Sentinel staff report–
The long-awaited opening of Dos Coyotes Border Cafe in Citrus Heights has arrived, with the new restaurant opening its doors for business on Wednesday to a full house.
The Davis-based restaurant chain is known for its southwestern food, “humongous salads,” salsa bars, and seasonal farm-to-fork specials. According to owner Bobby Coyote, several new menu items are making a debut in Citrus Heights, including new enchilada varieties and two new burittos.
Diners arriving to the newly renovated location at 5450 Sunrise Blvd. are greeted by a large, 10-foot-tall bronze shaman sculpture and an outdoor seating area in front. Inside, the 3,700-square-foot restaurant includes a walk-up counter for placing orders, ample seating in a colorful dining area, and a full “Coyote Cantina” bar, along with lots of art obtained primarily from New Mexico.
“It has been a long haul since we first started looking at the Sunrise sites close to a couple of years ago,” Coyote told The Sentinel on Tuesday. Plans for the restaurant were first made public in early 2016, but Coyote said lease negotiations and an extensive renovation of the formerly aging strip mall at the corner of Sunrise Boulevard and Alta Sunrise Drive pushed the initial 2017 opening date back.
The restaurant-retail center on the 5400 block of Sunrise Boulevard is owned by the Cordano Company, one of many property and development companies run by the Sacramento-based Cordano family. As previously reported on The Sentinel, remodel work began last year and sought to provide a facade update to the aging center in order to better accommodate restaurant tenants and improve rent values.
Before/After: Remember how this Citrus Heights strip mall used to look?
The center is home to Nation’s Giant Hamburgers, as well as PizzaRev, a fast-casual pizza restaurant that opened last month. Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt is also planning to open a new franchise location next door.
Dos Coyotes first opened in Davis in 1991, followed by additional locations opening in the greater Sacramento region and extending as far as Turlock and San Ramon in recent years. Coyote said Citrus Heights is the 12th location, which includes one of his restaurants located at the Sacramento International Airport.
Before the latest opening, the nearest Dos Coyotes location to Citrus Heights was on Douglas Boulevard in Roseville.
Current hours of operation are Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Coyote said hours may be adjusted in the future, depending on demand in the area.
Related: These 8 eateries are coming to Citrus Heights in 2018
