Here’s a new topping: Auburn’s Old Town Pizza adds a full-service bar on its roof

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A rooftop bar in Auburn? Yes, really.

The cozy Placer County town of 15,000 now has the kind of drinking and dining experience normally reserved for downtown Sacramento hotspots like Darling Aviary or Clayton Club.

But don’t get too excited: the building only has two stories.

A full-service rooftop bar looks out over downtown Auburn’s quainter buildings at Old Town Pizza’s three-month-old 510 High St. location. The 2,400-square foot, second-floor patio can fit up to 150 customers seeking pies such as the Mother Lode (pepperoni, sausage, linguiça, salami, mushrooms, yellow onions and black olives) or drinks from its 24 taps.

“There’s nothing like it in Auburn, or really anywhere in (Placer County). These concepts don’t exist,” said Old Town Pizza co-owner Russ Yeager, who also owns Slice Beer Co. in Lincoln.

One of Placer County’s few comparable concepts is Old Town Pizza’s location in Lincoln, which has a open-air setup on its second level. But that rooftop spot only has six taps, meaning that customers who want the full range of options need to order from the downstairs bar.

First opened in 1999, Old Town Pizza was bought three years later by Reese Browning and now has additional locations in Roseville and at Auburn’s Gold Country Fairgrounds and Event Center. Browning’s son Mason handles more day-to-day responsibilities alongside Yeager and general manager/co-owner Laura Styler; Reese is now the semi-retired visionary, whose travels inspired the rooftop bar.

Sail shades, fans and misters help keep customers cool on the second level, while several TVs provide entertainment year-round. A first-floor indoor dining room can fit another 350 people. It has roll-up windows that can create a similarly open experience.

It’s a far cry from Old Town Pizza’s original Auburn restaurant, which had about 30% as much space before closing in May at 150 Sacramento St. The pizzeria’s owners had rented that location, but bought the High Street building to be able to add the features they wanted — such as the rooftop bar.

What I’m Eating

At Daddy O’s Smokehouse in Rancho Cordova, owner/pitmaster O.Z. Kamara’s barbecue roots trace back 70 years to the North Texas town of Greenville, where his grandfather pioneered family recipes and rubs over low flames.

Sides such as macaroni and cheese came from Kamara’s mother, while the pitmaster’s personal travels inspired items like jerk chicken on the more comprehensive catering menu. Plates of meat, two sides and rolls generally go for $15 during lunch and $20 for dinner at 3581 Mather Field Road, Suite B, though those meals are bumped down to $10 during happy hour from 2-3 p.m

Daddy O’s could use more employees, as is the case for most restaurants around Sacramento. Kamara and his young son were working diligently when I visited, but still missed a couple items we ordered.

If Daddy O’s had more staff, I’d love to see the crispy corners of the brisket cut off and served as burnt ends. The sweet, blackened outer layer of the brisket was the cherry on top of beef slabs that nailed the lean/fat balance, but admittedly came out a bit overdone.

Daddy O’s ribs had a nice smoke ring like the brisket, fell off the bone easily and came coated in a vibrant red rub that negated any need for Daddy O’s peppery house barbecue sauce. Pickle lovers should pick the relish-infused potato salad as a side; those with a sweet tooth might prefer the brown sugar in Kamara’s candied yams.

Openings & Closings

• Moonbelly Bakery opened last Friday at 6511 Folsom Blvd. in East Sacramento, as The Bee’s Brianna Taylor reported. Lucía Plumb-Reyes and her team make a variety of baked goods and accompaniments, from sourdough loaves to galettes to more than 15 different types of jarred preserves.
• Tokyo Cream Japanese Choux Pastry, an ice cream and dessert shop focused on Asian flavors such as black sesame or matcha, held its soft opening last weekend at 1906 Taylor Road, Suite 110 in Roseville. It will also serve boba drinks thanks to a partnership with Virtual TeaKup, which had a storefront in Roseville’s Ridge at Creekside shopping center until late 2021.
• The Purple Place has closed at 363 Green Valley Road in El Dorado Hills after rent negotiations fizzled out, the Sacramento Business Journal reported. Operators Denise and Mike Hountalas, who also own Poor Red’s Bar-B-Q in El Dorado, will reportedly seek a new location for their just-closed roadhouse.