Bear West BBQ’s River District ghost kitchen is a separate menu operation from the Johnsons’ Rosemont restaurant. The Sactown Eats location at 1501 N C St. opened in September and serves fried catfish, grits and red velvet waffles; its Cajun menu is not offered at the couple’s other locations. The business began less than a decade ago at local fairs.
According to the Sacramento Bee, the River District menu also includes fried okra, fried chicken and waffles, and sweet potato waffles. The paper reports that the Cajun offerings are exclusive to the Sactown Eats location because the Rosemont restaurant is not set up to prepare them.
County rules for food facilities
For general context, the Sacramento County Environmental Management Department says a health permit is required when food is given or sold to the public, including pre-packaged or cooked food. The county’s guidance does not establish Bear West’s specific permit status.
The department also says plans and specifications must be submitted before construction or operation in specified cases, including when a structure is proposed for conversion to a food establishment. That general guidance does not specify which requirements apply to Bear West’s arrangement at Sactown Eats.
The Sacramento Bee reports that Carl and Saundra Johnson own Bear West BBQ and are retired state workers with 30 years of service between them. Saundra Johnson is from Arkansas and Carl Johnson is from New Orleans.
From Fairground Tables to Two Storefronts
The Johnsons didn't set out to build a restaurant empire. Carl Johnson told the outlet, “We started by doing small events, fairs that sort of thing,” describing beginnings that were more improvisational than calculated business plan.
The couple started Bear West BBQ in 2017 and didn't open their first brick-and-mortar location until 2021, the report notes. That original North Highlands restaurant was forced to close after a fire in 2025, and the Johnsons relocated to a new address at 9011 Folsom Blvd. in Rosemont.
A Bigger Kitchen After the Fire
The move to Rosemont wasn't just a change of address. A separate Sacramento Bee report on the reopening detailed an arson fire on Oct. 2, 2025 that shuttered the North Highlands restaurant, after which the Johnsons signed a lease within weeks and began remodeling a building that had previously housed a Pizza Hut and then a Subway.
The Rosemont space seats more than 40 guests, compared with 16 at the former North Highlands location, the outlet reported. The report listed prices there of $20 for a half-slab of six St. Louis-style ribs and $42 for a one-pound order of beef tri-tip; a half-pound portion was $22. The Cajun menu is a separate offering at the River District ghost kitchen.
A New Name and Holiday Specials on the Horizon
The Johnsons are weighing a rename for the River District spot, considering “Bear West on the Bayou” as a way to signal its distinct Cajun identity, the Sacramento Bee reports. Around the holidays, the couple plans to roll out special menu items, including a homemade yaya dressing that Saundra Johnson described as a baked Cajun stuffing loaded with cornbread and assorted meats.
“It has crab, oysters, chicken sausage...” she said of the dish, per the outlet's reporting. The Sactown Eats location is currently open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday, giving River District regulars a new reason to swing by for a taste of Louisiana by way of Sacramento.
