"The town is definitely becoming more lively," Clyde Zaya told The Mercury News in July. Zaya has run Bella Saratoga with his business partner Claudio Nicosia since 2007, and he was answering a rumor that the restaurant was changing hands. It isn't. "You're seeing more businesses coming in, which is good. The more, the merrier."

Zaya was talking about the businesses coming in, and where they are setting up says a lot about the Village this year. This year's changes on Big Basin Way have happened inside rooms Saratoga already knew: a French dining room that opened in 1972, a winery tasting room, the Mangia Mornings space, a 1913 brick bar and a wine bar that closed during the pandemic. In almost every case the new tenant came from nearby, and almost every one uses its room for more of the day than the previous tenant did.

Five Familiar Doorways, Five New Names

The longest-running room on that list is the place to start, because its handoff shows most clearly how this year's changes have worked.

The 1972 Dining Room Passes to a Campbell Restaurateur

La Mère Michelle served traditional French food at 14467 Big Basin Way for more than five decades. Marc Masek's parents opened it in 1972, and he stayed on as executive chef and co-owner. This year, The Mercury News reported, Masek sold the building to Parviz Sahbaee, owner of Negeen, a Persian restaurant on Hamilton Avenue in Campbell. Two weeks later the same paper reported that the space is being transformed into Negeen, serving charbroiled kabobs, stews over saffron basmati rice and vegetarian dishes.

Negeen is a known name in the West Valley. Its first restaurant, at 801 W. Hamilton Ave. in Campbell, has been a local favorite for more than 20 years, according to the Saratoga News column in The Mercury News. That column called the former La Mère Michelle space Negeen's second location. A new owner's approval to serve alcohol at the address is dated Oct. 7, 2026, following restaurant plans first filed Aug. 18. The Campbell menu gives a sense of what the Saratoga location will serve: filet mignon and chicken kabobs, seafood kabobs, rice dishes, and stews such as fesenjan and ghormeh sabzi.

So the Village's oldest dining room went to a restaurateur who has spent two decades cooking in neighboring Campbell, and the room will stay a restaurant. The rest of the year's changes followed the same pattern.

The Pattern Holds Down the Block

Sultan's Kebab at 14554 Big Basin Way. Mangia Mornings' former space, as WhatNow reported, now belongs to a Bay Area kebab company with branches in Danville, Livermore, Pleasanton and Campbell. Pleasanton was the first. In August, owner Fatih Ulas told The Mercury News that the Saratoga and Concord locations would bring the company to six. "We are excited to continue growing the brand and bringing our Mediterranean cuisine to more Bay Area communities," said Ulas, who is from Turkey. By late September the Saratoga News column reported the restaurant open, serving beef kebabs, lavash, rice, hummus, falafel and vegetarian dishes, with takeout at 408-740-8021. The company grills halal, Turkish-style kebabs over charcoal and serves them with bread, rice or garlic-feta fries, plus mezze, shawarma salads and baklava. The nearest established branch is in Campbell.

Scarlett Cocktail Room & Lounge on Saratoga-Los Gatos Road. Silvia Petrova and her family are longtime Saratoga residents who bought Bell Tower Café in 2025. They converted the building next door, which held Claudine's Wine Experience until it closed during the pandemic, into Scarlett. It opened May 22. "Our vision was to create a Prohibition-style speakeasy cocktail lounge with an intimate, timeless feel," Petrova told The Mercury News. "The centerpiece is a 100-plus-year-old Irish back bar imported from Dublin." So this one is neighbors taking over a room next to a café they already run.

The Bank Lounge & Wine Bar. The Bank is a case of renewal without a new operator. It fills the same small footprint in its 1913 brick building and now has a small fireplace, better seating, large-screen TVs visible from every corner, and card payments in place of its cash-only rule.

Pop Haus at 14612 Big Basin Way. The former Cinnabar Winery tasting room became a specialty coffee shop with a grand opening on June 27. The space never stopped being a place to taste wine. It just pours different bottles now, and only after the coffee hours are over.

Taken together, a room changed hands while keeping its basic purpose, and in most cases the person who took it over already had a business within a short drive of Big Basin Way.

The New Rooms Keep Longer Hours

Several of the old tenants each had one clear slot. Mangia Mornings carried the morning in its name, and a winery tasting room is an afternoon stop. The new tenants spread across the clock.

Pop Haus makes the plainest case. Mornings run on drinks like an orange marzipan latte and an ube matcha latte, with fancy toasts and pastries. In the afternoon it switches to a wine bar format featuring Georgian wines. Pouring Georgian wine in a former Cinnabar tasting room gives Saratoga a different bottle to try without adding another storefront.

Sultan's Kebab announced daily hours of 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. for its new locations, along with dine-in and catering. That reaches well past the morning hours its predecessor's name suggested.

Scarlett carries the evening. Its regular cocktails include the Scarlett No. 9 and the Velvet Orchard, both bourbon-based, plus the Golden Mirage, Sin and Silk, and Crystal Garden. Lead bartender Jacqueline Aguirre runs the bar, and the food menu leans toward corn riblets, a slider trio and bruschetta. The lounge has offered live music on Friday and Saturday nights, and performers are posted on Scarlett's live music page. Its wine list is Californian for now. Petrova told The Mercury News she is open to working with local wineries as the program grows.

The Bank's fireplace and card payments fit the same pattern on a smaller scale, making the old watering hole an easier evening stop with no ATM run first.

One Evening, Doorway by Doorway

Put together, the changes give the Village a different evening than it had a year ago. Here is one way to string them together on the weekend before Thanksgiving, starting up Big Basin Way by street number:

1. 14460 Big Basin Way, the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce, organizer of Village traditions such as the SCAREatoga scarecrow display along Big Basin Way.
2. 14467 Big Basin Way, the former La Mère Michelle, where Negeen Persian Cuisine is bringing its second location.
3. 14554 Big Basin Way, Sultan's Kebab, for an early dinner or a takeout order.
4. 14612 Big Basin Way, Pop Haus, for a glass of Georgian wine before the room winds down.
5. The Bank Lounge & Wine Bar, for a seat by the fireplace in the 1913 building.
6. Scarlett Cocktail Room & Lounge, beside Bell Tower Café on Saratoga-Los Gatos Road, for a nightcap and, on Fridays and Saturdays, live music.

Bella Saratoga is still on the street under the same partners who have run it since 2007, and it remains a steady part of the Village through all of this.

Petrova told The Mercury News she hopes Scarlett becomes "a welcoming destination where people can gather, connect and experience something memorable." She also said Saratoga should promote "its rich history, natural beauty and local businesses" to draw visitors while "preserving Saratoga's unique character."

Following which rooms change hands, who takes them and what they become is part of how Stilla Raissi reads the blocks around Saratoga Village for her clients. If you own a home within walking distance of Big Basin Way and want to know how today's Village figures into its value, Request a Private Valuation.