's owners, Marisol ('Sol') Hernandez and Victor Cielo do not give interviews, and after several attempts to make contact, I have found that to be true (so far). So as of now, I am relying on other sources close to the operation, which confirmed that Sol Food signed a lease for the large space in Theater Square last occupied by Sauced. The speculation is that the extra square footage will be used to support the catering business, which is how Sol first started selling her food in the mid-2000s.

Famous for its Puerto Rican food, Sol Food has been a San Rafael institution for over a decade now. With a festively colored interior and authentic Puerto Rican cuisine, it is not unusual to have to wait in a long line to place your order. Even the opening of a second location in Mill Valley (where Sol Food started) in 2013 did not seem to alleviated the demand for their tostones con mojo (fried plantains), sandwich bistec (steak and sautéed onions) and tembleque (creamy coconut pudding with mango sauce).

There's no estimation of when the Petaluma location might open, as of yet, but I'll be watching this development closely.

My understanding is that Sol Food has never offered alcoholic beverages, so hopes that the new tenant would utilize the amazing bar left over from the days of Tres Hombres are likely not to come to fruition. However, with such a huge space and their great sense of homey décor at the other locations, I am sure we can expect to see something fresh and exciting, no matter what they do.

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