Midtown gets a new community-focused lounge from an Amador County winery

Midtown got a new community-based destination last week as Plymouth-based Teneral Cellars opened its tasting room and lounge in the MARRS Building on 20th Street.

The opening marks a new beginning for the winery, which launched an Amador County tasting room in October 2020. Exactly five years later, they signed the lease on the midtown space and relocated from the foothills.

In the two months since taking control of the storefront, owners Jill Osur and Lisa Orrell have revamped it into a convivial meeting space. Unlike their former Amador operation, it’s meant to be more than just a venue to taste and purchase wines.

“It’s a tasting room and lounge,” Osur said. “So not just for tastings, but for people to come hang out, which is why during the week, our hours will be from like 3 to 9 or 3 to 10 (p.m.). We want to be doing things like trivia nights and open mic and karaoke nights.”

“It’s not a cafe,” Orrell said. “It’s a place for people to meet before going to dinner and hang out after.”

However, they knew people often like to have food with their wine.

So Osur and Orrell partnered with neighboring Japanese Mexican restaurant Omakaze Por Favor, which curated a petite menu of wine-friendly bites, including sturgeon sandwich and ceviche.

Starting Saturday, Dec. 13, Teneral will team up with south Sacramento’s Forgotten Bakery to serve up bagels and mimosas for the Midtown Farmers Market crowd.

Pouring wine with purpose

As a woman-owned business, Teneral stands out in the industry that, according to Santa Clara University researchers, is dominated by men.

About 14% of the state’s 4,200-plus wineries reported a woman as their lead winemaker in 2020, the researchers noted, a 10% increase over a similar study in 2011.

“One of the impetuses for me starting Teneral was that 76% of wine is purchased by women, and the industry didn’t come close to reflecting its largest customers. and especially in leadership positions,” Osur said. “We donate 10% of our profits back to organizations that empower women and fight for gender and racial justice. Since 2020, we’ve donated over $300,000 to those causes.”

Above all, Osur and Orrell want Teneral to be a place for everyone.

“We’re in the process of getting certified as a safe space by the Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative, and we want to play a leadership role in this community,” Osur said.

Bringing the product to the people

Osur and Orrell made the decision to relocate their tasting room operations due to declining attendance at the Amador space, and to be closer to a more vibrant community. In the new space, they sit side-by-side with already vibrant restaurants, bars and other businesses, plus the Midtown Farmers Market on Saturdays.

“Consumer trends are changing,” Osur said. “So not as many people are coming up to any of the wine regions, including Napa. We can’t move 50 acres of vineyard, but we can move a tasting room.”

The winery sustainably grows Mediterranean varietals in its El Dorado and Amador vineyards. Their winemaker is Kira Ballotta, formerly of Alpha Omega, who is now the owner of Olivia Brion.

As a way to kick-start the launch of the tasting room, Osur and Orrell have created the Swarm 100 Reserve Club, a limited-availability membership with a one-time $500 fee that yields benefits that well exceed the cost, including a $600 credit to be used in the first 12 months.

They also offer the Freedom Flight monthly subscription-based club for $49.95 per month, offering free tastings, complimentary glasses of wine and deeper discounts.

Teneral Cellars Tasting Room and Lounge

Address: 1050 20th St., Suite 110, midtown

Hours: 3 p.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Wednesday; 3 p.m.-10 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturdays; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Sundays

Phone: 844-836-3725

Website: teneralcellars.com

Vegetarian options: The short wine bites menu includes a vegetarian ceviche

Noise level: Moderate, depending on events

Outdoor seating: None currently

What I’m Eating

Most days, I’m not a big-breakfast guy. An egg and a piece of toast or some yogurt and fruit is fine. But, on the occasional Sunday morning, the urge strikes — and I just want to hunker down on something substantial.

While running around researching the Caribbean cuisine story, we happened to drive by Sarom’s Southern Kitchen. The sign immediately caught my husband’s eye.

A native Kentuckian, the word “Southern” always piques his interest. Before we even got home he had thoroughly cased the place out. A visit was in order.

Sarom’s is far from fancy. It’s on a busy street not far from the freeway off ramp and across from a dispensary. But you can count on there being a wait all the same.

The menu has diner classics — omelettes, waffles and the usual breakfast fare — but it’s the dishes of the South, and really specifically New Orleans, that stand out.

If there’s shrimp and grits ($16 small, $20 large) on the menu, I’m probably going to order it, and I did. The grits were rich and cheesy, and the shrimp nicely smoky. A small was more than enough for me.

My husband’s po’ boy sandwich ($16) featured crispy fried shrimp on a soft griddled roll, dressed with coleslaw, spicy remoulade and jalapeño tartar sauce.

Both things were as good as we’ve had anywhere, including New Orleans.

However, chef-owner Sarom Doeuk is not from the Mississippi Delta. She hails from Cambodia.

Having loved to cook her entire life, she initially started with a few doughnut shops. When her daughter visited the South, she encouraged her mother to dabble in the flavors of the region.

Doeuk tried her hand at making gumbo and jambalaya, and received positive feedback. So she decided to take the leap, opening the restaurant in 2015. She has since opened a second location in Elk Grove in 2018, run by her son and son-in-law.

Sarom’s Southern Kitchen

Address: 1901 El Camino Ave., Swanston Estates

Hours: 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; 7 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday; closed Wednesdays

Phone: 916-571-5355

Website: saromssouthernkitchen.com

Vegetarian options: Pancakes, waffles and French toast; otherwise vegetarians will have to choose their own adventure by special ordering omelettes or cobbling together sides. Southern dishes are meat-forward.

Noise level: Moderate

Openings & Closings

• Kitchen 15, a midtown Sacramento eatery known for its brunch-focused menu, has permanently closed following the end of its three-year lease, with its final day of business on Sunday, Nov. 30. The restaurant offered omelets, waffles, burgers and other breakfast and lunch items. It was initially envisioned as the first of multiple locations, including a planned but never-realized North Auburn outpost.

• Startup bakery Pastry Cat has applied to remodel a space at 5191 Sutter Park Way within East Sacramento’s Sutter Triangle. Owned by Thai-American chef Nariya Charoensupaya, who launched her career in the Bay Area before moving to Sacramento in 2019, Pastry Cat has operated as a pop-up for the past five years and most recently at Offbeat Coffee on Saturdays, offering items such as buns, breads, cakes, croissants and Korean garlic cheese buns.

• Another pop-up phenomenon, Twin Snakes Coffee, is establishing its first permanent footprint Friday in downtown’s Warehouse Artist Lofts on R Street in the space formerly run by Milka Coffee. Proprietor Malik Nimmo launched Twin Snakes in July, doing pop-ups at Forma, Public Land Store, General Store & Deli, and Superette. Twin Snakes uses Camellia Coffee beans.

This story was originally published December 6, 2025 at 7:00 AM.