City’s first cannabis shop will open at former resort hub

There’s finally some movement at the former El Gallo restaurant on Sonoma Highway, which closed over a year ago under financial pressure from the COVID shutdown. The building owners soon found a new tenant in Sparc, the “winner” of the City of Sonoma’s year-long dispensary search process.

In the weeks since the demolition permit was issued in early August, the interior walls are gone, much of the flooring ripped up, and the former Mexican restaurant (which until 2017 was known as Plaza Tequila) is being transformed into the first authorized cannabis dispensary in Sonoma — the city or Valley.

Today, there’s really not much to see. The exterior is unchanged, though showing signs of neglect since the business closed in mid-2020. Inside, the siding and floor are gone, revealing some necessary structural work. Floor beams are broken in several places, and inconsistently repaired. It may take some time.

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