Family-owned Greek restaurant fills prime K Street spot in downtown Sacramento
A Greek-Mediterranean restaurant based out of Elk Grove has expanded to a second location steps from Downtown Commons after more than a decade in business.
Sal’s Kabob and Gyro Grill, at 728 K St., opened at the end of April, filling a space in the commercial-residential project The Hardin formerly occupied by the small chain MidiCi Pizza.
Sulaiman “Sal” Safi has had visions of opening a restaurant near the state Capitol since he started working in his family’s Elk Grove gyro restaurant when he was 18 years old. When the K Street restaurant unit opened up, less than a mile from the landmark, Safi jumped at the opportunity.
The family business began in Lodi in 2011, and the Safi family soon moved their restaurant to Laguna Boulevard in Elk Grove. For nearly 15 years, Sal worked in the kitchen of his family’s restaurant as it grew.
Sal’s Kabob on K Street already had a 4.8-star rating on Google with 26 reviews as of Friday. So far, the majority of customers have been downtown and state workers; business slows down significantly in the evening, Safi said.
Safi’s menu features classic Greek and Mediterranean dishes, including gyros, shawarmas and kabobs with marinated steak, chicken, lamb and vegetables, alongside an array of Philly cheesesteaks, burgers and pizzas.
Sal’s Kabob took over the former spot of MidiCi Pizza’s only Sacramento-area location, which closed in July, the Sacramento Business Journal reported. Safi said he wanted to take advantage of the ovens left behind in the former pizza shop, but he is not planning on keeping pies on the menu if they don’t sell well.
“Not a lot of people have ordered pizza, honestly,” Safi said. “When they come to our restaurant, they think it’s just a regular Greek spot.”
Safi is also looking to add a dessert menu, something he said has been his “biggest dream.”
“I would love to have an ice cream(stone) that I can put baklavas on and make a Middle Eastern ice cream,” he said. “I just want to do something new with dessert and my menu.”
The space neighboring Sal’s is also set to receive a new tenant soon: Chando’s Cantina Zazon Del Mar is slated for the 730 K St. unit, which formerly housed Solomon’s, according to previous Bee reporting. The restaurant had planned to open by mid-March, but it was still not open as of Friday.
Amid the recent closures along K Street, Safi acknowledged that finances are difficult for many businesses and customers at the moment, but his family is working hard trying to maintain successful restaurants.
“This is like a recovery time ... where we go back from the bottom all the way to the top,” he said. “My part is to keep doing what I do best: Making the best gyros for everybody.”
.jpg)