East Sacramento cultural fusion restaurant closing after 1 year in business

Joon Market, a trendy East Sacramento restaurant that balanced its owners’ diverse cultural backgrounds, will permanently close next month.

February 11 will be the final day of service at 5401 H St., co-owner Saba Rahimian announced in an Instagram post Tuesday.

“To say this has been a wild ride merely scratches the surface of all we have experienced and felt over the past year and a half,” Rahimian’s post read. “We wrestled with constant pivots, we kept pressing forward to build something we hoped you would love, and in the end we met the most remarkable people in Sacramento.”

Rahimian opened Joon Market with partner Seth Helmly in January 2021 after the two moved back from Austin. A Sacramento native, Rahimian had moved her Granola Girl food truck to Texas in 2016.

“Joon” translates to “life” or “spirit” in Farsi, Rahimian’s first language, and the restaurant cast Middle Eastern dishes in a modern light alongside those from Helmly, a Texas native. Shakshuka with lamb meatballs shared the menu with carnitas and grits, plus dishes like kimchi pancakes and Cubano sandwiches from beyond the owners’ backgrounds.

In June 2021, Joon Market was named among The Sacramento Bee’s list of “30 of the best Sacramento restaurants that opened during COVID.”

This story was originally published January 26, 2022 at 4:27 PM.