Downtown Sacramento restaurant Solomon’s and its upstairs music venue have closed. What we know
Downtown Sacramento restaurant Solomon’s and its upstairs music venue, the Russ Room, have closed — at least for the time being.
The restaurant at 730 K St., named after Tower Records founder Russ Solomon and opened in 2019, originally debuted as a contemporary Jewish delicatessen before rebranding as a modern diner last year.
It’s not immediately clear what the future holds for Solomon’s space in The Hardin mixed-use development. A prepared statement from the restaurant called the closure temporary.
Employees were reportedly told they did not have jobs on Tuesday morning. Solomon’s appears to be listed for sale by Restaurant Realty Company; while the business’ name and address are not included in the listing in the interest of confidentiality, a description of the space and photos of the food match up with Solomon’s offerings.
“After serving the Sacramento community since 2019 in our historic and iconic downtown location, we have made the difficult decision to close our doors,” the statement read. “We are confident this will be a temporary closure as we fervently believe this special space is destined for a second life.”
“We want to thank our dedicated, tremendously hard working and talented staff over the years, our partners and our amazing and loyal customers, who have made this journey one of joy. Thank you also to the local creatives, artists, DJ’s and musicians who shared their talents with Solomon’s. We remain champions of downtown Sacramento and will continue to support its resurgence.”
Founded first by Andrea Lepore and Jami Goldstene in downtown Davis, Solomon’s was one of Sacramento’s most hotly-anticipated restaurants even years before it began serving its first Reuben sandwich, a harbinger of downtown revitalization surrounding Golden 1 Center and an oasis for Jewish restaurant food in the region.
Yet Solomon’s struggled to find its footing. It was a Jewish deli/bagel shop/cocktail bar/music venue that paid homage to the past while trying to create original dishes. The concept could be difficult to define, and some detractors — including The Sacramento Bee’s former food critic Kate Washington — said it was doing too much.
The COVID-19 pandemic hit downtown Sacramento harder than any other neighborhood in the metro area, as state workers stopped going into offices and Golden 1 Center events ground to a halt. Solomon’s, open for less than a year at that point, had the double misfortune of no dine-in customers at the restaurant and no shows in the Russ Room.
Those issues coupled with rising labor and food costs prompted Solomon’s closure, according to the statement.
Solomon’s shifted toward a more globally-inspired menu coming out of the pandemic, with then-chef Ryan Ota (now the founder of popular Southside Park pop-up Mecha Mucho) introducing items such as Japanese fried chicken sandwiches.
Solomon’s Delicatessen then became Solomon’s Vinyl Diner in May 2023, reimagined under new proprietors Vizion Capital Management, a group that included many leaders of neighboring hotspot Tiger.
Jim-Denny’s owner N’Gina Guyton designed a menu with items such as French toast with fried chicken while holding onto some of the original Jewish deli items, and The Russ Room became a “listening lounge” with vinyl records playing during restaurant operating hours.
The Russ Room was still hosting evening live music as well during that time, but ceased doing so over the winter until shows returned in late April. All future concerts appear to have been canceled.
