After 14 years serving Cajun and Southern comfort food near Interstate 680, Clementine’s Restaurant at 18070 San Ramon Valley Blvd. has closed its doors for good. In its place, the same ownership group is building out Casa Mia, a Mexican-American concept that will mark the brand’s first foray into the East Bay.
The closure and rebrand were confirmed this week after owners had teased the transition earlier in October on social media, according to Pleasanton Weekly. Handwritten signs posted at the now-shuttered restaurant reportedly announced that a new chapter was beginning and that Casa Mia was coming soon. The outlet reports that the new concept promises “a fresh new look, delicious Mexican & American cuisine, and the same warm hospitality” that regulars associated with the old spot.
Renovations are already underway inside the building, which sits at the southeast corner of San Ramon Valley Boulevard and Bollinger Canyon Road. No debut date has been officially announced for Casa Mia’s San Ramon location, though the outlet notes that Clementine’s online ordering system still references a November 5 reopening — a detail that remains unconfirmed as an actual opening date.
A Short-Lived Cajun Chapter Under New Ownership
Clementine’s wasn’t new to San Ramon when it closed; the restaurant had operated at that address since 2012, in a building that Marie Callender’s had vacated about a year before Clementine’s moved in. Over the years it became, in the words of the same report, a Tri-Valley staple for Southern-style and American comfort food, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week next to a Sonesta Select hotel.
Ownership changed hands more recently than many diners may realize. Elias Sandoval’s group took over the restaurant around early 2025 and kept its Cajun cuisine concept running for more than a year and a half before pivoting to Casa Mia. A February profile from the Tri-Valley Foodist blog highlighted Sandoval’s embrace of Clementine’s New Orleans-style food and drink, describing a menu that blended Southern heritage with American comfort food at breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Sandoval is not new to the restaurant business. The same profile notes he also owns The Creek in South San Jose, Casa Mia in Mountain View, and Just Breakfast on Monterrey Row. According to Pleasanton Weekly’s more recent reporting, Sandoval declined a phone interview this week and deferred questions to email inquiries that had not yet been answered, while Clementine’s management did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Casa Mia’s Expanding East Bay and Peninsula Footprint
The San Ramon location would give Casa Mia Restaurants its fourth address, joining existing locations in San Jose, Mountain View and San Carlos. The brand is also expanding on the Peninsula: a separate Casa Mia is slated to open at 677 Laurel St., Suite B, in San Carlos, according to WhatNow, though an opening date for that spot has not been publicly announced either.
Casa Mia bills itself as a destination for breakfast and casual dining that blends traditional breakfast dishes with contemporary preparations, per the same report. Existing menus at the brand’s other locations include chilaquiles, breakfast plates, Mexican-inspired dishes and Mexican hot chocolate. The San Jose location, at 856 Blossom Hill Road, currently offers dine-in, takeout, reservations and catering, though it’s unclear whether San Ramon’s menu will mirror those offerings exactly.
The End of a Local Mayor’s Breakfast Tradition
Clementine’s carried civic significance beyond its food. For years, the restaurant hosted San Ramon’s monthly Mayor’s Breakfast, a community gathering tied to the city’s then-mayor, Bill Clarkson. Those in-person breakfasts ended during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns, which coincided with the final year of Clarkson’s tenure, according to Danville San Ramon. Clarkson shifted the series to a weekly online format after the outbreak, a format the city reportedly continued rather than reviving the in-person gatherings at the restaurant.
On Instagram, Clementine’s longtime page still carries its old tagline: “Where the Bayou meets the Bay! Southern Style & American Comfort Food.” With renovations now underway and the Cajun chapter closed, San Ramon diners are left watching for whichever date — November 5 or otherwise — brings Casa Mia’s doors open for the first time in the East Bay.
