Among U.S. foodies, Sacramento is well-known as an up-and-coming dining hotspot. That’s, in part, thanks to top-notch breweries, fast-casual bites and upscale date night spots owned and operated by Black Sacramentans.Black-owned restaurants are spread across the entire region, serving everything from West African classics to American South comforts and much more. With Black History Month coming to a close, Sacramento foodies may take a moment to reflect on their favorite Black-owned spots to patronize year-round and discover new spots to try.Whether they’re sharing traditional dishes from halfway across the world or putting a personal riff on local favorites, these businesses represent their owners’ culinary backgrounds and communities.Oak Park Brewing reflects on Black history of brewing while becoming a part of itDespite a recent downward trend, craft beer remains big business. According to the Brewers Association, the total economic impact of craft beer in the U.S. in 2025 reached $72.5 billion, even though it was the second consecutive year of declining sales.And yet, according to another study by the National Black Brewers Association, only about 1% of American breweries are Black-owned.The National Black Brewers Association has identified 86 Black-owned beer brands — but that includes aspiring home brewers and contract brewers. Not all or even many have taprooms or storefronts. The organization also noted that Black-owned beer businesses have grown 9% faster than similar-sized breweries across the U.S. Rodg Little, co-owner and brewer at Oak Park Brewing, works on brewing a beer at the Sacramento brewery on Feb. 19. HANNAH RUHOFF hruhoff@sacbee.com “Right now we have two Black-owned breweries (in Sacramento). One being us, and the other one, Urban Roots Smokehouse and Brewery. But across the nation, as far as storefronts, there’s probably 10 now,” said Rodg Little, co-owner of Oak Park Brewing Company.Little and his partner Jeff Scott opened Oak Park Brewing in 2019. One of their earliest projects was to celebrate the godfather of Black brewing, Theodore Mack, Sr., purportedly the first African American professional brewer.A group called United Black Enterprises, led by Mack, purchased Peoples Brewing Company, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in 1970. He provided employment opportunities to minority communities in the area while brewing a beer for the people, by the people. Rodg Little, brewer at Oak Park Brewing, stacks cans of beer after they were canned and labeled in 2020. Daniel Kim dkim@sacbee.com Mack passed away in 2017, but his legacy lives on. Oak Park Brewing worked with the Mack family to create the Peoples Beer, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Peoples Brewing Company. Made from Mack’s original recipe, the Peoples Beer is a light, crisp lager. Mack’s likeness is emblazoned on every can. The beer is available in the taproom and retail.For the next phase, Peoples Beer dug deeper into Black history — and ended up becoming part of it.To celebrate Black History Month in 2021, Peoples Beer rolled out an “Icon Line,” with cans featuring images of four key figures in Black history: self-made millionaire Mary Ellen Pleasant, inventor and entrepreneur Frederick McKinley Jones and abolitionists Fredrick Douglass and Sojourner Truth. The cans featured their images and stories. The cans started going viral.“We started getting emails and Instagram hits and telephone calls, and eventually the estates saw the cans. They reached out to us, and we just started the conversation,” Little said.As the Icon Line’s popularity grew, it drew more attention, both from collaborators and imitators. Breweries in other markets did similar homages, but Oak Park remained at the center of attention. Rodg Little, co-owner and brewer at Oak Park Brewing, displays various collaborations the brewery has done, including with the estate of Tupac Shakur, at the brewery in Sacramento on Feb. 19. According to Little, the beers were the first time Black Americans appeared on beer cans. HANNAH RUHOFF hruhoff@sacbee.com By and by, working with the estates, Oak Park released Icon Line cans with such luminaries as Sammy Davis, Jr., Tupak Shakur and Ray Charles. Many of the cans feature images never before seen.The opportunities continue to roll in. Thermo King, Frederick McKinley Jones’s former company, reached out about doing a collaboration.“We still have that opportunity on the table, so we’ll probably tap into it, probably in 2027,” Little said.Where else can you find Black-owned food businesses in Sacramento?With dozens of Black-owned and -run kitchens, the Sacramento region has one of the most vibrant scenes for African-American food entrepreneurs. From West African jollof rice to Spanish tapas, Creole gumbo to award-winning craft beers, Sacramento’s Black food landscape is deliciously diverse. AfroEatzAddress: 1725 I St., SacramentoSacramento was introduced to Liberian food last summer when Sayeah “Pinky” Mayson, Tonia Sambola and Warnerlyn Warner launched their family-owned Boulevard Park eatery.Simmering pepper soup and jollof rice sit at the center of the West African cuisine, supported by the smashed plantain fufu used to carry morsels of food.AfroEatz opened in July in the space formerly housing Bambi’s Vegan Tacos. The small unit was transformed into a colorful celebration of Liberia with a large mural spanning the restaurant’s street-facing wall. Sayeah “Pinky” Mayson, owner of AfroEatz in midtown Sacramento, poses for a portrait at her restaurant on Dec. 4. JOSÉ LUIS VILLEGAS jvillegas@sacbee.com Naija CuisineAddress: 2700 L St., SacramentoFufu and jollof rice are also found at Naija Cuisine, a Nigerian food business run by Adeola Adedayo. Nigerian and Liberian cooks each have their own riffs on the West African staple dishes, and they are proud of it.Adedayo previously told The Bee that her Nigerian-style jollof rice is the best around. She takes her time with preparing food, allowing spices and layered flavors to spread evenly throughout her dishes.Naija Cuisine’s egusi soup, a Nigerian favorite, is made with seeds from the egusi melon with a kick from habaneros and peppers, according to previous Bee reporting. Naija Cuisine proprietor Adeola Adedayo tends her station in a commercial kitchen inside Pioneer Church on L Street. Sean Timberlake stimberlake@sacbee.com Elevated Eats 916Address: TAP Wine Lounge, 1011 Del Paso Blvd., SacramentoIn an area of Old North Sacramento that lacks vegetarian and vegan focused restaurants, Carlton Brown is frying up healthy burger alternatives that he said saved his life.In 2024, Brown went on a strict vegan detox diet to try losing weight — he weighed in at 473 pounds. During the diet, he learned about alternative ingredients for common dishes that he said have health benefits.“I feel like a lot of people would eat healthy if they knew how to cook, but a lot of people don’t know how,” Brown previously told The Bee.Now, Brown fries up oyster mushroom patties in an acorn flour breading using 100% avocado oil. His mushroom burger sliders are flavored with agave-garlic sauce, jerk seasoning and avocado variants.The entrepreneur is running his eatery out of Cynthia Dees Brooks’s TAP Wine Lounge in Old North Sacramento. Both business owners said they made a strong connection immediately after meeting, and Brown’s food fits right in with the tasting room’s offerings — which includes some vegan wines. Elevated Eats owner Carlton Brown poses with his oyster mushroom slider sampler at TAP Wine Lounge in Sacramento on Dec. 4. Brown started the all-vegan business in 2025 and is currently serving out of TAP Wine Lounge’s kitchen. HANNAH RUHOFF hruhoff@sacbee.com Urban Roots family of restaurantsAddress: Multiple across SacramentoRob Archie has been key in developing the dynastic Urban Roots Brewery & Smokehouse and its numerous offshoots.In 2008, Archie launched Pangaea Bier Cafe in Curtis Park, which ushered in a still-thriving era of craft beer in the region. Though Pangaea Bier Cafe plans to shut its doors soon, its legacy remains deeply woven in Sacramento’s culinary scene.Archie and business partner Peter Hoey have spread their diverse set of restaurants across town. They’ve continued expanding as recently as fall 2025.Urban Roots Hospitality Group’s namesake eatery is well-known as one of the top brewpubs in the nation, though its barbecue offerings are a fan-favorite in Sacramento. Archie and Hoey have tapped into fried chicken with BAWK! and its connected speakeasy The Roost, while fine tacos and other Mexican offerings are served at Cervecería by Urban Roots.The newest addition to the Urban Roots roster is Good Neighbor, a chic-yet-approachable Ice Blocks restaurant with a tight menu and a creative set of cocktails. Steps away from the main restaurant, pastry chef Jamie Mack has partnered with the Urban Roots team on Side Hustle, a walk-up fast-casual concept with hot dogs, desserts and to-go boozy drinks. Sacramento restaurateur Rob Archie sits in his first restaurant, Pangaea Bier Cafe in Sacramento’s Curtis Park neighborhood, in February 2025. Since its 2008 opening, he’s been involved in a number restaurants and bars: Urban Roots Brewing & Smokehouse, Bawk, The Roost and Cervecería by Urban Roots. PAUL KITAGAKI JR. pkitagaki@sacbee.com Fixins Soul KitchenAddress: 3428 3rd Ave., SacramentoThough Kevin Johnson is famous for being the former mayor of Sacramento and an NBA All-Star player, among area foodies his soul food restaurant has made a mark.In 2025, Sacramento area Yelp users rated Fixins Soul Kitchen high enough to be named the best Black-owned restaurant in town.Its relatively modest two-page menu feels plucked straight from the South with a sampling of dishes from across the rich culinary region. Everything from oxtails to gumbo to chicken and waffles are represented at the eatery.A short list of featured Uncle Nearest whiskeys honors the “true godfather of Tennessee whiskey,” Nathan “Nearest” Green, a formerly enslaved man who was the first Black master whiskey distiller in the country.In 2023, Fixins Soul Kitchen’s crispy brined fried chicken earned it a spot on Yelp’s list of best fried chicken restaurants across the nation. An order of fried chicken, one of the most popular items at Fixins Soul Kitchen, is ready to serve in 2023 at the restaurant in Sacramento’s Oak Park neighborhood. Hector Amezcua hamezcua@sacbee.com Brown Rice BakeryAddress: Midtown Farmer’s Market pop-ups, catering available through the business’s websiteCottage baker J Jordan has made a name for themself throughout the Sacramento area preparing baked goods that reflect their personal values and identity.According to the bakery’s website, Jordan eats a reduced gluten and dairy diet. They started Brown Rice Bakery in 2021 to offer fully vegan and gluten-free bakes to the region. As part of the business, Jordan takes numerous opportunities to partner with other BIPOC and LGBTQ+ owned businesses, and the baker donates leftover product to the Norcal Resist organization weekly.In the few years they have been in the region’s culinary scene, Jordan has had the opportunity to bake for the annual Tower Bridge Dinner’s dessert service three times in a row.During Pride Month 2025, the baker made gluten-free and vegan Pride cupcakes to sell at the Sacramento Food Co-Op. The cupcakes — as well as other Pride-themed goodies sold at the co-op last year — helped raise funds for the Sacramento LGBT Community Center.“I used to work in nonprofit, social and environmental advocacy, community organizing, and more,” Jordan previously told The Bee. “I love that now, I can express those sides of myself unapologetically through something that is also delicious.”Jim-Denny’sAddress: New Helvetia Brewing Co., 1730 Broadway, Sacramento.Sacramento chef N’Gina Guyton took the helm of the shuttered historic diner in 2023 and has steered it through rough waters ever since.After 85 years operating at 816 12th St., Jim-Denny’s closed its doors during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Guyton rebooted the concept with Takis-spiced hot dogs, fish sandwiches and other unique riffs on diner dishes.Despite its renewed popularity, Jim-Denny’s closed its doors again in the summer of 2025 after a dispute between Guyton and the building’s landlord. However, less than two weeks later, Guyton announced she had partnered with New Helvetia Brewing Company to keep the Jim-Denny’s legacy alive once again.Now, Guyton is slinging burgers and other classic fare out of the Land Park brewery Wednesdays-Sundays. Owner N’Gina Guyton takes customer orders at Jim-Denny’s closing day in Sacramento on July 2, 2025. IRENE ADELINE MILANEZ imilanez@sacbee.com Calabash CaribbeanAddress: 1431 Del Paso Blvd., SacramentoWolete Atherley, J.P. Perkins and Chef Ever Champagnie represent Jamaica and its cuisine at the fine Caribbean restaurant in Old North Sacramento.Though Champagnie whips up Jamaican staple dishes such as jerk chicken and oxtails with butter beans, the chef also serves original creations like the creamy, rich “rasta pasta.”Jamaican cuisine is well-known for its intense spice, and Calabash offers it with dishes like the seafood pot, according to previous Bee reporting. Possibly more impressively, however, is how the kitchen made a sweet and mild chicken wing sauce with mangos and Scotch bonnet peppers — which normally has heat equatable to habaneros.In addition to leading Calabash, Atherley also runs the more laidback Dubplate Kitchen & Caribbean Cuisine in Arden Arcade. J.P. Perkins, managing partner of Calabash Caribbean in Sacramento, poses in one of the restaurant’s dining rooms on Nov. 21, 2025. PAUL KITAGAKI JR. pkitagaki@sacbee.com ]]]]]]>]]]]>]]>
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Sean Timberlake is the food and dining reporter for The Sacramento Bee. He has been writing professionally for nearly 30 years, and about food for 20. A variety of well-known outlets have published his work, including Food Network, Cooking Channel, CNN, Sunset Magazine and SF Weekly.
The Sacramento Bee
Camila Pedrosa is a service journalism reporter at The Sacramento Bee. She previously worked as a summer reporting intern for The Bee and reported in Phoenix and Washington, D.C. She graduated from Arizona State University with a master’s degree in mass communication.
