About 16 years ago, the Webers opened Della Fattoria as a breakfast, lunch and weekend brunch spot. Kay Baumhefner, a longtime friend and former chef of the Opera House Cafe, led the kitchen when in the beginning.
“What a visionary she was, and so strong, creative, and generous in all this,” Baumhefner said. “She was trying to give the community something where her heart was in it. Kathleen had a big heart and always cut to the heart of matters.”
Weber’s son, chef Aaron Weber, began experimenting with a prix fixe dinner menu about four years ago, digging further into the farm-to-table path his mother had carved out with Della breads. The venture was met with acclaim, and in 2018 the restaurant added a dinner menu.
Last year, Della Fattoria completed a dining hall expansion into the two adjacent properties. Her daughter, Elisa Weber, oversaw the creation of its captivating interior redesign, and fabricated the furniture.
Kathleen Weber’s success allowed her to become a published author, writing “Della Fattoria Bread,” a recipe book that sought to make high-quality baking more accessible.
The restaurant now employs over 60 people, all of whom adored her, said Marie McCusker, executive director of the Petaluma Downtown Association, in which she served as a board member.
“Her staff loved her,” McCusker said. “She brought this amazing business to town, but it wasn’t just a business. It was a family that built an empire.”
Weber was actively engaged in the Petaluma community, recognizing the importance of establishing the city as a desirable tourist location that could stand on its own, and worked for years to achieve that vision.
She served meals to first responders stationed in Petaluma when catastrophic wildfires ravaged Sonoma County. McCusker described her as a “mom to the community.”
Even for those that didn’t know her personally, Baumhefner said Weber had an ability to make strangers feel welcome in Petaluma.
“She may no longer be in that body, but so much of what she did for the community and for so many individuals will always be with us,” Baumhefner said. “We will miss her terribly, but she left us so much to be thankful and remember us for.”
In addition to her husband, Ed, she is survived by her two children, Aaron and Elisa, and her two grandsons, Jakob and Samuel.
Memorial services are still being finalized, but a plan is being developed to hold an open house Saturday at Della Fattoria. The public is invited.
You can reach Staff Writer Yousef Baig at 707-521-5390 or yousef.baig@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @YousefBaig.
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January 19, 2020 at 02:00PM
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Kathleen Weber, Petaluma bread maker and operator of Della Fattoria, dies of cancer - Santa Rosa Press Democrat
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