The Abridged version:
- Bud’s Buffet began its soft reopening this week after being closed for nearly six years.
- Gone are the former Downtown Sacramento lunch spot’s deli sandwiches, replaced by burritos, tacos and burrito bowls with halal meats.
- The new owners revived Bud’s to support their banquet hall across the street and provide a quick, casual Tex-Mex lunch option downtown.
Bud’s Buffet is back open in Downtown Sacramento. Just don’t expect sandwiches.
The longtime state worker haunt, founded in 1988 but closed since 2020, began its soft reopening this week ahead of a grand opening on July 1. It’s now under new ownership, and few original aspects remain beyond the name and location.
Hulking pastrami sandwiches are out, replaced by tacos ($7), burritos ($15) and burrito bowls ($15) put together on a Chipotle-style assembly line. The building had a leaky roof, moldy walls, broken air conditioning and a rat infestation after sitting vacant for 5½ years; new operators fixed those issues but also brought in long mirrors, chandeliers and Chiavari chairs from their banquet halls.
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Who would take on a space with so many issues a half-block from The Kay, Downtown Sacramento’s beleaguered main street? Waqar Khan and his sons Haroon and Asad, who own Downtown Event Center across 10th Street and another nearby space at 1215 J St. They also own Town & Country Event Center in Arden Arcade, another banquet hall and Pakistani restaurant Al-Maidah in Rancho Cordova, and Sierra Banquet Center in Camino.
It’s the Downtown locations, though, that prompted the Khans to move into Bud’s old space. They originally wanted it as a Mexican-focused catering kitchen to feed guests at quinceañeras, weddings and business events they hosted. But after starting a lease in January, they figured: Why not build out a quick-service restaurant capable of feeding Downtown employees on lunch breaks?
“Bud’s Buffet was the perfect situation for us,” said Haroon Khan, who manages the restaurant. “In a way, we can help bring the original Bud’s name back to the community and also fulfill our needs at our events.”
Customers choose their vessel, then rice (brown or cilantro lime), beans (black or pinto), meat (chicken, steak or ground beef, all hand-slaughtered halal) and salsas prepared in-house each morning. Guacamole and queso are available free of charge among those toppings, and off-menu street tacos are just $2 apiece.
Alex Pacheco, a native of El Salvador whose father is from the Mexican city of Guadalajara, is the chef and lone employee for now. Pacheco cooked at the now-closed Dali’s Kitchen in South Land Park before coming to work for the Khans two years ago, including a stint running their Town & Country Grill food truck.
Bud’s Buffet is a banquet hall, too, a statement that would have shocked the much-loved dive’s regulars a decade ago. The space can host 50-100 people for events.
The Ziyadeh family opened the original Bud’s Buffet in 1988 and ran it for nearly 33 years until September 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic and an emptied-out Downtown forced its closure. People wearing masks stood 6 feet apart down 10th Street in its final days, lined up for a last sandwich.
The former owners sought to distance their restaurant from the new Bud’s Buffet, both in an Instagram post Friday and in an email to Abridged.
“The current restaurant using the Buds Buffet name is not owned, operated, or affiliated with our family. We never approved or agreed to our name being used,” the former owners wrote in the email.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s mandate requiring state workers to be in office four days a week goes into effect on July 1. They’ll have another lunch option in the new Bud’s Buffet, which will also stay open until midnight on Friday and Saturday to feed Downtown revelers. A touch of the old Bud’s could eventually reappear, too.
“You know, we’re thinking about adding sandwiches, too. It’s not — it’s not our ballpark, but it’s definitely something we can do and look into as we transition and move forward into the Bud’s Buffet timeline,” Khan said.
Bud’s Buffet
Address: 1016 10th St., Sacramento
Phone: 916-443-6905
Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to midnight Friday-Saturday, closed Sunday
Website: budsbuffet.com
Vegetarian/vegan options: Build-your-own items allow for some customization, but get comfortable with rice, beans and fajita veggies
Drinks: Canned and bottled soft drinks
Reservations: Not necessary unless booking an event
Benjy Egel is the senior food editor at Abridged. Born and raised in the Sacramento region, he has covered its local restaurants and bars since 2018. He also writes and edits Abridged’s weekly food and drink newsletter, City of Treats.