Placerville Newswire
  • Crime
  • Culture
No Result
View All Result
Get Started
Placerville NewsWire
  • Crime
  • Culture
No Result
View All Result
Placerville NewsWire
No Result
View All Result

Dry Diggings Distillery to Open “Hills” Restaurant and Bar in El Dorado Hills

Construction underway — tasting room stays open as Dry Diggings races to debut its long-awaited restaurant this summer

Cris Alarcon by Cris Alarcon
September 4, 2025
in News
471 25
0
Dry Diggings Distillery to Open “Hills” Restaurant and Bar in El Dorado Hills
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterWhatsappReddit

EL DORADO HILLS, Calif. — A local distillery that helped revive craft spirits in El Dorado County is moving beyond tastings and tours and into full-service dining.

Dry Diggings Distillery has begun demolition and construction to add a restaurant and bar to its El Dorado Hills campus at 5050 Robert J Mathews Parkway, the company announced as crews work on the buildout.

You might also like

Rural Hunger Conference 2025: El Dorado Partners Reinforce Countywide Food Safety Net

Rural Hunger Conference 2025: El Dorado Partners Reinforce Countywide Food Safety Net

October 23, 2025
Mountain lions in El Dorado County peak at dusk and after dark, local monitoring shows

Mountain lions in El Dorado County peak at dusk and after dark, local monitoring shows

October 20, 2025

The new dining space — expected to be called Hills — will sit alongside the distillery’s existing tasting room, which the company says will remain open during construction. Owners have tapped Dynamic Demolition and Deacon Construction for the project, and company posts indicate contractors are actively renovating the site.

Dry Diggings, which also operates labels under the Amador Distillery umbrella, opened its El Dorado Hills location after years in the business and has grown into a regional draw for tours and small-batch spirits. The distillery lists regular public hours for the tasting room and bottle shop; the public-facing operation will continue while the restaurant build continues.

“A bar and restaurant WILL be coming soon. Over twelve years of hard work and big dreams, and we’re finally doing the damn thing,”

an Instagram post from the distillery reads — a post that owners and local coverage have pointed to as confirmation the on-site restaurant is imminent.

Owner Cris Steller, a longtime figure in the region’s craft-distilling community, has framed the expansion as a natural next step for a “grain-to-glass” operation that emphasizes local agriculture and terroir in its spirits — an approach Steller has described in past interviews as central to the distillery’s identity. Local business observers say an on-site restaurant and bar will broaden Dry Diggings’ appeal beyond tasting-room visitors to evening diners and weekend crowds.

The project arrives at a time when El Dorado County tourism leaders are promoting local food-and-beverage experiences as a draw for visitors to Apple Hill and the foothills corridor. Producers and hospitality businesses say adding a restaurant to an established distillery can lengthen stays, create hospitality jobs and help local farms by increasing demand for regionally sourced ingredients.

Local coverage and business listings currently peg the target opening window as summer 2025, though the distillery has not released a firm grand-opening date. For the latest updates, Dry Diggings directs patrons to its website and Instagram account.

Cris Alarcon

Cris Alarcon

Former Member: Executive Board of Directors, Treasurer, Boys & Girl Club of El Dorado County Western Slope. - Former Member: Board of Directors, Treasurer, Food Bank of El Dorado County. - Opening Team Dealer at Red Hawk Casino - Retried EDC Elections Department Inspector. - Youngest Charter Member of the Hangtown Kennel Club. - Political Strategist and Campaign Manager.

Related Stories

Rural Hunger Conference 2025: El Dorado Partners Reinforce Countywide Food Safety Net

Rural Hunger Conference 2025: El Dorado Partners Reinforce Countywide Food Safety Net

by Cris Alarcon
October 23, 2025

More than 30 agencies met at the Food Bank of El Dorado County’s Rural Hunger Conference to shore up the...

Mountain lions in El Dorado County peak at dusk and after dark, local monitoring shows

Mountain lions in El Dorado County peak at dusk and after dark, local monitoring shows

by Cris Alarcon
October 20, 2025

New local monitoring shows mountain-lion detections in El Dorado County cluster at dusk and after dark. Cameras capture a 1...

Duane Wallace steps back from South Tahoe Chamber as city leadership faces turmoil over mayor’s resignation

Duane Wallace steps back from South Tahoe Chamber as city leadership faces turmoil over mayor’s resignation

by Cris Alarcon
October 18, 2025

Duane Wallace has stepped away from day-to-day leadership at the South Tahoe Chamber as the city reels from Mayor Tamara...

Tamara Wallace Retains Placerville Attorney Steven C. Bailey in El Dorado County Investigation

Tamara Wallace Retains Placerville Attorney Steven C. Bailey in El Dorado County Investigation

by Cris Alarcon
October 15, 2025

Former South Lake Tahoe Mayor Tamara Wallace announced today she has retained former El Dorado County judge and defense attorney...

Recommended

76th Annual Highway 50 Wagon Train: A Journey Through History

76th Annual Highway 50 Wagon Train Rides Again from Round Hill to Placerville

April 16, 2025
Robert R. Bist Sr.: Pearl Harbor Survivor and Beloved Ponderosa High School Teacher

Robert R. Bist Sr.: Pearl Harbor Survivor and Beloved Ponderosa High School Teacher

February 17, 2025

Popular Story

  • EDSO Eagle

    Rough Day in the County: From Broadway Robbery to Red Hawk Arrests

    686 shares
    Share 274 Tweet 172
  • El Dorado County Sheriff Arrests & Activity Log: Felonies, DUIs, and Domestic Calls — Oct. 18, 2025

    685 shares
    Share 274 Tweet 171
  • El Dorado County Sheriff’s Blotter: Battery Arrest, Domestic Violence, and a Missing Person — Oct. 17, 2025

    681 shares
    Share 272 Tweet 170
  • Feds Charge Two in Alleged Fraud Linked to California’s Homekey Program

    690 shares
    Share 276 Tweet 173
  • Five Arrests Across El Dorado County: Drugs, Assault, and Domestic Violence Mark a Rough Monday

    641 shares
    Share 256 Tweet 160
  • Buy JNews
  • Support Forum
  • Pre-sale Question
  • Contact Us

© 2023 Placerville Newswire Commentary is produced by the Placerville Newswire, a private service focusing on Placerville Local Area issues. All conclusions expressed in this publication should be understood to be solely those of the author(s). You may find us in El Dorado County Placerville, CA 95667

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Landing Page
  • Buy JNews
  • Support Forum
  • Pre-sale Question
  • Contact Us

© 2023 Placerville Newswire Commentary is produced by the Placerville Newswire, a private service focusing on Placerville Local Area issues. All conclusions expressed in this publication should be understood to be solely those of the author(s). You may find us in El Dorado County Placerville, CA 95667