"We are not restaurateurs," Redwood Empire's vice president of marketing, Andrew Floor, told the Vallejo Sun in late September, explaining why the whiskey company would close its bar and eatery at 1095 Nimitz Ave. on Oct. 4. That's today. The distillery isn't leaving. Its historic buildings stay open for private tours, tastings, classes and events, all by reservation.
That makes Mare Island this fall a place you plan ahead for. Only a few spots on the island take walk-ins. Most of what makes an afternoon there worth the drive, from the Tiffany windows at St. Peter's Chapel to a glassblowing class or a barrel-room tasting, needs a booking or a specific date. If you start from the booking pages, a good day is easy to put together.
What closing the bar on Nimitz Avenue changes
Redwood Empire got here by way of Graton in the Russian River Valley, where founder Derek Benham opened the company's first distillery in 2015. In 2025 the company bought Savage & Cooke's distillery on Mare Island and moved production into the larger space. Output went from four barrels a day to 14. Floor said the bar and eatery were meant to build community, but the restaurant ended up pulling resources away from making whiskey. The closure affects seven employees. The bar had also become home to well-attended drag shows run by Ariel Fantasea.
The detail that matters for anyone planning a visit is the condition Floor attached to reopening. Redwood Empire hopes to go back to daily drop-in visits "when there is more foot traffic in Mare Island." For now, it's reservations only. The tour now does the job the bar used to do. It runs 90 minutes, goes through the barrel room, the production room and the rooftop balcony, and ends with a guided tasting of six whiskies. Master blender Lauren Patz will teach a blending masterclass in November.
Savage & Cooke's old web pages still list regular Thursday through Sunday hours and an open restaurant. Those pages date from 2025, and the September 2026 reporting replaces them.
The walk-in hours that are left
Once the Redwood Empire bar closes, here's what you can still show up to without a booking, based on each business's posted hours.
| Spot | Where | Posted hours |
|---|---|---|
| Coal Shed Brewery, Mare Island Brewing Co. | 850 Nimitz Ave. | Wed.–Sat. 11:30 a.m.–9 p.m.; Sun. 11:30 a.m.–8:30 p.m.; closed Mon.–Tue. |
| Vino Godfather tasting room | Mare Island | Thu.–Sun. noon–7 p.m., walk-ins welcome |
| The Quarters Coffee House | Officers Row, along Walnut Avenue | Mon.–Fri. 7 a.m.–3 p.m.; Sat.–Sun. 8 a.m.–2 p.m. |
The Coal Shed's Sunday hours are new this season. In a Sept. 9 post, the brewery said it kept hearing from people caught off guard by its old 6 p.m. Sunday close, so starting Sept. 13 it stays open until 8:30 p.m. every Sunday through Jan. 10, 2027. That adds two and a half hours. Vino Godfather's hours come from a page last updated in early 2025, so check before you go. The Ferry Taproom, Mare Island Brewing's other location, is open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. at 289 Mare Island Way. That's at the downtown ferry landing, across the strait from the island.
Put the hours side by side and the days sort themselves out. Thursday and Saturday are the only days when coffee at The Quarters, a glass at Vino Godfather and a pint at the Coal Shed are all open. On Sundays the coffee house closes at 2 p.m., while the brewery now runs into the evening. On Mondays and Tuesdays the only walk-in option on the island is a coffee before 3 p.m.
The October and November dates that need a reservation
The Mare Island Historic Park Foundation runs most of what's on the island's calendar. All of its public tours need a reservation. They run in the first and third weeks of each month, on Thursdays at 2 p.m., Saturdays at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. The 45-minute to one-hour Chapel Tour costs $15. The Full Historic Tour costs $25, starts at St. Peter's Chapel, takes one and a half to two hours, and moves inside the chapel if it rains. The foundation says dates can shift around private events and maintenance. You can reach the office at [email protected] or by text at 707-557-4646. The chapel holds the largest collection of Tiffany stained-glass windows in the West, according to the foundation.
The rest of the fall falls on fixed dates:
- Sunday, Oct. 11. The ticketed Mare Island Navy Hospital Area tour runs 10 a.m. to noon. Open Chapel follows from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with a requested $5 donation.
- Saturday, Oct. 24. "Haunted Mare Island," a ticketed speaker event, starts at 3 p.m. at St. Peter's Chapel, 1181 Walnut Ave.
- Sunday, Oct. 25. Open Chapel, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Sundays, Nov. 8 and Nov. 22. Open Chapel again, same hours.
- Sunday, Nov. 15. A ticketed talk on World War II shipyards, 3 to 4 p.m. at St. Peter's Chapel.
- November, date on the booking page. Lauren Patz's blending masterclass at Redwood Empire.
Open Chapel is the one way into St. Peter's this fall without booking ahead, and it only happens on the second and fourth Sundays. Oct. 11 is the busiest day of the season. The hospital tour, Open Chapel, the Coal Shed's longer Sunday hours and Vino Godfather's noon opening all fall on it.
Mare Island Art Glass, at 860 Nimitz Ave., is open all day on Saturdays and by appointment on weekdays. Its two-hour glassmaking classes can be booked, and the Vallejo Sun reported in February that the studio was drawing kids, adults and groups. Pair a Saturday class with the Coal Shed afterward and you've used two of the island's most reliable schedules.
Two big September events are already over. Maker Faire held its 20th anniversary at the Mare Island Promenade Sept. 25–27, and ticket sales are closed. The Vallejo Festival was on the Barbara Kondylis Waterfront Green on Oct. 3.
Getting across while the Causeway deck is resurfaced
Starting tomorrow, Oct. 5, and running through Oct. 23, the Mare Island Causeway Bridge is closed to pedestrians and bicyclists. All trails underneath it are closed too. Crews are applying polyester concrete and methacrylate to the deck. The City of Vallejo says those materials give off a strong, sharp odor and are classified as carcinogenic, which is why foot and bike traffic has to stay away. Cars can use the bridge as normal the whole time. In its September update, the city put the overall bridge project at about 68 percent complete, with March 2027 still the expected finish date.
The closure covers the Oct. 11 Navy Hospital tour and the first Open Chapel Sunday, so anyone who usually walks or bikes over will need to drive for those. It lifts the day before "Haunted Mare Island" on Oct. 24.
The ferry schedule changes on Monday, Nov. 2. On weekends, the 9:00 a.m. southbound boat from Mare Island leaves 10 minutes earlier, at 8:50 a.m. The Vallejo stop moves to 9:10 a.m., and the boat still reaches San Francisco at 10:15 a.m. The weekend 12:40 p.m. and 3:50 p.m. southbound trips from Vallejo each move five minutes later. So do the 2:45 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. northbound trips. On weekdays, the 11:30 a.m. northbound trip from Downtown San Francisco is cut. The Vallejo one-way fare has been $10 regular and $5 discount since July 1, and children under five ride free.
Why the island still runs on bookings
Redwood Empire is waiting for foot traffic, and that ties to a project that was supposed to bring it. The Connolly Corridor, a proposed six-block walkable district with retail, a hotel, housing and open space in the middle of the island, was paused. The pause came to light at an April 27 City Council meeting, while the city and the Vallejo Flood and Wastewater District work through infrastructure issues affecting Connolly Street. Kent Fortner, who opened Mare Island Brewing Co. at the north end of the Coalsheds in 2020, told the council he was "extremely disappointed." He pointed out that earlier plans had the corridor finished by 2027.
Other changes are further out. In August the state announced $8.2 million for three Mare Island shipbuilding efforts, including a planned Cal Poly Maritime research and technology campus and workforce development. None of it changes what's open on a Saturday this fall. Until more people come through on a regular basis, the businesses that are already here are building their schedules around bookings and set dates.
The places running regular hours are the ones to support. The Coal Shed added Sunday evening hours because customers asked for them. The Quarters opens at 7 a.m. on weekdays. Vino Godfather takes walk-ins four days a week. Book the chapel or the barrel room, then plan the rest of the day around those three.
If you're making plans on Mare Island this fall and wondering how the island's slow buildout plays into homes and blocks around Vallejo, Candis A Tyrrell is happy to talk it through over coffee at The Quarters or a pint at the Coal Shed. And if you'd like to know where your own home stands while the Causeway work and the Connolly Corridor talks continue, request your free home valuation.