The historic Freestone Hotel is getting redeveloped by Lowell Sheldon, Jeffrey Berlin and Noah Churma. Despite sexual misconduct allegations against Sheldon, the partners are moving forward together.
Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle历史悠久的弗里斯通酒店（Freestone Hotel）的两个合作伙伴表示，他们不会与索诺玛县著名餐馆老板洛厄尔·谢尔顿（Lowell Sheldon）建立联系，尽管他呼吁他在近十二名前雇员指控他性行为不端或创造有毒的工作环境后辞职。
合伙人杰弗里•柏林说,他和他的伙伴,Noah Churma, have decided to keep Sheldon at the helm of their redevelopment plan for the nearly 150-year-old landmark, but Sheldon will not be involved in day-to-day operations. Berlin will oversee them instead, and the partners intend to hire a third-party human resources organization for the project, which includes an inn and wine-focused restaurant.
柏林说,他目睹了谢尔登工作toward “addressing the mistakes he’s made in the past” and called allegations such as a pattern of unwanted touching “agenda-based press.”
“While I believe wholeheartedly in the dismantling of the patriarchy and shining a spotlight on every manifestation of misogyny in our society, I am not the kind of person that turns his back on a friend when they have made mistakes and are genuinely trying to learn from and correct them,” Berlin wrote in an email to The Chronicle.
谢尔顿告诉《编年史》，他试图向过去伤害的女性道歉，并将继续试图“使事情变得正确”。柏林说，他和他的合作伙伴还计划在准备开放时“以公开和合作的方式与社区互动”。谢尔顿（Sheldon）在今年的塞巴斯托波尔（Sebastopol）餐厅费恩酒吧（Fern Bar，Handline）和库姆（Khom Loi）的所有权中被撤职，他否认了大多数指控，当时他们首次公开公开并仍然坚持认为他不打算伤害任何人。
谢尔顿写道：“我知道我以某种非常真实的方式搞砸了，我的错误爆发了，在社区周围造成了痛苦。”in a lengthy statementthat he sent to his email list Tuesday. “My heart is heavy, knowing that I cannot change my past.”
Three women who made allegations about Sheldon said they were disappointed by the decision. Leah Engel, who held multiple positions at Sheldon’s restaurants and accused him of inappropriate behavior with employees, called the hotel’s choice to move forward with Sheldon “dumbfounding.”
亚历山德拉·洛佩兹（Alexandra Lopez）（从左到右），杰西·霍姆·道森（Jesse Hom-Dawson）和莉亚·恩格尔（Leah Engel）是洛厄尔·谢尔顿（Lowell Sheldon）的三名前雇员，他们不想看到他参与弗莱斯通酒店（Freestone Hotel）。
Yalonda M. James/The ChronicleAlexandra Lopez, a former manager at Sheldon’s restaurants who previously accused him of repeatedly kissing her forehead and hugging her without her consent, said she wants to see the hotel partners explicitly address Sheldon’s past with the community and explain what safeguards they’ll put between him and staff.
在一个编年史的九月调查, 11 former staffers who had worked with Sheldon between 2015 and 2021 accused him of sexual harassment or creating a toxic work environment. Several came forward because they were concerned about Sheldon’s involvement in turning the 148-year-old Freestone Hotel into a wine-focused restaurant and inn in late 2023 — a major development for a town with a population of 32. Sheldon is also an owner of the hotel.
Lopez and others also pointed to a sexual assault allegationpublished in the North Bay Bohemian9月是担心可能最终在酒店的人们的理由。在2019年11月度过了一夜的夜晚，一位匿名女人说谢尔顿亲吻了她，将手放在裤子里，未经她同意就被射在她的嘴里。《纪事报》采访了这名妇女和她的前夫，她告诉了她关于涉嫌袭击事件发生后第二天的事件。《纪事报》还审查了社交媒体帖子和该女子的日记条目，这些妇女很快在涉嫌事件发生后。
The woman filed a report with the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office on Sept. 27, two days after The Chronicle’s investigation was published. The Sheriff’s Office confirmed that it is not pursuing the sexual assault case that was reported that day, but could not confirm identities of those involved due to privacy rights. (Heather Wise, an attorney who accompanied the woman to make the report, said prosecution was not the goal; the hope was that her report would make it easier for other victims to come forward.)
在一个phone conversation with The Chronicle on Monday, Sheldon didn’t deny the woman’s account. “It breaks my heart that someone feels I didn’t treat them well. That’s just a terrible thing (for her) to have to feel,” he said. “It’s very important to me at some point that I can let her know that.”
Lowell Sheldon cooks at home in Sebastopol. The restaurateur is part of the development of the Freestone Hotel.
Mason Trinca/Special to The Chronicle 2017柏林（Berlin）是奥克兰法国餐厅（Oakland French Restaurant）的总经理兼葡萄酒总监10年，他宣布决定与谢尔顿（Sheldon）在纪事中与谢尔顿（Sheldon）开展业务。塞巴斯托波尔企业家Churma没有回应置评请求。
Sheldon’s promise to stay away from managerial duties at the hotel isn’t enough to ease concerns, some of the women who had accused Sheldon of inappropriate behavior said. “Just the idea that he could have easy access to alcohol and hotel rooms is a very frightening prospect to me,” Lopez said.
Opposition to Sheldon’s role in the hotel isn’t unanimous. The Freestone Hotel project has received mixed support from residents, with some praising the effort and others sharing concerns about changing the building’s facade and the impact on parking and noise. A public hearing to approve the building permits has yet to be scheduled. Some see no problems given Sheldon will not be there day-to-day and remain fully supportive of the hotel.
“I think the project itself is fantastic,” said Ken Freeman, the owner of Freeman Winery in Sebastopol. “We’re short on rooms, and we’re overwhelmed with visitors here.”
但是住在弗莱斯通酒店附近的杰奎琳·格里森（Jacqueline Gleason）和雷·冈萨雷斯（Ray Gonzales）表示，如果谢尔顿（Sheldon）从中获利，他们将不再支持该项目。格里森说，外包人力资源组织还不够。
“It seems like someone who has been kicked out of three restaurants for questionable and horrendous behavior probably shouldn’t have access to a liquor license and be in a position of power,” Gleason said.
冈萨雷斯补充说，他厌倦了听到性行为不端事件的消息。“除非我们削减它，否则它不会改变。我们必须尽力而为。”
The exterior of the Freestone Hotel, located at 306 Bohemian Highway. Lowell Sheldon is one of the co-owners of an upcoming hotel and restaurant opening in the historic building.
Yalonda M. James/The ChronicleDanielle Connor, co-owner of Retrograde Coffee Roasters in Sebastopol, said she hoped the hotel would sever ties with Sheldon following the allegations. After the articles came out, she banned Sheldon, who she described as a regular patron, from her coffee shop.
但是，她不确定有多少其他当地企业主认为有关谢尔顿的故事直接影响了他们。她说，她试图通过为企业主的资源指南撰写有关如何制定围绕该问题的工作场所政策以及如果出现的方式处理的工作场所政策，以保持有关性骚扰的对话。她希望人们“在更大的情况下思考”。
“What kind of community do we want to build moving forward, and how do we move forward from something like this?” Connor said. “And what actions can I take to try to make things better or make sure something like this doesn’t happen in my workplace?”
Sheldon acknowledged that some in the community plan to fight the Freestone Hotel — and that the business might not be viable if customers don’t show up. Still, he is moving forward, saying his livelihood shouldn’t be destroyed as a result of past mistakes.
他说：“我不知道会发生什么。”“我所能做的就是应用我过去几年中学到的课程，并以Freestone的方式正确地做事。”
Jesse Hom-Dawson, a former communications manager for Sheldon’s restaurants who Sheldon once told to “sit on daddy’s lap,” said she plans to contest the hotel’s permit and alcohol license applications. She and Engel want Sheldon to donate all of the money he received as part of the buyout processes at Fern Bar, Handline and Khom Loi. They don’t think he should be in a position of power in the industry, including as an owner of a high-profile project like the Freestone Hotel.
She’s frustrated by what she sees as a lack of accountability in how the hotel’s partners are pushing forward.
霍姆·道森（Hom-Dawson）说：“我认为这是妇女问题如何不断被忽视或不认真对待的标志，尤其是在性侵犯或性骚扰方面。”
Janelle Bitker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email:janelle.bitker@sfchronicle.comTwitter:@janellebitker
