Arab-Mexican fusion restaurant to fill Simon’s former midtown Sacramento space

An Arab-Mexican fusion concept is opening a brick-and-mortar midtown Sacramento restaurant after nearly two years of pop-ups, filling the shoes of one of the city’s deepest-rooted watering holes.

Meza, Kasandra Kachakji’s culinary manifestation of her Syrian and Mexican heritage, is scheduled to open in March at 1415 16th St., where Simon’s Bar & Cafe previously stood.

Meza’s restaurant, like its pop-ups, will specialize in sourdough flatbread wraps grilled on a domed griddle called a saj. The wraps are filled with ingredients such as za’atar and a cucumber-mint-tomato medley or melted quesillo cheese with batata harra (spicy Lebanese sweet potatoes).

First-time visitors ought to try the Taco Arabe, lamb coated in al pastor spices and wrapped with arugula, pickled onions and the garlicky spread toum, Kachakji said. The Viva Palestina wrap includes pomegranate molasses-braised chicken, sumac and caramelized onions, an adaptation of the popular Palestinian dish msakhan.

A pastry menu that includes seasonal conchas, chocolate chip tahini cookies and sfouf (Lebanese almond-semolina cake) will expand in the brick-and-mortar kitchen. That space also opens up more possibilities for additional dips such as cashew-based labneh or sikil pak, a Mayan blend of pepitas and habaneros, as well as coffee service and more catering gigs, Kachakji said.

“We’re really excited to have a space for our community that we’ve been building for the last couple of years, where they can congregate and enjoy our food and have space to meet,” Kachakji said.

Meza began popping up at the since-closed midtown cafe Pressed Coffee + Records in early 2023, and eventually developed a circuit that included local breweries, Nitty’s Cider in East Sacramento, the Oak Park Farmers Market and local festivals.

Meza is currently only serving at the Saturday morning Midtown Farmers Market, but will reopen at Nitty’s in the spring, Kachakji said. Opening hours at the restaurant will be from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., with dinner and late-night service eventually on the horizon.

Simon’s Bar & Cafe was a favorite of legislative staffers and lobbyists from 1984 until its closure in November 2023, the go-to spot for end-of-session revelry and late-night plates of Chinese food. Former Frank Fat’s bartender and Hong Kong immigrant Simon Chan Sr. was a rare universally beloved figure throughout Sacramento’s politico scene, a friend to all who went the extra mile for his regulars.

Chan died of COVID-19 complications in March 2021. His son Simon Jr. kept the restaurant and bar open for another two-and-a-half years. But, with his father gone, he eventually lost the passion needed to sustain the restaurant amid a challenging business climate.

This story was originally published January 19, 2025 at 5:00 AM.