What do they think will happen? The dishwashers will play music too loud?

French Laundry owner slams proposed affordable housing project near restaurant

By Susana Guerrero

Celebrated chef Thomas Keller and other business owners in Yountville are calling on the wealthy Wine Country town to pause a new affordable housing project to evaluate parking and density concerns. 

In a news release on Tuesday, first covered by the Press Democrat, Keller and Yountville’s Ranch Market owner Arik Housley said the town is moving too fast in its decision to build Yountville Commons, a mixed affordable housing and market-rate housing project, without considering its financial cost or consulting business owners and workers. 

“We support workforce housing and we support the Commons,” Keller said in the news release. “But housing only works if it actually works for the people who live and work here. Before Yountville commits to a project of this size and cost, it’s reasonable—and responsible—to slow down and make sure the fundamentals are right.”

Yountville Town Manager Brad Raulston told the Press Democrat this week that the town has already held 23 public meetings to gather input on the project and does not want to slow down the housing project. He told the paper that the majority of the town’s workers need to commute to the wealthy community. SFGATE reached out to Raulston for comment, but did not hear back by publication. 

Yountville has fewer than 4,000 residents but multiple fine dining destinations, including Keller’s Michelin Guide-listed Bouchon and his three-Michelin-star French Laundry, where a dinner with wine pairing can cost more than $1,000 per person.

Last March, Yountville city councilmembers approved conceptual planning for the mixed housing project that would demolish the former Yountville Elementary School to construct 150 workforce housing units. The school, which closed in 2020, was purchased by the city for $11 million in 2024, according to the Press Democrat. Funds for the purchase came from a 2018 ballot measure that increased lodging taxes to pay for affordable and workforce housing. 

According to Tuesday’s news release, current plans indicate that the proposed housing project will have limited parking available and studio apartments of about 300 square feet. Keller, speaking for his employees, said in the news release that the “studio-heavy, dormitory-style approach” did not align with the town’s workers.

The two business owners are also concerned about the high price of the proposed housing project, which is anticipated to cost $40 million to $60 million, according to the news release. Housley stressed that the project could place financial risk on both residents and business owners while the city acted as the developer. 

“That means we owe it to the community to fully understand the financial exposure before moving ahead,” Housley said. 

Raulston told the Press Democrat that an upcoming town council study session is expected on Tuesday, where unit types will be discussed as well as a workforce demographics analysis by Bay Area Economics. The next meeting is set for March 3.