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 at the Alamo Improvement Association's 13th annual car show, scheduled for September 10, 2026, from 4 to 8 p.m., the food and drinks advertised as coming from "Alamo Plaza restaurants" would not come 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 the September 10 festival was set to be the first chance for many residents to notice the changes over a meal.
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.
Two Longtime Restaurants Changed in the Same Year
Two multi-decade tenants changed status in the same twelve-month period. Alamo Plaza has been under new management since 2022, when EDENS acquired the property and began a visible revitalization push, including the "Tunnel of Love / Welcome to Beautiful Alamo, California" mural project from Oakland's ABG Art Group. The timing is notable, but it does not by itself explain why either restaurant changed.
The Courtyard Restaurant kept the old menu running for two weeks after opening. The Post is building a concept around nostalgia, with a design nodding to 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.
The September 10 Car Show Was Scheduled for Different Kitchens Than Last September's
The September 10 event was scheduled as the Alamo Improvement Association's 13th annual Autos of Alamo Festival, in the same lot, with free admission and a lineup of vintage cars, customs, hot rods, and vehicles from 1980 or earlier, plus exotics. The Tuneriders were scheduled to play live music, and kids' activities were planned. The format had not changed.
The kitchens behind the scheduled event had changed. Last year's food and drinks came partly from a restaurant that no longer exists under that name. On September 10, The Courtyard Restaurant was set to be almost five months into its run, past its transition menu and into its own seasonal offerings, for a crowd that could include people who hadn't eaten there since it was still called Peasant's Courtyard. Forli was not part of that year's lineup. Whatever The Post serves, it would be for a future festival, not the September 10 event.
For reference, the event's practical details were:
- The event was scheduled for 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday, September 10, with free admission at Alamo Plaza Shopping Center, 200 Alamo Plaza.
- The Courtyard Restaurant's patio was an option for a pre- or post-show bite; a wait during the festival window was possible.
- The Post's opening date had not been confirmed as of early August. Watch for signage updates at 3160 Danville Boulevard if you're curious about a fall opening.
The Corner Worth Watching After the September 10 Show
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 were invited to the September 10 car show, part of a tradition that predates either new tenant's opening day. That contrast is worth noting: the plaza had changed since the previous car show, even if the parking lot and the classic cars looked 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.
