Sacramento soul food standout South is closing. But wait, there’s a new restaurant on the way

Arguably the Sacramento region’s preeminent soul food restaurant, South, will close at the end of June, owner N’Gina Guyton announced in a video on social media Friday afternoon.

Guyton opened the restaurant with her now ex-husband Ian Kavookjian at 2005 11 St. in 2014. She’s closing it to focus on a solo project called Miss N’Gina that’ll open in the downtown or Midtown Sacramento area around the end of summer, she said.

“I am so sad to announce that at the end of June, we’ll be closing South restaurant for reasons ... we’ll just say that not all relationships are meant to last,” Guyton said in the video. “And when we come to the end of relationships, it’s important to just move on and start new projects and be creative and just move into new avenues.”

South combined Guyton’s Louisiana roots with California flair, pairing her mother’s fried chicken recipe with kale Caeser salad and boozy “South Sipper” pouches similar to adult Capri-Suns.

The Southside Park restaurant emerged as a culinary star home to some of the region’s best fried chicken, in a bucket or between two pieces of bread. The Sacramento Bee named South one of Sacramento Top 50 Restaurants in 2021, and Thrillist claimed it had the city’s best burger (and No. 66 nationwide) in 2017.

Guyton stepped back from South’s day-to-day operations in early 2020 to start her own North Sacramento farm and co-found a mental health nonprofit. She was not immediately available for comment Friday afternoon.

Guyton will start crowdsourcing funding for Miss N’Gina via Indiegogo next week, she said in the video. Follow the new restaurant’s Instagram page @themissngina for updates.

“I really hope that all of you come out and support (the new restaurant) and give me love,” Guyton said. “And, especially after we open, share a glass of wine with me.”

This story was originally published June 3, 2022 at 4:57 PM.