Two Napa natives who had met while cooking at Oliveto in Oakland agreed they wanted to own a restaurant before they turned 30. Tyler Rodde and Curtis Di Fede spent a year working out the concept and another year looking for a space. They settled on Napa Square at 1425 First St., and as the Napa Valley Register tells it, they opened Oenotri there in 2010.
That restaurant serves its last night on Saturday, Nov. 14. The Press Democrat reported the closing on Nov. 4 and said the restaurant will keep welcoming guests through its final day. As of this Thursday, that leaves tonight, Friday and Saturday.
A Downtown of About 25 Restaurants
When the Press Democrat interviewed Rodde in September 2023, he estimated that downtown Napa had about 25 restaurants when Oenotri opened in 2010. He put the count at about 90 at the time of that interview. Those figures are one chef's rough counts, not an official tally. Still, by his numbers Oenotri went from one of roughly 25 downtown kitchens in 2010 to one of roughly 90 by 2023.
It also opened with a point of view. In its first year, a Press Democrat reviewer called the restaurant "pretty amazing" and noted a menu built on the cooking of Puglia, Basilicata, Campania, Calabria and Sicily. According to the Register, the partners set out to keep dishes at $27 or less. Recognition followed quickly.
| Year | Recognition |
|---|---|
| 2011 | San Francisco Chronicle, Top 100 Bay Area restaurants |
| 2012 | Michelin Bib Gourmand |
| 2012 | Food & Wine: "unquestionably the most exciting new restaurant in Napa Valley" |
| 2015–2018 | San Francisco Chronicle, Top 100, every year |
Di Fede left the kitchen in 2013. Rodde is the chef-owner today. The name pairs with the restaurant's setting. The Register traces it to an ancient term for "vine cultivator." The Press Democrat ties it to the Oenotrians, who settled along southern Italy's coast long before Rome.
What the Kitchen Made Slowly
Downtown now has dozens of places to eat Italian food. What made Oenotri hard to copy was the time behind its cooking. In the 2023 interview, the Press Democrat described more than 20 house-made salumi, fresh pasta, and pizzas baked in an imported wood-burning oven. The salumi goes back to the founding, since Oliveto is where both chefs learned to make it.
Its best-selling dish was the simplest one on the menu, and Rodde explained why it sold:
"Our garden lettuces is our No. 1 selling dish, it's mixed greens with a lemon vinaigrette. We grow lemons and olive oil and pickled shallots ourselves, so it's really special."
In the same interview he said the restaurant grows grapes, stone fruit and all of its citrus, including satsumas and two big fig trees, and buys from Tenbrink Farms and Lone Oak Farms. He also said 10 to 30 percent of the menu changed every day, depending on what the garden produced. His other standards were the margherita and a shrimp linguine with chili, white wine and chives.
Three Nights on First Street
Oenotri announced its closing on social media, writing, "You gave these walls life, and you gave us 17 years we'll never forget," and inviting guests in for one more meal and drink before the last service, as WhatNow reported. The replies WhatNow quoted were brief and specific. "Dinner at the bar can't be beat," one guest wrote. Another wrote, "I was there on the first day, and I'll be there on the last day."
The wine trade replied too. The Press Democrat noted messages from winemaker Collin Cranor and from Staglin Family Vineyard, which thanked the restaurant for supporting "our wine and all wines." For a list known for Italian bottles alongside Napa Valley wines, that thanks fits.
Another downtown storefront closes the night before Oenotri, for a different reason. On Friday, Nov. 13, Riza Plants closes its retail shop at First Street Napa, 1300 First St., Suite 355, where it opened in October 2020. Founder and CEO Alyssa Piombo told the Napa Valley Register that the commercial plant maintenance and design side of the business "has grown so much that we are putting all of our energy into it." The business continues as Riza Indoor Plant Maintenance and Design Studio. It designs, installs and maintains plants for wineries, hotels and businesses across the valley, and it is keeping its workshops and event rentals. The closing sale began Oct. 14. So the city loses a botanical shop window this week but keeps the business.
Five Days Later, the Season Starts
The holiday calendar starts five days after Oenotri's last service. The first event is at The Meritage Resort and Spa, where the Merry Meritage outdoor ice rink opens on Thursday, Nov. 19. Downtown's own start comes the night before Thanksgiving, at Veterans Park.
According to DoNapa's listing, Mayor Scott Sedgley will lead the countdown to light the tree at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 25. Volunteers will hand out free cookies from Sweetie Pie's, and Downtown Joe's will donate hot chocolate, as it has since the Veterans Park tree lighting began. Local children's groups will sing and dance before the countdown. The park is a few blocks from Oenotri's door.
Here is the calendar from Oenotri's final weekend to mid-December:
- Friday, Nov. 13. Riza Plants' last day in its First Street Napa shop.
- Saturday, Nov. 14. Oenotri's final day at 1425 First St.
- Thursday, Nov. 19, through Jan. 3. Merry Meritage ice skating. Hours run 4 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday through Sunday until Dec. 17, then 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. On Thanksgiving the rink is open 2 to 10 p.m.
- Saturday, Nov. 21. Merry Meritage Tree Lighting, 4 to 8 p.m., with live music, family activities and a 40-foot tree.
- Wednesday, Nov. 25. Christmas Tree Lighting in Veterans Park, 6 to 8 p.m.
- Saturday, Dec. 5. Napa's 61st Christmas Parade, 5 to 7 p.m. It assembles at 3 p.m. and follows Second, Brown and Third streets. The listing notes that bad weather could cancel it.
- Dec. 5 through Dec. 21. The Napa Valley Wine Trolley Holiday Lights Tour runs on select dates.
- Saturday, Dec. 12. Holiday Shop, Sip & Stroll at First Street Napa, 3 to 5 p.m. Pick up wristbands and glasses outside the Napa Valley Welcome Center.
The Dec. 12 stroll ends on the same block where Riza had its shop window. The parade route passes near the restaurant Rodde and Di Fede spent a year looking for.
In 2023, Rodde said downtown's restaurants were "hitting that critical mass." This season, that downtown carries on without one of its first-wave kitchens, and Oenotri's last service is Saturday night.
Downtown Napa's next chapter will grow out of First Street's storefronts and how they change hands. If you own property near that core and want a measured view of what this season means for its value, Caroline Sebastiani offers a private, no-obligation home valuation grounded in that local detail.
