Longtime Bartender From Biba Opens His Own Italian Restaurant

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A longtime bartender is bringing some menu favorites from Biba Restaurant back to life.

June Chang is opening a new restaurant, Mattone Ristorante, on Folsom Boulevard in East Sacramento. Chang is bringing in Biba's former executive chef to keep a few of their favorite dishes alive while also creating something new.

"We're going to serve Italian cooking, but it's not like Biba's. We're a new restaurant, we're serving new Italian cooking," Chang said.

Biba Caggiano, the woman who arguably put the Sacramento dining scene on the map over three decades ago, died in August 2019 at the age of 82. Her Italian bistro permanently closed last May after a drop in sales due to the pandemic.

Mattone Ristorante is set to open in early April.