Downtown Santa Rosa has a lot of restaurants, boutiques and luxury stores, but sadly, no drug stores, grocery stores, hardware stores, pharmacies or other necessities that once comprised the town core. This new landscape makes the old-school Asef’s Appliance important enough, but the breadth of know-how and experience in the long, cluttered space is irreplaceable. Sewing machines, vacuum cleaners, toasters, blenders, lamps, power drills, mixers—if it has moving parts, Asef’s can probably fix it, and they have an ever-changing stock for sales, too. I can’t remember how many things I’ve had repaired, how many keys I’ve had made or how many vacuum bags or belts I’ve found there, but I do know that last week the back of my watch fell off, and I knew just where to go. They brought out a small box of differently sized metal pieces that looked like they were from the Mesopotamian era, reassembled my watch, tightened the vise and popped everything back together. “Thanks! What do I owe you?” I asked, pulling out my wallet. Their response, in typical Asef’s fashion: “You’ll buy something next time you come in. Have a good day, now.” 709 Fourth St., Santa Rosa, 707.575.3737.—Gabe Meline
The 25 Days Project is an online series through the month of December spotlighting some of our favorite local businesses. Read more about the project here, and about our commitment to shopping locally here.
