Beloved CA Chain Closes Over 100 Restaurants, With Less Than 40 Remaining

California-based Mimi’s Cafe is a fraction of its former self, with the chain’s footprint shrinking by more than 100 locations to less than 40 restaurants.

Among its many closures is the recently shuttered Folsom location, which went out of business earlier this month, according to the Folsom Times. The closures began 13 years ago and have increased in recent years.

Northern California, once dotted with the signature yellow French bistros, just has a single location in Elk Grove, following closures in Arden Arcade, Roseville, and South Natomas, The New York Post reported. In Southern California, a long-standing location in Belmont Shore that had sat vacant for years was recently demolished.

There are only 24 remaining California locations listed on the company's website:

• Anaheim
• Chatsworth-Northridge
• Chino
• Corona
• Downey
• Elk Grove
• Fairfield
• Fontana
• Fountain Valley
• Fresno
• Irvine
• La Quinta
• Lakewood
• Modesto
• Monrovia
• Moreno Valley
• Rancho Cucamonga
• San Bernardino
• San Diego - Mission Viejo
• Torrance
• Tustin
• Victorville
• Whittier
• Yorba Linda

The chain got its start in Anaheim, the Times reported, where its first restaurant opened in 1978 as founder Arthur Simms’ love letter to French gastronomy.

Its first few decades in business saw Mimi’s enter 2001 with just under 50 restaurants, and the chain was purchased three years later by Bob Evans Farms, the Times reported.

It was sold again in 2013 to Le Duff Group, at which time it had grown to 145 restaurants in 24 states with an annual income of $380 million, the buyer said at the time. In 2020, Le Duff sold Mimi’s to Elite Restaurant Group, according to TheStreet.

The chain’s owner did not provide a reason for recent closings and was not immediately available for comment to TheStreet, that outlet reported.

As of late August, the number of restaurant locations had dwindled to a mere 38 across nine states, as listed on the Mimi’s website.

Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.