Kina’s Kitchen
Kina Chavez has launched a new venture, Kina’s Kitchen and bar. The Sun’s Anna Pier sat down with her to talk about the change, her family influences and growing up in Sonoma.
This new venture is in the place you’ve been for three years. That’s right. April 1, 2019 my husband Sal and I opened Picazo Kitchen and Bar on Highway 12. That timing did not give us a chance to thrive. Power outages, wildfires and then the pandemic – it’s all a blur. My in-laws Kris and Salvador Chávez had opened Picazo Café on Arnold in 2009, named with my mother-in-law’s maiden name. I started managing it in 2017, and the Picazo Food Truck. So Sal and I began by naming this place “Picazo,” too. The Café has its own identity – the best hamburger in the Valley, great casual food. As we came out of that very difficult time, we realized this place needed its own identity. The struggles of the past couple of years have enabled me to get a fresh start.
So you are rebranding? Yes. I felt shy about calling it Kina’s Kitchen, but everyone told me to use my name. My name is Karina, but when I was little I couldn’t roll my “Rs” so I said my name was “Kina” and it stuck.
Kina’s brunch menu features not only customer favorites like Chicken Fried Chicken with homemade Mexican Gravy and Lemon Cottage Cheese Pancakes, it also infuses organic, healthy ingredients, that blend the traditional and modern, creating food that is nourishing and delicious. For a more traditional Mexican-inspired dish, savor the top-selling Huevos Rancheros or perhaps the almost-famous Chilaquiles with either red or green salsa. Or try the Eggs Benedict on Homemade Biscuits!
Original Article written by Anna Pier for The Sonoma Valley Sun, posted April 1, 2022.
19101 CA-12 (Maxwell Village)
Sonoma, CA 95476
(707) 935-3287
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