Most of Rohnert Park's new restaurants in 2026 opened at one address, 288 Golf Course Drive W., inside Graton Resort & Casino. A rooftop seafood restaurant, a doughnut shop that stays open past midnight, a sports tavern and a Japanese ramen counter all arrived there between May and September. The expansion was built so locals can use it for dinner, a late snack or a weekend treat without ever gambling. For the next few years, that address is where most of the city's new food will be.
The Same Street, Two Directions
Golf Course Drive West is the clearest place to see how the year went. At 58 Golf Course Drive W., Amy's Drive Thru announced that March 8, 2026 would be its last day of service. Raising Cane's has leased that building, but the Press Democrat reported in July that it's aiming to open in September 2027, almost a year from now.
Over at 288, on May 4, Graton opened the second phase of its roughly $1 billion expansion. That phase added a new smoke-free gaming floor and, around it, a group of new places to eat.
Rohnert Park's planned downtown is the reason this matters past one season. The project is planned for the former State Farm campus next to the SMART station, and it's still years away. A city update describes a concept with 300 to 450 homes, and a plaza planned for the first phase of construction. Work is expected to start in 2027, with parts finishing in 2028 to 2029. CenterCal, the developer, describes 140,000 square feet of retail and a one-acre town square on its project site, and says it's only taking initial tenant inquiries for now. Until that town square opens, Golf Course Drive West is the only Rohnert Park street adding sit-down dining on a scale anyone would notice.
AYA Was Built With Its Own Front Door
A rooftop restaurant inside a casino tells you very little until you know how you get in. The Press Democrat reported in March that AYA would have a dedicated exterior entrance, so diners can skip both the casino floor and the smoking areas that have long been a hurdle for some guests. Inside, you walk through a foyer, take a short elevator ride and pass through a glass wine tunnel holding $1 million in rare bottles before you reach the bar and the A-frame dining room.
The restaurant covers 28,000 square feet on the second floor. Its lanai faces east toward Sonoma Mountain, with a 180-degree view. Chefs Roy and Jennifer Ellamar came from Las Vegas kitchens that include Gordon Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen at Caesars Palace and L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon at the MGM Grand. Roy Ellamar told Sonoma Magazine that he spent months asking locals what the county was missing. He said the answer was "remarkably consistent": a more ambitious seafood restaurant.
The menu is local in a very literal way. Ellamar builds it around produce from Graton's 40-acre farm on Stony Point Road and consults with William Henpenn of Umbel Roots Farm. In its June review, Sonoma Magazine described summer dishes like a stone-fruit salad with Santa Rosa plums. Finger limes, Meyer lemons and calamansi trees have been planted at the farm, but they won't bear fruit for several years.
Those June prices give you a sense of what a visit costs:
- Wok-charred octopus sisig, a seafood take on the Filipino classic, at $26
- Koji black cod with a miso glaze and kombu butter at $36
- Ember-roasted carrots with coconut milk and macadamia nuts at $12
- Brown butter banana bread from Roy Ellamar's mother's recipe at $15
- Caviar service from $130 to $275 and Japanese Wagyu at $15 to $30 an ounce, for a bigger night out
You can order a small plate and dessert, or you can go all out. The menu covers both, which is unusual for a room this dramatic. Sonoma Magazine strongly recommended reservations, especially for the outdoor seats.
The Late-Night Tier Answers a Different Question
AYA closes at 10 or 11 p.m. The two smaller additions keep going much later, and they cost a lot less.
SoCo Dough Co. got its launch press for a $275 doughnut covered in gold leaf. The regular menu is more modest. Classic doughnuts cost $4, most specialty doughnuts run $5.50 to $6.50, and dessert drinks are $7.50 to $8. Graton's site lists SoCo as open 11 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday and until 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Some spring coverage said the shop was closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The current official schedule includes both days.
Neon Kitty opened in mid-September as a Japanese convenience market and noodle counter, with pink neon, K-pop and a wall of golden maneki-neko. Chef Jennifer Murphy-Ellamar taste-tested nearly 90 instant ramens from across Asia to stock what she calls her ramen library. She was candid about it:
"A restaurant offering instant ramen is crazy. I never thought I'd be doing something like this in my career."
Neon Kitty exists to solve a staffing and hours problem. A resort with a hotel, clubs and gaming floors needs food at every hour, and a ramen bowl can be served fast, hot and cheap at 4 a.m. without running a full kitchen. That also makes it one of the only places in Rohnert Park serving hot food that late. The posted menu lists egg tarts at $2.99, coconut buns at $3.99, corn dogs and Spam musubi at $4.99, and ramen toppings from 49 cents to $2.99. Graton's site lists weekday hours as 9 a.m. to midnight and weekend hours as "midnight to midnight." Call ahead if you're counting on a 3 a.m. bowl.
Who Can Go Where
This is the part to check before you bring the whole family. Of the new venues, only Playbook's page says "Must be Age 21+." The pages for AYA, SoCo Dough Co. and Neon Kitty don't show a similar restriction. Sonoma Magazine photographed an 11-year-old from Santa Rosa eating ramen at Neon Kitty on opening day, but that photo isn't a policy. Getting there matters too. AYA has its own entrance, but SoCo and Neon Kitty are in the new smoke-free wing, and no published map shows a way to reach them without crossing a gaming floor. Before bringing anyone under 21, it's worth a call to Graton.
| Venue | What it is | Hours as currently posted | Price markers | Access notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AYA | Rooftop seafood and Wagyu dinner | 5 to 10 p.m. Sun, Wed, Thu; 5 to 11 p.m. Fri, Sat; no dinner Mon or Tue | Small plates from $12; mains to $85 | Dedicated exterior entrance |
| SoCo Dough Co. | Doughnuts and dessert drinks | 11 a.m. to midnight Sun to Thu; to 2 a.m. Fri, Sat | Classic doughnuts $4 | In the smoke-free wing |
| Neon Kitty | Ramen counter and Japanese market | 9 a.m. to midnight weekdays; weekends posted as midnight to midnight | Snacks $2.99 to $4.99 | In the smoke-free wing |
| Playbook | Sports tavern | Noon to 10 p.m. weekdays; 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekends; bar to 2 a.m. Fri, Sat | Detroit-style pizzas $18 to $20 | 21+ only |
AYA's bar stays open later than its kitchen, until 11 p.m. Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday and until midnight on Friday and Saturday. That gives you a late option even after the dining room stops seating. The Ellamars have also overhauled the resort's existing restaurants, and Sonoma Magazine called the current 630 Park Steakhouse "vastly improved."
Two Build-Outs on the Same Clock
The next phases on Golf Course Drive West line up with the downtown schedule. Graton expects a new hotel tower with about 200 rooms in 2027 and a 3,800-seat entertainment venue in 2028. The downtown plaza on the State Farm site is scheduled to start construction in 2027 and finish in phases between 2028 and 2029. Raising Cane's is targeting September 2027 for the old Amy's building. All three are projections, and dates like these often slip. Even so, for at least the next two years, AYA is the newest sit-down dinner in town and Neon Kitty is one of the latest hot meals in town, and both sit at 288 Golf Course Drive W.
The city's own fall events are still on Snyder Lane. The Halloween Carnival and Día de los Muertos celebration is October 24, from noon to 5 p.m., at the Community Center at 5401 Snyder Lane. AYA's reservation line is 707-588-3750.
Over the next few years, Rohnert Park will get a new downtown, a larger resort and new restaurants on familiar corners, and all of it will change what a day here looks like. If you'd like to talk about how Golf Course Drive West and the State Farm site fit into your plans, Miranda Hanson is happy to help. Let's Connect.
