As eager as I am to dump the thunderstorm that was 2025, it’s hard not to reflect on simpler days of the past, and what once was and will never be.
Especially because last month brought the closure of a Napa Valley institution—Goose & Gander—leaving locals crushed and wondering what’s to become of the iconic space. It was at the classic downstairs bar, Mick Jagger blasting in the background, that I met the man who would become my husband and father to my children. He swapped stories of the good ole days growing up in the valley, while I tried to pay attention in between bites of what will forever stand as the best burger in Napa Valley. The same hunk of beef I once wrote about as, “Not merely the bomb—a hand grenade. Unassuming on the outside until gooey goodness explodes on the inside…culinary nirvana.” Not only is that the glorious hunk of beef gone baby gone, but the exodus also takes a bite out of the St. Helena nightlife scene, which may never recover. Will the legendary spot (once home to the equally revered Martini House) become another belt notch on an already lengthy list of hoity-toity, overpriced restaurants that are taking over this valley, or will it become a reinvention worthy of its predecessors?
At the time of writing this obit—ahem—column, no reason for the closure was stated, but the public outcries and warnings of “don’t mess with this place” remain out in force…