Kerfuffles

Williams-Sonoma May Not Be Welcome Back in Sonoma

Don't make Chuck sad.
Don’t make Chuck sad.

Williams-Sonoma may have been founded in Sonoma 56 years ago, but that doesn’t mean the company can open a new store there now. The Sonoma City Council is voting this week on a proposal to prohibit new formula retail in their quaint town, the consequence of which would be to disallow a Williams-Sonoma store from being built at the site of Chuck Williams’s original kitchen- and cookware shop at 601 Broadway. Williams moved his operation to San Francisco in 1958, after only two years, but he held on to the name for its cachet — and some would argue the success of the company has done nothing but good for Sonoma County tourism. It seems more than likely that the council will make some kind of exception for the brand, in any event, but the debate is amusing nonetheless. [Press-Democrat]

Williams-Sonoma May Not Be Welcome Back in Sonoma