"We don't buy anything ready," Maher Fakhouri told Sonoma Magazine this month, describing the kitchen at Olives & Agave. Whole spices are roasted and ground in-house, and the sauces start from scratch. The restaurant opened in early October at 909 Village Court, in a corner of Montgomery Village that had sat empty for more than a year.
It is one of four new places at the center this fall. Three of the four are locally owned. The national retailers announced alongside them, the brands that usually lead the makeover headlines, have opening estimates in 2027. If you're planning holiday errands on Santa Rosa's east side, the new places you can actually walk into are mostly local.
A familiar corner with a new menu
The space Olives & Agave took over used to be Cascabel, the Mexican restaurant that closed in 2025. Fakhouri helped launch Cascabel in the same room. He also owns Crepevine a few steps away, and the two restaurants share a general manager, Mond Noor. When the landlord approached him about the vacancy, Fakhouri pitched a Mediterranean restaurant. His partner, Amal Dahdal, runs the kitchen.
The menu draws on Levantine cooking from Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Israel and Lebanon, along with Mediterranean dishes from Spain, Greece, Turkey and Morocco. The Sonoma Magazine profile lists the staff favorites with prices, and it reads like a road map for a first visit:
| Dish | Price | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Maza trio | $19 | Three dips, such as hummus, muhammara or labneh, with warm pita |
| Fried kibbeh | $17 | Bulgur shells filled with spiced beef or lamb, served with tabbouleh and yogurt |
| Chicken shawarma wrap | $19 | Chicken brined 24 hours, dry-salted another day, then marinated and grilled |
| Musakhan rolls | $16 | Chicken, onions and sumac crisped in thin flatbread |
| Mansaf | $38 | Lamb and rice in a fermented-yogurt sauce, Jordan's national dish |
| Zarzuela | $36 | Spanish-style seafood stew, dinner only |
| Kinafeh | $12 | Shredded-phyllo pastry with a melted cheese center and rosewater syrup |
Two things to know before you go. The restaurant doesn't have a full bar, and there are no tequila drinks on the menu. The dining room has a lounge with sofas and a covered patio, and the main room can seat larger groups, which helps if you're bringing family in November. It's open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Three new doors on Magowan Drive
The other fall openings sit side by side on Magowan Drive, according to the Press Democrat's October roundup.
Great Company, 2417 Magowan Drive. This locally owned dinner-party and home-goods shop opened in September. Brianna Hanson, owner of Reed & James events, is behind it. The shelves mix party and home decor with specialty foods, including Swedish candy and seasonings. If you're hosting Thanksgiving, this is the newest stop on the property for table pieces and small hostess gifts.
Cabuya Yoga, 2409 Magowan Drive. Also locally owned, Cabuya has been holding classes since Oct. 1. Its 15 teachers lead vinyasa, athletic and restorative classes.
Rowan, 2415 Magowan Drive. Rowan is the one national chain in this group. The New York-based ear-piercing company has more than 100 locations, and this is its first North Bay studio. Licensed nurses do all the piercings, and the shop sells hypoallergenic earrings and 14k gold jewelry. It was scheduled to open Oct. 17, and the center's tenant page now lists it as open.
Taken together with Olives & Agave, these make up the fall's new arrivals. Three of the four are locally owned.
The national names are dated 2027
The same Press Democrat report covered what's still on the way. Each of those openings is set further out than the "coming soon" signs suggest.
| Incoming tenant | What it sells | Opening estimate, per center management |
|---|---|---|
| Madewell | Denim and casual apparel, its first Sonoma County store | Early-to-mid 2027 |
| Palmetto Superfoods | Açaí bowls and smoothies, at 525 Hahman Drive | Early-to-mid 2027 |
| Beach by Everything but Water | Women's swimwear | 2027 |
Palmetto shows how far the timelines can move. In September, the Press Democrat reported that the San Francisco chain would "open soon," citing the shopping center's website. Three weeks later, management's estimate was early-to-mid 2027, and the center's tenant page still reads "Coming Soon." The brand also announced a Petaluma location in August 2025, and that store had no confirmed opening date as of this fall.
Beach by Everything but Water has already moved once. In June, a Montgomery Village spokesperson listed it among the next openings for 2026. By October it was listed for 2027.
How the mix got here
Over the past five years Montgomery Village has added a long run of national brands. The Codding family opened the center in 1950 with 13 businesses. Boston-based WS Development bought the 280,000-square-foot property in 2021, reportedly for $93 million. Since then the openings have included Sweetgreen, Mendocino Farms, Vuori and Bluemercury. In 2026 they included Kendra Scott, Face Foundrié, Blue Bottle Coffee, L'Occitane and an Apple store that moved over from Santa Rosa Mall.
The local side of the directory is smaller. In June 2026 a center spokesperson counted 22 locally owned businesses, including Copperfield's Books, Sonoma Bagel and Deli and Made Local Marketplace. At the same time, the property's website showed 13 of its 69 storefronts vacant.
That June also brought a departure. Bird's Nest, a gift, clothing, furniture, art and jewelry boutique that had been at the center since 1995, closed at 525 Hahman Drive when its lease ended June 30. That's the space now set aside for Palmetto. In a statement reported by The Press Democrat, WS Development said the shop "will be missed" and wished the team well. The boutique's website tells customers it will keep them posted, and it doesn't yet give a new address.
Put the national pipeline next to the fall openings and the timing explains the season. The big brands have been signed, but they won't open until next year. The storefronts that actually opened between September and Oct. 17 went mostly to a local events planner, a local yoga studio and a restaurateur who already had a room on the property. That's the Montgomery Village you'll find this November and December.
Thanksgiving weekend, on two calendars
Montgomery Village's posted holiday schedule centers on the weekend after Thanksgiving, and the newer local shops add their own events around it.
- Saturday, Nov. 7, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Holiday Herbal Gift Making workshop at Made Local Marketplace.
- Saturday, Nov. 21, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Personalized Holiday Ornament Workshop at Made Local Marketplace.
- Friday, Nov. 27, through Sunday, Nov. 29, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. A Very Merry Weekend, with exclusive retail offers, family-friendly entertainment and holiday decorations, according to the center.
- Friday, Nov. 27, 4 to 7 p.m. Downtown, the Santa Rosa Metro Chamber's free Winter Lights Tree Lighting Celebration at Courthouse Square.
- Thursday, Dec. 17, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Art Night Gathering at Great Company.
The center hasn't posted a 2026 tree-lighting or Santa date yet, so check its events page before you plan around last year's schedule. The Friday after Thanksgiving lines up well. Spend the afternoon at the Village, eat early at Olives & Agave, which serves until 9, and you'll still make the tree lighting downtown before it ends at 7. For more of the city's newer tables, the August guide to Santa Rosa's fair-week rotation covers other rooms that opened this year, and our Santa Rosa neighborhood page has the wider picture.
At HavenHous, we track which storefronts open, which leases end and which "coming soon" signs stay up for months, because those changes shape daily life on Santa Rosa's east side. If you're wondering how a changing shopping center affects the streets around it, Theresa would be glad to talk it through. Schedule a personalized consultation.
