Wine Country Times

Just in time for the three-year anniversary of Zoftig Eatery, the local hot spot has opened its outside dining in addition to its catering, delivery and takeout. 

"We've done fine dining forever and we just really wanted to do something that felt like a neighborhood spot. Something that was more casual and just something that we felt like people could come into multiple times a week instead of just on a special occasion," Sonjia Spector, owner and operator with her husband Matt, told the Wine Country Times. "We like to call it finer fast food. It is the kind of food we like to eat. It's all fresh ingredients, lots of it is organic and lots of it is really great produce that we have from here locally."

Spector explained that she, and her husband, come from a long line of fine dining. They both met in Philadelphia in the restaurant business. Matt Spector serves as the main chef, and Sonjia is a pastry chef. After eight years of owning and operating a fine dining restaurant in Philadelphia, they sold the restaurant and moved to California. They then opened another restaurant, which they also later sold to start the Zoftig Eatery.

"It's for people that are on the go. We're a Monday to Friday spot. We have a really pretty strong lunch business, and then we close at six. So we're kind of the type of place that people will order dinner to pick up on their way home from work, too," Spector said. 

Spector explained that the word Zoftig is a Jewish word that loosely translates to "a full-figured woman." She said that her husband once worked in his uncle's sandwich shop, and the uncle would tell him not to skimp on the sandwiches, to make them Zoftig, or "full." Spector explained this is where the name for the restaurant came from. 

Another aspect that makes Zoftig Eatery so unique, Spector said, is that she and her husband are there every day, all day. She explained that her husband, Matt, decides all the specials and does all the chef side of the cooking. On the other side of things, Spector said she personally bakes all the pastry items in the restaurant.

As for surviving the pandemic, Spector said they have been lucky for many reasons. 

"We're very lucky that we have the business model that we do this time because if it were any of our other restaurants, I think we would have struggled much more, but because our food travels well, and we already the online ordering set up, we already had all that stuff set up," Spector said. "When the pandemic started, we had two years under our belt so we were just starting to grow and really get established, so our growth did get a little stuck which I think for us, was the biggest challenge."

Spector said despite a decline in the catering part of the business, the biggest factor in surviving the pandemic was the community. 

"This last year has just really proven to us that we chose the right community to have our business. The community in our neighborhood where the restaurant is has been so supportive," she said. 

Moving forward, Spector said she is experimenting with new breakfast pastries so she can better fulfill needs for those customers who are looking to grab a coffee and a quick bite to eat in the morning. She also explained the restaurant recently purchased a new espresso machine, and they will work with learning new espressos and cappuccinos. 

Spector said that the thing that really sets Zoftig apart is it really is a "mom-and-pop" place. 

Zoftig is open Monday to Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Outdoor dining is now available. More information about Zoftig Eatery's menu and catering can be found on the website.