Bushfire Kitchen is coming to Canyon Crest in Riverside – Press Enterprise

Bushfire Kitchen opened at The Merge Eastvale in 2022. (Photo courtesy of Fielding Buck, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Bushfire Kitchen, a regional chain that bills itself as “fast healthy casual,” announced it will open a location at Canyon Crest Town Center in Riverside.

The restaurant will be located in the shopping center's food court across from Starbucks. The space previously housed Panda Express and most recently Lenore's Bistro & Kitchen, which closed in the winter of 2023.

The restaurant will have dining space for 40 people and patio space for an additional 32 people, according to a news release from the Carlsbad-based chain. We are currently preparing to open at the end of the year.

Bushfire Kitchen prides itself on home-cooked meals using local ingredients wherever possible. The menu includes chimichurri grass-fed tri-tip and Thai chicken curry, as well as bowls and sandwiches. We specialize in savory or sweet empanadas that change monthly. April's flavor is caramel apple pie.

The Riverside location will also offer craft beer, wine and sangria. A license is pending with the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

Bushfire Kitchen was founded in Temecula in 2012 and currently has six locations including Menifee, Eastvale, Rancho Cucamonga, La Costa and Del Mar. In January, it announced that its first Orange County location would open in Mission Viejo later this year.

Canyon Crest is still waiting for a Hangar 24 Craft Brewing taproom to open in the space formerly occupied by Romano's Canyon Crest. The Redlands-based brewery announced on social media that it will open a Riverside store this spring. The company's website says it will be released soon.

Handel's Homemade Ice Cream also plans to open a store near Rite Aid.

Information: bushfirekitchen.com