Mother, a beloved all-vegetarian restaurant that garnered a devoted following during its time in downtown Sacramento, will reopen Tuesday in its new midtown location.
The endlessly creative eatery is back, this time at 2319 K St., Suite B. A post on the restaurant’s social media pages over the weekend confirmed the opening date.
“We’re honored (and lucky) to have Mother back in operation. Some of the same kids. New digs. Open to the public Tuesday,” the post read.
Michael and Lisa Thiemann and Ryan Donahue, along with founding chef Matt Masera, earned Mother a reputation as one of downtown Sacramento’s best lunch spots for vegans, vegetarians and omnivores alike after it opened in 2014.
Mother earned a Bib Gourmand (great eats at an affordable price) in the first Michelin Guide to feature Sacramento. But it closed shortly thereafter in early 2020, and sister restaurant Empress Tavern shut down later that year. The latter reopened with all-new personnel in January.
The Thiemanns and Donahue are back for Mother 2.0, along with former Mulvaney’s B&L chef and Rossi Catering owner Robb Venditti. Their opening menu at Mother shows that creativity has been heightened, if anything, in the three-and-a-half years since the initial closure.
“It’s a great privilege to be able to bring this concept back to life,” Michael Thiemann wrote in a text message to The Sacramento Bee.
A deep list of small plates includes coconut-lime collard greens, beets marinated in lavender oil with crumbled pistachios and ricotta and baked black-eyed pea tostadas with Jimmy Nardello peppers, fried okra and chili oil.
Then it’s onto heartier items such as a nut burger with fried onions, Provolone, coriander pickles and agave mustard. There’ll be plates of chile verde and ratatouille, salads featuring peaches, burrata and heirloom radishes over farro and an agnolotti pasta dish that’s actually designed to taste more like elote.
Fear not, Mother purists: the fan favorite chicken-fried oyster mushroom po’boy sandwich is still available. So too are 10-course tasting menus for just $20 per person, weekly to start and requiring a non-refundable deposit with your advance reservation.
Hours of operation have not yet been determined.
This tale was initially printed September 11, 2023, 12:51 PM.
Benjy Egel covers local eating places and bars for The Sacramento Bee as nicely as general breaking news and investigative jobs. A Sacramento native, he formerly covered company for the Amarillo World-Information in Texas.
