{"id":335113,"date":"2026-05-27T23:21:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T23:21:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/335113\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T23:21:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T23:21:34","slug":"this-new-sourdough-sandwich-chain-is-rising-in-the-central-valley-what-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/335113\/","title":{"rendered":"This new sourdough sandwich chain is rising in the Central Valley. What to know"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new chain of sourdough sandwich shops is popping up throughout the Central Valley, with five locations simultaneously having their grand openings last weekend in Lodi-Kettleman, Lodi Reynolds Ranch, Visalia, Porterville and Galt.<\/p>\n

The chain, Cali Rays Sourdough Deli, offers an expansive menu of deli-style sandwiches made on freshly baked sourdough bread, as well as wraps, soups and salads. The name is meant to evoke the warm, golden color of bread fresh from the oven, and of a California sunrise.<\/p>\n

The six Bakersfield locations hosted their grand openings three weeks previous to last weekend\u2019s openings. In all, the chain currently has 22 locations spanning the valley from Chico to Bakersfield, plus another location in Oceanside. All locations have launched within the past few months.<\/p>\n

\"Gurdeep Gurdeep Bains, Cali Rays Sourdough Deli CEO, at his newest location in Galt on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. Hector Amezcua hamezcua@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

The CEO, Gurdeep Bains, didn\u2019t get his start in the restaurant world, though. He\u2019s a former nurse.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely not the traditional path into restaurants, but nursing taught me a lot about caring for people, staying calm under pressure, working hard and paying attention to detail,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really loved helping people, but over time I realized that what I enjoyed most was connecting with people, making someone\u2019s day better and serving the community. That passion eventually led me into entrepreneurship and the food business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bains was drawn to sourdough for a couple of reasons. First, he appreciates its connection to California history, San Francisco and the Gold Rush in particular. But his background in healthcare is another tether.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of the natural fermentation process, many people find sourdough easier to digest, and it can be a better option for those looking for a more wholesome bread choice,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Sandwiches Sandwiches are prpepared at Cali Rays Sourdough Deli, a new sandwich, soup, and salad restaurant, in Galt on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. Hector Amezcua hamezcua@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

Several locations of the chain, including the Galt location, were previously franchises of West Coast Sourdough. That chain is embroiled in a legal dispute with its founder and former CEO, Karndeep \u201cKay\u201d Uppal, who filed suit in February that he had been wrongfully ousted in 2024<\/a>, according to the Sacramento Business Journal.<\/p>\n

The franchisees migrated away from the legacy brand because of rising food costs, slowing sales and a lack of engagement from the corporate office<\/a>, according to The Fresno Bee. West Coast Sourdough launched in Fresno in 2021.<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, the menus are similar, though some of the offerings at Cali Ray\u2019s, such as the flatbreads, come in significantly cheaper. Cali Ray\u2019s also is the only one of the two chains to offer wraps.<\/p>\n

This story was originally published May 27, 2026 at 10:05 AM.<\/p>\n

Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Sean Timberlake<\/a><\/p>\n

The Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n

Sean Timberlake is the food and dining reporter for The Sacramento Bee. He has been writing professionally about food for over 20 years.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new chain of sourdough sandwich shops is popping up throughout the Central Valley, with five locations simultaneously…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":335114,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":["post-335113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=335113"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335113\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/335114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=335113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=335113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=335113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}