SOME OF THE SECRET INGREDIENTS OF A LOCAL SUCCESS STORY
• Randall Selland , Nancy Zimmer , son Josh Nelson and daughter Tamera Baker buy fresh ingredients from a variety of growers , “ though not always within a 10-mile radius ,” Selland says , “ if I know someone ’ s growing something great a little farther away . It ’ s always about quality .”
• Josh Nelson is credited as the one who came up with the now-ubiquitous tagline “ America ’ s Farm-to-Fork Capital ” — he ’ d had some T-shirts made for the staff to wear at the cafes — and , with restaurateur Patrick Mulvaney and Visit Sacramento ’ s CEO Mike Testa , created the annual Tower Bridge Dinner , an event so popular you almost have to time-travel to grab a ticket before it sells out every year .
• Selland and Zimmer eat at their own restaurants “ regularly . We ’ re so proud of our staff .” He says they ’ re trained so completely that occasionally , “ a young server will say something like , ‘ This is great , but you know I ’ m just going to work here for a couple of summers then go to law school .’ That doesn ’ t make me feel bad in the slightest . Because when they leave here and go into their careers , they ’ ll have learned something not many schools know how to teach : How to work .”
• Selland says his family ’ s collection of restaurants would never have survived COVID had it not been for his son and daughter ’ s attention to detail in filling out the applications for various government loans — and , most tellingly , the company ’ s longtime personal relationship with Columbia Bank in Roseville . “ Every business is about its relationships ,” he says .
• “ Don ’ t call me a chef ,” Selland says . “ I ’ m not a chef . I ’ m a pretty good cook who got lucky .”
– Ed Goldman enjoying . It was the most nutritional tutorial imaginable , and if the $ 165 meal — plus wine , cocktails or corkage fee — set each guest back a couple hundred bucks , it was like going on an annual vacation you saved for and never regretted the expense of . In fact , you were likely to return , as hundreds have over the past three decades — and sometimes , sooner than a year later .
Even non-foodies were seduced , agreeing that while they may not have come in appreciating the diversity , complexity and organic origins of the meal , Selland ’ s floor show was worth the price of admission . He conducted it from behind an enormous island , featuring select members of his galley crew and frequent forays into the audience , seated at tables arranged like a nightclub .
Three years ago , The Kitchen became the first Sacramento restaurant to receive a Michelin star .
“ The Kitchen was the first place where cooks were meeting customers every day and sharing the ‘ craic ’ ( fun ),” says Patrick Mulvaney , co-owner with his wife Bobbin of Mulvaney ’ s Building & Loan , which has been one of the Capital Region ’ s fine-dining destinations for decades . Mulvaney worked for Selland early in his own career and clearly took away things that were much more valuable than napkin rings or salt shakers .
“ Randall taught me this technique I still use today ,” he recalls , “ which is : Greet people with the phrase ‘ Nice to see you .’ It always works — with folks you meet for the first time , with those you may have already met and with those who might not want their guest to know they ’ re regulars .”
It ’ s about 4 p . m . on a recent Wednesday and Selland is sitting patiently but animatedly for an interview at his bistro on H Street in East Sacramento , the first of his three eponymous eat-in market cafes ( the other two are on Broadway in Land Park and in the El Dorado Hills Town Center ). At 67 , his trim frame and stillthick head of hair drop his age by at least a decade despite the laugh lines on his face , while his voice is still robust after years of projecting mic-less at The Kitchen five nights a week . He ’ s wearing a T-shirt , shorts and flip-flops . “ I was just on a ladder repairing a mister at the Broadway store ,” he says , adding in a conspiratorial aside , “ I think my family doesn ’ t like it when I climb up on ladders these days .”
That family includes Selland ’ s “ three absolutely equal ” business partners : Nancy Zimmer , with whom he ’ s lived for 46 years ; son Joshua Nelson , and daughter Tamera Baker . Ella , the elegant restaurant the family owns and runs on 13th and L Streets near the state Capitol , is named for one of Selland ’ s and Zimmer ’ s grandkids . So is OBO ’, the Italian-style mercato in East Sacramento not far from Randall and Nancy ’ s home , an homage to grandson Owen ’ s nickname since toddlerhood . ( Asked about the apostrophe that follows OBO ’, Selland laughs and says , “ Oh , you know how the Italians always have apostrophes all over the place .”)
“ I know we use my name as the catch-all for the businesses , Selland Family Restaurants ,” Selland says — then adds , almost apologetically , “ but it ’ s totally a family operation , owned and operated by the four of us .”
Selland , a native of Fresno , began his current career “ not even thinking about it as a career .” He had been a stained glass artist , working with his mom in a small studio in Folsom . Nancy Zimmer attended one of his shows when he was around 28 years old , and he says he thinks “ it ’ s literally true : We ’ ve been together ever since .”
September 2022 | comstocksmag . com 25