Longtime Broadstone Marketplace restaurant thanks generations of customers as it calls it quits
After serving the Folsom community for nearly a quarter-century, Mimi’s Cafe has closed its doors at Broadstone, ending a long run for a restaurant that became a familiar dining spot for generations of local residents.
By Monday, the closure at 2719 E. Bidwell St. was very much well underway. Moving trucks were outside the restaurant as furniture, fixtures and other contents were being removed from the building, while a farewell message posted on the window thanked customers who had filled its tables over the years.
“Thank you for your loyalty. We’ll miss seeing you around our tables, and hope to see you at another Mimi’s soon,” the message read.
The Folsom restaurant operated for approximately 25 years and occupied a 6,581-square-foot building in the Broadstone commercial area near Home Depot and PetSmart.
For longtime Folsom residents, Mimi’s was more than another national restaurant name along the East Bidwell Street corridor. Its lengthy tenure spanned much of the growth of the Broadstone area itself, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner through years in which Folsom experienced significant residential and commercial expansion.
The closure also marks the latest contraction of Mimi’s Cafe across the Sacramento region. With the Folsom restaurant gone, the chain’s only remaining Sacramento-area location is in Elk Grove at 9195 W. Stockton Blvd.
Other area Mimi’s locations have disappeared over the years as the company has reduced its regional footprint. A South Natomas restaurant closed in 2015, while locations in Roseville and Arden-Arcade have also shuttered.
The former Roseville Mimi’s at 1104 Galleria Blvd. was eventually transformed into Fogo de Chão, the Brazilian steakhouse that opened there in 2024. In Arden-Arcade, the former Mimi’s at 2029 Alta Arden Expressway was replaced by Crazy Pot, a hot pot restaurant.
Mimi’s Cafe itself has roots stretching back nearly five decades.
The first Mimi’s Cafe opened in Anaheim, California, in December 1978 near Disneyland. Created by Arthur J. Simms and his son, Thomas Simms, the concept blended elements of a traditional American coffee shop and dinner house with the atmosphere of a European-style cafe.
The concept proved successful and expanded throughout Southern California before eventually moving into other states. By 1989, Mimi’s had 11 Southern California restaurants generating close to $30 million in annual sales. The chain entered 2001 with 49 restaurants and sales topping $141 million.
Expansion continued during the early 2000s as Mimi’s moved into markets across the country. Bob Evans Farms acquired the company in 2004 for $182 million, including the assumption of its debt.
Bob Evans Farms later sold Mimi’s in 2013 to Groupe Le Duff, a privately held restaurant company with several French-inspired brands. At the time of that sale, Mimi’s had 145 locations, including 57 in California, and generated approximately $380 million in annual revenue.
The chain has contracted considerably since then. The supplied information lists 39 remaining Mimi’s restaurants nationwide, with the majority located in Southern California.
Through its various ownership eras, Mimi’s maintained its identity as a French-inspired, family-friendly casual dining restaurant, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner with a menu centered on American comfort food along with French and Creole influences.
At this time no details have been shared as what may occupy the empty space in Broadstone Marketplace. City of Folsom records show no building permit applications on file for the location at this time as well.
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