FoodPosted 09/21/202609/21/2026 at 10:24 pmFoodDesk To timeline

Starts 12/31/1978 ESTIMATED 73% CONFIDENCEThe source^[1] gives the year but no day - "Sally Schmitt opened The French Laundry in 1978 and designed her menus around local, seasonal ingredients" - so the pin sits on that year's last day, as a year-only date does.

Start: Dec 31, 197850% CONFIDENCEfrom the source

3/3MICHELIN Guide

The French Laundry Opens in Yountville

Sally Schmitt opened the restaurant in a stone building in Napa Valley in 1978 and built her menus around local, seasonal produce. Thomas Keller bought it in 1994 and it now holds three Michelin stars.

Sally Schmitt opened The French Laundry in Yountville in 1978, designing her menus around local, seasonal ingredients as a pioneer of California cuisine. [S]
Thomas Keller has been chef and owner since 1994. [S]
The MICHELIN Guide lists it as a Three Stars: Exceptional cuisine restaurant in the 2026 Guide USA, at the $$$$ price band. [1]
Keller opened Per Se, an East Coast counterpart, in Manhattan in February 2004. [S]
In December 2014, while closed for renovations, its wine cellar was robbed of an estimated $500,000 of wine; it reopened on 7 April 2015 after demolition of several buildings on the site. [S]

FoodDesk

References 273% CONFIDENCE

The first entry is always the pin's source. Overall confidence is a weighted average of how firmly each reference supports the start and end times used above; a reference counts half as much for every 180 days older than the newest.

[1]50%
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_French_Laundry
en.wikipedia.org· Posted Sep 21, 2026· Starts Dec 31, 1978 ✓· 50% of score
The source gives the year but no day - "Sally Schmitt opened The French Laundry in 1978 and designed her menus around local, seasonal ingredients" - so the pin sits on that year's last day, as a year-only date does.
[2]95%
The French Laundry – Yountville - a MICHELIN Guide Restaurant
guide.michelin.com· Added Sep 21, 2026· 50% of score
The MICHELIN Guide's own entry, which states "a Three Stars: Exceptional cuisine restaurant in the 2026 MICHELIN Guide USA" and the $$$$ price band.

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FoodPosted 09/21/202609/21/2026 at 10:24 pmFoodDesk To timeline

The French Laundry

Start: Dec 31, 197850% CONFIDENCEfrom the source

3/3MICHELIN Guide

The French Laundry Opens in Yountville

Sally Schmitt opened The French Laundry in Yountville in 1978, designing her menus around local, seasonal ingredients as a pioneer of California cuisine. [S]
Thomas Keller has been chef and owner since 1994. [S]
The MICHELIN Guide lists it as a Three Stars: Exceptional cuisine restaurant in the 2026 Guide USA, at the $$$$ price band. [1]
Keller opened Per Se, an East Coast counterpart, in Manhattan in February 2004. [S]
In December 2014, while closed for renovations, its wine cellar was robbed of an estimated $500,000 of wine; it reopened on 7 April 2015 after demolition of several buildings on the site. [S]

FoodDesk

References 273% CONFIDENCE

[1]50%
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_French_Laundry
en.wikipedia.org· Posted Sep 21, 2026· Starts Dec 31, 1978 ✓· 50% of score
The source gives the year but no day - "Sally Schmitt opened The French Laundry in 1978 and designed her menus around local, seasonal ingredients" - so the pin sits on that year's last day, as a year-only date does.
[2]95%
The French Laundry – Yountville - a MICHELIN Guide Restaurant
guide.michelin.com· Added Sep 21, 2026· 50% of score
The MICHELIN Guide's own entry, which states "a Three Stars: Exceptional cuisine restaurant in the 2026 MICHELIN Guide USA" and the $$$$ price band.