ALAMO, CALIFORNIA – A longtime Alamo restaurant has changed hands in a sudden and unusually seamless transition.
The Peasant’s Courtyard at 3195 Danville Blvd. has closed, and a completely new restaurant called Courtyard Restaurant is already operating in its place.
Peasant’s Courtyard served its final day on Sunday, April 19, with the new restaurant opening immediately after.
I’ve seen this portrayed as a “rebrand” or a simple change of ownership, but it’s not. The Courtyard Restaurant has totally new owners, and new name, a new chef, and will soon have a new menu.
Some things are staying the same, though, including one beloved staff member who is staying on.
I stopped by to check the new place out on the morning it opened.
The new restaurant is tied to East Bay Artisan, the local bakery and prepared-food business known for its farmers market presence, including in Danville, as well as Cafe 1277 in Walnut Creek.
East Bay Artisan describes its business as centered on scratch-made breads, pastas, sauces, pizzas, sandwiches and baked goods, suggesting the new Alamo spot may eventually take the food in a somewhat different direction from what regulars were used to under the Peasant’s Courtyard era.
Courtyard Restaurant is temporarily keeping the Peasant’s Courtyard menu through May 4. After that, the restaurant plans to roll out its own new seasonal menu. The new owners have also said dinner service is coming soon.
When I stopped by, I got the meet the chef taking over Courtyard Restaurant. Jourdan De Sanctis is leading the kitchen at the new spot.
De Sanctis was previously associated with Danville Brewing and Norm’s Place, giving the new restaurant a chef with local experience and ties to well-known East Bay spots.
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In another important detail for longtime customers, not everything is changing. Bay Area Telegraph has learned that Sandy — a beloved member of the Peasant’s Courtyard team — is staying on, along with other staff members. That continuity may help preserve some of the warmth and familiarity that made the old restaurant a local favorite, even as the business itself begins a new chapter.
The location itself has a long history as an Alamo restaurant space. Rodney Worth opened Peasant’s Courtyard there in 2009, after the building had previously operated as Courtyard Cafe for nearly 25 years. Now, after roughly 17 years as Peasant’s Courtyard, the restaurant has passed to a new operator and started over under a different concept.
For Alamo diners, that makes Courtyard Restaurant one to watch over the next couple of weeks. Right now, the space may feel familiar. But by early May, customers should start to get a clearer sense of what this new ownership group has in mind.
We’ll make sure to stop back in after the 4th to try the new menu. Join my free 925 News newsletter here so I can update you and share more photos.
