Black Sheep Cafe Opens Downtown Redding Location
The eatery now operates out of Sizzle's Kitchen, offering a model for operators looking to scale through shared space.
Updated on Oct. 28, 2026 in Openings & Closings
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Black Sheep Cafe has officially opened its doors at 1140 Placer Street in downtown Redding, occupying space within Sizzle's Kitchen. Owned by Angel and Joseph Serna, the new eatery transitions from a previous location at Sunshine Market in Shasta Lake to serve a menu featuring barbecue and Mexican cuisine.
Why it matters
The relocation represents a strategic shift for the owners, who capitalized on savings from their initial commercial kitchen operations to expand into a downtown footprint. This move highlights how small-scale operators scale by leveraging shared kitchen infrastructure to reach new customer bases with specialized, family-recipe-focused menus.
Menu pricing ranges from $8 for Greek yogurt parfaits to $28 for whole herb-roasted chicken. The business now operates out of Sizzle's Kitchen following a move from their prior footprint in Shasta Lake.
The players
Angel Serna
Co-owner of Black Sheep Cafe and a culinary school graduate with training in Las Vegas.
Joseph Serna
Co-owner of Black Sheep Cafe who operates the business alongside Angel Serna.
Sizzle's Kitchen
The commercial kitchen facility in downtown Redding that currently hosts the Black Sheep Cafe operations.
The details
The cafe utilizes a Santa Maria-style grill equipped with an adjustable rack, burning white and red oak wood to impart smoke flavor to their meats. By integrating their operations into the existing Sizzle's Kitchen space, the owners minimize the overhead typically associated with a standalone brick-and-mortar buildout. The menu blends these barbecue techniques with traditional Mexican plates, such as their $18 chile colorado dinner, as the business looks to build local market share.
Timeline
Black Sheep Cafe opened its Redding location on October 17, 2026.
The owners plan to introduce special menus for Thanksgiving 2026.
Special menu items are also scheduled for the Christmas 2026 season.
Market Landscape
Black Sheep Cafe's move follows the growing trend of independent food operators utilizing established commercial kitchens to scale without the high capital requirements of traditional restaurant leases. This integration mirrors shifts seen in other local markets where operators favor shared infrastructure to reduce entry costs.
Operators should monitor how the dual-brand model impacts efficiency and menu pricing as the cafe prepares for its first holiday season. Tracking the success of the Santa Maria-style grill's operational costs will be critical for assessing the long-term viability of this shared space approach.
The takeaway
Owners should note how leveraging existing commercial space can effectively de-risk a move to a more competitive downtown environment. Keep a close watch on the cafe's upcoming holiday menu performance as a key performance indicator for their new footprint.
Further reading
For more on new businesses arriving in the city, visit the Openings & Closings section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Redding Record Searchlight.
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