Fair Oaks cafe run by Hawks alumni closes after just over a year, citing pandemic

Fair Oaks cafe Olive Branch has closed after 16 months, owner Jordan Anderson announced Tuesday night on social media.

Anderson shut down the cafe at 10239 Fair Oaks Blvd., Suite B for good on Sunday, he told The Sacramento Bee. A former Hawks beverage director, he opened it in April 2020 alongside chef Edward Lopez, previously Anderson’s coworker at the high-end Granite Bay restaurant.

Olive Branch was supposed to be Anderson and Lopez’s retreat from fine dining, a simpler concept that allowed them to shut down in the afternoon and be home for dinner with their kids (and employ Anderson’s son as a barista). Their six-person team served breakfast and lunch dishes like tomato-braised kale or an apple pecan salad using Rancho Roots produce, accompanied by Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters drinks.

It was named one of The Sacramento Bee’s 30 most interesting restaurants to open during the COVID-19 pandemic. But that unfortunate timing limited Olive Branch’s customer reach, and the state didn’t offer enough financial assistance during shutdowns, Anderson said. He lost an estimated $150,000-$200,000 in the venture, he said.

“You can go thank our glorious governor for screwing small business and restaurants ... our whole industry’s decimated,” he said.

Other local operators are in talks to move into Olive Branch’s former space, Anderson said.