Bijou Sparkles

At the new Bijou restaurant in downtown Petaluma, golden house-made potato chips with creamy onion dip are arranged just so in a small cast-iron cauldron that boasts a history, a story and a special place in the heart of Chef Stephane Saint Louis.

Together with his wife Marta Saint Louis (restaurant manager) and business partner and co-chef Steven Vargas, he also operates the fine-dining Table Culture Provisions a half mile away. For 18 months the team had searched for a property for a second, more casual restaurant only to be met with disappointment as one potential deal after another fell through.

That is, until one day, when Saint Louis learned that a particular building was coming available. Not just any property, but one at the prominent corner of Kentucky and Washington streets that had been home to a series of restaurants over the years, most recently Easy Rider.

It was a spot that Saint Louis knew well, having been the chef at The Shuckery oyster bar kitty-corner to it. He and his staff would regularly cross the street to hold team meetings in that dining room. And it was there during the throes of the pandemic that he wandered in and beheld one of the current owners weeping after a fallout with her business partners. Sensing how overwhelmed she was, he offered to lend a hand until she sold the place. She ended up paying him not only in money, but in whatever small appliances and dishware were on hand that he might desire for his dream restaurant someday.

Among the items? Those petite cast-iron kettles, now returned to their rightful place from which they came. It’s a serendipitous turn that’s not lost on Saint Louis whenever he picks one up. “I was always a fan of this place,” he says. “It was meant to be.”

It’s been quite the journey for Saint Louis, 39, and Vargas, 32, best friends and colleagues for the past eight years, who funneled profits from their hit Petaluma fried-chicken pandemic popup into the opening of the tiny, tasting-menu-only Table Culture Provisions in 2021. It crested this March, when TCP, as it’s fondly known, garnered a recommendation from the Michelin Guide.

It may not yet be the Michelin star that Saint Louis covets—a facsimile of which is tattooed on his right wrist—but it reinforces the belief that he’s on the right path.

“It makes me feel like our team and our audience understand what we’re trying to do,” he says, “that we’re aiming for something bigger than just being another restaurant.”

Even so, making the leap from one restaurant to two in June was a huge step, especially since Bijou is more than three times the size of Table Culture Provisions. In its midnight blue 17-seat dining room, Table Culture Provisions showcases elegant, seasonal fare that melds different cultures harmoniously—hence its name. In contrast, the 55-seat Bijou, remodeled with a more minimalist, sand-washed décor, offers an a la carte menu that leans into French bistro classics such as beef Wellington and steak frites with a more refined approach married with Sonoma fresh-picked exuberance. Unlike TCP, Bijou has a full liquor license, too, allowing it to serve inventive cocktails such as the tequila-amaretto-based Golden Hour that’s laced with carrot juice and cinnamon horchata.

For Vargas, born and raised in Petaluma, owning two restaurants now in his hometown has its pinch-me moments.

“It’s surreal,” he says. “I’m just happy when people say that TCP was always out of their price point, but that they tried Bijou and thought it was so great that they really want try the TCP tasting menu now. It’s a special feeling.”

Bijou has been drawing crowds since day one, with patrons lingering until 10pm, a rarity in this Wine Country town. The compact menu has surprised some diners, but Saint Louis likes that the smaller selection allows him to change things up nearly every day, subbing in salt cod fritters, handmade tortellini with chanterelles, or whatever else strikes his fancy. Besides shopping for both restaurants at local farmers markets, he sources fish from Anna’s Seafood in Petaluma; greens and micro flowers from organic farm, Westview Petaluma; and peas, favas, zucchini and tomatoes from TCP’s own ⅓-acre plot at Asombrosa farm in Petaluma.

Saint Louis oversaw Bijou when it opened, while Vargas helmed TCP. But the two regularly switch it up now. They are a true team, each raised largely by a single mother and each drawn to cooking for the discipline and pinpoint teamwork involved.

Born in Haiti but raised in Brooklyn before moving to the Bay Area, Saint Louis was 18 years old and adrift at the College of Marin when he tuned in to the inaugural season of “Top Chef” and was inspired to give cooking a try, despite never having turned on a stove before. One aunt paid for his tuition at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco; another funded his studies at the prestigious Institut Paul Bocuse in France. He gained his footing in high-pressure kitchens in France, Shanghai and Copenhagen before coming to Petaluma to become chef de cuisine at Della Fattoria.

It was there that he met Vargas, whose first restaurant job was as a busser at age 18. Seven years later while finishing culinary studies at Santa Rosa Community College, Vargas walked into Della Fattoria, where Saint Louis hired him on the spot. On his first shift, the garde manger cook quit, and Vargas was unexpectedly put in charge of preparing all salads and cold dishes for a menu he didn’t yet know. Saint Louis was impressed by what he saw. Far from feeling overwhelmed, Vargas actually felt at home in the fast-paced environment. So much so, that the next day, he canceled upcoming stages (internships) at other restaurants and went all in on Della Fattoria. Or, more specifically, on Saint Louis—whose dedication to excellence would prompt Vargas to also follow him to The Shuckery, then to partner with him on TCP and Bijou.

During the pandemic, the two famously funneled their $2,400 in Small Business Loan stimulus checks into buying then-red-hot Tesla stock. It took only five months to reap a windfall of $17,000, which they cashed out to kick-start their fried chicken pop-up. For Bijou, no stock profits were necessary. Just funds from friends and family, plus investors who believe in them. Saint Louis and Vargas also started a Bijou Club with membership fees of $1,500 or $2,500 per year that come with perks such as VIP reservation access, personally curated tasting menus, and classes that teach cooking, cocktail making and wine pairing.

With a fondness for artisan jewelry, Saint Louis chose the name Bijou because it’s French for “jewel.” With Sunday brunch on the horizon, along with Pastry Chef Sylvain Parsy’s baked goods to be sold from a side window on weekends, he hopes the restaurant grows into exactly that for the community. For him and Vargas, it’s already shown to be a gleaming start.

Bijou Restaurant
190 Kentucky St.
Petaluma