The Barlow

Great destination to experience the best of West Sonoma county… wine tasting, farm to table dining, cute shops or a quick stop for coffee, juice or ice cream and an errand. I love the overall look of the Barlow area, friendly, new age industrial and clean. Best to visit later in the week when all the shops are open, all worth checking out, and something for everyone.

I haven’t lived in this area for long, but it hasn’t taken long for it to become one of my favorite places to relax after a long work week. A lot of the time I enjoy just looking around all the shops or spending my day at the Taylor Maid Café doing work upstairs. There are a lot of nice offerings, and I love that they have a fireplace outside considering the days have been getting chillier.
I usually prefer it more in the day time when it has more people, and it’s bright out and has that nice bustle, but at night time it gets pretty quiet, and it’s nice to get a sub-​zero ice cream to eat in front of the huge fire :)

We LOVE The Barlow!
We went for the first time on a Thursday night when they have their street fair, awesome vibe and music is always fantastic.
We live in Petaluma and The Barlow will be our go to place to take friends and family who are visiting from out of town. Wineries, breweries, great food and sub-​zero ice cream!
They have a video on Youtube, check it out. amazing place in my favorite town in Sonoma County.

We tried all the restaurants in the Barlow and they are average at best, and overpriced for what you’re getting. Sebastopol better step it up! Disappointing. Go to forestville for great food.

Nice selection of tasting rooms, bakery, coffee/​tea bars, galleries (needs more) and boutique shops in a collection of rustic downtown buildings. They close down the street on Thursday afternoons for a neighborhood street fair– worth checking out!

The Barlow is a foody destination that shouldn’t be missed if visiting Sebastopol. It houses a collection of hyperlocal businesses that focus on wine, artisan foods, art and sustainable retail.
It has a gentrified industrial feel and is the second life of the historic Barlow Apple Factory warehouses (which had deteriorated and become an eyesore over time).
I visited the Barlow on a consecutive Wed night and Thu morning as I was staying within walking distance at a nearby Inn. Although the Barlow was quiet with not many visitors while I was there, I imagine it has a completely different energy level on weekends or during special events. I had some delicious ice cream (frozen with nitrogen right in front of my eyes) while enjoying a nice fire pit on a cool night, sweet and savory crepes (amazing!), some terrific wine hinting at Crème brûlée, watch a glass blowing artisan at work and enjoy an abundance of sculptural art.
I’m looking forward to returning to sample more of what the Barlow has to offer!

While I really have enjoyed my time at the restaurants and shops at The Barlow, I strongly suggest not considering them as a place to have your wedding. From the beginning the process has been extremely painful. Their team is young, disorganized, and unresponsive. For weeks we literally were trying to give them our money before researching other options and on four separate occasions they told us they sent us an email with pricing yet we never received it. It’s 2015 and you don’t know how to properly send an email? This made us extremely weary of how they would help us plan a successful wedding at the venue.
As we began to do research on other venues in the area, we realized that for the money The Barlow asks for two empty rooms and a field of grass to have a ceremony, the value is really poor. At other venues where you pay the same amount of less, you get staff, tables/​chairs, a wedding planner, and more.
When I reached out to the owner to express my frustration regarding the lack of communication and to give him a heads up on what their competition offers, he told me that he really wanted to find a way to «win our business». What did he come back with? A suggestion that we push our wedding date 3 – 8 months down the road and that we shorten the time of the event so that we literally would have zero time for set-​up. Clueless.
I have planned many events for various occasions and I’ve never come across a more inflexible venue in my life. Thanks for wasting our time Barlow.

What an incredible little place full of character and charm!
I highly recommend stopping by the Barlow area if you are in Sebastopol at all because this is probably the most awesome marketplace I’ve been to in a while.
This consists of a community market in the front where they have daily samples and lots of vendors out even in the supermarket. The butcher comes down to the Saratoga Farmers market on a weekly basis all the way from this faraway location, but offer their goodies in the store.
If you stroll towards the back, there is everything from breweries, to ice cream to juice bars, to coffee. And OH BOY is the coffee awesome! You can totally spend a whole day here, and it is especially family friendly.

The Barlow is Sebastopol’s new hot spot. It’s a hipster hangout, along with a painted mandala at an intersection. It’s Portlandia, but with Bay Area sensibilities. The Barlow used to be a handful of abandoned warehouses, Guayaki Yerba Mate was the sole business. Now it’s gone upscale. One can watch craftsmen at work at the glass blowing place and the bronze foundry. Community Market offers everyday groceries&a book trading library. Taylor Maid’s Coffee packs a punch (as does Guayaki’s naturally caffeinated yerba mate) The Tibetan gallery is meditative. Ultra Crepes has an astounding array of the French pancakes. The Nectary has an amazing assortment of elixirs and smoothies. The Village Bakery is much more pleasant than its Santa Rosa location. There’s plenty of outdoor dining space for people watching.

Cute area in Sebastopol where they have a variety of boutique shops and restaurants. There are plenty of parking spots, and also free public bathrooms for use. We ended up just walking around after getting ice cream from Screamin Mimi’s (only a couple of blocks outside of The Barlow), but they also have an ice cream shop in this center as well. This is definitely a good place to come for dining on a patio, and if you want to bring your four-​legged friend.

If you’re sightseeing in the Sebastopol area of Sonoma County, this place is a must-​stop. The Barlow is a collection of buildings housing businesses that are there to incite gustatory delight in any foodie.
Our first stop was Taylor Maid Farms which serves great coffee and pastries in a modern but rustic setting. The coffee is on par with Blue Bottle. I think I saw an oversized maple bacon donut. It was calling my name but we had eaten brunch already. :(Next time!
Our next stop was a children’s store. I needed to buy gifts for my niece and found a couple of things. This store has a lot of books, wooden toys, mainly high quality and unique gifts from abroad (France and Germany) and the US.
Our third and fourth stops were both wineries – Wind Gap and La Follette. Let’s just say, we spent a pretty penny tasting and buying wines from both wineries. Both had tasting fees, but La Follette waives your tasting fee with a two bottle purchase. Nice! It’s nice being able to walk from winery to winery. There were more wineries in the Barlow, but we were good after two. We had to sit down for a little bit after tasting.
I wanted to get ice cream from Sub Zero after wine tasting, but it was either that or have pie at Angelica’s Patisserie which is nearby. Pie won. (And macarons.)
The Barlow also has a couple of breweries, restaurants, bakery, a community market and other businesses that I’m sure are worth visiting. We were there for about 4 hours and barely scratched the surface. We managed to get a nice shady parking spot on the street since we got there around 11 am. If you want to find parking, I’d suggest getting there early.

Still new — but see SO MUCH promise in this area. Everything you’d want — from food to beverage to shops — all within a stone’s throw of downtown Sebastopol. Clearly going to be an amazing place as more tenants and the hotel are added.

Impressed with this marketplace that features local businesses and products. There is something for everyone to be found here. Cool vibe, friendly service (at the places I visited) and eco-​friendly. Even better, right off the bike trail (I heard bike racks are coming soon!)

So I’ve been wanting to go explore these new stores and tasting rooms. I was completely disappointed in these establishment. It was no pedestrian friendly and sinkage for businesses was poor. I can’t believe the prices of these stores. The quality was not that great for the prices we paid. I was really hoping Sebastopol could make something out of this space. Instead it is an over priced and unimpressive lot.

The Barlow Is amazing! 5 tasting rooms, 2 breweries, a distillery and Guayaki Yerba matte, tailor made coffee, All this is still impressive to a non drinker. Great food Woodfour, Ultra Crêpe, Guayaki, sub zero… i eat at all the restaurants regularly. Great shops! World renowned sculptors and glass blowers. Village Bakery! Three art galleries, including one where you can be the art: I get my hair done at Reframe Hair Gallery (a beautiful space with some of Sonoma county’s top stylists), which is just what Sebastopol really needed! Weather the Barlow is your main destination or just a stop on your trip, discovering it is sure to delight and fulfill a variety of your senses, and is worth enjoying alone or with friends.

Everything. Just, everything. Everything is amazing here and it totally lives up to every ounce of hype in my book.
I love this hip and happening place. It’s a great, central gathering place for your hipsters and professionals and families and everyone else. Excellent restaurants, cute shops, my favorite coffee shop on the planet (Taylor Maid), wine/​beer/​spirits tasting, juice bar, bakery, Community Market, liquid nitrogen ice cream (!!!), and great outdoor space… all in one block. WHAT?!
This place is one of my hot spots and I go here all the time. There is something for everyone here, and you should check it out.

Cool little area, with some quality products to be had.
But everything is overpriced, unfortunately.
I hope this place survives and thrives, but some of the businesses might want to lower their prices.

A lil piece of Portland’s Pearl District…
Edible Landscaping, local shops, organic grocery, 2 breweries, best local coffee, wine tasting by foot, Waldorf gift shop, a whole new twist on ice cream, bakery, hair stylist, distillery, art studios, and F.E.E.D!!!

Stopped by The Barlow to check it out after reading several stories about it (newspaper, Sunset magazine, etc.). Without really knowing exactly what to expect, it’s a little disappointing that many of the touted businesses aren’t open yet. A couple art collections/​studios, a distiller, a coffee shop, a couple wineries, a brewery or two, and a couple restaurants are about it for right now but this place has potential. Hope to visit again once there are more businesses open.
Overall, The Barlow is definitely worth checking out now, but more importantly it’s something to keep an eye on as it grows!

This is the first time I’ve stepped foot on this amazing new marketplace. It’s a great model for using old buildings and space that would otherwise be vacant or bulldozed.
Throughout the grounds there are integrated gardens with lemon, sage, thyme, rosemary and countless more herbs. There are young fig trees that will someday be beautiful and so appreciated for the fruit.
The old apple processing warehouses are being used just as the newer buildings on this property are utilized: as commercial/​restaurant and very light industrial (ie metallurgic art) structures. Along with wine tasting, breweries and the like.
The property is well thought out, useful, embraces a waste-​not philosophy and shows a ton of respect and appreciation for the Sebastopol area.
I can’t wait to return and watch it grow over the years. Congratulations guys. This is a fantastic space.