New American restaurant in Auburn closes permanently, citing coronavirus

Auburn restaurants got state approval Tuesday of last week to begin seating customers again, but it was too late for Mikki’s.

The 10-month-old New American restaurant has closed permanently, owner Mikki Ruiz announced Sunday night on Facebook. Scheduled power outages designed to mitigate wildfire risk hamstrung Mikki’s in October, Ruiz said, and the full-service restaurant never fully recovered.

“Although I am so very happy for all the businesses being able to open back up, I’m very sad that we will not be among them. We had barely recovered from the PG&E outages; there was nothing left for COVID19,” Ruiz wrote. “I am feeling crushed right now and I just have to take a moment to remember everything it took to get it open, have a long cry that it is over, and send a big heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who supported us and helped us along the way.”

Ruiz opened her namesake restaurant and bar at 660 Auburn Folsom Road, Suites 104 and 105 in July. She hoped to bring “a little Portland foodie flavor to Auburn,” she wrote on Mikki’s Yelp page, with live music and dishes such as mushroom polenta fries and short rib pappardelle.

Mikki’s joins Biba and Specialty’s Bakery & Cafe in Sacramento, Sutter Street Grill in Folsom and Madison Station Cafe in Carmichael as the latest local restaurant to close permanently during the pandemic. Pleasanton-based Specialty’s Bakery & Cafe announced it would close all locations, including those in downtown Sacramento and Rancho Cordova, on Sunday as well.

This story was originally published May 18, 2020 at 7:05 AM.