‘It’s an institution for us’: Mexican restaurant in downtown Folsom reopens with new owners

A Mexican restaurant in Historic Folsom reopened Tuesday under new ownership.

Michael Sanson, owner of Plank Craft Kitchen and Bar, acquired Hacienda Real from 32-year restaurant veteran Chris Corda and slightly changed the name from “Hacienda Del Rio.” Both locations, Plank Craft Kitchen and Hacienda, are on Sutter Street.

Sanson formerly owned Rock-N-Fire Pizza on Riley Street, which closed in 2022 due to economic hardships, and Trademark Pizza Company in Roseville, which shut down in 2021.

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Hacienda Real is open from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Tuesdays, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, and from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. It is closed Mondays.

The restaurant is located at 702 Sutter St. on the district’s second level and can be accessed by stairs or elevator.

What it looks like now

Sanson said his goal was to “honor the place with newness.”

The bar features margaritas, mules, mocktails and bottled and draft beer. The menu offers salads, soups, burritos, fajitas and tacos.

“It’s still the same beautiful building, a great location in Folsom,” Sanson said. “We just saw it as a different vision of the decor and the menus, so we’ve updated the whole place to have really everything that Folsom wants and needs.”

He said he recommends, if customers are super hungry to order the “El Jefe Burrito,” which he coined the biggest burrito he’s ever seen.

“I’m a big fan of the vampire tacos,” Sanson said. “The carnitas are on point.”

An iconic location

The grand opening Tuesday saw a line halfway down the stairs 10 minutes before doors opened.

Mary Strauss and her friends stood second in line before Tuesday’s opening. She said that the Sutter Street and Riley Street corner means a lot to her friends and girlfriends and has for 30 years.

“It’s an institution for us,” she said.

Kathy Shurtleff has lived in Folsom for 35 years. She said she used to come to the restaurant quite regularly and close to it for drinks at the old location.

“The new owner has a great history of restaurants in Folsom,” Shurtleff said moments before a host showed her to her seat. “I’m excited to see what he did with it.”