You could say that legendary Sacramento restaurateur Randy Paragary and executive chef Kurt Spataro, both of whom attended Sacramento State, planted the seed for today’s Farm-to-Fork movement in the capital region.
In 1991, they leased an acre along the Garden Highway to raise vegetables, herbs, and wildflowers for their restaurants. Three years later, they established a restaurant garden in midtown Sacramento, near Paragary’s Bar & Oven.
Spataro and Paragary have elevated the dining scene in Sacramento with their innovative, inspired California cuisine and trendy eateries. Together they own nine restaurants: the original Paragary’s (which reopened in 2015 after a $1 million renovation), Esquire Grill, Hock Farm, Centro Cocina Mexicana, along with four Café Bernardo locations in Sacramento and one in Davis.
In this video, the two men talk about the growth of Paragary’s Restaurant Group and Farm-to-Fork – and trace their success to their Sacramento State roots. – Dixie Reid
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