The opening of Cafe Bernardo and KBar on K Street in the past two weeks by local restaurateur Randy Paragary are the latest steps in what many see as the street's return to its former status as a vibrant shopping and entertainment district. “What we’re seeing is a return of the nightlife centers to K Street, and that’s historically something it traditionally was,” said local historian William Burg. “A lot of it was forcibly done away with during the redevelopment era, but from the Gold Rush t... Brandon narona comment-71277 2012-07-23T02:27:52Z 2012-07-23T02:27:52Z Great little article. Thank you Randy for giving me an opportunity to be your Interior Designer for these two projects. Best regards and much success with the new venture!!! - Jelena Suman-Jarosz @ Narona Design. narona 2012-07-23T02:27:52Z William Burg comment-67889 2012-05-15T19:23:20Z 2012-05-15T19:23:20Z Specific use matters. A leased office building will be as dark and vacant-looking as a vacant building at night. A leased residential building means foot traffic and residents invested in the well-being of the neighborhood in which they live, especially if it is ownership housing. Retail provides sales tax and economic activity. Bars, theaters, restaurants and nightclubs add evening foot traffic and more economic activity, although they come with consequences of higher security needs and noise, and if not well-managed can detract from other uses like residential and retail. A lot of K Street is fully leased, but looks pretty grim at night because the uses are primarily offices that close at 5 PM and have little or no interaction with the street on the ground floor. Encouraging office uses on higher floors, more residential units, and a diverse mix of ground floor uses will produce more of what you and I might think of as a "vibrant" neighborhood--one that is busy into the evening hours, that people call home at night, that people care about and want to visit and experience. Midtown has some of these characteristics--but there is potential for much more in the downtown core, with the right resident mix. William Burg 2012-05-15T19:23:20Z Elaine Johnson comment-67883 2012-05-15T17:04:19Z 2012-05-15T17:04:19Z The most obvious difference between Cosmo and Bernardo's, which anyone who has been to both would recognize, is price point and concept. Cosmo was a fine dining restaurant, which, as stated in the article, turned out not to be able to hold its own, either in the location or against its competitors in the vicinity. C.B. is a known quantity downtown, which accepts phone-in orders, has a lower price point, and is potentially more state worker friendly for a weekday lunch crowd. It may also take some of the crowd overflow from Midtown. Whether it will thrive remains to be seen, because K Street remains a dicey proposition for some demographics. As far as the mayor goes, the most strength he could show in town, would be to hang out where he says everyone else should hang out, when he says it's perfectly safe to hang out, and have his entourage spend cash while they're all there. THAT would seriously stimulate the local economy! Elaine Johnson 2012-05-15T17:04:19Z newguyinsac comment-67870 2012-05-15T15:20:20Z 2012-05-15T15:20:20Z What alternatives would you suggest? Whether its restaurants, bars, theaters, stores, or housing someone has to own the property and generally someone has to lease it. newguyinsac 2012-05-15T15:20:20Z Dale Kooyman comment-67860 2012-05-15T04:47:10Z 2012-05-15T04:47:10Z Easy and common sense. I never said Midtown bars are evil, so you're not "getting it." We've had a limited number of good ones for years but the more recent "undue concentration"(ABC's findings) introduced changes to the dynamics. It's called competition! It is an economic reality that people have limited spendable income on "entertainment" and they will choose to spend it where they can get the most for those bucks. They consider not only costs of drinks but ease and cost of parking. Midtown has lost many retail shops and boutiques over the last few years---they can't afford the high rents that alcohol sellers can afford. The owners who proposed "fight bar" on J made that economic reality very clear to people who attended their meeting--maybe you weren't there. Dale Kooyman 2012-05-15T04:47:10Z William Burg comment-67837 2012-05-15T00:18:27Z 2012-05-15T00:18:27Z What makes this bar and restaurant stand on their own? It's a bar above a restaurant--the previous one was a bar above a restaurant. What changed about the business model, other than the name and some interior decorating? William Burg 2012-05-15T00:18:27Z William Burg comment-67836 2012-05-15T00:17:33Z 2012-05-15T00:17:33Z Is that the only alternative? William Burg 2012-05-15T00:17:33Z MyQuest comment-67831 2012-05-14T22:00:18Z 2012-05-14T22:00:18Z Midtown bars are evil...we get it. What I'd LIKE to get is untangled from trying to follow the eight-ball logic of your post. MyQuest 2012-05-14T22:00:18Z Dale Kooyman comment-67830 2012-05-14T20:42:45Z 2012-05-14T20:42:45Z One way to help Downtown's economic viability and attract bar/club/restaurant customers there is to return Midtown to a business center which featured various kinds of retail that Midtowners need so we don't have to drive to outlying areas to get them. Those needed businesses began and continue to leave one by one as the over concentration bars/clubs took over and compete with Downtown's bars/clubs. Dale Kooyman 2012-05-14T20:42:45Z newguyinsac comment-67821 2012-05-14T17:12:02Z 2012-05-14T17:12:02Z The problem with the Cosmo Cafe concept was that it didn't draw people who weren't headed to the theater. The new K-Bar / Cafe Bernardo stands on its own. newguyinsac 2012-05-14T17:12:02Z newguyinsac comment-67820 2012-05-14T17:09:50Z 2012-05-14T17:09:50Z That's OK, there are still plenty of crappy dive bars in town for hipsters to get their PBR. newguyinsac 2012-05-14T17:09:50Z newguyinsac comment-67819 2012-05-14T17:08:41Z 2012-05-14T17:08:41Z What's wrong with that? It's better than homeless bums and empty storefronts. newguyinsac 2012-05-14T17:08:41Z Julie Murphy comment-67816 2012-05-14T14:19:56Z 2012-05-14T14:19:56Z I was on K Street this past weekend (Saturday and Sunday) and lots of people were eating both inside and outside at Kbar/Cafe Bernardo. Tenth Street was something of a visual dead zone before the patio was installed. I think this is a welcome addition to the streetscape downtown. Julie Murphy 2012-05-14T14:19:56Z Billyjames4545 comment-67814 2012-05-14T07:44:05Z 2012-05-14T07:44:05Z Walked by their the other day. Looked a bus from Roseville dropped off a bunch of Chads and Heathers. No thanks Billyjames4545 2012-05-14T07:44:05Z Bill Burgua comment-67803 2012-05-13T19:46:03Z 2012-05-13T19:46:03Z So why did the Cosmo Cafe fail when it was specifically created for than location and Cafe Bernardo which there are several of won't fail? It could be because the most prominent thing on the property is the K-Bar. So far Cafe Bernardo looks like an after thought in the back. Shifting the priority is probably smart since a huge percentage of Sacramentens would rather drink than eat any day. Bill Burgua 2012-05-13T19:46:03Z joelrip comment-67710 2012-05-11T06:38:21Z 2012-05-11T06:38:21Z Thank god we had redevelopment to bring life back to K street! joelrip 2012-05-11T06:38:21Z JWS comment-67698 2012-05-11T01:44:24Z 2012-05-11T01:44:24Z Walked by on this block at around 3:00 this afternoon and there were several people eating at both Cafe Bernardo and Pizza Rock. Haven't seen a post lunch, pre dinner crowd on K Street for a long time, if ever. JWS 2012-05-11T01:44:24Z JWS comment-67697 2012-05-11T01:34:45Z 2012-05-11T01:34:45Z Gee do you have to take every opportunity to take a dig at the mayor? Enough already. He has been no worse or better than any other mayor as far as I can tell. JWS 2012-05-11T01:34:45Z Carlos Eliason comment-67696 2012-05-11T00:42:21Z 2012-05-11T00:42:21Z this amongst other new establishments makes me excited about k street. i've already eaten here too much since the opening! Carlos Eliason 2012-05-11T00:42:21Z William Burg comment-67693 2012-05-10T23:27:39Z 2012-05-10T23:27:39Z Sorry, I don't have $600,000 to spend on consultants handy. William Burg 2012-05-10T23:27:39Z Marc Ronson comment-67691 2012-05-10T22:40:19Z 2012-05-10T22:40:19Z The arena would have stimulated growth and the mayor did a great job trying to make that happen. What have you done recently William to stimulate the economy in such a large way? Marc Ronson 2012-05-10T22:40:19Z William Burg comment-67688 2012-05-10T22:09:51Z 2012-05-10T22:09:51Z And an arena to stimulate growth! Oh wait... William Burg 2012-05-10T22:09:51Z Jon Harlow comment-67685 2012-05-10T20:54:11Z 2012-05-10T20:54:11Z Thank god we had strong mayor to make these changes! Oh wait.... Jon Harlow 2012-05-10T20:54:11Z William Burg comment-67683 2012-05-10T20:47:55Z 2012-05-10T20:47:55Z "Vibrant" is developer-speak for "fully leased." William Burg 2012-05-10T20:47:55Z JWS comment-67650 2012-05-10T16:39:53Z 2012-05-10T16:39:53Z Awesome news. Thanks Randy for having faith in the K Street comeback! JWS 2012-05-10T16:39:53Z