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Fagiani’s in Napa Renamed The Thomas, Will Open Next Month

Fagiani's, now The Thomas
Fagiani’s, now The Thomas

The place at 813 Main Street in downtown Napa was known from 1945 to 1974 as Fagiani’s Liquor Store & Bar. The vacant bar has been called Fagiani’s ever since, but has stayed dark for 38 years in part because it was the scene of a horrific crime that left Anita Andrews dead — her murder remains unsolved to this day. Late last month we heard that a New York-based restaurant group headed up by Michelin-starred chef-partner Brad Farmerie (of Public in New York) was taking the place and renovating it at long last, keeping the name Fagiani’s. Now, after Andrews’s daughter Donna Hawkins wrote an editorial in the Napa Valley Register condemning the new owners for using the Fagiani’s name without consulting the family — she says it will only remind people of the murder and nothing more — the name of the three-story complex has been changed to The Thomas. However, the ground-floor bar will be called Fagiani’s Bar at the Thomas. The place is set to open next month, or at least by the end of the summer. [Scoop, Earlier]

Fagiani’s in Napa Renamed The Thomas, Will Open Next Month