Longtime Carpe Vino chefs to open Josephine in Auburn

AUBURN HAS GONE FROM A quaint outpost for antiques to a vibrant city bubbling with young doers and creative outdoor types making Auburn happen,” according to ExploreAuburnCA.com, an economic development website dedicated to the foothills town.

Josephine is a shining example — a restaurant that Chefs Eric Alexander and Courtney McDonald plan to open in downtown Auburn.

The culinary duo, graduates of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America, helped make Old Town Auburn’s Carpe Vino a fine-dining destination in the Sierra foothills before venturing out on their own.

Eric and Courtney also have been operating Four Tines Farm and Farm Stand, a 5.5 acre farm, orchard and ranching operation outside of Auburn.

Their new restaurant Josephine is named after their daughter. It will celebrate “the cuisine of their heritage, their ancestors, and also the place they call home, Placer County.” Their farm will help provide some of the core ingredients for their menu.

Earlier this summer, Eric and Courtney showed off their cooking prowess at Polly’s Paladar, a supper club in Nevada City. The theme for the sold-out dinners was “flavors of Eastern Europe with French sensibility.”

Besides Josephine, a new cafe has opened in Auburn, bolstering the local dining scene. Nathan and Alice Shreve, owners of the popular The Baker & the Cakemaker, have opened BCM Cafe in the old Hilda’s Bakery at 1102 Lincoln Way.

The Baker & The Cakemaker also delivers its fresh bread throughout Placer, Sacramento, Nevada, and El Dorado counties.

REMEMBERING JIM BRIL

Auburn restaurateur and civic leader Jim Bril passed away unexpectedly in June. Besides owning the Monkey Cat, Jim helped open Auburn’s Tre Pazzi Trattoria, another popular downtown restaurant, with his friend Gary Capps.

In the past, Jim had been president of the Auburn Downtown Association and a board member of the Placer County Visitor’s Bureau. Jim was passionate about helping to bring visitors to Auburn. We’ve known Jim for a decade and will miss him.

(Photo: Josephine)