Tech Entrepreneur Identified as Mystery Shopper Purchasing Mattson Sonoma Properties

When troubled developer Ken Mattson recently sold the iconic Sonoma Cheese Factory and Sonoma's Best Market and Deli to a mysterious Delaware LLC, neighbors feared he was simply moving assets from one of his businesses to another to avoid meddlesome creditors and federal investigators.

That turned out not to be the case, The Press Democrat has learned.

Anidel Hospitality, led by San Francisco technology entrepreneur Chris Fanini, purchased the two establishments and other properties, company officials confirmed to The Press Democrat.

“This exciting acquisition marks a new chapter for these historic locations, with a renewed passion to be an ambassador for the local community and its artisan products,” the company said in a statement to the newspaper.

A press representative also confirmed that Fanini controls the limited liability companies that purchased the two properties in May, as well as I Heart Sonoma LLC, a separate company that purchased 11 parcels in the Sonoma area that month.

All 13 properties were owned by KS Mattson Partners, Ken Mattson's primary company.

Mattson, who did not respond to requests for comment, is under investigation by the FBI, which raided his home on Castle Road on May 24. He is also being sued by several entities, including his longtime business partner, Tim LeFever. Mattson sued LeFever and their former company, LeFever Mattson.

Fanini is co-founder and CTO of Weebly, a San Francisco-based technology startup that helps customers build websites, blogs and online stores.

“Sonoma holds a special place in my heart,” he said in the release. “It’s a vibrant community that my family and I have long called home. My team and I are excited to rejuvenate these iconic locations and create welcoming spaces for the community.

The company also named John Wittig as chief executive officer and Francesca Huson as vice president of operations. Huson is a household name in Sonoma County, having spent nearly eight years at White Oak Vineyards & Winery in Healdsburg, including as general manager. She also spent two and a half years running the nonprofit Taste Destination 128 in Alexander Valley and nearly five years at John Ash & Co. in Santa Rosa.

The emergence of Fanini, 39, as a mystery shopper could assuage some local concerns that Mattson's business woes will lead to massive foreclosures, empty homes and laid-off employees, although the potential fallout from his troubles remains to be seen. see.

LeFever, in his civil suit against Mattson — filed last Friday in Sacramento County Superior Court, the same day Mattson sued LeFever in Sonoma County — alleges that his lifelong friend defrauded him and their business , of “at least $100 million.” Much of this money was invested in additional real estate purchases.

Mattson has enormous home loan responsibilities, most of which come from Socotra Capital, a hard-money lender in Sacramento that charges high interest rates and demands short-term repayments.

I Heart Sonoma purchased 10 parcels from KS Mattson Partners, Ken Mattson's company, between May 2 and 9, and one from Willis and Linda Rice, who previously purchased theirs from KS Mattson Partners.

Mattson's company also sold one parcel each to two other new LLCs, both registered under the name of the affected property address: 1190 E. Napa LLC and 2 W. Spain LLC. The first is Sonoma's best on East 8th Street and East Napa Street; The latter is the Sonoma Cheese Factory on the downtown square.

All used Sonoma PO boxes as mailing addresses, and none have yet registered with the California Secretary of State's office, as businesses with significant transactions in the state are required to do.

According to real estate records, the new LLCs purchased the 13 parcels for a total estimated at about $22 million. Records show that KS Mattson Partners made significant profits on the two active businesses – the company invested a lot of money in renovating them – but broke even or lost money on the 11 residential parcels .

When The Press Democrat profiled Mattson and LeFever in March 2023, between them they owned at least 116 Sonoma-area properties in more than a dozen LLCs and limited partnerships that were part of more than 100 companies that the duo had then formed.

This complex web of companies has led many to speculate that it was Mattson himself, or perhaps LeFever Mattson, who purchased the unloaded Sonoma properties in order to hide assets.

Fanini, according to the company's release, is “a passionate resident of San Francisco for 17 years” and grew up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He started a web hosting company while at Pennsbury High School, followed by one of the area's first Internet service providers. .

Fanini studied at Penn State's College of Information Services and Technology, then moved to San Francisco to start Weebly with two classmates before returning to Penn State to finish his degree.

More than 12% of the U.S. population visits a Weebly-powered website each month, according to Fanini news clippings.

Fanini is known as an investment “angel” who distributes money for lodging and retail projects. His first real estate purchase in Sonoma County was a property high on Trinity Road in the Mayacamas Mountains above the Sonoma Valley, which he completed with other parties in May 2022.

Meanwhile, Mattson's star is fading. It has been under scrutiny since May 9, when LeFever alerted an unspecified number of people that money they thought they had invested in an IRA fund created by LeFever Mattson had instead been diverted to personal accounts created by Mattson.

Since then, investors interviewed by The Press Democrat have cited a series of separate issues related to Mattson's financial management. These irregularities include monthly investment distributions (separate from the IRA fund) that suddenly stopped arriving in March or April, and 1,031 property exchanges arranged by Mattson on their behalf, but for which the names of the investors do not appear. not yet on property deeds.

The FBI raided Mattson's $6.5 million home outside the city of Sonoma on May 24.

You can reach Phil Barber at 707-521-5263 or [email protected]. On X (Twitter) @Skinny_Post.