Sonoma Foodies Can Thank Chuck Williams

~ Sonoma Foodies Can Thank Chuck Williams ~

Extraordinary food and fabulous wine.   These are the things that draw many people to Sonoma.  Food was not as big an attraction as wine until the store Williams-Sonoma became so well known.  The now-celebrated chain of stores was founded in the late 1950s right here in the town of Sonoma by a quiet guy named Chuck Williams.  Williams was born in 1915 in Ohio.  He moved to California with his family during the Depression and wound up in Sonoma where he started a home-building business.  Williams' real talents lay in the kitchen, however, and he established a small cookware shop one block off Sonoma Plaza.  The rest of his story is told in this report that aired on CBS Sunday morning.

Chuck Williams will be 96 next month.  I hope his birthday is recognized in a big way by local Sonoma foodies, gourmet food producers, and restaurant-owners.  Chuck Williams and the name Williams-Sonoma have done much to enhance Sonoma's reputation as a destination for enjoying great wine...and delicious, well-prepared food.