Fresh Mexican grill Costa Vida is expanding in cities throughout the Sacramento region, starting with the opening of their second restaurant on Monday, June 16 in Rancho Cordova. The restaurant’s claim to fame is only-fresh ingredients and made-from-scratch menu items, including the tortillas, beans, and salsa.
“We don’t get anything in bags,” said Caroline Beal, franchise owner of Costa Vida, “Everything is cooked at the restaurant…everything is freshly made right there.”
Popular items include their sweet pork, sauces, nachos (and its queso), Mexican desserts, and—what seems to get the most attention—their handmade, fresh pressed tortillas.
To celebrate the grand opening of their first expansion in Rancho Cordova, the restaurant, whose original location is in Roseville, is giving away a free entree each week for a year to the first 30 customers and a free entree a month to the next 30.
“There’s people who want to camp out overnight,” said Beal. “This is becoming a big deal. People are excited about it!”
Beal describes the atmosphere of the restaurants as laid back with music playing in the background and surfer-vibe decor, all meant to mimic the namesake’s “costa vida” (translated “coastal life”) of Baja California, the restaurant’s inspiration. Of the Rancho Cordova location, she is particularly excited about the bubble wall–a wall of water suspended inside a glass casing, made fancy with air bubbles and LED lights. “It’s really cool, it’s really fun,” Beal said.
Costa Vida hopes to expand to 12 locations throughout the Greater Sacramento area. Beal says she has people from all over town requesting to come to their area. Decisions where to expand are still being made, but Beal, along with fellow franchise owner, Jessica Payne, are already planning where to go next.
“We’re very excited to bring the brand here because it’s an awesome, awesome brand,” said Beal enthusiastically. “The food tastes amazing and everything is fresh. You can’t ask for anything better than that.”
The Rancho Cordova location at 10831 Olson Dr. will open at 11am on Monday, June 16. To reach the restaurant, call (916) 631-4229. For more information about the franchise (including a menu for their Roseville location), visit www.costavida.net.
