Mediterranean nachos, photo from: Instagram

The family that runs Crest Café on K Street had big plans for 2020 as they geared up to celebrate 10 years of serving Mediterranean cuisine in downtown Sacramento. Hawa Sultani, who helps manage the restaurant located next to the Crest Theater, says they were planning a big renovation project for the space before the coronavirus outbreak hit. “It’s a family-friendly spot and will continue to be, but we want to give it a fresh look,” Sultani said. “We like the old mom and pop shop look of it; at the same time, we want to make sure we can look trendy and hip like the rest of the K Street restaurants.” In addition to giving the eatery an updated design, Sultani says they were also hoping to launch a line of Crest sauces including the popular garlic sauce and hot sauce. “That was our goal by the end of 2020, but that’s put on pause too,” she said. Sultani says creating the recipes for the sauces and menu items like the Mediterranean nachos, hummus and garlic chicken wrap were a family affair. She credits her mother, Monica Sultani, an immigrant from Afghanistan and owner of the restaurant, along with a cousin, head chef Jasamin Sultani, for coming up with the halal dishes. “What’s interesting about Crest is that a lot of people have tried to copy our menu items; I’ve seen people trying to make our Mediterranean nachos, but they don’t have it down,” Sultani said. “The sauces and spices that we use, they’re really unique.” Sultani not only admires her mother’s cooking skills, but she also looks up to her mom for her determination to help others. “She was very big on making sure she hired other women,” Sultani said. “A majority of the women you see here have refugee backgrounds: they come from Syria, Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq.” While Sultani does have a few relatives working at the restaurant, she considers the whole staff as one tight-knit group. “We’re a family here,” she said. “I think that’s the one thing I love about this business is that I feel like our customers can feel that friendly, warm vibe of a family.” Sultani, who graduated from UC Davis and is working on her MBA degree through the Simon Business School at the University of Rochester in New York, has been really involved with the restaurant for the past two years. She has helped implement a digital marketing strategy including adding the ability to order online, bolstering its website and Instagram page, and building partnerships with food delivery companies like Postmates and Grubhub. Sultani says that while sales are down right now, they’re not giving up on plans for a brighter future. “We as a group are staying positive and we will be here for the next ten years,” she said. Crest Café is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday-Friday. Contact: 916 444 2722.