American fare, fusion twist. Kinfolks Blackstone Grill opens in Stanislaus County
Serving American classics with a fusion flair, Kinfolks Flatstone Grill is now open in downtown Riverbank.
“I’ve always had my eye on the downtown Riverbank. I thought it was really cool and charming, and right in that middle stage, its growth spurt,” said co-owner Jack Sinodinos. “We rolled the dice and we bought the building, and we really want to be another small-business staple here, and give it a shot,” he said.
Sinodinos partnered with his brother-in-law, Luis Arauza, the former manager of Sinodino’s other restaurant, Cahoots Corner Cafe in Oakdale, to open Kinfolks last week.
The restaurant brings together two cultures that inspired both the decor and the menu. Sinodinos is Greek, and Arauza is Mexican; they are represented on opposite sides of the restaurant, with large murals of the Aztec calendar and a close-up of the statue of David.
True to the name, Sinodinos and Arauza became family when Sinodinos married Arauza’s sister. “Kinfolks means family, it’s not just by blood, but also about how we get along with each other and how we treat each other,” said Arauza.
The menu is full of American classics, but many with a twist. The chicken sandwiches can be made with a teriyaki chicken thigh or pollo asado, but Arauza suggests the giant fried chicken option, which is served Korean, bahn mi, or “guac” style.
The most popular is the hot honey fried chicken version. The same flavor combos are applied to the all-beef hot dog options, and Arauza suggests the elote dog or Sinodino’s favorite, the Chicago dog, inspired by his family’s history in the Windy City.
Arauza said the smashburgers are a great pick, especially accented with the housemade baconnaise sauce.
For those who want a healthier option, Arauza suggests the rice bowls with your choice of pollo asado or teriyaki chicken, or the Korean beef bowl with bulgogi barbecue beef on garlic butter rice with cucumber, kimchi, green onion, edamame, watermelon radish, and sesame seeds topped with a Korean barbecue aioli.
Bringing in more family traditions, Arauza’s wife’s sought-after potato salad is on the menu. “It actually comes from her mom; she’s been making it for years, but my wife perfected it, and now our whole family expects her to make it for every gathering,” he said. Ceci’s potato salad is creamy and mustard-forward, and Arauza said it has already garnered fans in the first week of being open.
If potato as a salad isn’t your favorite, Kinfolks serves sidewinder fries, which are a hybrid of a steak fry and a wedge, and for the kids, tetris tots, which are tater tots in the shapes of the famous game. He said he has seen kids making towers with them as they alternate between building and biting during dining.
The prices are reasonable: $10 hot dogs, $11 burgers, $12 chicken sandwiches, and rice bowls starting at $16, and the portions are generous.
Arauza said they do not have a fountain soda machine and instead opted for bottled drinks in glass because they are made with real sugar, and they can be recycled, and the funds can be donated to a local charity. “We wanted to give back in some regular way,” said Arauza.
The restaurant had its soft opening on March 30 and will be operating on limited hours for the first month. The hours are Monday through Friday from 3 to 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Kinfolks Flatstone Grill is in downtown Riverbank at 3306 Santa Fe St.
This story was originally published April 7, 2026 at 11:51 AM.
