History
THE GREATEST DANCE HALL IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA,
CELEBRATE OUR CENTENNIAL! 1906 - 2006
History
 
People have been dancing at this tree-shaded crossroads since 1906 when an Italian Swiss named Al Rossi opened a bar and house of ill repute. Apperently,the earthquake caved in one of the walls and after that there no girls.

After Rossi, the next owner was a Swiss piano player named Walter Reichmuth - "three fingers Walter", who compensated for his missing fingers by building elaborate contraptions powered by vacuum cleaner motors that enabled him to play piano and the accordion simultaneously. He was the one who named the place Little Switzerland, and his brother Frank, working from postcards, painted the alpine scenes on the walls.

Another Swiss, Al Ryser, a cheesemaker, bought the place in 1952. Gruber of the Al Gruber Band, bought it in 1962. "I fell in love with the place. I felt like I was back home, in every sense."

Since that time, Little Switzerland , now under the ownership of the Garcias, [meet the owners] has embraced a multi-cultural clientele. The local Hispanic community cherishes their Friday happy hour and evening of music and dance. On Saturdays, accordians play Cajun and Zydeco along with popular blues and rock. Sundays are still as they were in the beginning, featuring traditional polka.

Little Switzerland | 19080 Riverside, Sonoma, Ca 95476 | mailing: PO Box 90, El Verano, CA 95433
(Corner of Grove and Riverside, 1mile off the Sonoma Plaza)
707-938-9990