At 4618 Old Redwood Highway, just north of Larkfield, a newer building has been standing on a corner many people in the area still call Cricklewood. The contractor that worked on it, FDC, describes it as a 5,000-square-foot prefabricated metal building and credits the project with helping rebuild after the Tubbs Fire. For years it had no sign and no menu, and nobody inside. In March 2026, Sonoma Magazine reported that the building had been rebuilt after the 2017 wildfires but had stayed vacant.
A replacement restaurant for this address has been moving through Sonoma County's process since 2021. The team now building Hapa's on the Mainland there has worked toward one goal the whole time, which is a large, casual gathering place on a corner that had one for four decades.
What 1976 put on this corner
The Press Democrat reported that Michael O'Brien opened Cricklewood as a steakhouse in the spring of 1976 and ran it with his partner in life and business, Lynette McGee. The Tubbs Fire destroyed the restaurant on Oct. 8, 2017, and that ended its run. The ninth anniversary of that date passed last week.
Losing a restaurant that has run for 41 years leaves a gap in a neighborhood's routine. The rest of this post looks at how long it has taken to fill it, and why.
The paperwork trail starts in 2021
A Sonoma County public-notice record, UPE21-0033, covers a minor use permit for a replacement restaurant serving alcohol at 4618 Old Redwood Highway. The proposal was a 4,400-square-foot structure with 50 employees, and public comment closed on Dec. 20, 2021. The record lists the applicant as Rollins Dennis Tussey. Dennis Tussey is the name of one of the two Sweet T's co-owners now opening Hapa's on the Mainland at this address.
The dated sources for the site, in order:
| When | What the record shows |
|---|---|
| Spring 1976 | Cricklewood opens at 4618 Old Redwood Highway |
| Oct. 8, 2017 | The Tubbs Fire destroys the restaurant |
| Dec. 20, 2021 | Public comment closes on the county permit for a replacement restaurant |
| Nov. 2022 | Sonoma County Winegrowers describes the site as still unbuilt |
| Jan. 2025 | FDC's portfolio page describes the new metal building and the Hapa's project |
| March 2026 | Sonoma Magazine reports the building rebuilt but vacant, with Hapa's targeting the end of 2026 |
| June 2026 | Permitting underway, with construction expected before the end of summer |
| Sept. 2026 | Construction reported as underway |
Two sources give two sizes for the building. The 2021 county proposal says 4,400 square feet, while FDC's later description says 5,000. That kind of change between a permit application and a finished structure is common. It also shows that the 2021 filing describes a plan, and FDC's page describes what was built.
The 2021 record also lists proposed operating hours of Tuesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Those hours belong to the earlier permit proposal. Hapa's has not published its own hours yet.
What is going in
Sonoma Magazine reported that Hapa's on the Mainland comes from Ann and Dennis Tussey, co-owners of Sweet T's in Windsor, and their business partner George Ah Chin. Ah Chin is a longtime pitmaster who grew up on Hawaii's Big Island, and the magazine described the restaurant as a goal he has had for a long time. The restaurant's own story page identifies Ah Chin's hometown as Hilo, and its food truck dates page calls Sweet T's its sister restaurant.
The plans call for something larger than a neighborhood counter spot. Ann Tussey told Sonoma Magazine the restaurant will include:
- an indoor tiki lounge
- a dining room
- two outdoor bars
- room for more than 200 guests
The food has already been tried in a limited way. In March, the owners held an investor preview at Sweet T's that served flaming tiki cocktails along with poke, lomi salmon, shoyu chicken and fried kampachi. Sonoma Magazine reported that several of those dishes are likely to make the final menu. The restaurant's menu page shows concepts that go further, including loco moco, ahi poke, smoked pork, malasadas and hand rolls. That page is a concept preview, not a priced menu.
Ann Tussey put the goal simply in the March interview. "We hope to have everyone with tiki mugs in hand by the end of the year," she told Sonoma Magazine. KSRO covered the announcement the next day and called the site a Santa Rosa landmark.
Where things stand in mid-October
The latest dated update is a September 8 roundup of new Sonoma County restaurants. It still lists Hapa's under "Coming soon" and says construction is underway at the rebuilt Cricklewood site. In June, the same outlet had reported that permitting was underway and construction was expected before the end of summer. That means the project kept roughly to its own schedule through the summer.
The restaurant's website gives a mixed picture. Its buildout page says health department plans were approved and sent to the county for permitting, and that the team hoped to begin construction in late August or early September. Other pages on the same site still say the project is in the permitting process. An RSVP page for an event called "A Taste of Hapa's" promises tiki cocktails, pupus and live music, but it gives no date.
Taken together, here is what is known as of today. The end-of-2026 opening is a target from a March interview. No opening day, hours or final menu has been announced, and no public soft opening has been reported. Construction was underway in September. That is about two and a half months before the year ends, and the March interview had already described the restaurant as three years in development.
Until then, the Larkfield calendar
With the corner still under construction, gatherings in this part of north Santa Rosa this fall are happening in Larkfield Center and on the Luther Burbank Center grounds, a short drive down Old Redwood Highway and Mark West Springs Road.
Punky's Pumpkins at Luther Burbank Center, 50 Mark West Springs Road, runs through Oct. 31. Admission is free, and the patch sells pumpkins, offers rides and turns on its lights at 5 p.m. Hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends, with Halloween hours of 9 a.m. until dark. An all-attractions wristband is listed at $25.
Machado Burgers & Cars is hosting its end-of-season Trunk or Treat at 406 Larkfield Center on Friday, Oct. 30, from 4 to 7 p.m., with prizes for best trunk, best costume and best combination.
Mark West Area Chamber of Commerce monthly socials are free and continue through the end of the year:
- Thursday, Nov. 12, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., at Anytime Fitness Larkfield, 620 Larkfield Center, where the host provides food and drinks.
- Thursday, Dec. 10, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., at Exchange Bank with Molsberry Markets, 500 Larkfield Center. The online listing has a ZIP code typo, so check the address before you go.
The December social lands about three weeks before Hapa's year-end target. If the restaurant has announced a date by then, people in the room will likely be talking about it.
If you're weighing a sale or purchase around Riebli-Wallace or the Mark West corridor and want to understand how projects like the Cricklewood rebuild fit into the local picture, Sudha Schlesinger offers discreet, data-informed guidance. Request a Private Consultation.