Longtime Area Restaurateurs Permanently Close East Sac Restaurant Celestin’s

The local operators of a restaurant specializing in French Creole cuisine are retiring and have closed their East Sacramento location.

Celestin’s Restaurant, owned by Phoebe and Patrick Celestin, closed its doors on Oct. 14. The restaurant — which offered a menu with small plates, gumbo, sandwiches, desserts and main courses such as jambalaya and Brazilian-style Pacific snapper — had operated out of its 1,457-square-foot space at 3610 McKinley Blvd. since 2018.

The Celestins have operated restaurants in the Sacramento area for more than 30 years. They opened their first restaurant in 1983 on J Street in Midtown, where it operated for nearly 19 years before moving to a larger location on K Street. Celestin’s Caribbean Restaurant closed its K Street site in late 2011, which is now home to The Porch Restaurant & Bar. The Celestins previously considered retiring from the business before eventually announcing plans for their East Sacramento site in 2017.