The tomatoes are here. Fat and sun-warmed, they arrive in late-morning crates at the Healdsburg market—heirlooms from growers like Tookey Farms in Alexander Valley, their skin dappled, their shapes unapologetically odd. The scent of a warm afternoon. Their full and earthy flavor, somewhere between fruit and acid, with a sweetness that comes from a mixture of sunlight and soil and time. The first bite is all juice and seeds, running down the wrist—not just a tomato, it’s memory. The taste of summer.
Just past the bend on Hwy 128 where vineyards give way to old oaks and sky, something else has returned: The doors at Jimtown are open again. Celebrated for years under its former owner, Carrie Brown, the Jimtown store was as good a reason to visit Alexander Valley as any.
The long, low building is much the same: that weathered wooden facade, the gravel crunch of the parking lot, the white trim catching morning light. For many years, this was the kind of place people pulled into for a perfect picnic or a quick snack—locals, cyclists, winery folks alike. Jimtown was more than a stop. It was a ritual.
Established in 1893 as a post office and general store, Jimtown has long been an iconic presence in Alexander Valley. It’s one of the last true country stores of its kind in the West, a place where the past never felt far away. Part general store, part roadside cafe, it carried the quiet weight of place. Lunch was casual and comforting. Coffee was strong and served without pretense. And always, there was a sense of history, of walking into something well-worn and well-loved…