Bodega Biondi Fair Oaks Village: Where Peruvian Heritage Meets Italian and Spanish Food

I’ve been meaning to get into Bodega Biondi for a while. It’s been sitting right here in the village, and I just hadn’t made it in yet. Now that I have, I’m annoyed at myself for waiting so long.

Franco is the owner, and he’s got an interesting story. He was born and raised in Lima, Peru, came to the States right after high school, and spent the next fifteen years working every corner of the restaurant industry, front of house, back of house, all of it. Learning the business from the ground up, the way you do when your family’s involved.

I asked him how that felt, working with his parents in their restaurants growing up, because I could relate. I started in my family’s real estate business in San Francisco with my dad and stepmother, and there was this underlying current that I wasn’t really qualified for the job, that I only had it because it was the family business. Looking back, maybe some of that was true, but it wasn’t easy to hear at the time. When I asked Franco if he’d felt the same way, he said absolutely. He understood exactly what that’s like, the responsibility that comes with a family business, being on call all the time, having to step in when someone doesn’t show up because it’s your responsibility to the family.

Eventually, he met Katie. When they had kids, she made it clear: if we’re doing this family thing, you’re not working nights. For nearly a decade, he stepped away. He was the soccer dad,  cooking at home, taking the kids to practice, doing the whole thing. He even worked in purchasing at a grocery chain for ten years. Which, if you know anything about restaurant people, you know that had to feel like a long pause.

But Katie knew. She knew it was his dream. And when the kids got older, and things felt more settled, she’s the one who told him, ” Go for it. Before it’s too late.” So he took everything he had and put it all in.

Finding Fair Oaks

They were living in Oak Grove when the search began. Franco did his research, drove through the area, walked around, and paid attention to what was already here. He thought about what would fit. And when he found this space in the village, he felt it.

“We loved it,” he told me. “It’s a nice little community.”

Two years in, and the community has loved him right back. Weekends require a reservation now. Some nights, people wait forty-five minutes and turn down the suggestion to come back another evening. They tell him they heard it was worth the wait. That’s the kind of thing that makes you realize, okay, we actually did this.

Starting in mid-April, they’re opening on Sundays too. The feedback from customers just kept coming: you should be open on Sunday. So they are now.

What Makes This Place Different

Here’s what I want you to understand about a place like this, and about Fair Oaks in general. What we have here is special. Like, genuinely rare.

Every restaurant in this village is independently owned and operated by real people who actually care about what they’re putting on the table. You are not getting food that came out of some corporate manufacturer’s freezer. You’re not getting the same cheese sticks that get served at seventeen other chain restaurants across Sacramento. You’re getting food that someone thought about, sourced carefully, and prepared with actual pride.

Franco gets this. He told me he could feel it the moment he started exploring the area. People don’t just throw their money into some giant company here. They support local. They want to know the story behind what they’re eating.

I feel strongly about this, too. When we have local events, and they bring in catering from outside our area, it bothers me. We have everything we need right here. Keep the money in the community. Support the people who showed up, bet on Fair Oaks, and built something real. That’s how a local economy stays alive.

The Food: and the Pride Behind It

Franco brought the food out himself and walked me through each dish. And you could see it in his face, this is a man who cares deeply about what he puts in front of you.

The braised pork tapa is the one everyone orders. Chuck pork in a rich tomato sauce, nothing fussy about the presentation, just an absolute explosion of flavor. The roasted beet salad with warm-baked goat cheese is stunning; people are always surprised by how the warm cheese changes the whole experience.

And then there’s the dish he’s been running as a special that I think is going to become permanent: creamy pappardelle made with ají amarillo, a Peruvian pepper, topped with lomo saltado-style steak bites and finished with an oyster glaze. Two different flavor traditions coming together in one dish. I watched him talk about it, and the pride was just right there.

He takes the wine seriously, too. They curate the list carefully, train the staff to actually help you find what you like, and offer wine flights so you’re not stuck guessing. Sangria in the warmer months. And they want you to feel comfortable, whether you’re a seasoned wine drinker or you just know you like something full-bodied and not too dry, they’ll meet you where you are.

Pictured is beet salad with warm goat cheese.

Franco told me he sometimes goes home and grabs whatever’s in the fridge because he’s been on his feet all day and just doesn’t have it in him to eat. The cobbler’s children have no shoes, as they say. I get that. I spent years working as a professional photographer and couldn’t bring myself to pick up a camera for my own family. When something is your work, you don’t always get to enjoy it the way your customers do. But his passion for it is obvious. He wants you to have the experience.

Franco says this is the best Tiramisu you’ll ever have.

Family Matters

His oldest son worked with him last summer, starting at the bottom of the house. This summer, he’ll be back because he wants to earn money for a car. I love that. You learn things working in a family business that you just can’t learn anywhere else, even when it’s hard.

That’s something I’m still learning with my own son. He started out working with me on projects for I Love Fair Oaks, learned photography using my equipment, and has now built his own media business — real estate photography and videography in his own right. He’s talented on his own terms. But when we work together, there’s still that layer that’s different from working with anyone else. It’s not just business. It’s history, and pride, and this quiet thing where you have to remind yourself to let them figure it out. I learned that working in my own family business, and I’m still learning it now. You just have to know when to step in and when to step back. There’s no rulebook for it. You feel your way through.

When I asked Franco if he’d had that moment yet where he just felt like, we did it, he smiled and told me about a busy night, end of the shift, making two trips to the back just to dump the wine bottles. Hearing them clink into the bin, realizing how many there were. Just that small thing.

“You realize,” he said. “Wow. It is.”

You made a good choice, Franco. Fair Oaks is lucky to have you. And Katie, she knew what she was doing when she told you to go for it.

Bodega Biondi | Tapas, Vino and More
7984 California Ave, Fair Oaks
(916) 903-7730
Reservations are recommended on weekends
Opening Sundays starting mid-April