Demographic data might show that California’s population numbers are trending downward, but local restaurateur Eddie Estrada isn’t going anywhere. After arriving in Salinas from Mexico at the age of 8, Estrada developed a deep fondness for the Golden State.
“At a very early age I fell in love with California,” Estrada says. “The weather, the culture, the people and of course… ” he pauses, and gazes at the construction underway on his new restaurant, then adds: “the food.”
Estrada, who started as a dishwasher in his teens, spent over 20 years in the restaurant business before he and his mother, Emma, opened Emma’s Bakery & Cafe in 2021 in Salinas. The business, which blends an abbreviated breakfast and lunch menu along with a popular bakery, has been a success, and allowed Estrada to establish even more roots in his favorite state.
“I’m very proud of what we’ve been able to do at Emma’s,” Estrada says. “We have a great location and our customers have been asking us when we’re going to open another one.”
So when a 5,000-square-foot space on John Street in Salinas (formerly occupied by Norma’s Restaurant) became available, Estrada decided to expand on the concept he started at Emma’s, and it was his passion for California cuisine that inspired his new concept, The 31st Grill.
“California was the 31st state to enter the Union,” Estrada says, by way of explaining the name. “We’re going to serve all the classic food that the people here like to eat.”
The 31st Grill, which is scheduled to open by Sept. 9 (the anniversary of California’s admission to the Union), will be a full-service restaurant serving a full menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner. That, Estrada says, will allow him to really take the menu “Californian.”
For breakfast, Estrada plans to expand on the popular choices currently at Emma’s, which already includes a nice selection of breakfast sandwiches along with the crowd-pleasing lemon ricotta pancakes.
But that’s just the start. “The new space allows us more creativity in the kitchen,” Estrada says. “We only have about 1,000 square feet at Emma’s,” he says of the original bakery location (at 1182 Main St.). “Now we have five times the space, which means a larger kitchen and a whole lot more seating for dine-in customers.”
That might be an understatement. Emma’s has space for only a few tables in the bright and busy bakery. The 31st Grill location, which includes a small patio, can hold up to 140. It’s a large undertaking, Estrada admits, but one he is ready to make.
“The success of Emma’s gave me confidence in my recipes and my ability to run a business,” he says. “Now it’s just scaled up a bit, and I can really offer the menu items that represent California.”
Elsewhere on the menu, Estrada plans to showcase all the various cuisines that we’ve come to identify as West Coast comfort foods.
“Everything from tacos to tri-tip,” he says. “We’ve got a great kitchen for cooking all sorts of meats, but we’ll also offer classics like pastas, meatloaf and pizza.”
Estrada, who will manage the business along with his wife, Miriam Estrada, plans to have a menu that will feature something for everybody, including the newest of Californians. “Of course we’ll have a kids menu, as we are parents ourselves,” says the father of two. “But we’re going to have beer and wine for the adults, and we’ll be open seven days a week.”
The large restaurant is surrounded by a circular drive-thru-style driveway with plenty of parking, and, judging by the success of Emma’s, there soon might be a little more traffic on John Street.
“We’re really excited about this new, huge space,” Estrada says. “Especially my wife. At Emma’s, the place was so small she sometimes had to sit on a bucket to do payroll. Now she has her very own office, and my mom has more space to run the bakery.”
It sounds like a win-win for the Estrada family – but what happens next will be up to the Californians to decide.