A Legend Changes Hands:

The Iconic Townhouse Finds New Owners After 50+ Years

Fair Oaks Village Community Newsletter • March 2026

For more than half a century, the stucco-and-wood building on the corner of Fair Oaks Boulevard and Winding Way has been a quiet constant in the heart of Fair Oaks Village — its vintage neon sign glowing TOWNHOUSE into the night, a reminder of an era when this village was a lively gathering place. After more than 50 years in the same family’s hands, the Townhouse has sold — and with it comes a wave of excitement, nostalgia, and real hope for what comes next.

A Building Rooted in Village History

Built in 1940, the Townhouse is one of Fair Oaks Village’s oldest commercial properties. Designed in an Art Deco–meets–Spanish style, the two-story stucco building sits on a generous quarter-acre corner lot at 10236 Fair Oaks Blvd, commanding attention the way only a well-placed landmark can.

In its heyday, the ground floor housed a bar and a restaurant — each occupying roughly 1,000 square feet — while the upper floor provided residential apartments for tenants who lived right in the middle of the Village’s social scene. By all accounts, the Townhouse was a true community hub: the kind of place where neighbors lingered over a cold drink, celebrated milestones, and watched the Village grow up around them.

The bar and restaurant last operated in the mid-1990s. Since then, the commercial spaces have sat quietly — their original bar fixtures, wood paneling, and character largely intact — while the four residential apartments above continued to provide housing for Village residents.

The Sale: A New Chapter Begins

The Townhouse officially closed escrow on January 22, 2026, selling for $1,000,000 in a competitive, all-cash transaction. Originally listed at $1.3 million in October 2025, the property attracted three offers before reaching a final sale price. The deal was handled by listing agent Nan Danford of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, with buyer’s agent Jamie Lang of Lang House Real Estate representing the new owners.

The property is classified as a mixed-use quadruplex, comprising two commercial units and four residential apartments — three one-bedroom units and one four-bedroom unit. At the time it went on the market, three of the four apartments were occupied, providing built-in rental income from day one, if the buyer chose.

The Possibilities: What Could the Townhouse Become?

With separate meters for each unit and a flexible SPA zoning designation, the Townhouse offers remarkable versatility. Here are some of the most exciting directions the new owners could take it:

Revive the Restaurant & Bar The most talked-about possibility — and arguably the most exciting — is bringing back the Townhouse as a working restaurant and bar. With Fair Oaks Village experiencing a genuine renaissance (including a newly renovated park and theater complex and a crop of new shops and eateries), the timing has rarely been better. The spaces are already plumbed and sized for food and beverage service.

Boutique Retail or Creative Studios The 1,000-square-foot commercial units could be reimagined as boutique retail, an art gallery, a yoga or wellness studio, or creative office space — uses that complement the Village’s walkable, community-oriented character.

Community Event Space Given the building’s history as a social gathering place, a community event venue would honor that legacy while filling a real need in the Village. Think private dining, pop-up markets, or neighborhood meetups.

Mixed-Use Residential & Commercial With the residential units already generating income, a longer-term rehabilitation could add updated apartments alongside refreshed commercial spaces — a model that works well in walkable village settings.

Right Place, Right Time

The sale of the Townhouse doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Fair Oaks Village has been on an upswing, with the recently renovated Village Park and theater complex drawing foot traffic and new energy to the corridor. Several new restaurants and shops have opened nearby, and community investment in the area is at a high point. The Townhouse sits squarely at the center of that momentum — literally on the main boulevard, on a corner lot that’s impossible to miss.

For the Dobrinski’s, who hold the keys now, they hold something rare: a piece of the Village’s history and a genuine opportunity to shape its future.

Editor’s Note: The new owners’ complete plans have not yet been publicly announced. Although they plan to fully renovate the property, what business it will house is yet to be determined. The Community Newsletter will follow up with more details as they become available. If you have information or would like to share memories of the Townhouse, we’d love to hear from you.

Fair Oaks Village Community Newsletter • Celebrating Our Village Since 1940

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