The first Wild Poppy is a small roadhouse at 9890 Bodega Highway, a little out of the way, with a creekside patio and a dish of beans and greens that became its signature. Sonoma Magazine reports that Martin and Danielle Maigaard took it on in 2024 even though it lacked nearly everything they had wanted in a restaurant for 22 years. They had pictured a big kitchen, room to bake, plenty of parking and a marketplace "bigger than a closet."
The second Wild Poppy has all of those things. It opened this fall in the former Woodfour Brewing space at The Barlow, 6780 McKinley St., Suite 160. Look at how the two cafes split the week and the order has flipped. The new room is the one open most days, and the owners plan to make it the working kitchen behind both cafes.
Six days at The Barlow, four on Bodega Highway
Sonoma Magazine's October 2026 listing gives Wild Poppy Cafe & Market at The Barlow hours of 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wednesday through Monday, closed Tuesday. Wild Poppy Creekside keeps the same 10-to-3 hours but only Thursday through Sunday.
Here is the week laid out:
| Day | The Barlow, 6780 McKinley St. | Creekside, 9890 Bodega Hwy |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Open 10–3 | Closed |
| Tuesday | Closed | Closed |
| Wednesday | Open 10–3 | Closed |
| Thursday | Open 10–3 | Open 10–3 |
| Friday | Open 10–3 | Open 10–3 |
| Saturday | Open 10–3 | Open 10–3 |
| Sunday | Open 10–3 | Open 10–3 |
So Tuesday is the one day with no Wild Poppy. Monday and Wednesday belong to The Barlow alone, and the two cafes overlap Thursday through Sunday. If you're reading this on publication day, a Thursday, both are open. A new restaurant's hours can still change in its first season, so check thewildpoppycafe.com before you head out for a Monday lunch.
The Wednesday opening is the detail that matters most. Sonoma Magazine describes the Barlow room as "a relaxed, brunch-friendly gathering place for Wednesday morning meetups, work-from-home days when you don't actually want to work from home, and leisurely weekend meals." Two of the three uses it names fall on weekdays, when Creekside's doors are closed.
A room that has fed other kitchens before
Nobody designed the Barlow space for brunch. When The Press Democrat reported Woodfour's closure in November 2024, it described a 4,000-square-foot space with brewing tanks, a restaurant kitchen, a patio and a dining room. Sonoma Magazine now puts the former brewery at 3,500 square feet. Neither article explains the difference.
Woodfour opened in 2013 as one of The Barlow's original tenants and closed unexpectedly in October 2024, according to The Barlow's founder, Barney Aldridge. The brewery was known for sour and barrel-aged beers. It also served as the incubator for Ramen Gaijin, which started there as a pop-up under chefs Matthew Williams and Moishe Hahn-Schuman. Ramen Gaijin later moved into downtown Sebastopol and went on to earn a Michelin nod.
That history matters for what Wild Poppy plans to do with the room. In April 2026, Martin Maigaard told The Press Democrat that he and Danielle had been watching the space for months, planning to turn it into a prep and bakery space. "We are also going to be producing fresh tofu out of the space for both restaurants," he said. Under that plan, the Barlow room would cook for the Bodega Highway cafe too, much as it once helped launch a ramen kitchen that grew beyond it.
How long the move took
The opening date slipped several times, which is common with a build-out like this. Here is how the reported dates moved:
- October 2024. Woodfour closes. In the same Press Democrat report, Aldridge says there is already interest in the space.
- April 2, 2026. Press Democrat photos show Wild Poppy signs on the Barlow space while it is still under construction.
- April 13, 2026. The Press Democrat reports the owners are aiming to expand by the first week of July.
- September 22, 2026. Sonoma Magazine's fall dining roundup lists the opening for late September.
- October 13, 2026. Sonoma Magazine reports the cafe has been open "for just a few weeks" and has been drawing crowds for brunch and lunch.
According to Sonoma Magazine, the gap between the July target and the fall opening came down to "six months of welding torches and saws." Martin, who has spent years renovating homes, did much of the work himself with no contractor, as he had at the original cafe. The magazine reports the project took longer than planned, and the savings made the extra time worth it.
What the Barlow room serves now, and what it's waiting on
You'll recognize part of the menu. The Barlow cafe keeps the Baja fish tacos and Cosmic Queso nachos from the Bodega Highway kitchen. It adds fancy toast, salads, a salmon burger and rice bowls, and Sonoma Magazine's October visit found diners on the sunny patio eating Korean chicken rice bowls, tacos and French toast topped with apple compote.
The marketplace from the couple's wish list is real now. It carries local and fair-trade goods, including pottery, spices, blankets, napkins and towels, along with Wild Poppy merchandise. A deli case is being stocked with grab-and-go soups, dips and salads. On the drinks side there's coffee and espresso, beer and wine, and a turmeric lemonade made in-house. Sonoma Magazine also singles out the gluten-free peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.
Two parts of the plan haven't started yet:
- Evening service. In April, Maigaard said the Barlow location, and only that one, would serve into the evening. In September, Sonoma Magazine said the daytime and evening menus were still being developed. The hours published in October still end at 3 p.m.
- Tofu production. The September roundup said Maigaard hopes to open a tofu factory in the former brewery "next year," which means 2027.
Once both arrive, the Barlow room will be open six days, serve dinner, bake, and make tofu for the cafe on Bodega Highway. The creekside roadhouse where it all started will be the smaller half of a two-kitchen operation.
Where it sits at The Barlow
The Barlow already has plenty to eat. Sarmentine bakes pastries, Taylor Lane pours coffee, and Acre Pizza, Sushi Kosho and Genero's cover lunch and dinner. Sonoma Magazine's take is that Wild Poppy fills a different niche, as a relaxed, brunch-friendly gathering place.
Being at The Barlow also puts the cafe next to the complex's calendar. The Barlow's events page lists Tricks & Treats on Saturday, Oct. 31, from 3 to 5 p.m., which starts as Wild Poppy closes for the day. The monthly HEAD WEST marketplace runs on the third Sunday of the month through December, so the next one is Nov. 15. On those Sundays, both Wild Poppys are open.
The Maigaards told Sonoma Magazine how they want the new room to feel. "You walk in and it feels like home," Martin said. "We wanted it to feel like we were hosting, like a backyard gathering or a dinner party." Danielle added one more requirement: "everyone we hire has to be nice."
If you've been following west county's quiet changes, like an empty brewery becoming a busy brunch room, we'd love to compare notes. Theresa Disbro follows Sebastopol day to day, from new tables at The Barlow to the roads out toward Bodega Highway. If you're thinking about your own place in that picture, schedule a personalized consultation and let's talk over coffee at whichever Wild Poppy is open that day.
