History:
Lovina Restaurant is located in a historic home on the main street of Calistoga. The house was built in 1904 and was the mayor’s home before becoming a doctor’s office and, later, a restaurant. With its original woodwork, pocket doors, large porch, and wide front stairs, the house reminded Jen of her childhood home in Nashville, TN. She loved the uniqueness and character of the space, which differentiated it from most modern, highly designed Napa Valley restaurants.
The restaurant is named after Lovina Graves Cyrus, a survivor of the Donner Pass in 1847 who owned the land & home on Petrified Forest Road that Jen bought in 2008. Lovina was the sole survivor of her family and inherited her property at 13, becoming one of the first female landowners in California. According to local lore, the "Huge Bear" of Calistoga, also known as the Hog Killer, was treed by John Cyrus' dogs in a walnut tree on Petrified Forest Road, at the land Jen now owns (pictured above.) The men were too heavy to climb the outer limbs of the tree, so Lovina climbed it. Her husband and son handed Lovina up rifle after rifle, all single shots, and she shot the bear 28 times before it fell from the tree. Upon descending, she is rumored to have said to her husband, "It would take more than 28 bullets to take me down." That saying became the motto for Lovina- and through wildfires, power outages, and Covid-19 closures, we've been proud to be resourceful and resilient.
After researching the history of her property, Jen decided to name her new restaurant after Lovina. We are proudly woman owned, woman managed, and woman chefed. We offer full benefits, including health insurance, dental insurance, and a 401k with employer match. Our hard working kitchen staff share in our daily revenues, and we strive to treat all our team with respect and appreciation.
Our Team
Jennifer Bennett, owner/ wine buyer
Since her first job in her stepmother’s restaurant in Nashville, Tennessee in 1989, Jennifer has worked every position in the restaurant industry from dishwasher to pastry chef to general manager, learning in that time the value of treating employees with the respect and appreciation that is often lacking in the industry. After five years as general manager, Jennifer purchased Zazie Restaurant in San Francisco in 2005, promptly implementing a full benefits program to offer her staff the benefits that are so uncommon for hourly workers. In conjunction with substantial wage increases, a bonus program, revenue share, full benefits, and a policy of openness and encouragement with her staff, Jennifer grew the sales and profits of Zazie 400% while developing an intimate and stable employee base that hardly resembles the transitory, unhappy, and embittered workers the industry is known to foster.
Jennifer was awarded “Woman Entrepreneur of the Year- San Francisco” in 2010 by the Women’s Initiative and is proud to be recognized by the Young Worker’s United “Dining With Justice” award, for which she received a letter of commendation from California Majority Whip Fiona Ma. In 2010, Jennifer filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court supporting “Healthy San Francisco” against a suit filed by the Golden Gate Restaurant Association. SF City Attorney Dennis Herrera credited the amicus brief as instrumental in the Courts refusal to hear the GGRA’s petition. In 2014, Jennifer was invited by First Lady Michelle Obama to speak about hourly workers rights at the White House Summit on Working Families in Washington, D.C. Zazie Restaurant was recognized as a San Francisco Legacy Business in 2019.
Jennifer opened Lovina Restaurant in 2017 and sold Zazie to three long-term employees to move to Calistoga full-time in 2020. After 23 years in San Francisco, Jen was eager to return to her Southern roots, and she now manages a mini farm with goats, chickens, an extensive garden, and a pottery studio. Many of Lovina’s vegetables come from Jen’s garden, she makes hand thrown pottery in the studio for the restaurant, and occasionally a baby goat comes to visit the guests on our patio!
Leticia Martinez & Raul Loyola, Chefs
Leti was sous chef for the original Calistoga Kitchen for 6 years, before staying on to become chef at Lovina. She is the mother of two (both of whom now work with us also!) and an UpValley local, with great attention to detail and commitment to consistency and reliability. Raul is Leti's husband, and he specializes in presentation and creativity in our kitchen. Raul has a great passion for presentation and balance- he has trained under Executive Chefs at multiple exclusive Napa Valley restaurants over the last 20 years.
Ian Triglia, General Manager
Ian is a native Calistogan, and is now raising his family just blocks from Lovina. He's bartended and served in restaurants throughout the Valley, and is the creative force behind our Lo-Fi cocktail program. Ian infuses and balances our barrel aged "whiskey" and "rum" and trains the bar staff on mixology and presentation. He also maintains our patio gardens and manages the brunch shifts.
Lovina Restaurant is located in a historic home on the main street of Calistoga. The house was built in 1904 and was the mayor’s home before becoming a doctor’s office and, later, a restaurant. With its original woodwork, pocket doors, large porch, and wide front stairs, the house reminded Jen of her childhood home in Nashville, TN. She loved the uniqueness and character of the space, which differentiated it from most modern, highly designed Napa Valley restaurants.
The restaurant is named after Lovina Graves Cyrus, a survivor of the Donner Pass in 1847 who owned the land & home on Petrified Forest Road that Jen bought in 2008. Lovina was the sole survivor of her family and inherited her property at 13, becoming one of the first female landowners in California. According to local lore, the "Huge Bear" of Calistoga, also known as the Hog Killer, was treed by John Cyrus' dogs in a walnut tree on Petrified Forest Road, at the land Jen now owns (pictured above.) The men were too heavy to climb the outer limbs of the tree, so Lovina climbed it. Her husband and son handed Lovina up rifle after rifle, all single shots, and she shot the bear 28 times before it fell from the tree. Upon descending, she is rumored to have said to her husband, "It would take more than 28 bullets to take me down." That saying became the motto for Lovina- and through wildfires, power outages, and Covid-19 closures, we've been proud to be resourceful and resilient.
After researching the history of her property, Jen decided to name her new restaurant after Lovina. We are proudly woman owned, woman managed, and woman chefed. We offer full benefits, including health insurance, dental insurance, and a 401k with employer match. Our hard working kitchen staff share in our daily revenues, and we strive to treat all our team with respect and appreciation.
Our Team
Jennifer Bennett, owner/ wine buyer
Since her first job in her stepmother’s restaurant in Nashville, Tennessee in 1989, Jennifer has worked every position in the restaurant industry from dishwasher to pastry chef to general manager, learning in that time the value of treating employees with the respect and appreciation that is often lacking in the industry. After five years as general manager, Jennifer purchased Zazie Restaurant in San Francisco in 2005, promptly implementing a full benefits program to offer her staff the benefits that are so uncommon for hourly workers. In conjunction with substantial wage increases, a bonus program, revenue share, full benefits, and a policy of openness and encouragement with her staff, Jennifer grew the sales and profits of Zazie 400% while developing an intimate and stable employee base that hardly resembles the transitory, unhappy, and embittered workers the industry is known to foster.
Jennifer was awarded “Woman Entrepreneur of the Year- San Francisco” in 2010 by the Women’s Initiative and is proud to be recognized by the Young Worker’s United “Dining With Justice” award, for which she received a letter of commendation from California Majority Whip Fiona Ma. In 2010, Jennifer filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court supporting “Healthy San Francisco” against a suit filed by the Golden Gate Restaurant Association. SF City Attorney Dennis Herrera credited the amicus brief as instrumental in the Courts refusal to hear the GGRA’s petition. In 2014, Jennifer was invited by First Lady Michelle Obama to speak about hourly workers rights at the White House Summit on Working Families in Washington, D.C. Zazie Restaurant was recognized as a San Francisco Legacy Business in 2019.
Jennifer opened Lovina Restaurant in 2017 and sold Zazie to three long-term employees to move to Calistoga full-time in 2020. After 23 years in San Francisco, Jen was eager to return to her Southern roots, and she now manages a mini farm with goats, chickens, an extensive garden, and a pottery studio. Many of Lovina’s vegetables come from Jen’s garden, she makes hand thrown pottery in the studio for the restaurant, and occasionally a baby goat comes to visit the guests on our patio!
Leticia Martinez & Raul Loyola, Chefs
Leti was sous chef for the original Calistoga Kitchen for 6 years, before staying on to become chef at Lovina. She is the mother of two (both of whom now work with us also!) and an UpValley local, with great attention to detail and commitment to consistency and reliability. Raul is Leti's husband, and he specializes in presentation and creativity in our kitchen. Raul has a great passion for presentation and balance- he has trained under Executive Chefs at multiple exclusive Napa Valley restaurants over the last 20 years.
Ian Triglia, General Manager
Ian is a native Calistogan, and is now raising his family just blocks from Lovina. He's bartended and served in restaurants throughout the Valley, and is the creative force behind our Lo-Fi cocktail program. Ian infuses and balances our barrel aged "whiskey" and "rum" and trains the bar staff on mixology and presentation. He also maintains our patio gardens and manages the brunch shifts.