For 15 years, Juno’s Kitchen was one of those only in Sacramento institutions. A pocket sized sandwich counter on J Street in East Sacramento with a couple of sidewalk tables, no real signage to speak of, and a line of regulars who knew exactly what they wanted before they got to the register. This spring, chef owner Mark Helm announced he was closing it for good, done in by the same thing that’s taken down a string of beloved local restaurants lately: rising labor, food, and rent costs.
East Sacramento took the news hard. Juno’s wasn’t a place that advertised. It didn’t need to. It built its reputation almost entirely on word of mouth, the kind of spot that came up constantly in Reddit threads whenever someone asked where to get a real sandwich in Sacramento. Regulars showed up specifically for the panko crusted eggplant sandwich and the sourdough, made from a wild starter and naturally leavened overnight, then baked fresh every morning until the loaves sold out. At which point Juno’s simply closed for the day, no matter what time it was.
Here’s the part most people don’t know yet: none of it actually went away. It just changed addresses.
Where Chef Mark Helm Landed
Helm has taken over the kitchen at Juju Kitchen & Cocktails, on the corner of 15th and L Street in downtown Sacramento, a few blocks from Capitol Park. He officially started service there in early May, and the eggplant sandwich, the single most requested item from the old Juno’s menu, made the move with him.
The transition wasn’t smooth. Helm has been candid about how different it feels to restart a kitchen after 15 years in the same one. “I’m so used to, for 15 years, I turn around and I know where everything is, and here I’m searching,” he said. “But we’re getting there.” Small operational headaches piled up early on: a mixer that turned out not to be working, not enough space to bring over his own equipment right away, and a genuinely absurd permit chase that sent him bouncing between four different city buildings in a single day before he found the right office. “It’s a lot different opening a restaurant than it was 15 years ago,” he said, mostly pointing to how much more bureaucracy is involved now compared to when he first opened Juno’s.
Helm is still baking sourdough at Juju, though he’s said it likely won’t be at the volume he was doing before. The new kitchen just isn’t built for that scale yet. What he is doing is using the move as a chance to expand past sandwiches entirely. “I want to cook again, instead of just making sandwiches,” he said, which tracks with Juju’s menu: a farm to fork small and large plates format built around seasonal, locally sourced ingredients, not a deli counter. Juju’s own team has described the post transition menu as finding “the right mix of Juno’s amazing food and the Juju vibe,” meaning Helm’s cooking is layered onto an already established restaurant identity rather than replacing it outright.
What Juju Kitchen & Cocktails Actually Is
If you’ve never been, Juju is a different kind of experience than Juno’s ever was. It’s a full bar and restaurant setup with craft cocktails, an all local beer list, and a curated wine program, plus seating at the bar, at tables, or out on the patio. There’s no phone line and no reservations. You just show up. The small plates menu leans into things like lamb empanadas, meatballs in marinara, roasted mushrooms, and a hummus and pitta plate that regulars specifically call out, while the larger plates and bar menu round things out with dishes like barbacoa tacos and arancini. On the drink side, standouts include an old fashioned and a cocktail called “Bananas in Pajamas,” both frequently mentioned by reviewers as reasons to come back.
In other words, it’s not a lunch only sandwich shop anymore. It’s a cocktail forward dinner and drinks spot that now happens to carry the most famous sandwich in East Sacramento’s recent history, made by the same hands that built it.
What Happened to the Old Juno’s Space
The J Street location isn’t sitting empty, either. Ignacio Ortega, who owns La Costa Cafe in Boulevard Park, is moving into the old Juno’s space with a new concept called Nene’s. Ortega’s plan is to push past his cafe’s usual ceviches and aguachiles into what he’s described as “elevated modern Mexican,” drawing inspiration from restaurants he admires in Mexico. It’s a real departure from the deli and sandwich format Juno’s ran for a decade and a half, but it means the space itself gets a second act rather than sitting dark.
So East Sacramento isn’t actually losing a restaurant. It’s trading one for two. The original building gets a brand new identity under Ortega, while Helm and his signature dish resurface downtown under a different roof entirely.
The Bottom Line
If you’re still driving past J Street looking for that eggplant sandwich, you’re a few miles off. Head downtown to Juju Kitchen & Cocktails, 1501 L St., corner of 15th and L, near Capitol Park. Same chef, same signature sandwich, same sourdough philosophy, just folded into a bigger menu, a cocktail program, and a restaurant that was already its own thing before Helm walked in. It’s one of the more graceful restaurant transitions Sacramento has seen lately. Nothing really ended. It just moved a few miles west and picked up a full bar along the way.
