Chris Barnum-Dann, the chef behind Michelin-starred Localis, is gearing up for a serious Sacramento growth spurt: a new Betty Wine Bar outpost in East Sacramento and three fresh food-and-drink concepts planned for the Broadway corridor. The Broadway lineup — a Basque-inspired tapas and pintxos room, a European-style market with a bakery and butcher, and a high-end bottle shop — will fill the ground floor of the new Tower Broadway development. Barnum-Dann is teaming up with the building's developer as he pushes the Localis hospitality group past its Midtown home base.
Betty on J heads to East Sacramento
Barnum-Dann expects to open Betty on J at 3815 J St. in about six months, with a focus on all-day food, wine and coffee and no hard-liquor license in the mix. General manager Sam Han is set to run a coffee program designed to catch nearby hospital workers on their early shifts and then pivot to wine-and-oyster service at night, and Barnum-Dann has said Betty logged its second-highest grossing month in early 2026. Those details were reported by Abridged 2D PBS KVIE.
New ground-floor tenants at Tower Broadway
On Broadway, the concepts will occupy the street-level retail at Tower Broadway, a five-story, mixed-use building at 1600 Broadway that is now preleasing and lists roughly 68 residential units. The project includes restaurant-ready retail bays wrapped around conditioned indoor patios meant for year-round seating and has been marketed as a highly visible connector between Midtown and Land Park. The project's website and leasing materials spell out the building's footprint and retail layout, including multiple restaurant spaces available for lease, according to Tower Broadway.
Basque pintxos, a European market and high-end bottles
On the Broadway side, Barnum-Dann plans to open Sacasta, a Basque-inspired pintxos and tapas bar that he says will seat up to 85 diners, with communal tables, straightforward cocktails and a Basque cider program. Giadanno's European Market is set to feature a butcher shop, a bakery led by Holly Lee and a small creamery called Kindred that will scoop ice cream and pour affogatos, along with Localis-branded pantry items for home cooks. 4B Wine Cellar is envisioned as a connoisseur-focused bottle shop, with selections starting around $150 and extending into the five-figure range, and developer Jon Gianulias is a partner in the businesses, as first reported by Abridged 2D PBS KVIE.
What this means for Broadway
The cluster represents a calculated bet that Broadway can pull in both destination diners and neighborhood regulars traveling between Midtown and Land Park, a stretch developers have long framed as primed for new retail. By stacking three destination-level concepts into a single property, Barnum-Dann could create a built-in supply chain for his restaurants while also inviting daily shoppers and casual diners into the corridor. Leasing listings and marketing materials for the development emphasize the building's high visibility and extensive street-level restaurant capacity, according to CommercialCafe.
Barnum-Dann's track record
Barnum-Dann has turned Localis into one of Sacramento's best-known dining rooms and has already expanded with Betty Wine Bar & Bottle Shop. His biography and press materials note that Localis has Michelin recognition and that he received Michelin's California Sommelier honor in 2025, establishing him as both a chef and a wine mind, according to Chris Barnum-Dann's website. That background makes a market and a bottle shop feel less like a side project and more like a logical extension of his playbook.
Timeline and next steps
Current projections put Betty on J's opening at roughly six months out, with the Broadway concepts about a year away as the ground-floor buildouts move ahead. Barnum-Dann has said the market is intended to supply both his restaurants and home cooks, a setup that could give his group tighter control over sourcing and margins as the projects scale. For now, the plan represents a sizable swing for one of Sacramento's most visible chefs.
This story was first reported by Abridged 2D PBS KVIE and draws on leasing materials and the chef's public biography; updates are expected as opening dates, permits and menus are finalized.
