The Market by The Meat Cellar, a family-driven culinary journey conceptualized by husband and wife team Anthony and Sara Villegas, is planning to open its doors at the highly-anticipated River Street Marketplace in San Juan Capistrano this fall, with sights set on a November debut. Located at 31864 Paseo Adelanto, Suite 105, in the 60,000 square-foot mixed-use community hub, the full-service steakhouse restaurant with a hybrid butcher shop and retail space aims to offer a one-of-a-kind epicurean experience.
What began as a dream, rooted in a shared passion for exceptional food, The Meat Cellar opened in Claremont in 2016. Offering a similar hybrid concept with a butcher shop and scratch kitchen, where guests could purchase ingredients or dine in, the restaurant instantly became popular among locals. In 2017, with the support and encouragement from the City of Claremont, The Meat Cellar expanded to a 4,000-square-foot historic building, previously home to the 100-year-old Wolfe’s Market, and cemented its landmark status in the community.
“Opening a restaurant was always our calling! Growing up in a restaurant family and later pursuing a career in meat sales allowed me the foundation for this endeavor. My wife Sara and I discovered our mutual passion for cooking and entertaining while raising our family, often hosting large Sunday Suppers for our family and friends. We eventually began exploring the world of catering by hosting small, upscale dinner parties in our client’s homes, and so creating a restaurant space with quality food and warm service was a natural next step,” says Anthony, The Market by The Meat Cellar’s co-founder & executive chef. “We believe that life’s best moments happen around the dinner table and look forward to bringing the same exceptional food and hospitality found at The Meat Cellar to our second restaurant location.”
The 4000-square foot location within the River Street Marketplace will offer a similar hybrid model along with a 2000-square foot patio area. Upon entering, guests will be greeted by a massive butcher counter boasting naturally-grown meats including prime dry-aged ribeye, pure breed Japanese Wagyu, and choice New York from treasured and high-quality purveyors such as Creekstone and Premier Meat Company, alongside a selection of artisan cheeses and fresh-caught sustainable seafood.
The new build at River Street Marketplace has also provided the family-run team an opportunity to showcase the culmination of their efforts and individual strengths. Anthony’s culinary expertise and meticulous refinement are evident throughout the restaurant’s menu and meat case. Whereas, Sara’s artisan vision of offering a new platform – an expansive and curated retail section – featuring products for guests to browse during their visit and take home to create unique, elevated dining experiences, will now be brought to life.
Carrying out Sara’s blueprint, Anthony’s sister and owner of Colony Wine Merchant in Anaheim, Sonya Kelsen, leads the charge on the retail section found to the left of the entrance. Featuring shelf-adorned walls and antique tables filled with products from small producers, women-owned, and sustainable brands, each piece has been hand-selected to inspire hosting and entertaining. Products include tea towels, handmade tableware, homeware, cookbooks, wine glasses, specialty olive oils, and vinegar. Kelsen, who opened her wine bar Colony in 2014, is passionate about small producers that farm and craft sustainably. She has also expertly curated The Market by The Meat Cellar’s retail and restaurant wine selection with bottles of artisanal, small-batch, and sustainably grown boutique wine including labels from Tres Sabores, Cade Estate, and Lone Madrone.
The restaurant’s dining area, to the right of the entrance, features a show stopping oyster bar as well as an in house dry aged case. The restaurant will offer an extensive menu from a scratch kitchen where all ingredients are thoughtfully sourced, certified clean, free of all additives and hormones, and intended to nourish the body. Highlights of the menu include Wagyu Tomahawks, and fresh caught seafood, all seasoned to perfection with The Meat Cellar’s signature spice blend.
“The three of us, Anthony, Sonya, and I, are similar in that our commitment to quality shines through in everything we do! We’re so grateful for Sonya’s involvement in the retail section, which I describe as Anthropologie meets Erewhon,” says Sara Villegas, co-founder and chief inspiration officer. “Through our carefully selected meats, always organic where possible, seedless oils, fresh produce, and handcrafted dishes, guests can trust that every dish in our restaurant is served with love. We believe in nourishing bodies and souls, and curating a warm, inviting atmosphere that reflects our philosophy of ‘come as you are.’ Food connects us like nothing else, and we’re beyond excited to welcome the guests of River Street Marketplace to the home they never knew they had.”
Upon opening, The Market by The Meat Cellar will be open 7 days a week from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on weekdays, and 10:00 a.m.to 10:00 p.m. on weekends, and will offer grab-and-go style dinners, dine-in, and take-out. For more information, to place orders at the butcher counter, and to make reservations, visit TheMeatCellar.com. To stay up to date on The Market at The Meat Cellar follow along on Instagram at @TheMeatCellar.
ABOUT THE MARKET BY THE MEAT CELLAR:
The Market by The Meat Cellar is a family-driven culinary journey that began with a dream and a passion for exceptional food. Rooted in generations of restaurant experience, founders Sara and Anthony Villegas combined their love of cooking and community to create a one-of-a-kind epicurean destination. From humble beginnings as a small sandwich booth at music festivals like Coachella to its first thriving restaurant in Claremont, The Meat Cellar continues to evolve while staying true to its core values. The Market by The Meat Cellar at the River Street Marketplace in San Juan Capistrano aims to offer an exceptional dining experience in the full-service dining room with a scratch-kitchen menu and craft cocktail program, in addition to a hybrid butcher and retail shop where customers can purchase the high-quality ingredients used in the restaurant alongside unique homewares and specialty wines. For more information visit TheMeatCellar.com.
