The newest storefronts at El Dorado Hills Town Center sell dry-aged steaks to take home and 32-ounce sodas to carry out. Every sit-down restaurant that changed there in 2026 did so behind a door that was already open to diners. You can stop in quickly at more places around the boulevard than you could in January. When you want to sit down for a meal, the number of rooms is about where it was in January. The new one people are waiting on is on Green Valley Road, behind fresh dark blue paint at the old Purple Place.
That split covers most of what happened in El Dorado Hills this year, and it also explains the fall and holiday calendar.
The new doors are counters
The biggest new arrival is Kings Meats, a family-owned butcher shop from Diamond Springs. It moved into a 4,000-square-foot space at 4370 Town Center Blvd. that used to be the Avantus storefront, according to Folsom Times. Casey King founded the shop in early 2020 and has worked as a butcher since 1993. In Diamond Springs, the shop is known for dry-aged beef, hand-cut steaks, house-made sausages and premium options up to A5 Wagyu. The Sacramento Business Journal reported on Oct. 5 that the Town Center shop was ready for customers. Until now, the only Kings Meats counter was the one in Diamond Springs.
A few doors away, FiiZ Drinks opened Oct. 3 at 4364 Town Center Blvd. The Sacramento Bee reported that it is the Utah-based chain's first California store. The shop sells "dirty" sodas, meaning fountain drinks mixed with syrups, purees and cream, in sizes from 16 to 32 ounces, plus snacks like churro bites and pretzel bites. By this Thursday it will have been open almost three weeks.
The third counter is just off the boulevard. Gold Dust Pizza Express opened April 22 at 2201 Francisco Drive, Suite 150. It marks the Willey family's expansion toward Sacramento. They started with a pizzeria in Ripon and run other shops in the Central Valley. The Bee described it as an express location built mainly for to-go orders, with a few tables for dining in. It also offers a fig and prosciutto pizza made just for the Sacramento-area menu.
Hours as reported:
- FiiZ Drinks: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday
- Gold Dust Pizza Express: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily
- Kings Meats: check the shop's own site for current Town Center hours
The dining rooms changed menus, not addresses
Both sit-down openings at Town Center this year took over existing restaurant spaces, and both are run by operators who were already there.
OBO' Italian Table & Bar replaced Selland's Market-Cafe at 4370 Town Center Blvd., No. 120. The Business Journal reported it open on Feb. 23. Selland Family Restaurants, the same group behind Ella Dining Room & Bar and the Michelin-starred The Kitchen, runs both brands. Before this, OBO' had only one location, in East Sacramento, so El Dorado Hills got the second. Josh Nelson, the company's co-founder and CEO, told the Business Journal that the El Dorado Hills location is "the first step" in expanding the brand into other markets. The menu covers pastas, pizzas and sandwiches.
That makes 4370 Town Center Blvd. the building that changed most this year. It now holds an Italian dining room where a market café used to be, plus a full butcher counter in the former Avantus storefront.
Native + Nomad opened the week of June 11 at 4355 Town Center Blvd., Suite 114, in the former Almighty Bistro space. Nick Dedier and Alexa Hazelton, who ran Almighty Bistro, run the new restaurant too, the Business Journal reported. Their opening announcement described a menu built around "the best flavors of the Pacific coast," with grazing plates, raw coastal dishes, a taco bar, salads and sandwiches, composed plates and desserts.
Both of this year's sit-down openings put a new menu into a familiar address.
Where seats went dark
In the same months, the community lost two places to sit down.
Bella Bru Café at 3941 Park Drive served its last day on Jan. 31, Folsom Times reported.
Pete's Restaurant & Brewhouse at 2023 Vine Street in Town Center went dark in early January. Hoodline reported that the signs had come down and the windows were dark. The Business Journal said the location appeared closed. No permanent closure or new tenant has been announced for the space.
Put together, the count is plain. Since January, two sit-down spots have closed and two have converted in place. Every brand-new storefront has been a counter.
Lake House is the room still coming
That brings the story to 363 Green Valley Road.
The Purple Place Bar and Grill opened there in 1955 and served its last meal in August 2022. In July, Folsom Times reported that the building had been repainted dark blue and white and that Lake House signs had gone up. Lake House is the bar and restaurant concept from El Dorado Hills residents Eric Rushing and Thomas Holzmann. Rushing helped launch Goldfield Trading Post, Ace of Spades and The Cabin in Sacramento, and he has also been working on Yager Lodge in Historic Folsom. Folsom Times said the plan calls for American cuisine and possibly some live entertainment on a limited basis, but that the building is not being planned as a concert venue.
Holzmann gave What Now Sacramento the most specific plan so far. He described new American comfort food, with brunch and breakfast as the centerpiece, indoor and possibly outdoor seating, and a target opening before the end of 2026 with no firm date. He told the outlet:
"I know that a lot of people miss having a restaurant in that area, and we do too."
As of the July reporting, the menu, hours and opening timeline had not been released. If it opens on schedule, it would be the only new sit-down room in El Dorado Hills this year. A brunch-focused menu would also cover the morning hours left open when Bella Bru closed.
The Town Center calendar, Oct. 24 through December
Until then, the plaza's busiest hours come from the schedule on the El Dorado Hills Town Center events page. Here is what's listed from this Saturday on.
- Saturday, Oct. 24: Farmer's Market from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., then Tastes of Town Center from 5 to 8 p.m. and an Artist Reception from 5 to 7 p.m.
- Tuesday, Oct. 27: Line Dancing, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
- Wednesday, Oct. 28: Mom Walk, Sip & Stroll, 10 to 11 a.m.
- Saturday, Oct. 31: Cars & Coffee from 7 to 9 a.m., the Farmer's Market from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and the Halloween Spooktacular from 3 to 6 p.m.
- Thursday, Nov. 5: Holiday Decor for Veterans Day, all day
- Saturday, Nov. 21: Farmer Gene's Tree Lot opens
- Saturday, Dec. 5: Holiday Tree Lighting, 5 to 8 p.m.
- Thursday, Dec. 10: Menorah Lighting
- Dec. 11, 12, 18 and 19: Carriage Rides, 4 to 8 p.m. each night
Several of the November and December listings still say more details are coming, so check the event pages for updates before you go. The summer concerts are over. Live on the Boulevard ended its season with The Spazmatics on Aug. 27.
The new counters fit easily around these dates. You can pick up a Saturday market haul and a stop at Kings Meats in one trip, or grab a FiiZ cup before the Spooktacular. For a sit-down dinner after the Artist Reception, OBO' and Native + Nomad are both on the boulevard.
Our team keeps track of these changes because they shape what everyday life around Town Center feels like, from the butcher case to the tables at OBO' to whenever Lake House finally opens. If you're thinking about what El Dorado Hills offers now, or how the changes around the boulevard affect a home you own nearby, start your luxury home conversation with Kim Knotts + Co. and explore our El Dorado Hills neighborhood guide.
