The Kitchen (California restaurant)
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Restaurant |
| Founded | 1991 |
| Founder | Randall Selland, Nancy Zimmer |
| Headquarters | Sacramento, California , United States |
Key people | Kelly McCown (Executive Chef) |
| Products | Farm-to-fork dining |
The Kitchen is a Michelin-star rated farm-to-fork dining establishment located in Sacramento, California.
History
Founded in 1991 by chefs and partners Randall Selland and Nancy Zimmer alongside Nancy's catering enterprise, The Kitchen relocated in 1997 to 2225 Hurley Way. The introduction of Selland's Market Cafe at 5340 H Street in 2001 led Nancy to reduce her catering services to primarily drop-off and pickup orders from the cafe.
Executive chef Kelly McCown has been part of The Kitchen's team since the 1990s. The restaurant features a menu that changes seasonally and, starting in 2003, was open to the public from Wednesday through Saturday evenings, with Tuesdays reserved exclusively for private events.
The Selland Family Restaurants group also manages Ella Dining Room and Bar, OBO' Italian Table and Bar, along with several Selland's Market Cafe outlets in Sacramento and El Dorado Hills. In 2019, the group launched Bawk, a fried chicken concept now under the ownership of Urban Roots Brewing & Smokehouse.
In April 2015, plans were made for The Kitchen to move to a 1.9-acre site at 915 Broadway, acquired for $2.6 million. However, responding to customer interest, this location instead became the third Market Cafe branch. The Kitchen itself underwent renovations that expanded its wine cellar, upgraded restroom facilities, and increased seating capacity. Meanwhile, its bakery operations were shifted to the Broadway Market Cafe site, with administrative offices consolidated elsewhere.
Throughout most of 2020, The Kitchen remained closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic before reopening on October 14.
Reception
By 2019, The Kitchen had maintained consistently high Zagat scores and had received the prestigious AAA Five Diamond Award every year since 2011. In 2012, OpenTable honored it as one of the top 100 U.S. restaurants for "best service," later including it among the "100 Best Restaurants" in 2016. On June 3, 2019, it earned the distinction of becoming Sacramento’s inaugural Michelin-starred restaurant. Additionally, in August 2019, USA Today placed it at number 30 on its list of the top 30 restaurants in the United States. As of September 2021, it remains Sacramento’s sole recipient of a Michelin star.