Everything here in the Napa Valley seems to be selling. First it was the Carneros Inn, then Calistoga Ranch and Calistoga Hills, in Yountville Bardesonno and the V Marketplace which is for sale, now the Napa Valley Wine Train. The family of late Vince DeDomenico, who owned Rice-a-Roni, has sold the Train to Seattle-based Noble House Hotels & Resorts Ltd. and Brooks Street, a California-based real estate development and investment company. This same group owns and manages Napa’s River Terrace Inn.
Of course the selling price was not disclosed with the new owners only giving a tough and cheek comment, it was somewhere between $10 million and $50 million. All the 150 employees will remain. The Train runs year round with normally 2 trips per day with tickets starting at $124.
The Train started gourmet dining service in 1989 on the tracks originally built and operated by Samuel Brannan in 1864 as a tourist railroad to take visiting San Franciscans as they arrived by ferry in south Napa to Calistoga. It was Brannan who name Calistoga and wanted it fashioned after Saratoga in New York. Supposedly in a drunken moment, he slurred his words meaning to say the Saratoga of California which came out Cali......Stoga.
For a more complete article, please read Jennifer Huffman's article in the Napa Valley Register. Photos from Bing which are free to use commercially.
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