If you went to last year's Autos of Alamo and grabbed a bite afterward at Peasant's Courtyard, where did you eat this year? The honest answer is probably nowhere, because that restaurant does not exist anymore. Neither does the Italian spot two doors down that used to host live music on weekend nights. Both closed in 2026. Both reopened, or are trying to, under completely different names. And tomorrow, when the Alamo Improvement Association runs its 13th annual car show through the plaza parking lot from 4 to 8 p.m., the food and drinks coming from "Alamo Plaza restaurants" will not be coming from the same kitchens that fed the crowd in 2025.
That is not a small detail. It is the story of what happened to this shopping center in the last twelve months, and tomorrow's festival is the first time most residents will actually notice it with a plate in hand.
What Changed at 3195 and 3160 Danville Boulevard
Start with the address most people know best: 3195 Danville Boulevard, the longtime home of Peasant's Courtyard. Chef Rodney Worth had run that restaurant for nearly 17 years, in a building that had operated as Courtyard Cafe for close to 25 years before that. On April 19, the restaurant served its final meal. The next morning, a completely new operation called The Courtyard Restaurant opened in the same space.
This was not a rebrand with a new sign. The new owners are the family behind East Bay Artisan, the scratch bakery known for its farmers market stall in Danville and for running Cafe 1277 in Walnut Creek. Alamo is their first brick and mortar in the San Ramon Valley. They kept the old Peasant's Courtyard menu running through May 4 out of respect for regulars, then moved to their own seasonal menu built around house-made breads, pastas, and sauces. Jourdan De Sanctis, a chef with local roots at Danville Brewing and Norm's Place, now runs the kitchen. One familiar face stayed on through the transition: Sandy, a longtime member of the Peasant's Courtyard staff, is still there. Reviewers who have been in since the changeover point to a rebuilt patio, a fresh chicken and mafaldine pasta list, and a salted caramel bread pudding that has become a repeat order. Dinner service, which the old restaurant didn't always run, has since been added.
Meanwhile, Rodney Worth hasn't left the area. He's now working on The Golden Pear inside the gated Rossmoor community, though that project doesn't have a confirmed opening date yet.
A few storefronts away, at 3160 Danville Boulevard in the Stone Valley Center near CVS, the other long-term tenant is going through its own transition. Forli Ristorante had operated there for decades under a rotating cast of owners, known for Italian food, a neighborhood bar, and live entertainment. That space is now dark, with signs up for a new concept called The Post. Public business filings tie the project to Alamo Restaurant & Bar Group LLC, a company formed in September 2025 with Ali Reza Ghasemi as CEO and Danville-based Lala Hospitality Inc., run by Ghasemi and Lauren Ghasemi, listed as manager. The Post describes itself as an American comfort food concept built around "sophistication with comfort," with a design nodding to an early 1900s post office. As of early August, workers were still visibly renovating the space after hours, which tells you the opening is close but not locked to a date.
Here is the table version, because the pattern is easier to see side by side than to hold in your head:
| Former Tenant | Years in Place | Current Status |
|---|---|---|
| Peasant's Courtyard (3195 Danville Blvd) | ~17 years | Reopened April 20, 2026 as The Courtyard Restaurant |
| Forli Ristorante (3160 Danville Blvd) | Decades | Closed, awaiting The Post's opening |
| Xenia Bistro, Brass Bear Delicatessen, Round Table Pizza | Long-running | Unchanged |
That last row matters as much as the first two. Xenia Bistro is still serving the same New American and Italian menu it always has. Brass Bear Delicatessen is still, by most accounts, the one shop in the center that predates the current ownership entirely. Five Guys, Peet's Coffee, and Round Table Pizza haven't moved. The turnover isn't a plaza-wide reset. It's specifically the two oldest, most established, chef-driven restaurants in the center, both changing hands in the same calendar year.
Why Both of the Old Guard Left at Once
Two multi-decade tenants closing in the same twelve months in a shopping center this size is not a coincidence you'd expect from random chance, but it also isn't a mystery. Alamo Plaza has been under new management since 2022, when EDENS acquired the property and began a visible revitalization push, the same effort that brought the "Tunnel of Love / Welcome to Beautiful Alamo, California" mural project from Oakland's ABG Art Group to the center's walls. When a shopping center's ownership starts actively reinvesting in a property, tenant turnover tends to cluster rather than spread evenly, especially among the longest-tenured leases, which are often the ones due for renewal or renegotiation first.
What's notable for residents isn't the ownership mechanics. It's that both replacement concepts are choosing to lean into the plaza's identity rather than away from it. The Courtyard Restaurant kept the old menu running for two weeks specifically so regulars wouldn't feel abandoned. The Post is building a concept around nostalgia, an early 1900s post office, in a shopping center whose weekly rhythm still runs on a farmers market every Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the lot near Bank of America. Neither new operator is trying to make Alamo Plaza feel like somewhere else. They're both betting that what worked here for 17-plus years is worth preserving in spirit, even under new ownership.
Tomorrow's Car Show Runs on a Different Kitchen Than Last September's
This brings us back to tomorrow night. The Alamo Improvement Association's Autos of Alamo Festival has run for 13 years now, always in the same lot, always free, always built around vintage cars, customs, hot rods, and anything 1980 or older, with a scattering of exotics for good measure. The Tuneriders are playing live music again this year. Kids' activities are back. The format hasn't changed.
The kitchens behind it have. Last year's food and drinks came partly from a restaurant that no longer exists under that name. This year, The Courtyard Restaurant will be almost five months into its run, past its transition menu and into its own seasonal offerings, serving a crowd that includes plenty of people who haven't eaten there since it was still called Peasant's Courtyard. Forli won't be part of the lineup at all this year. Whatever The Post ends up serving, it's a future festival's contribution, not tomorrow's.
If you're heading down for the show, a few practical notes:
- The event runs 4 to 8 p.m. tomorrow, Thursday, September 10, with free admission at Alamo Plaza Shopping Center, 200 Alamo Plaza.
- Parking fills up fast around the car displays. Give yourself extra time if you're coming right after work.
- If you want to compare notes on the transition, The Courtyard Restaurant's patio is a reasonable bet for a pre- or post-show bite, though expect a wait during the festival window.
- The Post isn't open yet, so don't plan your evening around it. Watch for signage updates at 3160 Danville Boulevard if you're curious about a fall opening.
The Corner Worth Watching Once the Show Ends
The plaza's Sunday farmers market, its Safeway anchor, and its 45-plus years as a gathering spot haven't gone anywhere. What has changed is the two restaurant addresses that carried the most institutional memory in the center, and both changed in the same year residents are being asked to show up for a car show that predates either new tenant's opening day. That's worth sitting with for a second before you head down tomorrow. The plaza you're walking into isn't the one from your last car show. It's already a different place, even if the parking lot and the classic cars look exactly the same.
If you're thinking about what a shift like this means for property values or timing a move in Alamo, that's a conversation worth having with someone who watches this corridor closely. Team Fondnazio works Contra Costa County day in and day out, and we're always glad to talk through what a neighborhood's changing texture means for your own plans. Let's Connect.
