Juno’s Kitchen closed, but that’s not the end of the story. Here’s what’s next
Last month, East Sacramentans were distressed by an announcement by the owners of local lunch joint and sourdough bakery Juno’s Kitchen that it would be closing after 15 years in business. However, the story didn’t end there.
Not long after, the owners of downtown’s Juju Kitchen & Cocktails announced that Juno’s chef-owner Mark Helm would be taking over operations as of May 4. Two days later, a social media post from Juno’s announced that the owner of La Costa Cafe in Boulevard Park would be moving into the Juno’s space with a new concept called Nene’s.
“I want to cook again, instead of just making sandwiches,” Helm said. “The opportunity came up to get Juju, and we took it. As time neared the end of Juno’s, and we started to get really depressed, and we’re thinking, you know, wow, are we doing the right thing here? But we just followed through with it, and here we are.”
“I think it stemmed from just reflecting on things, and then watching these old fashioned videos of these chefs making coq au vin and stuff. And I was like, man, I really want to do that again.” he said.
Helm had hoped to get started at Juju yesterday, but operational difficulties during the transition interfered. If all goes well, Juju will be up and running this afternoon.
“It’s a lot different opening a restaurant, I’m finding out, than it was 15 years ago,” he said.
A major part of that is bureaucracy. An example is when he had to chase down one necessary permit.
“They were like, you know, you have to go to American River Drive. I get there, and then they’re like, nope, you got to go down to 78th Street. Okay, I get there, and they’re like, nope, it’s moved to this building here on I Street. Then I go to I Street, and they’re like, no, it’s somewhere else. Like a whole day is wasted on just trying to get to the right place,” he said.
Helm dropped a sample menu, which was shared on Juju’s social media on April 21. He will be carrying over some customer favorites from Juno’s, most notably the panko-crusted eggplant sandwich.
He will continue to make sourdough bread, but probably not at the scale he did at Juno’s.
“The mixer here is not working. I wasn’t aware of that, and I haven’t brought mine down yet, and there really isn’t a lot of space,” he said.
The biggest challenge is simply adapting to a new space.
“I’m so used to, you know, for 15 years, and I turn around and I know where everything is, and here I’m searching. And, you know, it’s just unfamiliar,” he said. “But we’re getting there.”
Meanwhile, chef-owner of La Costa Cafe Ignacio Ortega seeks to expand on his heritage, going beyond the cafe’s ceviches and aguachiles to create “elevated modern Mexican” dishes inspired by some popular spots in Mexico, specifically La Once Mil, with taquerias in the trendy Roma Norte and Lomas de Chapultepec neighborhoods of Mexico City.
“We’re inspired by their open-face enchiladas, and we’ll use housemade tortillas with similar ingredients and our own mole, salsa verde, salsa roja. They’re crispy on one side with protein on top, like thinly sliced Angus ribeye,” he said.
Nene’s will also serve breakfast burritos and a torta de chilaquiles, with salsa-simmered tortilla chips served on a soft bolillo bun. You can add a chicken Milanesa for a more substantial sandwich.
