Must Be Cow is the name of a new restaurant opening this summer in the former Boston’s Pizza site at 5511 Sunrise Blvd., Citrus Heights.

CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - Cowabunga! 

Must Be Cow is officially the business name of a new Korean barbecue restaurant opening this summer in the former Boston’s Pizza site at 5511 Sunrise Blvd. in Citrus Heights.

It’s the first commercial restaurant for Jason Duan and a business partner, both of whom reside in the Bay Area. Duan said construction plans by the project engineer, Sun Construction and Engineering of Sacramento were submitted to the city building department for review on Nov. 14.

“We’re excited to be opening in Citrus Heights,” Duan told the Citrus Heights Messenger. “We considered the location to be exactly what we were looking for.”

A restaurant menu is being finalized, Duan said. 

“We also thought the name was clever to describe what our restaurant will offer and we think our customers will also agree,” Duan said.

Korean barbecue typically emphasizes a variety of meats, often thinly sliced and marinated for quicker cooking times on a tabletop grill. The marination process is crucial, imparting complex flavors to the meat. Additionally, meat is often cut into bite-sized portions, making it easy to cook and share among diners over a communal grill.

The shuttered former Boston’s Pizza and Sports Bar, located at the corner of Sunrise Boulevard and Uplands Way, is adjacent to the shuttered former Marie Callendar’s Restaurant and Bakery on Sunrise Boulevard.

The commercial retail property was previously listed by the Dallas, Texas broker CBRE Group and is inactive LoopNet.com. Terms of the lease were not disclosed.

News of a lease signing had been previously reported but the identity of the business owner or the business name was not, according to Kathilynn Carpenter, Sunrise MarketPlace executive director.

Marisa Brown, Citrus Heights communications officer, confirmed that the city is currently reviewing submitted permits for the transformation of the former restaurant space into a new dining establishment.

The 8,570-square-foot restaurant, built in 1978 along what was once Citrus Heights restaurant row on Sunrise Boulevard, was previously the site of the Peppermill Restaurant and Lounge and later became a Logan’s Roadhouse location before becoming Boston’s.