Local Business

Lowbrau beer hall to open in Midtown early December

2012-11-15T07:22:47Z

Lowbrau owners Michael Hargis and Clay Nutting say they expect to open their German-style beer hall and sausage restaurant in the first few weeks of December, if construction stays on track.

The restaurant will take the 20th and K streets location of the former Lounge on 20, which closed earlier this year after an extensive redesign failed to draw fine-dining customers in the numbers needed to make it succeed.

Hargis and Nutting say they have a markedly different concept, with the communal tables, larger square bar and decor that’s a cross between modern and Bavarian styling designed to foster a sense of community at affordable prices.

“We were really lucky,” Hargis said Tuesday. “We’ve been working on this for two years, and the best location in the city happened to become available. We’re beyond excited.”

So how does a German beer hall fit in with Midtown culture?

“It pays homage to the German beer hall but with the look and feel of Midtown,” Hargis said.

One of the aspects that combines the two cultures will be a shadow-box display featuring a classic German fixture – the cuckoo clock. But instead of something that will quickly feel dated, Hargis said, it will be done in a monochromatic fashion so it blends with the feel of Midtown.

Another aspect of the design will be the incorporation of birch trees used in one area as a mini dividing wall. A private dining room will be sealed off with sliding barn doors, and all of the furniture and building materials are locally sourced.

The beer selection will be varied, and Nutting says something will be available to satisfy any palate.

“Beer is something that we’re really passionate about,” Nutting said. “We will have some German beers on tap and in bottles. Also, we’ll have Belgian and craft and local beers.”

But beer is only part of the equation.

“Sausage is the focus of our kitchen,” Hargis said. “We’ll have traditional sausages like bockwurst and knockwurst, and of course frankfurters, but we’ll have some gourmet ones – maybe elk or quail.”

The restaurant will also offer a vegan sausage.

“This is a place we want everyone to be comfortable in, and a lot of people in Midtown are vegetarians or vegans,” Nutting said.

Prices are designed to appeal to the community as well, with lunch and a beer running around $12.

Hargis and Nutting teamed up with the crew from Shady Lady Saloon for the cocktail menu, and a number of the drinks will be based on traditional German schnapps.

Schnapps is traditionally a flavored brandy, and Hargis says he’s excited to roll out the cocktail options, which were some of the most popular items when a trial dinner for family and friends was held a few months ago.

The majority of the seating in the approximately 3,700-square-foot space will be dedicated to communal tables, with a few tables for two or four available to people who want a more intimate setting.

Patio space was a must for the duo, who says the MARRS Building’s large deck was part of what made the space ideal. About 150 can be seated inside, with another 70 on the patio.

“We also are really happy to be able to have 20th Street right outside,” Hargis said. “We will want to do something for Oktoberfest next year, and there are other events we’d like to participate in.”

Hargis and Nutting are behind the Launch Festival, which was in the central city earlier this year. Nutting has a background in events through working with Concerts 4 Charity to raise funds with music.

Nutting says that events management is a field that’s all about showing people a good time, and it’s something he and Hargis will strive to do with Lowbrau.

Standing in the center of the restaurant, near the as-yet-unfinished bar, Nutting rests a hand on the rough plywood and takes in the sight before expressing exactly what he wants to see it become: “This is a place where a lot of good stories will come from.”

Fat Face cafe leaves Bows & Arrows boutique in Midtown Sacramento

2012-11-14T06:39:47Z

Fat Face cafe will leave Bows & Arrows vintage boutique Nov. 30, being replaced by a new operator looking to stretch his legs in the restaurant business by bringing in more hot plates and late-night eats.

One of the major draws to Fat Face, according to Bows & Arrows co-owner Trisha Rhomberg, were the popsicles.

“Since she’s been at Bows, her popsicles blew up, and they’re in demand everywhere, and they’re kind of like her hot seller, her golden little goose egg, and so she’s doing the right thing by focusing all of her energy into expanding that part of the business,” Rhomberg said.

Fat Face owner Jaymes Luu shared the news with her fans in a letter she posted on her Facebook page.

“I feel fortunate to have been able to work with the creative and energetic staff of Bows & Arrows, and it has been a complete and absolute pleasure to serve such a loyal and enthusiastic customer base,” Luu said in the letter.

The popsicles will still be available at Bows & Arrows, and the cafe space will be opened to a new operator.

Rhomberg said she sees it as a natural progression in the Bows & Arrows goal of being a showcase for locals.

“Yes, we have art, and yes, we have great music and cool local designer wares, but chefs are artists as well,” she said. “I’m excited to bring on someone whose dream job is to open a restaurant, and this can be the step before you open your own restaurant.”

Some of the significant upfront costs in starting a restaurant include finding and leasing a space, then equipping it with expensive range hoods and floor drains and other infrastructure needed for a restaurant.

Rhomberg said those are all things that Bows & Arrows already has.

Now, Gabe Nokes will be able to get his start in the space, creating his own unique menu and leaving his impression on the business.

“What we’ll be doing is really focusing more on what Bows & Arrows is really good at, which is doing events and being a nice place to hang out,” Nokes said.

He plans to keep a similar type of menu at lunch, focusing on sandwiches made with locally sourced ingredients, but he will serve dinner later – likely from 6 p.m. to closing time at 11 p.m., with an emphasis on hot plates.

“In the future I’d like to have a grill going on on the back patio and actually be doing grilled sandwiches to order, or sausages and grilled vegetables – things like that,” Nokes said.

He added that he plans to do small plates of local seasonal vegetables, nuts served hot, hot meats and cold meats.

The price range will be similar to the current offerings, with sandwiches running $8-$9 at lunch, and small dinner plates running $4-$5, with larger plates costing up to $11.

“It’s nothing too fancy,” Nokes said. “We’re a bar/cafe/lounge, and we’re not trying to be too haute cuisine.”

Nokes will be taking over dinner service Nov. 27, and he will take over lunch service from Luu on Dec. 1.

Sneak peek at possible bike-share infrastructure in downtown Sacramento

2012-11-09T07:52:21Z

One version of what a Sacramento bicycle-sharing program might look like was on display Thursday at Ninth and I streets.

Representatives from B-cycle, a Wisconsin-based company that supplied equipment to 14 bicycle-sharing programs across the United States, including Denver and Honolulu, were on hand to answer questions about their systems.

According to B-cycle representative Jason McDowell, the infrastructure has come a long way since bicycle-sharing programs began cropping up in the past decade.

“We’ve had a chance to learn from the mistakes of others instead of making those mistakes ourselves,” he said, referring to the early struggles of the bicycle-sharing program in Paris, where there were constant reports of theft and vandalism in the early days.

“Since 2010, we have only lost one or two bikes,” he added, saying that neither was stolen from one of the stations when it was locked up.

Local officials are currently working on a study to examine the feasibility of a bicycle-sharing program in the Sacramento region.

Getting a working program off the ground will likely take $1 million - $3 million, but that’s a figure proponents say is public transit on the cheap.

“It gets people out of their reliance on the car, and in makes them active,” said Chris Morfas, senior policy coordinator for the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District.

With the study costing about $30,000, some have wondered why there is a need to spend the money, but Morfas said it is a small price to pay to ensure that installing the infrastructure will make a good return on investment.

“We want to make sure we know that we’re putting the stations in the areas where people will use them and that placing them there makes sense,” he said. “In transportation spending, that’s relatively small.”

The report is expected to be completed by spring of next year, at which point local governments can decide if it’s something that’s right for the region, and if it is, they can seek funding.

B-cycle is only one vendor of bicycle-sharing infrastructure that may be considered by the region if it moves forward with the process, and it is housed in the same building as bicycle manufacturer Trek Bicycles.

“From Trek’s perspective, they’re not looking to make a lot of money off the bikes,” McDowell said, referencing the estimated $1,000 - $1,400 that each bicycle will cost. “What we’ve seen is that installing something like this flips a switch – cities become much more bike-friendly, and from Trek’s perspective, it encourages people to go out and buy their own bikes.”

A pilot program coordinated by the Midtown Business Association last year was deemed unsuccessful after a string of thefts and vandalism, but it was a markedly different system from the ones in use in places such as Boulder, Colo., and Washington, D.C.

The Midtown program used widely available bicycles and was launched on a small scale. Systems offered by companies such as B-cycle use specialized bicycles with unique styles and locking mechanisms that aren’t commercially available, and they start with greater numbers of bicycles.

“In Denver, we started with 500 bikes,” McDowell said. “What usually happens is the city either forms a nonprofit or partners with a nonprofit to keep the programs going.”

Like other methods of public transit, the bicycles can display advertisements, which helps offset the cost of upkeep. Additionally, nominal fees are paid by users.

According to a B-cycle brochure, typical fees are $5 - $10 for a 24-hour pass, a seven-day membership is about $30 and an annual membership is about $65, with the first 30 minutes of using a bicycle bearing no additional charge.

Typically, usage beyond 30 minutes adds a fee, depending on how long the bicycle remains rented.

“The idea is that this completes a public transit network,” McDowell said. “People can get off a train or a bus, get on a bike and ride that last mile to work, where they can turn in the bike at a large office building.”

Elizabeth Studebaker, executive director of the Midtown Business Association, said she thinks the program would be good for business, giving options beyond cars and making visitors have greater access to businesses.

“It’s also really great for tourism,” she said. “It gives people working an easy way to get on a bike and ride to a restaurant for lunch or do some shopping. It’s kind of exploding all over the country.”

The Moppet Shoppe – children's boutique comes to Midtown from Elk Grove

2012-11-05T15:50:06Z

Carolee Neronde opened the doors of her children’s clothing boutique, The Moppet Shoppe, Oct. 27 in Midtown, moving to the central city after spending 21 years in Elk Grove.

“I had to leave, because the shopping center I was in was dead,” she said. “It was just me and a scrapbooking place for retail, and I stared out at a parking lot full of cars all day.”

In her new spot at 2524 J St., she has what she’s been looking for – the constant hustle and bustle of foot traffic.

The space previously housed the Upper Playground clothing store, and Neronde said that the first time she saw the place, she knew she had to have it. A month later, her doors were open.

Moppet is Old English for child, and the name was a natural fit for Neronde, who enjoys classic English literature and carries clothes for children – from premature sizes up to age 16.

“It’s a boutique, so we carry higher-end brands,” she said, adding that some of her popular clothing labels include Giggle Moon and Biscotti.

Some of the shoes she said her customers seek out include the brands See Kai Run and Pediped.

One concern with moving to Midtown, she said, is parking. Some of her regular customers told her they wouldn’t shop in the central city because of the parking situation, but others said they’d gladly make the drive – and weren't worried about parking.

“Sacramento doesn’t have a parking problem,” Neronde said. “I never have trouble parking down here.”

The benefits, however, outweigh the perception of parking, Neronde added. Proximity to East Sacramento, constant foot and vehicle traffic and the fact that Midtown is mixed-use – allowing her to operate just yards from residences – are all aspects she sees as positives.

Down the street, at the corner of 25th and J streets, is Birkenstock Midtown. Co-owner Toni Budworth said she is happy to see The Moppet Shoppe move in, and she thinks it will enhance her business.

“We have a lot of the same customers,” Budworth said. “People come to our stores looking for high-quality products and good service.”

Birkenstock Midtown has been open for a decade, and Budworth said she thinks the two stores will complement each other well.

“Most of our customers are women, and a lot of them, like me, are recent grandparents,” she said. “It would make a great women’s outing to go shopping for shoes and pick something up for a grandchild or a child.”

Neronde said she has felt welcomed by the other businesses in the area, and she thinks the Midtown district has a good mix of locally owned shops appreciated by the residents.

“I’m really happy to be here,” she said. “It’s really exciting.”

Mike's Camera to replace Ritz Camera in Midtown Sacramento

2012-11-02T00:44:50Z

A new camera store is coming to Midtown in the same space recently vacated when Ritz Camera closed its doors.

Colorado-based Mikes Camera has been around since 1967 and is expanding into California with a new corporation. Sacramento is one of five locations the business will open in the state. The other four are all in the Bay Area.

“Sacramento’s a great city,” Vice President of Operations Alex Christianian said Thursday. “Since Ritz was closing their location, and we had been looking at expanding, the timing seemed like a good opportunity for us.”

The store is set to open at 2200 J St. sometime during the week of Nov. 12, and he said he expects that many of the Ritz Camera employees will be hired.

“They had a great crew, and we’ll be retaining as many of them as we can,” Christianian said.

Store selection will be similar to what Ritz Camera carried, but he added that there will be a more extensive selection of high-end products than Ritz offered. The store will also repair cameras.

Another aspect of the business will be the hosting of educational activities such as workshops, shooting events, presentations by professional photographers and more.

Store hours will be 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Sunday.

Midtown Business Association Executive Director Elizabeth Studebaker said she is happy to see the old camera store replaced with a new one.

“A store like Mike’s Camera is a huge asset for the community, and it’s a great destination business,” she said.

Midtown residents rally to support music venue, and police listen

2012-11-01T19:07:36Z

After an outcry from neighborhood leaders, police agreed recently to rescind a recommendation for a restriction on the liquor license transfer at Harlow’s, a nightclub at 2708 J St.

A shooting Aug. 18 spurred some neighbors to act when the license came up for transfer to new owners – with the residents arguing that alcohol sales on the block, which includes several restaurants and bars, were partly responsible for the shooting.

A group of residents have historically opposed alcohol-selling businesses on the block, and one of the most vocal of the group, Vito Sgromo, told police in an Aug. 19 email that he intended to protest the liquor license transfer due to crime in the area.

Sgromo did not reply to a request for comment by publication time.

As a result of the group’s outcry, Sacramento Police Department officials planned to include a recommendation to the Alcoholic Beverage Control that half of all sales at Harlow’s must be food-related as a way to cut back on alcohol consumption.

That restriction, however, was not supported by other residents.

Marshall School/New Era Park Neighborhood Association leaders sent a letter arguing against the 50/50 restriction to police officials last week.

“Harlow's is a vital link in the continuing development of the local music scene,” the letter states. “Imposing the 50/50 food and alcohol condition will hamper the ability of Harlow's to make changes necessary to develop into a better business and neighbor.”

Julie Murphy of the neighborhood association said Tuesday that she and other neighbors are in support of Harlow’s as a longtime music venue and agreed that other restrictions related to noise management and security are sufficient.

After hearing from the neighborhood association, police removed the 50/50 requirement from their recommendation to the Alcoholic Beverage Control

“The recommendation we’re putting forward to ABC is all pretty much standard for most of the clubs,” said Lt. Norm Leong, spokesman for the Sacramento Police Department. “Based on the community feedback, the 50/50 recommendation was changed.”

Leong added that police don’t know whether Harlow’s or the other businesses on the 2700 block of J Street contributed to the fatal shooting.

“We don’t know where the parties came from,” Leong said of the shooters and the victim. “It’s likely they were in the area due to the venues, but we don’t know if they came from any of them.”

Below is the letter from the neighborhood association to city officials:

Members of the Board of the Marshall School/New Era Park Neighborhood Association (“Board”) and nearby neighbors of Harlow’s met with Jim Cornett on Saturday, October 20, to discuss his purchase of Harlow's and our concerns about security and noise management. At that time Tricia Bernhardt, the broker representing the Torza family, informed our Board of a food/alcohol sales requirement the Sacramento Police Department is recommending ABC add as a condition to the license transfer from the Torzas to Jim Cornett and his partners.

We are very supportive and appreciative that the Sacramento Police Department is recommending conditions to the license transfer that will promote security and noise management at Harlow's. We, however, feel that viewing Harlow's solely as a "General Eating Place" does not take into consideration the unique nature of Harlow's as a live music venue for over 30 years. A Condition requiring a 50/50 ratio of food sales to alcohol sales is not appropriate for Harlow's. The Board and nearby residents supportsthe inclusion of this condition on other restaurant/bar businesses on the 2700 block of J Street, but not at Harlow's due to its long-standing history as a music venue. For over 30 years, Harlow's has made a remarkable contribution to the local music scene by promoting local bands and bringing national touring bands to Midtown.

Harlow's is a vital link in the continuing development of the local music scene. Imposing the 50/50 food and alcohol condition will hamper the ability of Harlow's to make changes necessary to develop into a better business and neighbor. This one-time exclusion of the food and alcohol sales condition will help preserve and protect a local music treasure. In this challenging economy, the community needs develop creative and innovative solutions to promote this segment of the artistic community.

The Board fully supports the other proposed conditions designed to increase security atHarlow's and control noise. These issues are the primary concerns of the residents who live in the area immediately adjacent to Harlow's. We fully endorse the addition of these reasonable conditions to ABC license. The Board appreciates the efforts of the Sacramento Police Department to promote safety, security, and noise reduction in our neighborhood. We also look forward to working with you to develop productive solutions to make Midtown a better place for residents, businesses, and visitors alike.

Julie A. Murphy Ed Trujillo George Raya
Co-Chair Co-Chair Board Member

Kombucha Kulture debuts mobile concept

2012-10-31T15:36:54Z

Kombucha Kulture debuted its mobile vending trailer Saturday, Oct. 27, offering a host of different flavors of the fermented tea drink growing in popularity.

The trailer features six flavors of kombucha, according to a press release, and the Zombie 5K run at Miller Park was the venue. The brewers were Revive, Bùcha, House and Lev’s.

A 12-ounce glass runs $3, and a 16-ounce glass costs $4.

Owned by Joseph Melrose and Brianne Giatras, Kombucha Kulture was originally envisioned as a brick-and-mortar store to replace the old Hina’s Tea space at 24th and K streets.

Unable to secure traditional bank funding, the duo tried to raise $50,000 via the Internet fundraising platform Kickstarter, and when that failed, they opted to go with a mobile concept.

“It was a blessing in disguise,” Giatras previously told The Sacramento Press.. “We realized we were going to have a great audience, but Kickstarter wasn’t going to be the thing that got us into business. We think this will be much better considering the market we’re entering and the ability to take our product to the customer instead of trying to get them to come to us.”

A 1950s-style horse trailer became the basis for the business. The couple spent several months refurbishing it – doing bodywork and installing a custom wooden door.

Read more about the mobile concept in a previous Sacramento Press article.

Cornerstone reopens next door to original location Thursday

2012-10-29T19:28:25Z

Cornerstone – the popular restaurant that left the corner of 24th and J streets two years ago – is coming home.

The restaurant will reopen Thursday next door to its former location – now a gun store – in a spot recently vacated when River Rock Tap House shut its doors for good.

“We’re excited to come back to the old neighborhood and see all of the old customers,” said owner Danny Leung.

For the past two years, Cornerstone has been operating out of Headhunters, a bar and nightclub on 20th and K streets. When the business was unable to extend its lease at the former location at 2330 J St. after 14 years being open, the owners looked into moving into an old church.

The church, however, didn’t have the parking requirements the city set for the restaurant, and the idea fizzled. Partnering with Headhunters was a stopgap measure, and Leung said he has been looking for another space to operate independently.

“There have been other openings, but none of them felt like home,” he said. “This feels like home.”

River Rock Tap House closed at the end of summer, plagued by a broken air conditioning system that the business lacked the means to replace. An assortment of swamp coolers didn’t keep pace with the hot Sacramento weather, and customers slipped away until the business eventually went under.

A brand new air conditioning unit is now in place, and Leung said Cornerstone will incorporate a full bar pending approval of a liquor license.

When the restaurant opens on Thursday, hours will be from 6 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. When the liquor license is obtained, Cornerstone will be open from 6 a.m. - midnight.

Leung described the food as traditional American food, with omelets, sandwiches and burgers. About 90 percent of the menu items are priced less than $10, he added.

“We’re coming back,” Leung said. “We belong here, and it’s always good to feel at home.”

SactoMoFo food truck event on Sunday to benefit McKinley Park playground rebuilding

2012-10-25T19:06:54Z

Efforts are still under way to raise funds for rebuilding the McKinley Park playground, which was torched in a suspected arson fire July 28, and a food truck even scheduled for Sunday gives you the chance to grab some grub while supporting the rebuilding efforts.

The free event hosted by SactoMoFo will be held at Sutter’s Landing Park at 28th and B streets from noon - 4 p.m. Sunday, and at least 14 food trucks are scheduled to attend.

Vendors include Drewski’s Hot Rod Kitchen, Miz Shirley Marie’s, Simply Southern Foods, Brickoven Pizza, Annie’s Sno Biz Hawaiian Shave Ice, Smoothie Patrol, OMG Burger, Om Karmabile, Volks Waffle California, Swabbies, Tacos Chavinda, Dave’s Dawgs, Coast to Coast Sandwiches and Mama Kim on the Go.

To date, more than $100,000 has been raised for tha playground’s rebuilding, including cash donations, in-kind donations and commitments, according to a press release.

Event coordinator Steve Swindel said proceeds from sales at each food truck will be donated to rebuilding McKinley Park’s playground, as well as a portion of the sales from a beer and wine garden that will be on-site.

“Basically, the food trucks are giving us a cut of what they make,” he said. “The event is absolutely free to get it.”

More information is available on the event Facebook page.

Negril brings jerk chicken, Caribbean eats to J Street

2012-10-24T00:19:27Z

Jamaican food from a longtime Sacramento restaurateur is now available in Midtown, at a new spot that is replacing Luck’s BBQ on the corner of 25th and J streets.

Negril, owned by Cleve Geddes, is named after a resort in Jamaica, and Geddes said his goal is to serve Jamaican food – but not quite as spicy as it’s done in the islands.

“I do jerk chicken, and I named it after Negril because that’s where they have the jerk chicken festival,” Geddes said Tuesday.

The restaurant opened Oct. 14, and Geddes said it fit the bill for what he was looking: a small space with a fully functional kitchen that would allow him to smoke meats and fish, serving food for dine-in or takeaway.

Meats are smoked in an electric smoker with a rub that has a Caribbean hint, Geddes said. Fish such as salmon and sturgeon is brined in-house and then vacuum-sealed, ensuring it’s fresh when opened, he added.

Ribs are available with jerk seasoning or traditional barbecue sauce, in half or full racks.

The menu includes items such as a pulled pork sandwich with a side for $7.50, a quarter of a chicken with two sides for $7.50 or half a chicken with sides for $12.

Sides include sweet potato fries, coleslaw and beans.

For dessert, Geddes said, he wanted to incorporate something that is widespread in the Caribbean – Tortuga rum cakes. The cakes, priced at $7.50, are served in the original rum flavor as well as chocolate, key lime and coconut.

Geddes’ parents are from Jamaica, and he was born in Panama, he said, adding that he came to Sacramento in 1985.

Geddes has a history in the Sacramento food scene, from owning Cleve’s Place BBQ at Northgate and Garden Highway to managing restaurants such as Chanterelle, Blue Cue and The Virgin Sturgeon.

“I wanted to open my own place again because I want to offer something different,” he said. “I like being in a happy place where I can see people come in smiling and have it be casual, and have it be a place I don’t have to stay up too late.”

The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and from 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. It’s closed on Sunday.

The décor in the 1,000-square-foot space consists of tropical-themed tablecloths and a series of photos from Sacramentan Gilbert Lagunas, a restaurant consultant who has been a friend of Geddes’ for more than 20 years.

“The photos are from my trips to Mexico and Costa Rica and Brazil,” Lagunas said. “He wanted something to give it a tropical flair.”

Lagunas said he thinks the location is a good one, with a significant amount of vehicular and foot traffic.

“I think people will really catch on to the concept with the smoked meats,” he said.

Geddes echoed Lagunas’ sentiment, adding that he wants to keep prices low while providing quality food.

“We’re all about having good food and a fun time,” Geddes said. “We just want you to leave with a smile on your face.”

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Townhouse Lounge foreclosed, sold at auction

2012-10-23T15:48:35Z

Last week Townhouse Lounge owner Desmond “Desi” Reynoso said he would have to close his business because the landlord was raising the rent –– but county records appear to tell a different, or at least more complex story.

Until recently, Reynoso – who said he goes by Desi David – was his own landlord. Sacramento County Assessor’s Office records records show he was one of the owners who took control of the property on July 17, 2003, but the building housing the business was foreclosed on and sold at auction this month.

Records show that Shirley Johnson purchased the property on the morning of Oct. 16 for $574,789.33. The Sacramento Press was unable to contact her.

When contacted by The Sacramento Press on that same day, Oct. 16, Reynoso said that the business would shut down around the end of the year, citing a raising in rents from the landlord.

We attempted to contact Reynoso to ask about the foreclosure and see if perhaps it was the new landlord that raised the rent, but repeated calls went unanswered, and messages were not returned.

Employees working at Townhouse Lounge Friday night declined to comment.

Townhouse Lounge is a dance club and bar located at 1517 21st St. It has gone through periods of opening and closing in years past.

The bar’s distinctive architecture and bright yellow sign divided reader opinion when we published our first piece on the pending closure. Sacramento Press user “ryuns” was not a fan.

“But seriously, this building is hideous,” he said. “I'm sure there's a charm to the Soviet architecture and gawdy lettering (that weep streaks of dirt and mildew down the facade), but it's lost on me.”

Another reader, “Jane,” thought the building was worth saving.

“They should have shut their doors to renovate and rejuvenate the architecture,” she wrote.”It's a really fascinating building that could be used for some really incredible events.”

Since 2004, the club has played host to some of the largest hipster shows and club nights in Midtown, with DJs Shaun Slaughter, Roger Carpio and many others contributing to its success. Patrons complained of dirty facilities and broken restrooms, but crowds filled the venue nonetheless. This Friday will be Slaughter’s last spin at the club, ending an almost decade-long run with a costumed Halloween party.

View the story "Reactions to the announced closing of Townhouse Lounge " on StorifyReactions to the announced closing of Townhouse Lounge Storified by Jared Goyette · Tue, Oct 23 2012 09:27:09 DJ Slaughter wrote a tribute to Townhouse on the Facebook page for the Rough House Records Club: As it has, the last 2 times it's closed, Townhouse being non existent in a sea of venues in Sacramento, will create a huge void....Most of the folks who've ever been there, complained about the bathrooms, complained about the bar or anything else will realize that even though despite it's flaws, it was an AMAZING place to cut loose and somehow created this very weird, no holds barred vibe no other venue could duplicate. This closing is very different. It will most definitely stay closed probably not returning as the place it was. I'm sure there's A LOT of folks who'll be happy to hear something rad and different is happening to the place and while i'm sort of on board with that too I also can't help feeling like we're losing one of the last divey, dirty and fun to party in, spots in Sacramento. Jon Droll and I walked in when it was a dive, gay bar who's biggest night was drag queen karaoke, built it as a dance venue and so many others (Dan, Roger, Jay Ira, Arnold, Adam, the bartenders, honestly too many to name) have taken it further. Anyway, I have NO idea where I was going with this other than what i've repeated a million times in my posts.....Come out and celebrate a VERY long run of amazing times, with amazing friends and say bye to THE most infamous places Sacramento has ever seen. We are doing (what looks to be) only TWO more Fridays at Toho. This friday and our big, annual, HALLOWEEN PARTY on Friday the 26th. - SHAUN Fans shared their stories about the venue and their feelings about its pending, and possibly permanent closure. I'm going to miss townhouse so much!Autumn Hardy only now have i realized just how much ive taken the townho forgranted. in the sea of dying dinosaurs sacramento has to offer, this one is truly an affair to remember. oh townho, where will i aquire my holiday decorations now?Jenifer Evert Sylvia Vu so many great memories at this place; eating lasers, taking bras off and hiding them in the kitchen, live music, DJs, Shark Dancing in the fan, miss you and going to miss this place :(Ell Arr A few have been discussing ways to save it: So we need to do something about <a href="http://www.facebook.com/townhouselounge" class="">The Townhouse Lounge</a>. This place has been my home for music the past few years...I don't want it to go. Ideas? Buy it?Chris Rouge Save the townhouse party! FundraiserMargaret Flanigan

PHOTOS: Oishii sushi restaurant/karaoke rooms now open

2012-10-19T00:31:08Z

Oishii Sushi Bar and Grill held its grand opening Thursday, announcing it will offer half-price karaoke rooms for the first week.

The restaurant, located above the Cosmopolitan Cabaret at at 1000 K St., is the third one for owner Joe Zheng, who also owns similar places in New York and San Francisco.

Combining sushi, Mongolian barbecue and teriyaki fare, the restaurant also incorporates 15 private karaoke rooms, that can accommodate anywhere from six to as many as 40 people.

The ceiling in the room above was created in-place and took about two months, according to Zheng. Lighting effects on three levels allow the LED lights to change colors with ease.

Sushi rolls at lunchtime will range from $7 - $11, and dinner prices will be about a dollar more. Smaller rolls in the $4 - $5 range will also be offered, and cooked items such as teriyaki dishes and a mongolian barbecue are available.

More information about the restaurant can be found in a previous Sacramento Press article.

The space is open for lunch from 11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. on weekdays. Dinner hours are 5 - 10 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday, 5 p.m. - 2 a.m. Thursday and 5 p.m. - 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday. The karaoke rooms are open from 4 p.m. - 2 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 4 p.m. - 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

A full bar with bottle service in the rooms is also a part of the concept.

All photos by Ron Nabity.

Owner: Townhouse Lounge to close early next year

2012-10-16T17:24:04Z

Townhouse Lounge, the bar and nightclub located at 1517 21st St., is expected to close early next year, according to owner/operator Desi David.

“We’ve been there so long – it’s been 15 years – and the landlord is going to raise the lease,” he said. “We don’t blame them, and we don’t know what’s going to happen in the future.”

David said the business won’t close immediately, and will likely stay open through the holidays, and possibly into next year.

“We’re being completely positive about it right now,” he said. “We’ve got a nice community, and we will see what happens.”

The business is open from 9 p.m. - 1:30 a.m. every day and features multiple levels of dancing, a bar and live music shows.

Sacramentans react to renaming of Power Balance Pavilion to Sleep Train Arena

2012-10-16T00:40:34Z

View the story "Sacramentans react to renaming of Power Balance Pavilion to Sleep Train Arena" on Storify

Chat preview: Too many bars in Midtown?

2012-10-10T00:08:04Z

Does Midtown have an overconcentration of bars? It’s an issue that has divided readers on The Sacramento Press since we launched four years ago.

Sacramento Bee Associate Editor Foon Rhee wrote about the issue on Sunday, and we’ll have him and Midtown resident George Raya on Sac Press Live Wednesday to discuss it.

The video chat window will be live streamed here on Wednesday at noon:

Some longtime residents say the Midtown area is overrun with drinking establishments, and it’s destroying their quality of life. Others cite the walkability of the district – and the amount of bars and restaurants – as reasons to live nearby.

When new restaurants apply for alcohol licenses, they often face stiff opposition from neighbors, who attempt to have conditions placed on them. Those conditions sometimes include limiting hours the patios can be open, requiring security guards and limiting hours when alcohol can be sold.

For some restaurants, restrictions have outlasted the business – as was the case when Red Lotus went into the space formerly occupied by G.V. Hurley’s.

Red Lotus has since closed and been replaced by Red Rabbit Kitchen & Bar. Located on the 2700 block of J Street, it is joined by a series of restaurants and bars, including BarWest Burgers & Wings, Centro Cocina Mexicana, Blue Cue and Harlow’s.

The issue also came up in a Sac Press Live chat in August with local historian William Burg. In a response to a comment on Sac Press that he was a “NIMBY” for raising concerns about what he sees as the negative effect of bars in Midtown, he said his issue is not that the bars are there, but that they don’t show enough concern for residents.

"I have this opinion that these places can be run reasonably and with respect for the neighborhoods around them, and I expect that of them," he said.

Do you think there are too many bars in Midtown? What would you like to see our guests discuss? Post a question in the conversation below.

To find out about our chats or learn about ones you can participate in, follow The Sacramento Press on Google+.

Mati's Indian restaurant to close this month

2012-10-09T06:40:34Z

Mati’s, the quick-service Indian restaurant that moved from Natomas to Midtown last year, will close for the final time this month.

Owner Ranjani Prasad said Monday that she’s shutting her doors for a variety of reasons.

“Even though our sales have not gone down, our costs have gone up,” she said. “People are not spending too much – they used to come in and get a two-item plate, but now they’re getting a one-item plate, and they’re not coming in as frequently.”

Many of the ingredients – notably the spices – are imported, and they continue to increase in cost. She said the mobile food trend has pinched business as well.

Located at 16th and P streets, the restaurant is close to Fremont Park.

“It used to be that after the farmers markets and other events there, a lot of people came here,” she said. “Now they have food trucks there, and food trucks are delivering to offices, so we see fewer people.”

Mati’s was formerly called Mati’s Indian Express, changing names when it opened in Midtown.

Moving to Midtown did not kill the business, Prasad said, but it did require her to have more employees – she has seven in the current spot, whereas the spot in Natomas required only one.

“You have to treat them right,” she said. “They should get raises every six months. You’re teaching them skills, and they’re getting experience. It’s better to have that, because then you have employees who care, and it saves you from turnover. I’d rather close than cheat them.”

Prasad said she does not intend to open another restaurant, but will return to the job she held as an accountant for the state, from which she plans to retire after a few years.

“I’m not going to do a food truck,” she said. “Maybe after I retire, I’ll get crazy and come up with that. But for now, I can say I won’t.”

The restaurant was open for almost seven years, and customers likened it to an Indian version of Panda Express, where the food is visible, and diners can choose a variety of combinations.

Single-item plates are sold for $6.99 and come with naan bread or rice. Multiple-item plates go for more, but Prasad said most people have their food and a drink for less than $10.

The restaurant will shut down on or before Oct. 27, with the final day to be determined later this week.

“I have no regrets,” Prasad said. “It’s not like moving to Midtown ruined my business. It gave me more business, but it’s just the economic situation.”

She added that the closure is a sad time for her and her son, Shawn, and she wishes she could continue to provide food for her regular customers.

“This was the best experience we had,” Prasad said. “We loved our place, the customers were happy, and most of our regulars were from here – that’s why we loved this spot.”

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Ruhstaller Beer introduces its first all-Sacramento brew

2012-10-04T23:58:11Z

A new brew from Ruhstaller Beer achieves what the company set out to do when it launched last year – brew a uniquely Sacramento beer.

Drawing on the region’s brewing history and one of the pioneers of the trade – which largely disintegrated during Prohibition – Ruhstaller owner J-E Paino launched a locally brewed beer with an emphasis on using California ingredients.

According to Corti Brothers Store Director Rick Mindermann, that wasn’t quite enough for owner Darrel Corti.

“Darrel literally told him, ‘Look, you have Ruhstaller on your label, and you have Sacramento on your label, but unless you’re growing it all in Sacramento, you don’t deserve to do that,’ ” Mindermann said. “It was a challenge. He threw down the gauntlet, and J-E met the challenge.”

The result is the company’s Hop Sac 2012, which uses hops grown in Winters. Before that, hops were grown in California, but farther away in Lake County, which sits west of Yuba City.

He described the late harvest wet hop ale as a balanced brew with a flavor profile that includes floral hints.

Since Hop Sac is brewed with wet hops, it must be done as quickly as possible once the hops are harvested – drying the hops for preservation changes the flavors.

“It has a sweetness to it,” he said. “It has a pleasant aroma. It’s very drinkable. It’s a smooth, kind of smoky, silky beer.”

Paino partnered with Sean McNamara of Blue Heron Hop Yard in Winters. They planted a quarter acre of hops in April, and they were ready for harvesting in early August.

“This is the inaugural harvest,” Paino said. “Our working theory behind this is that California grows the highest-quality you name it – almonds, walnuts, peaches, pears, apples, cherries and tomatoes – so why not hops?”

Mindermann said this is the first time hops have been grown locally in about 30 years.

Opinions vary on how long it’s been since a local beer was produced using all-Sacramento ingredients.

Local historian William Burg said that while hop production in Sacramento dropped, it likely continued to be put into beers as late as the 1940s.

“The Buffalo Brewery was around until the late 1940s or 1950,” he said. “It’s likely that they were still using local hops after Prohibition.”

Hop production in Sacramento largely stopped as a result of suburbs being built on the agricultural land, Burg added.

Mindermann said that, historically, Sacramento was a top producer of hops from the Gold Rush until Prohibition and, later, the proliferation of the suburbs.

“You have to have grain, you have to have hops, and you have to have water,” Mindermann said. “Sacramento has two rivers. We were the perfect town to brew beer. We grew more hops than anyone, period.”

He added that what Ruhstaller is doing with its Hop Sac beer is indicative of a renaissance in local beermaking.

Taking a cue from the farm-to-table concept becoming ever more popular in the food industry, Paino said Ruhstaller Beer is part of an emerging farm-to-pint industry.

“What we’re trying to do is work with the farmer in Winters and say, ‘How can we get the right variety, and how can you produce more flavors in the hop yard?’ ” Paino said. “We take hops from different areas, and we test them against what we grow here. That gives him a data point – it gives him feedback. That institutional knowledge on how to grow quality hops in Sacramento has been lost.”

To rebuild that knowledge, Paino and McNamara are brewing small batches with different varieties of hops. Each batch is being tasted, and tweaks are being made to get the beer to where it needs to be. Paino said it’s essentially mimicking the process through which wine varietals are produced and refined.

Paino and crew were able to brew 200 cases of Hop Sac 2012, which he said should last through the end of October. Ruhstaller’s other brews are available year-round.

“Ruhstaller has been making very good beer,” Mindermann said. “The Hop Sac, I think, is very agreeable for anybody that has tasted beer. It appeals to a lot of flavors.”

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OM Karmabile adds Indian fusion option to Sacramento mobile food scene

2012-10-04T00:55:53Z

OM Karmabile, a recent addition to the Sacramento food truck scene, serves Indian food with a Fiji twist – and a dose of social responsibility.

Like many food truck owners, Voltair and Seronika Ignacio tried to open a traditional restaurant, but couldn’t secure loans in the post-Great Recession business climate.

According to Seronika, it turned out to be a good thing.

“This seems more convenient for family life,” she said. “We work four days a week, and it’s flexible, and I get some time to stay home with the kids.”

Together, they make Indian fusion food based on Seronika’s lifelong pursuit of the culinary arts from Fiji and Voltair’s more traditional Indian tastes. Seronika said she is Indian, but she grew up in Fiji, learning how to cook from an early age from her grandmother and other relatives. Voltair grew up near McKinley Park in Sacramento.

“The spice is the same,” Seronika said. “It has a little bit of an island kick to it, and I think it adds character to the taste of the food. They share the same spices.”

Voltair said the fusion aspect of the food is currently leaning toward a Mexican influence, with tacos and burritos dominating the menu. In the future, Voltair said, elements of another ethnic food may be added.

Top-selling items include the om burrito and the masala chicken taco, Voltair and Seronika said. Burritos cost $6, and tacos run $3.

A torta – braised lamb on Mexican-style bread – is the most expensive menu item at $8.

“I’m used to being on both sides of it,” Seronika said. “If I buy something, I want it to be worth it. I want a good value and a good taste. In the business, we find that balance.”

The “OM” in OM Karmabile is a reference to meditation, and the latter part of the name is a combination of karma and mobile.

“Not only are we serving great food, but also, the tip jar – called the karma bowl – is 100 percent donated to charities that help kids,” Voltair said. “People feel good about donating. There’s a socially responsible aspect to what we’re doing. We want to be a vehicle to create good stuff – not only food, but good karma.”

Seronika said she and Voltair envision eventually expanding the business. They started in August with the truck, and they may expand to a second truck in the future, but the dream of owning a brick-and-mortar location is still very much alive.

For now, Voltair said, the pair is enjoying being a part of the mobile food scene in the Sacramento area.

“I really like the camaraderie with the other food trucks,” he said. “I like the texts and the tweeting from the public. When I see them raving about the food and why they love it, it’s gratification and validation of our cooking.”

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Food truck pod could be preview to future mobile food hub

2012-10-03T00:10:58Z

It’s been a dream for Sacramento food truck lovers for years: a permanent location for food trucks. A place where a variety of mobile food fare can be available. Somewhere that allows live music, art and other family-friendly events.

On Saturday, Sacramentans will get a glimpse of that as a food truck pod sets up at 1425 C St.

Property owner Skip Rosenbloom said the industrial buildings currently in the space house artists’ studios, a music recording studio and a glass blower’s workshop.

“I think the food trucks are synergistic with lots of complementary uses,” Rosenbloom said.

From 5 - 9 p.m. Saturday, more than 10 trucks will take up station in what is being called the “Truk Farm,” along with live music and entertainment. The Truk Farm is in a central courtyard that used to be a truck docking terminal.

One of the trucks at the event will be OM Karmabile, an Indian fusion food truck that is a relative newcomer to the Sacramento scene.

“I think it’s groundbreaking, and if it’s done according to what we’ve been planning, we can be the envy of other cities where people can go as a hub,” said owner Voltair Ignacio.

Rosenbloom said he hopes to see the event become a permanent fixture for the foreseeable future.

“I think ultimately we’ll attract other food and arts and entertainment businesses,” he said. “It’s not a heavily trafficked area, and it has to become a place where people want to go to do something such as eat or listen to music or watch a film or have other events.”

Food truck advocate Catherine Enfield said she has long been a proponent of the idea of central locations where food trucks operate – food truck pods – and that a post about food truck pods on her blog remains her most-viewed piece.

She said the SOMA area in San Francisco has a food truck pod where trucks pay rent for slots depending on shifts and days of the week.

“They haven’t decided how they’ll do it in Sacramento yet,” she said.

But what makes the Sacramento food truck pod unique?

“This is the only one that I am aware of that incorporates an existing building,” Enfield said. “It’s hard to picture because it’s bare-bones and rough, but if you really have vision, you can see this being an awesome space with so much potential.”

One of the strengths of a food truck is its mobility – it can provide food to different locations on different days of the week, set up at events and appeal to a larger group of people than a stationary restaurant, so a stationary food location might seem counterintuitive.

According to Enfield, it’s not.

“They supply a permanent spot where people will always know they can find trucks and find a schedule of them,” she said in an email. “Also, for the trucks, it's a secured spot, especially during the winter when it's hard to go out, find spots where people can get out of the weather and help sustain them during the rougher months.”

Saturday’s event is being run by the nonprofit Foodmob organization, and proceeds will benefit the Francis House, one of the Sacramento area’s leading providers of services to the homeless.

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Anatolian Table to bring authentic Turkish food to former Hina's Tea space on K Street

2012-09-28T18:55:01Z

Those acquainted with Turkish food often think of kebabs and hummus, but Erol Hazar said it’s far more diverse, and when he opens Anatolian Table in the former Hina’s Tea space at 2319 K St. later this year, he wants to showcase the authentic cuisine of his homeland.

Turkey straddles the border of Europe and Asia, and Hazar – a native of Istanbul – said Anatolia is the name for the Asian section of the country, which makes up about 80 percent of the land mass.

“Turkish food is like Mediterranean food,” he said Friday. “It’s not too spicy, there’s nothing greasy, and there’s nothing cooked in a fryer. It’s all done on the grill or in the oven.”

Dishes such as tavuk guvec – a chopped chicken breast baked with vegetables and spices in a casserole dish and served with a side of rice – are staples of Turkish cuisine. Another dish to be featured in the restaurant is Manti, which is a Turkish meat ravioli made in-house and served with a garlic yogurt sauce.

Doner kebab and dishes such as salmon and halibut that are more widely known will also be served at Anatolian Table, Hazar said.

Lunch prices range from $6-$10, and dinner prices are from $10-$15.

One Turkish beer and six Turkish wines will be on the menu, and coffee imported from Turkey will be served in the traditional style.

“Everything is made from scratch,” Hazar said. “We make our own baklava and yogurt and other ingredients.”

He added that spices are imported, but he uses the abundant supply of fresh fruits and vegetables from Northern California.

The 1,600-square-foot space will hold between 40 and 50 diners, and two tables of four will be on an outdoor patio.

Hazar and his wife, Tugce, opened their first Anatolian Table location in Rocklin when they came to the United States five years ago. For the past two years, a second location in Sacramento has been a priority, and Erol Hazar said he is looking to add a third, bigger location in Sacramento.

Before coming to the United States, Hazar and his wife lived in England, and he said they have been in the restaurant business for about nine years.

The K Street restaurant will open at 11:30 a.m. and close at either 8:30 or 9 p.m. on weekdays, staying open later on weekends.

“We will be open late on Second Saturday,” Hazar said, “probably until midnight.”

Kimio Bazett, owner of the nearby bar The Golden Bear, said he’s happy to see a tenant taking the space.

“I’ve met him in the past through my landlord, and he’s a really nice guy,” Bazett said. “I’ve heard the food is really good, and I’m a huge fan of Mediterranean cuisine – Persian, Moroccan, Greek – it’s a really good flavor profile.”

He added that he hopes it brings more energy to the area and increases the block’s appeal. The same block also houses Rick’s Dessert Diner and The Plum Cafe and Bakery, formerly Sugar Plum Vegan.

Erol Hazar said he’s looking to bring a unique dining option to the area, which he said attracted him because of its location and the liveliness of Midtown.

“It’s a really unique restaurant,” he said. “It’s one of the most authentic Turkish restaurants in the country. We don’t Americanize the food.”

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Faces owner Terry Sidie opens new club, domino effect for other businesses

2012-09-27T23:42:26Z

There’s a business shuffle in Lavender Heights.

The Kennedy Gallery left its space adjacent to Headhunters and moved into the Victorian house on the corner of 20th and L streets. The owners of the costume shop that formerly occupied the space retired, and it was all so that Headhunters and Faces owner Terry Sidie could relaunch his first Sacramento nightclub – Club Bojangles – in the art gallery’s recently vacated space.

Club Bojangles is a rebirth of the first club that Sidie owned, back in the 1970s. His subsequent establishments, like Club Bojangles, all cater to the gay community, but welcome straight people as well.

“I opened Bojangles in ’76 on Folsom Boulevard,” Sidie said. “I started with it, and now I’m ending my career with it. Almost everything I own is up for sale. I’ll have my 67th birthday soon, and I realize I’m not 30 anymore.”

Headhunters and Club Bojangles are joined by a patio and occupy much of 20th street between K and L streets. The whole complex is more than 9,000 square feet, with 3,000 for Headhunters, 3,000 for the patio and 3,400 for Club Bojangles. Sidie said that, all told, it can accommodate 400-500 people.

The space was originally intended to serve as a club, but Sidie said he leased it to the art gallery because he didn’t want to overbuild.

“Because I had most of it done, we probably put $100,000 into lights and stuff to make it pretty,” he said.

Cornerstone, the restaurant that moved into Headhunters from its space at 24th and J streets two years ago will still be a part of the business, and Sidie said he plans to bring in a chef to prepare dinner options.

The Kennedy Gallery’s move to the Victorian house increases its size by about 1,000 square feet, taking it to approximately 4,000 square feet, owner Michael Kennedy said. That translates to an approximately 50 percent increase in the number of artists who can show in the space, from 11 to 17.

“It’s got a lot of interesting history and character,” Kennedy said, adding that a section of the basement will be dedicated to the house’s history. “It really melds well with our artists.”

Kennedy said the additional basement space will allow the gallery to host classes on art techniques capable of holding 15-20 students, and artists will have more space to work than they did at the old location.

The bigger space is a calculated risk, businesswise, Kennedy said, but the art gallery brings between 3,000 and 5,000 visitors during Second Saturday Art Walks. He said he thinks it complements the nightclubs, helping keep the area vibrant.

All work shown in the gallery is approved by a jury, and Kennedy said work ranging from students to Sacramento art legend Gregory Kondos has been shown in the space.

Improvements are being done to the Victorian house, but the gallery is currently open. Its first major showing in its new digs, however, will be at 6 p.m. Oct. 11, when it will feature works depicting animals.

The Sacramento Zoo is also bringing by some animals, and artwork created by monkeys and elephants for the event, Kennedy said.

“One of the things that lets us succeed right now is that we have something for everyone,” Kennedy said, adding that subject matter and media displayed in the gallery are varied. “We have something whether you live in an apartment or in a house in the Fab 40s.”

Kennedy Gallery is open from 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Club Bojangles will be open from 10 p.m. - 2 a.m.

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Trucktoberfest: SactoMoFo food festival Sept. 29 in West Sacramento

2012-09-25T21:42:10Z

Twenty food trucks are scheduled to set up at West Sacramento's River Walk Park on Saturday for SactoMoFo's Trucktoberfest mobile food fair.

The event is a gathering of food trucks accompanied by live music from local bands and beer, and it serves to celebrate West Sacramento's 25th anniversary.

Food trucks scheduled to be at the event include Addy's Paella (paella and tapas), Chairman Bao (Asian fusion), Chando's Tacos, Coast to Coast Sandwiches, Crave (new debut by Krush Burger), Curry Up Now, DavePops, Dave's Dawgs, Drewski's Hot Rod Kitchen, El Porteño, Krush Burger, Leila's Lumpia, Simply Southern, Smoothie Patrol, Swabbies on the River, Sweet and Mellow, Volks Waffle California, We Sushi, Little Rich's and Juice On.

Check the Swabbies on the River website for a map of the truck and bar layout.

“We’ll have a wide variety of beer offerings, and it’s going to be right on the river,” said Paul Somerhausen of SactoMoFo.

Announced earlier this month, the event is not only a celebration of West Sacramento's 25th anniversary, but an indication of how far the city has come since its incorporation in 1987.

“You couldn’t do it 25 years ago because there was no legal public access to the river other than at the boat ramp,” West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon said.

River Walk Park is located at 651 Second St. in West Sacramento. The event runs from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m., and live music will be played from noon - 6 p.m.

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Orbit express car wash/dog grooming coming downtown

2012-09-21T16:36:04Z

A new business scheduled to come downtown in October will wash your car – and your dog.

Orbit is the name of the car-wash/dog-bathing and grooming service, and owner Lane Leach is planning to add a cafe next spring.

“The car wash is going to make up the vast majority of the business,” Leach said. “It’s an express hand wash of the outside of your car with sheepskin mittens, and you’ll be out of there in three to five minutes.”

Orbit is located in an old gas station that began construction in 1959 on the corner of Ninth and T streets. The gas station didn’t last long, and the space most recently housed an auto shop.

When construction is completed, a retro-styled sign and lighting effects will highlight the building.

Leach said cars will be taken via conveyor belt through the washing station, without the drivers having to leave them. Once the hand-washing is done, final spot-free rinse, wax and drying will be automatically applied.

Four bays will allow people to wash their own cars, complete with vacuum cleaners and car-washing wands.

All soaps used are environmentally friendly, and the runoff drains into two 1,500-gallon collection tanks that clarify the water, pre-treating it by removing dirt and other contaminants before letting it flow to the city’s sewage system.

“The express wash is the most popular trend in car washes, and we don’t have anything like it in downtown,” Leach said. “People who want the full car wash – I’d say they should go to Harv’s, but maybe they’ll do that once a month. We’re here for when people want to have the exterior get a high-quality wash, maybe two to three times per month.”

Dog grooming will be another facet of the business, and Leach said professional groomers will be hired, but there will also be bathing stations for dogs where the owners can wash them themselves.

When the cafe is added next spring, it will be called Tasty Wellness, and it will have a menu including rotisserie chicken, organic produce and other healthy food items. Juices will be squeezed on-site.

Leach said he thinks the business will appeal to many of the local residents, and he expects to draw repeat customers to make it succeed.

“We want to give a quality, fast, efficient hand wash, but quality is the key,” Leach said.

Combination wine tasting room and kitchen store coming to Midtown near 20th and J streets

2012-09-19T01:02:40Z

The country’s oldest port-producing vineyard will set up shop in Midtown by the end of the year, combining wine and port tasting with a kitchen store.

Called Ficklin Wilcox, the store is owned by Ficklin Vineyards, which was established in Madera, Calif., in 1946.

A combination kitchen store and tasting room, it’s a new endeavor for the company.

“I felt like it was an original concept,” said Liz Wilcox of Ficklin Wilcox. “I haven’t seen anything quite like it, and my mother-in-law and I have been talking about doing something like this for years.”

Wilcox said she comes from a retail background, spending years working with Williams Sonoma.

The business will sell kitchenware such as cutlery, glassware, dishes, linens and cooks’ tools, and it will sell the full range of Ficklin Vineyards’ wines and ports.

“We’ll have dozens of varieties,” she said, adding that some table wines will be produced specifically for the Sacramento store.

Classes will be offered in an educational space at the rear of the building, which is located on 20th Street between I and J streets. Emphasis will be placed on learning how to pair wines with foods, but classes will also be offered on cooking and other topics.

Local chefs will be brought in to do cooking demonstrations with some of the wines, and Wilcox said there will likely be cooking of some sort every day.

Complimentary wine tasting will be available, and customers will be able to taste several varieties of port, a sweet wine commonly consumed after meals that originated in Porto, Portugal.

Being located in Madera, Ficklin Vineyards benefits from long, hot, dry summers that enable it to grow Portuguese grapes used in red wines.

Madera, however, isn’t prime country for tourists, and it doesn’t have a retail base to draw customers from, so Wilcox suggested the city she spent part of her teens and early 20s in – Sacramento.

“When we thought about looking for a place to put this tasting room, we thought, ‘There’s only one neighborhood in Sacramento that would be ideal for this, and that’s Midtown,’ ” Wilcox said. “I love the mixed-use buildings and the foot traffic seven days a week.”

Ficklin Wilcox will go before the Sacramento Planning Commission in October, and once everything is OK’d, the store will open quickly – Wilcox said she’s shooting for Nov. 1 to be open in time for holiday shoppers.

The store is expected to be open from 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Hours may be tweaked depending on customer demand once the store opens.

“We’re really looking forward to being a part of the community,” Wilcox said. “It’s great to be able to have a store in such a vibrant part of Northern California.”

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Bento Box: Asian dining in Midtown/downtown Sacramento staying open late

2012-09-18T05:56:56Z

The recent recession cost Jonathan Kim his job in the building maintenance industry, but it also opened the door for him to follow a dream he’d had for years – owning a restaurant.

A fish and chips restaurant in South Sacramento was short-lived, but five years ago, he opened the first location of Bento Box near Sacramento State, and he came up with a winning formula.

He’s now expanding Bento Box to the Midtown/downtown area with its third location, and he said it will be open longer and seat more people than the previous two – one at 65th Street and Folsom Boulevard and the other in Loehmann’s Plaza in East Sacramento.

Most dishes will be served in bento boxes – plastic boxes with built-in dividers. Kim said that bento is Japanese for lunch, and they originated as a way to keep foods such as salad, rice and meat separated until they were ready to be eaten.

“Our most popular is the teriyaki – chicken, beef, all of it,” Kim said, adding that sushi and Korean fare is also on the menu.

Though Kim is from Korea, he has lived in the United States for 39 years, and he said Bento Box – set to open in late October – is a place where multiple cuisines from Asia – including Chinese, Japanese and Korean – can be found.

One of the items Kim said he expects to be a favorite at the new location is dol sot bi bim bap, a dish of rice, vegetables, a fried egg and beef, chicken or fish served in a heated stone dish similar to a stir fry.

“People really love that,” he said. “And they can order it vegetarian, too.”

Plates run from about $7 to $12, with the dol sot bi bim bap costing $9.

A full bar will be available, with beer, wine, sake and cocktails.

The restaurant is located in a downtown entertainment district at 16th and K streets, Kim said he plans to stay open until 4 a.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights to draw people leaving nearby clubs and bars.

Kim is offering a 10 percent discount to government employees.

Real estate broker Daniel Mueller of Turton Commercial Real Estate is working with Kim, and he said the restaurant, which is about 6,000 square feet and will seat approximately 230, has an outside patio that is covered and heated, and there will be a quick-service window where people can pick up a cup of coffee or crepes in the mornings.

There will be faux trees and potted trees inside the restaurant to make use of the building’s high ceilings and give the feel of an urban oasis, Mueller said.

Inside the restaurant, faux trees a well as potted trees will be designed to make use of the building’s high ceilings and give the feel of an urban oasis, Mueller said. Additionally, a waterfall will be constructed, and water will meander about 25 feet before sinking into a large lit bento box.

“It’s going to feel like a bit of nature in downtown,” Mueller said. “The waterfall is going to be exotic, and it’s going to focus on nature with an Asian twist.”

The restaurant will open at 7 a.m. every day with a selection of coffees and crepes – both sweet and savory – with the full menu available after 10:30. It will close at midnight Sunday through Wednesday and start out being open until 4 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.

“If there’s no revenue that late, it might close around 2 or 3 a.m.,” Mueller said.

Kim said he recognizes that there are other Asian eateries nearby, including Ma Jong’s Asian Diner, Mikuni and Sapporo Grill, but he said he hopes to complement them more than compete with them.

“I want to serve quality food for a reasonable price,” he said. “I hope people know that, and they come to Bento Box.”

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Burgess Brothers' Burgers owned by twins – one firefighter, one CHP officer

2012-09-14T06:03:26Z

A friendly burger contest between Matt Burgess of the California Highway Patrol and his twin brother, Jon Burgess of the Sacramento Fire Department, led to the opening of Burgess Brothers’ Burgers three weeks ago near Sacramento City College.

According to Matt, his brother challenged him to a burger cook-off being hosted by Good Day Sacramento. Matt won the contest, and the two decided to combine the best of both of their burgers and turn it into a restaurant.

“Because we’re both public servants in our careers, we figured it would blend into what we can do at a restaurant by giving the highest level of service,” Matt said.

The brothers looked for something that wasn’t being done in Sacramento, and they decided that smoking their burgers in an outdoor smoker before bringing them in to finish on the grill would give them a unique taste.

“They get that barbecue flavor, and we used my sauce with some of the ingredients and spices from his burger, so we get the best of both,” Jon said.

Working with family isn’t always easy, but Jon said he is happy to be in business with his brother, despite having a sneaking suspicion that Matt had an unfair advantage in the contest.

“I actually attribute him winning because he wore his gun belt, and that looked intimidating,” Jon said with a laugh.

Burgers aren’t the only things on the menu, which also includes pulled-pork sandwiches, chili dogs, tri-tip on Tuesdays and desserts such as root beer floats and peach cobbler made from their mother’s recipe.

The Hero Burger is a quarter-pound patty on a bun with cheddar cheese, grilled onions and barbecue pulled-pork.

A burger and fries runs $4.95, while the Hero Burger with fries costs $8.95.

Matt said he and Jon like the location next to the Sacramento City College campus, and it gives them a chance to be positive influences or mentors to students who want to enter public safety fields.

“Our emphasis is on family,” Matt said. “We want this to be a safe place for people to bring their families, hang out and have a good time and get some good food, too.”

Matt’s wife, Sandie, said the emphasis on family isn’t just for the customers.

“It’s a great way for us to spend quality time together,” she said. “It’s kind of fun to see them day to day.”

She added that there are always police and CHP officers and firefighters coming into the restaurant, which is decorated with uniforms, equipment and a number of photos of law enforcement officers and firefighters on the job.

In addition to the brothers’ colleagues, students from the nearby college are starting to become regulars, setting up study groups and hanging out, she said.

Jon said the community response to the business has surprised him.

“I didn’t expect us to be so busy initially, which is a really good thing,” he said. “It’s uplifting, and I’m just really, really elated with the amount of support that we’ve gotten.”

Burgess Brothers’ Burgers is located at 2114 Sutterville Road and is open 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Saturday.

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New food truck to feature California-style tacos from owners of Krush Burger

2012-09-13T14:39:24Z

This is shaping up to be a good year for Krush Burger owner Davin Vculek: His original food truck is the basis for a traditional restaurant set to open at the end of the year, Sacramento will soon vote on a less restrictive food truck ordinance, and he is a few weeks away from rolling out his next food truck – doing with tacos what Krush Burger did with burgers.

“It’s Crave: Modern American Tacos,” Vculek said Wednesday. “We’re going to have a couple of fish options, a shrimp option, a really good pulled pork taco, chicken and possibly a steak taco.”

The truck is in the final stages of construction, but it is scheduled to be at the Sept. 29 SactoMoFo Trucktoberfest in West Sacramento.

Those familiar with the menu of Krush burger can expect to see some of their favorite burgers transformed into tacos.

One of those is the Ninja Burger – marinated and grilled short ribs, Asian slaw, radish sprouts, sesame ginger vinaigrette, Sriracha aioli and fried scallions. Vculek said it will be the basis for a taco on Crave.

“Another one of our tacos will be the cast-iron salmon,” Vculek said. “It’s blackened cast-iron salmon with avocado and fresh roasted corn smash, micro greens, red pepper aioli and tomato.”

Tacos will be made on four-and-a-half-inch tortillas. Two tacos are expected to be $6, and three tacos should be $8, with an extra dollar added for shrimp or salmon, he added.

“We’ll probably have corn and flour tortillas,” Vculek said. “There’s a lot of gluten allergies out there, so we will do corn as an option, and plus, there’s just a lot of people who like tacos on corn tortillas.”

Despite coming from the same owner, Vculek said the two businesses will be independent, and diners won’t see tacos from Crave in the new Krush Burger restaurant.

Crave will be a smaller truck than Vculek’s Krush Burger truck, and he said that allows him to be more versatile when it comes to parking in crowded places such as downtown Sacramento.

The vehicle will offer delivery on larger orders – likely 10 or more – dropping them off at offices and other places.

Customers will be able to track the truck on Twitter once it is launched, and a website is coming soon.

“We made the name Crave because we hope that people crave them,” Vculek said. “That’s not to say that there aren’t some awesome tacos out there, but we have a modern, California twist on them.”

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Volks Waffle: Authentic Belgian waffles bring Europe to Sacramento

2012-09-11T06:08:48Z

Most Americans have never had a true Belgian waffle, said Terry Jeske, owner of the Volks Waffle California food truck, and he hopes to give Sacramentans the chance.

So, what makes a Belgian waffle truly Belgian?

“In America, when you make waffles at home or IHOP or Denny’s, they’re made out of batter, so you pour the batter onto a griddle or an iron,” Jeske explained. “Mine are dough-based. It’s a completely different animal.”

Jeske imports his dough from Belgium, where he said bakers have more than a 160-year head-start. Since the dough is the backbone of the business, he won’t say where, exactly, it comes from, but – after being frozen – it leaves the production facility on a truck, crosses France and boards a ship for the United States.

In New York, each batch goes through customs inspections, then gets trucked to Sacramento, where Jeske carefully bakes the waffles.

“For this type of dough ball, there’s a special yeast, and the humidity is the tricky part,” he said, adding that it must be kept at specific levels.

A high-grade sugar is added to the dough, and when baked at 400 degrees, it caramelizes, finding the balance between too soft and too hard.

Jeske said the waffles are good to eat by themselves – with the sugar they’re baked with taking away any need for syrup, and that’s how they are generally consumed in Belgium. He does, however, have an array of toppings for those who want them.

One of the waffles is a chocolate waffle – half of it is immersed in Belgian chocolate.

“We put ice cream and strawberries and whipped cream on it or just serve it plain, whatever people want,” Jeske said.

Fruit-filled waffles are also available in flavors such as strawberry and peach.

Fans of the chocolate hazelnut spread Nutella can try Volks Waffle’s liquid Nutella atop ice cream on a waffle, and Jeske said he also enjoys drizzling the liquid Nutella in a spiderweb design over a plain waffle.

Since they’re not typically eaten as meals, he said he keeps the prices at $4.75 per waffle so they’re a reasonable snack item.

With the waffles baked in the traditional method, they’re ready to go to the food truck, and Jeske said he shied away from using a repurposed FedEx truck, preferring to stick to a European classic.

A 1970 Volkswagen Transporter is the base for an all-copper kitchen with waffle irons weighing 110 pounds each, and Jeske said that at special events such as weddings, he literally rolls out the red carpet.

“Presentation is very important to me,” he said, adding that he wears a chef’s jacket when he serves the waffles.

The vehicle does its job drawing attention, according to Paul Somerhausen of SactoMoFo.

“I think that the appeal with Volks Waffle is twofold,” he said. “On the one hand, you have a really unique vehicle – it’s beautifully customized Volkswagen, and then on the other hand you have these imported Belgian waffles that are such a high caliber of quality and flavor profile.”

He said Volks Waffle is a regular attendee to SactoMoFo, and will be at the next event, held from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Sept. 29 in River Park in West Sacramento.

Those looking to catch up with Volks Waffle before then can follow the company on Twitter.

The business’ name is an homage to Jeske’s family ties, he said, noting that volks translates as “family.”

The business is growing, and Jeske said he is looking at opening a small shop in Sacramento about half the size of a Starbucks and plans to roll out another vehicle or two in the next year.

“We will be getting a restaurant, and it will be in the downtown area,” he said. “I want to keep it unique and special. The whole idea is not to commercialize it.”

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UPDATE: Hook and Ladder Manufacturing Co. to open by end of month

2012-09-08T00:27:02Z

Hook and Ladder Manufacturing Co. – the new venture from the owners of The Golden Bear – is set to open by the end of the month, co-owner Kimio Bazett said Friday.

The menu at the restaurant located at 1630 S St. is nearly complete, but Bazett said he’s keeping tight-lipped on what, exactly, will be on it.

“We’re trying to be as secretive as possible,” he said. “We don’t want too many details, except that there’s going to be a lot of handmade stuff. We’re trying to do all of our baking in-house, have handmade pasta, homemade sausages and farmers market-sourced produce as much as possible.”

He’s being equally mum about the interior of the building, saying that not even the workers are permitted to take photos with camera phones.

“The draw is to show everyone the complete package when we open – the sum of all the details,” he said.

One thing Bazett was clear about: This will be no clone of The Golden Bear.

“Although The Golden Bear is our baby and we love it and it’ll hopefully be here forever and ever, this new venture is going to be very different – equal parts bar and restaurant,” he said.

The bar menu will feature classic cocktails as well as new recipes, and Bazett said he wants the restaurant to be an innovator in the field. Innovations, he said, will include new techniques for making drinks and new technologies as soon as they are introduced.

Pricing for food will run the gamut from below $10 to steaks and other entrées approaching $20. Some plates will be designed for sharing – part of what Bazett said is the theme of the restaurant.

“We want people in the neighborhood to come down here and feel like this is a place they can hang out and have us be part of the neighborhood,” he said.

Located in a neighborhood, Bazett said the business wants to get situated and get to know the residents, and no entertainment permit will be applied for for at least the first year.

“We’re really focusing on being a part of the community and being a positive impact on the culture rather than impacting it negatively,” he said. “We want to give the best possible service so everyone feels welcome.”

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Krush Burger food truck to open first restaurant in Sacramento River District

2012-09-07T00:04:13Z

One of Sacramento’s favorite food trucks is expanding to a brick-and-mortar restaurant in the River District north of downtown.

Krush Burger – formerly the MiniBurger truck – is expected to open in the new California Lottery Headquarters at 700 North 10th St. sometime in December, owner Davin Vculek said.

“It’s going to be our first restaurant,” he said. “That’s why we started this company: to build a quick-service restaurant.”

The menu will be similar in content and pricing to that of the Krush Burger truck, but it will be expanded to include more as-yet-unnamed burgers, entrée salads and breakfast.

The Krush Burger truck serves about 1,000 burgers per day, including the Ninja, which is made with short ribs, Asian slaw, radish sprouts, sesame ginger vinaigrette, Sriracha aioli and fried scallions. Another popular burger is the Cowbell, with a fried onion stack, applewood-smoked bacon, sweet barbecue sauce, smoked gouda cheese, and ground beef.

Vculek said the area doesn’t have much in the way of eateries, but with hundreds of office workers for the lottery, the California Highway Patrol, the city of Sacramento and the upcoming Township 9 development, he sees a need for quick, good food in a permanent location.

Beer and wine will be offered as well, with about three or four tap handles for beer and possibly some bottled brews.

The building is about 2,500 square feet, and Vculek said he expects it to be able to seat 60-65 people at a time.

“It’s a cold shell right now,” he said. “It’s just concrete. From the beginning stages, we’ve designed the whole thing with a local architectural firm. It’s our design, our initiative and our concept.”

He added that the plumbing work is currently being completed, and construction is slightly ahead of schedule.

Environmentally friendly materials such as reclaimed wood are being used, and a 7-foot ceiling fan by Big Ass Fans will be a feature in the ceiling – all designed to help the building achieve LEED certification.

Eight tables along the walls will have USB and electrical outlets for charging mobile devices and laptops, and wifi will be available, encouraging local workers to relax and get some work done in the building.

“Additionally to all that, we’ll have five 50-inch flatscreen TVs and one large one from 70-80 inches, and we’ll be opening in the hot part of football season, so that will probably help us out,” he said.

While the River District isn’t as frequented as downtown and Midtown, Vculek said the newly opened light rail Green Line stops one block from the restaurant, and it’s accessible to freeways.

“We’re excited about all the energy in that area right now,” he said. “We might have to go the extra mile in marketing, but I think people will be happy to come down, and I expect our lunch crowd to be strong.”

“I bet they’re going to be a nice retail location,” said Steve Goodwin, president of Township 9 and the River District. “All that kind of stuff is great. That’s what you work for. It’s the type of thing that starts happening in the neighborhood, and you start redeveloping.”

He added that the area has been evolving for several years, but food and retail locations haven’t been coming in because there aren’t very many small spaces, while warehouses dominate the area.

“There just are not the places for those little businesses to go as of yet,” he said, “but as they get build, they’ll get filled, and I think they’ll get filled quickly.”

Daniel Conway, spokesman for California Restaurant Association, said that Krush Burger’s opening doesn’t come as a surprise.

“That’s absolutely kind of a trend that we’re seeing – from mobile to stationary restaurants,” he said. “Thats something we see locally with Drewski and Coast to Coast.”

Another local food truck expanding to a brick-and-mortar location is Wicked ‘wich, which is opening a restaurant called Broderick in West Sacramento.

“Always from the beginning there was the word on the street that MiniBurger and Krush Burger was going to the be precursor to brick-and-mortar restaurant,” Conway said. “Outside Sacramento we see the trend too.”

He added that trucks are a great way to start a business in the current economy and build a customer base and a cash base while banks aren’t lending like they were in the past.

Krush Burger will open at 7 a.m. for breakfast and close sometime around 8 or 9 p.m., Vculek said, adding that he will likely be open seven days per week, but possibly later close on the weekends if business doesn’t warrant staying open.

He said he sees multiple locations in the future, hinting at a future restaurant in Roseville, but Sacramento had to be first.

“We’re very excited to open our first one in Sacramento because the people in Sacramento have shows us nothing but wonderful support,” he said. “We’re very thankful for that.”

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Brandon Darnell is Associate Editor of The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Now open: Yellowbill, a new bakery from the owners of Magpie Cafe

2012-09-06T03:34:50Z

A new bakery called Yellowbill by the owners of Magpie Cafe opened Monday at 14th and O streets, and co-owner Ed Roehr said Yellowbill is “the perfect place to have a latte and get a carrot cake cookie.”

The target clientele is people who want to drop by and have a light lunch or a baked dessert.

“We want to have options for people to have a light lunch for under $10,” Roehr said.

Yellowbill collaborated with another local business for its coffee, and all espressos and coffee drinks will be made with coffee from Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters.

Baked goods include cookies, scones, cupcakes and more, but Roehr said it isn’t all about the sweets.

“We have savory items, which we think is important,” he said. “I think our focaccia bread will be popular.”

One of the focaccia breads on the menu is a potato, bacon and caramelized onion focaccia served with a green salad on the side.

Some of the food at Yellowbill will be reminiscent of Magpie, but Roehr said the two businesses are separate concepts, and the items of one won’t necessarily be on the menu of the other.

Located in the state Department of Education building, Roehr said he was happy to move into a LEED Platinum-certified building, and the high windows mean that the lighting is kept to a minimum, saving energy and providing a pleasant ambiance.

The 25 seats in the business are mostly outdoor patio seating, but a few tables and a small counter are located inside.

News of the new business came out in June, when The Sacramento Bee reported that the new location would feature grab-and-go items and was a natural part of the business’ growth.

Yellowbill is open from 6:30 a.m. - 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Huggiebears hits the sweet spot in Old Sacramento with cupcakes, cheesecakes, brownies and more

2012-09-04T01:26:51Z

Cupcakes, cheesecakes, brownies and other sweets are on the menu at a new pastry shop in Old Sacramento, Huggiebears Sweets and Treats.

The business, which opened July 18 at 904 Second St., was born of the recipes from owner Jim Austin, whose cheesecakes and other desserts have won numerous awards at the California State Fair and county fairs for his amateur baking.

Store Manager Jason R. Clark said he and Austin talked about the recipes and about bringing the baked goods to a wider audience.

“I figured the rest of the world needs to be exposed to the delicious treats we were making,” he said.

Those treats include an orange creamsicle cheesecake, fresh brownies and a number of cupcakes.

The Dynamite Cupcake is chocolate cake with a caramel cream frosting topped with broken potato chips which are then drizzled with caramel and sea salt.

Another cupcake pays homage to an American classic. The peanut butter and jelly cupcake is made with vanilla cake, which then has its core removed and filled with jelly. Peanut butter buttercream frosting and jelly are put on top.

The menu will rotate seasonally, with pumpkin spice desserts coming this month, and possibly a s’mores cupcake. Hot apple cider will be served in the wintertime, augmenting the current selection of coffee, milk, chocolate milk and tea.

Dessert bars and brownies run $2 each, cupcakes cost $2.50 and cheesecakes run $3.50 per slice.

The shop is take-away service right now, but catering is offered as well.

Baking is done at Steel Magnolia, and Clark takes the cakes to the shop in Old Sacramento, where he finishes frosting them and making them ready for the day.

Originally, the men had not been considering Old Sacramento, but Clark said he and Austin saw the space with its existing counter and wood-paneled walls, and they couldn’t resist it.

“Everybody in Old Sac has been very nice and welcoming,” Clark said. “All of us shopkeepers look out for each other, and we get a lot of foot traffic, especially with the railroad museum across the street.”

One of the businesses already familiar with Huggiebears is Her Closet Boutique, which recently opened next door.

Natasha Davis of Her Closet dropped by on Thursday morning for a cup of coffee, and she said she’s sampled some of the baked goods as well.

“They have the best cheesecake,” she said. “It’s really creamy, and I love it – and I’m not a cheesecake girl.”

She added that she appreciates the quality ingredients used by Huggiebears and that Clark is always friendly and helpful.

And that’s the image Clark said he wants the shop to have. The name Huggiebears, he said, comes from his own online screen name.

“We were thinking of a name, and we didn’t just want to be the cupcake guys, because we do so much else,” he said. “We wanted it to feel warm and comforting, and Huggiebears just seemed to fit.”

While Old Sacramento is taking note of the business, Clark said he has a bigger goal.

“I’d like Old Sacramento to think of us as the place to get desserts,” he said, “but I want all of Sacramento to know that they need to try out Huggiebears.”

Huggiebears is open from 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday and closed on Monday and Tuesday.

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Mighty Kong Cafe in Tahoe Park redefines itself with a remodel

2012-09-03T07:01:39Z

An old boxing gym once frequented by the likes of George Foreman is the unlikely home to what some say is a hidden culinary surprise in Tahoe Park.

Mighty Kong Cafe, located at 3701 Stockton Blvd., was formerly the Capital Boxing Gym before the cafe opened in 2008.

Originally a muffin and coffee business, the renovation converted it to a full-service restaurant with an elegant feel, according to owner King Smith’s son, Lance Smith.

“My little sister had just graduated from the Cordon Bleu (cooking school), and she said we had way too nice of a kitchen to just do muffins and coffee,” Lance Smith said.

What ensued was a full remodel.

Booth seating was brought in, an empty space was transformed to a closed-off office, the bakery counter was moved back to give more room for seating and, most notably, a historic bar was brought in.

“We sent my dad down to an auction in Atlanta and told him to get a bar that would fit in the corner,” Lance Smith said. Pointing at the massive bar along the back wall, he added, “He came back with that.”

The bar is made of Cuban mahogany and comes from Ann Arbor, Mich. It was made in 1902, and it now has the prominent place in a Sacramento cafe.

Regular customer John Gay, who remembers when the bar was a boxing gym, said he likes the way it’s transformed.

“I think if they can fix up this old gym and make it look like this, like a million bucks, there’s hope for any old building,” he said.

Gay said he remembers the days before Highway 99’s arrival in the city, when Stockton Boulevard was a “hoppin’ ” part of town. Luigi’s Pizza Parlor, kitty-corner from Mighty Kong Cafe, opened in 1953 and still enjoys success.

Mighty Kong serves a variety of breakfast and lunch items, including sandwiches of pulled pork, tri-tip and house-brined and smoked pastrami. Chicken and waffles, biscuits and gravy and house-made sausage are available for breakfast.

Sandwiches cost about $8, and breakfasts run about $7.

The name comes from owner King Smith’s college nickname, when friends referred to him as Mighty Kong.

Customer Jim Feller said he frequents Mighty Kong with Gay, and he enjoys the food.

“We love this place,” he said. “We come here almost every day.”

Mighty Kong Cafe is open from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Thursday, from 9 a.m. - 7 p.m. Friday and from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The business is closed on Monday.

New Helvetia Brewing Company on track for October opening

2012-08-31T06:56:39Z

Sacramento’s newest craft brewery is scheduled to start production at 18th Street and Broadway in October.

Construction is under way after months of delays at New Helvetia Brewing Company, owner David Gull said Thursday.

“We started construction two weeks ago, and we’re scheduled to have that done Oct. 1,” he said.

After that, the brewing equipment will be installed, and the business can begin brewing its seven- or eight-barrel batches of beer. Each barrel holds 31 gallons.

Gull said the delay – the business was originally scheduled to open in February – was due to the time it takes to get contractors up to speed on a new project as well as hurdles caused by the nature of working in a historic building.

The core concept of the business hasn’t changed since The Sacramento Press first reported on it last year. The approximately 5,000-square-foot building was constructed in 1925 and was most recently a tile manufacturing plant. Before that, it was the Casa Grande Tortilla Factory, and it has been vacant for about two years. Multiple rooms stem off a courtyard, and each will be used for a different aspect of the business.

“It’s a brewery and tasting room,” Gull said. “The public will enter up front into the tasting room, and they will be able to look through a dividing wall with windows into the brewery itself.”

Beers, including an IPA, will be brewed in very small batches and aged in wooden barrels. Initially, beer will only be served on draught from taps in the building. Kegs will be sold to local bars and restaurants, but not to the public. Bottling will come later, as the business expands, Gull said

Sushi restaurant with 15 private karaoke rooms coming to downtown Sacramento

2012-08-29T01:22:47Z

A style of entertainment popular in Japan that also has a proven track record in the United States is coming to K Street by October: karaoke – but not the karaoke you’d expect at most bars.

Oishii Sushi Bar and Grill, located at 1000 K St., will be a sushi restaurant with 15 private karaoke rooms.

The rooms range in size, with small rooms able to hold six or eight people and larger rooms holding as many as 40.

“It’s a family and friends concept,” owner Joe Zheng said. “They can go and reserve a private room and do karaoke for a birthday or a friends’ get-together type thing.”

Located above the Cosmopolitan Cabaret, Oishii can be accessed via an elevator from K Street. Upon entering, people see the dining room of the restaurant, with tables along the K Street wall, where the Crest Theatre can be seen through the windows.

Private karaoke rooms line the left wall, and a hallway toward the back branches off to more private rooms.

“In this economy, that’s the kind of thing people need,” Zheng said. “We did a price comparison, and we’re charging about what the fast-food takeout is, but we’re providing the quality of high-end stuff that’s twice the cost.”

This will be the third restaurant/karaoke room setup for Zheng, who said he has one in San Francisco and another in New York.

Karaoke will be available from the afternoon until late night, possibly as late as 3 a.m. on weekends, he said. During lunchtime, people can reserve the rooms for free for private dining or office meetings, and the flatscreen TVs can be hooked up to computers for presentations.

Once the karaoke starts around 3 or 4 p.m., room rentals will start at about $25 or $35 per hour.

Lisa Martinez, spokeswoman for the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, said she thinks the restaurant will give downtown workers another option for lunch as well as good entertainment in the evening.

“We are really excited to hear that we have a new business coming to K Street,” she said. “I think their business will complement some of the successful businesses that are already flourishing in that area.”

She added that it’s good to see family fun enter the mix.

“It’s exciting to hear that they are looking to bring a range of audiences from adults to families, and that there will be more family entertainment on K Street,” she said.

Oishii Sushi Bar and Grill will open for lunch at 11 a.m. and stop serving around 3:30 p.m. Dinner service will start around 5 p.m. and continue through 11 p.m. on weekdays, but likely continue until 3 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

People renting the karaoke rooms can have food served in them, and bottle service from the full bar will be available.

“The best part about our bottle service is you don’t have to finish it,” Zheng said. “We can store it for you, so if you want to come back later because you didn’t want to drink it all, we will have it for you.”

Lei's Kitchen: East meets West in downtown Sacramento's newest eatery

2012-08-27T07:39:19Z

Traditional American breakfasts are served alongside authentic Chinese cuisine at Lei’s Kitchen, a new downtown restaurant on the corner of Seventh and J streets.

Chef and Manager Joshua Sprowls said the restaurant aims to serve affordable food quickly, catering to the downtown breakfast, lunch and dinner crowds.

“We’re gearing a lot toward state workers,” he said, adding that the restaurant is open from 6 a.m. - 9 p.m. every day, and some of the quicker ticket times are as little as five minutes during the daytime.

“They can come in here and get something to grab and go, sit at the counter, or maybe take a little longer and have a cup of coffee,” Sprowls said.

In the morning, American breakfasts such as three-egg omelets are served, as well as Sprowls’ biscuits and gravy, made from scratch.

For lunch, Chinese food is served, including dishes such as the popular general’s chicken, which is served with rice and topped with a sweet, spicy sauce.

“It’s similar to orange chicken, but it’s a bit spicier,” Sprowls said.

Other dishes such as Kung Pao beef and lemon chicken are also served.

Breakfast and lunch items range from $3 - $7, and dinner entrées run from $6 - $11.

Alcohol is not served, but the restaurant is connected to the next-door bar called Chambers Room, and food can be served in the bar from the restaurant.

The Chambers Room was shut down for about a month and a half, owner Susie Hill said, because one of the conditions of the alcohol license is that the space now occupied by Lei’s Kitchen serve food.

Before Lei’s Kitchen opened on Aug. 8, the space had been vacant since 2009.

Sprowls said the two businesses complement each other, and the location is ideal.

“We’re right here in the middle of downtown, and we have farmers markets nearby,” he said. “I like to the farmers market (in Cesar Chavez Plaza) and get my ingredients for the night’s specials.”

He said that Lei’s Kitchen sources its food locally, and he frequently buys from farmers markets for fresh ingredients.

“There’s no better feeling than walking through a farmers market in a chef’s coat and buying something you’re going to make that night at the restaurant,” he said.

Three members of the Lei family, which owns the restaurant, work in the location preparing the Asian dishes and working with Sprowls on the menu.

Sprowls said one of the hallmarks of the business is a large portion size for a reasonable price, and he’s hoping that helps the restaurant succeed despite a struggling economy.

Joe Lopez was one of the people who stopped by the restaurant for lunch on Friday, and he said he had beef and fried rice.

“The brown rice and the eggs and the beef were all really good,” he said, “And it’s a really good price.”

Hortense Calderon was another who tried the restaurant out on Friday, and she said she likes the place.

“I’d come back here every day,” she said.

Urban wine tasting room coming to Sacramento's K Street

2012-08-18T06:45:52Z

Downtown & Vine – an urban wine tasting room – is seeking to bring the best of California wine country to K Street downtown, with a scheduled opening date of mid-October.

Co-owner Gregg Lamer said Friday that he and co-owner Kate Chomko think Sacramento needs a varied selection of wines from Sonoma, Napa, the foothills and other wine regions across the state, and the 1200 K St. location is the perfect fit.

“We’ll have 12 wineries, and we’ll feature three wines from each one,” Lamer said, adding that wine will be poured in 2-ounce tastes, 5-ounce glasses or flights of three 2-ounce tastes.

Of the 12 wineries, 11 will be the backbone of the business, while the 12th will rotate – likely bringing in high-end boutique wineries, Chomko said.

The names of the wineries aren’t being released as yet, pending Alcoholic Beverage Control approval for the space, but Lamer and Chomko said there will be a wine for everyone’s budget.

“We’ll have bottles you can take with you, and we’re expecting to retail those for as little as $15 and up to over $100,” Lamer said.

Chomko added that she wants to have affordable, everyday wine as well as wine that will draw serious collectors.

While not set up as a restaurant, the business will include food options such as smoked salmon hors d'oeuvres, artisanal cheeses and charcuterie plates. Details are still being worked out, but there will be a happy hour-type program with wine and food pairings, as well as wine education.

When it’s done, people entering the 2,350-square-foot space will see a wall of retail wine racks before turning left and seeing a concierge desk – where guidance on trips to wine country will be offered.

Along the left-side wall will be the bar. Wine will be up front, and the food preparation area will be toward the back of the building.

Seating for slightly less than 100 people will be offered both indoors and outdoors, with approximately 30 able to sit on a patio on the pedestrian part of K Street between 12th and 13th streets.

A private room with seating for 14 can be rented, and a more open rear section of the business will hold 30-40 people for standing receptions.

“This is perfect location,” Chomko said. “We’ve got the Convention Center, the theaters, the Capitol – all that is nearby. What’s not to like?”

Valerie Mamone-Werder, business recruitment manager for the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, said Thursday that the business is a good fit for the K Street area downtown.

“This is a really great business,” she said. “They have a long history in the wine industry, and they’re really great operators.”

She added that Chomko and Lamer understand what the city and business community is doing on K Street, which has undergone an overhaul in the past several years, and she said she thinks they will be a good part of K Street’s future.

Chomko said she has been a wine educator in the Napa, and Lamer recently sold two wine businesses he founded in Amador County. They are now moving to Sacramento, which they will be calling home.

“We’re excited to be here,” Chomko said. “Carmel, Monterey, Napa, San Francisco – they all have something like this, but Sacramento doesn’t. Sacramento has small ones, but nothing like this.”

Local restaurant consultant on the five mistakes restaurants make

2012-08-16T13:34:55Z

Garlic Shack, Lounge on 20, Red Lotus, California Pizza Kitchen, Hangar 17 and Brew it Up! are all restaurants that have closed in the central city in the past few years. Meanwhile, others thrived, celebrating 10- and 20-year milestones.

Why?

The Sacramento Press talked to local restaurant consultant Andy Soto, owner of Spectrum Restaurant Consulting, and asked what he thinks are some of the mistakes restaurants make that cause them to shut down.

While Soto said there are many reasons restaurants fail, he sent us his top five.

Why resturants fail, by Andy Soto:

Not connecting with the community. Things like participating in events like Make a Wish Foundation, Grape Escape, etc. Those are just two examples, but those types of events give people the chance to get to know the restaurants and their offerings in a very casual atmosphere. Partnering with local charities or participating in charitable events also goes a long way. De Vere's Irish Pub’s St. Baldrick's event is a wonderful example of an event meant to bring the community together for a worthy cause and enjoy the company of others while getting to know a particular venue.

Finding the right social media formula is important as well. Things like Facebook and Twitter are great ways to connect with your customer base, and people love to "like" things. It is crucial to find the balance where you aren't chasing away your guests with too many posts or losing your audience by posting too little. Social media has proven to be a great way to let people know about events, community outreach, specials and restaurant giveaways. Those restaurants not using social media outlets to reach the masses have an archaic way of thinking and should consider joining the rest of us in this century.

Not listening to their guests. One thing I recommend is the use of comment cards. When I say "the use of," I mean the proper use. This means doing something with the information provided. Some restaurants don't see comment cards for the true gifts that they are. These are opportunities provided by the guests telling owners exactly what they would like to see done differently. Like anything else, you need to filter through these things as you can get inundated with people's personal ideas on how to run the perfect restaurant. Within that sea of comments there are some very valid and valuable pieces of information owners can use to improve their business. If you are just using them to collect email addresses, you are missing the big picture.

Not doing research on your concept. Before opening a new restaurant, owners need to look at what they want to do, where they want to do it and how they are going to execute it. What types of concepts are doing well? Is there a concept the neighborhood is lacking? Do they want to follow in the footsteps of something popular? Do they want to do something new and cutting-edge? Do your prices fall in line with that of your neighbors and similar concepts? There is a tremendous amount of risk involved in this business, so doing your homework is vital.

Training and education. Of course, staff members should have a specific level of knowledge that meets or exceeds the needs of the restaurant. Restaurants need to take this a step further and continuously test and challenge their staff. Managers and owners need to write and administer tests on alcohol, food, service, etc.

Some places need it once a month, perhaps at a mandatory staff meeting. Other places in need of more help should test their staff members on a weekly basis before or after their shifts. There should be tests to further the education of every staff member: hosts, servers, bussers, runners, cooks, etc. This obviously means management needs to customize the exams to fit specific job descriptions. The more information you provide your staff, the more they can provide the guests.

Proper funding/finance. This goes for new owners mainly. I can't begin to tell you how many people I've met over the years who wanted to take their life savings and open a restaurant because it looks like so much fun. These folks are in for a rude awakening 100 percent of the time.

If you are opening a restaurant and are close to the date of your soft open and see the money running out, make no mistake, you are in trouble already. I highly recommend having enough in reserve funds to keep the business going for at least a year. This means payroll, vendors, repairs and many other unforeseen instances we all know can pop up in life.

Some folks with a good plan and strong business model can make it work with six months’ worth of cash, but this is not always the case. If it sounds impossible to have that much liquid cash on hand, perhaps you might want to consider a different business. This is of course not set in stone, but common sense will tell anyone you need money to operate, and (most) restaurants don't generate profits in their infancy.

I have also witnessed the opposite effect, which is where an owner has deep pockets, spares no expense on décor, artwork and furniture with little focus on having the right team members in the right positions. In these situations things tend to fall apart sometimes before the restaurant is even open. Generally these turn into very expensive life lessons.

Rail Bridge Cellars launches jazz, blues series with intimate seating

2012-08-06T15:10:42Z

The tasting room for Sacramento urban winery Rail Bridge Cellars is an intimate, two-level venue at the top of the Elks Tower – a spot managing partner Michael Gelber said is the highest place in the city where you can eat and drink – and it will begin hosting live blues and jazz Aug. 11.

After being open for about six weeks, Gelber said, the tasting room has attracted a following, and Rail Bridge Cellars’ selection has grown from two varietals to about 12.

“We want to bring a speakeasy-style place,” Gelber said. “Sacramento has lots of great nightlife, but this is a different take.”

He said the two-level penthouse was called The Top of the Town shortly after the building’s construction in 1926, and it played host to some of the city’s elites.

Now, with the jazz and blues series, Gelber said he is trying to create a space with an intimate feel where people can go for an after-dinner drink and great views of the town.

“Maybe you go out to a nice dinner, and you want to go someplace where you can have a drink and talk and hear some local music,” Gelber said.

That’s the idea behind the weekly Blues and Jazz Unplugged, which kicks off this Saturday. Admission is $20, and tickets must be bought in advance online. Ticket purchase includes a glass of wine or beer and hors d'oeuvres. Additional glasses of wine are in the $5 - $6 range.

Entry is limited to 48 people so the area remains intimate, and people can book their spaces anytime until tickets are sold out, including the day of the event.

Doors open at 9 p.m., and the first musical set begins at 10, with a second set at 11. The doors close at 1 a.m.

Playing first in the series is Clemon Charles, a Sacramento musician originally from Barbados.

“I’ll be playing some eclectic music with some jazz and a little bit of world-beats blues,” Charles said. “I’m doing it with a lot of Caribbean influence because that’s where I’m from, and a lot of my music has a lot of island influence.”

Most artists in the series will play with an acoustic guitar, Charles said, adding that some will use pianos. Vocals will feature strongly in the performances as well.

Mangia – from the creators of Paesanos – to replace Java City in Midtown

2012-08-02T00:07:04Z

A new cafe from the owners of Paesanos is scheduled to go into the old Java City spot at 19th and Capitol by the end of the month.

Mangia – Italian for “eat” – is going to be a different concept from Paesanos, with counter service and an assortment of coffee drinks, sandwiches, salads and other food items, Director of Operations Dana Scarpulla said.

“We have some Italian-inspired eating, but it will be eclectic,” she said, adding that menu development just began, so there aren’t more details available yet.

The eatery will open early in the morning and serve coffee, breakfast sandwiches and pastries as well as lunch and dinner.

“We hope to bring the early-morning coffee for the people who are used to Java City being there,” she said.

The atmosphere will be casual, and there is currently no final word on how many people it will be able to seat. Job interviews are currently under way, and Scarpulla said about 15-20 employees will be hired.

The Sacramento Press will follow up when more information becomes available.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Café Roma expands in downtown Sacramento with larger food menu, adds beer and wine

2012-07-30T21:55:44Z

Café Roma owner Abe Saadeh said his goal is to take you to Italy without having to leave Sacramento, and now he’s expanding his nearly 2-year-old resturant at 1013 L St. to add seating, beer and wine, and more dining options.

“When I first conceived the cafe, I wanted to bring what I saw on my trips to Italy to Sacramento,” Saadeh said Thursday. “I thought it was great to be able to go in and feel the excitement that’s going on in the cafes.”

From the window display of gelato to the walk-up espresso bar and premade panninis in the deli case, the small details in Café Roma evoke the feel of being in an Italian cafe, and Saadeh said the expansion will add other elements – beer and wine, full-service dining and patio seating.

The seating area will approximately double, allowing about 50 people to eat inside, with another 30 outside. The current portion of the cafe will remain counter-service, and Saadeh said the new portion with its full-service menu is a reflection of what he saw in Italy on a trip in May.

One of the goals with the expansion is to keep the prices affordable, and Saadeh said most entrées can be paired with a wine for a total of between $15 and $17.

The food menu will be expanded, and one of the dishes Saadeh said he will bring on board is a spaghetti alla carbonara – topped with a sauce with eggs, ham or bacon, and cream.

Beer and wine will also be added to the menu. Saadeh said about 20 - 30 percent of the wine offerings will be imported from Italy, and there will be California wines to complement them.

Beers will include some Italian selections as well as domestics.

Café Roma opened less than two years ago, and while Saadeh said the expansion comes more quickly than he had planned, he’s happy to be in a position to grow in the still-shaky economy.

“Café Roma is a relatively new business to downtown, and we’re thrilled to see them at a point where they’re ready to expand to larger space,” said Lisa Martinez, spokeswoman for the Downtown Sacramento Partnership.

“He really focused on unique Italian cuisine, but at the same time his price point is really accessible,” she added. “They’ve got really good italian food, and it’s at a really affordable price. They’ve hit the sweet spot.”

Construction began July 23, and Saadeh said he hopes it will be complete by September, in time to celebrate two years in business in October.

The restaurant will remain open during the expansion, with the exception of one weekend, which will be announced. The closure is expected to be short and to come toward the end of the contruction, with the restaurant reopening when the inspectors give it the final OK.

The final touches will be revealed when it opens, but Saadeh said Renaissance-style artwork will feature in the décor, and classic tunes from the likes of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin will be scattered throughout the cafe’s musical playlist.

“It’s all about giving people more than just a meal,” Saadeh said. “We’re giving them a nice place to go and show them something unique that you’d find in Italy.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Photos: Trio Restaurant, Bakery and Market now open

2012-07-27T08:30:52Z

Trio Restaurant, Bakery and Market opened July 1, bringing a Dean and Delucca-style restaurant to downtown Sacramento with a mix of farm-to-table and imported foods.

Chef and owner Gönül Blum said Thursday that details are still being finalized – with a liquor license effective Friday and glass coverings for the fresh meats section coming soon.

“So much of the food comes from my garden and is served in the restaurant,” Blum said. “And I have certificates from the farmers to show that the food is farm-to-table.”

Blum said she likes to focus on local ingredients to create Mediterranean-themed dishes, including some from her homeland of Turkey.

A small retail space in the front of the restaurant carries specialty items such as imported olive oils and local roasted nuts.

The restaurant, located at 826 J St., is open from 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. on weekdays and from 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. on weekends. Blum said she hopes to eventually get a full bar, and keeping Trio open later.

Rubicon Brewing Company to open new beer production facility in West Sacramento

2012-07-26T21:50:45Z

Rubicon Brewing Company could increase its production tenfold in a few years after the arrival of new brewing equipment Thursday, which will allow the Sacramento brewing company to produce a larger selection locally and become a bigger player in the West Coast beer scene.

“We’d do a lot more seasonals here than we do now,” Rubicon owner Glynn Phillips said Thursday, “and the more popular beers would be more abundant.”

He added that beers such as Rubicon’s pilsner might be produced year-round, which is currently not possible, as Monkey Knife Fight and Rubicon IPA take up 70 percent of the small production facility.

The new 450-gallon brewing equipment will be set up in a production facility in West Sacramento not far from Ikea. Phillips said he hopes to have it in operation by the end of the year, if all goes well.

“Our plan is to release Monkey Knife Fight in 22-ounce bottles as soon as we open,” he said. “Probably by beer week (in February), we might do a big announcement where we move into 12-ounce packaging and you could buy six-packs of Rubicon beer.”

Currently, the production at the brewpub at 2004 Capitol Ave. in Sacramento produces about 2,000 31-gallon barrels per year. Phillips said that the goal is to be able to produce as many as 20,000 barrels at the new facility in four to five years, enabling Rubicon to expand to markets in Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

“Sacramento sales are our number-one focus, but we’d also like to expand our wholesale network,” he said.

The production facility isn’t set up to be open to the public, and Phillips said there are numerous accessibility and licensing hurdles to get over before that becomes a viable option – if he even wants to go that route.

“I may just instead open a tap room in West Sac, but that’s a business decision for down the road,” he said.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Homemade caramels coming to Midtown Village Cafe

2012-07-24T05:27:45Z

Army Specialist Michael Pinto said there was one treat he looked forward to more than anything else when stationed in Iraq in 2006 and 2007 – his mother’s homemade caramels.

“We had some stuff over there as far as sweets, but nothing came close to that,” he said. “It was something from home, and they tasted amazing. I’d share them with the other guys, and we’d go through 90 percent of them in 15 minutes.”

Now Pinto’s mother, Gael George, is hoping that Sacramento residents will be just as enthusiastic about her candies as she opens a retail spot for her business, called My Sweet George.

A former music store executive, George left the business as digital content took over and founded My Sweet George five years ago from her place in New York City. Now, back in her hometown of Sacramento, she is one of the first businesses setting up in Midtown Village Cafe at 19th and I streets, opening Aug. 1.

George said she’s made about 50,000 of the caramels, and she had to tweak an old recipe to make sure they were soft enough to chew, but wouldn’t get destroyed by the heat.

“Sending them over to the desert was the perfect test,” she said. “They held up during transit and over there in Iraq.”

She combines her love of music with her love of making caramels – “My Sweet George” is a reference to George Harrison of The Beatles, and his music is always on when she makes her candies.

The caramels come in a variety of flavors, including coconut almond, lemon butter, sea salt dark chocolate and wild cherry pecan. She said she has previously sold them for events such as weddings and baby showers, and now she will be selling them out of Midtown Village Cafe.

Prices range from a seven-piece gift bag for $5 to a 1-pound gift bag for $25. Pricing for individual caramels will be listed later.

Midtown Village Cafe itself is a new take on co-working, co-owner Brian Fischer said.

“The goal of the village is to be a collaborative space other businesses can use for a launching platform,” he said. “It’s kind of an incubator for other people, with low overhead.”

George will be able to make her caramels in the cafe’s kitchen and display them in the glass cases.

George acknowledged that, despite her experience running distribution centers in the music industry, going out on her own is stressful, and definitely a risk.

“I won’t say I haven’t had some sleepless nights,” she said.

Fischer said that opening Midtown Village Cafe to other businesses is a way for entrepreneurs without significant financial backing to bypass some of the hurdles new businesses typically have to get over with financing, permitting and finding a space.

“I think she’ll do well,” he said. “I love the caramels. Everybody loves the caramels. They’re addictive.”

Food trucks, city: We’re close to getting an ordinance

2012-07-20T23:30:45Z

After a two years of on-again, off-again talks, the dispute between food truck and restaurants in Sacramento might be drawing to a close – a new food truck ordinance is in the final steps of negotiation before being put to the City Council after a meeting between food truck operators, traditional restaurateurs and city officials on Friday.

“Basically, the only things that are really left to negotiate are how far a truck can park from a restaurant and for how long,” KrushBurger food truck owner Davin Vculek said.

He added that the current 30-minute time limit will likely be extended to a limit that allows a food truck to serve for a whole shift – be it lunch or dinner – in one spot.

Right now, under a 2008 ordinance, food trucks are only allowed to stop for 30 minutes at a time in city limits, and there is a curfew.

The new ordinance gives food trucks a wider berth, but in its current state prohibits them from operating within 400 feet of a restaurant – something Vcule said he would like to see amended.

“I think it’s a step in a positive direction,” Vculek said. “We meet again in two weeks and hopefully secure all the sticking points, and then it will be in the council’s hands to pass through as an ordinance.”

City Councilman Jay Schenirer, chairman of the Law and Legislation Committee – through which the ordinance must pass before going to the full council for a vote – said he thinks a lot of progress has been made, and just a few details need working out.

“This is a complicated issue,” he said. “I was very pleased with the outcome today.”

When it comes to the ordinance, he added, one option is to provide different tweaks to it for different geographic regions in the city – recognizing that the downtown/Midtown core is a different environment from Land Park, East Sacramento or The Pocket.

The next meeting will be held Aug. 3, and Schenirer said that a best-case scenario has the Law and Legislation Committee discussing the ordinance in late August or September.

“I think that the brick-and-mortar restaurant owners and the food truck operators came together and are both looking for a win-win situation here,” he said. “I think there’s still some details to be ironed out, but I’m hopeful that we can finish that Aug. 3.”

Vculek said the meeting was attended by representatives of various city departments, other food truck operators and restaurant owners. Other meeting attendees did not immediately return phone calls Friday afternoon.

“The city has made an attempt to work with both sides, and now we’re at a point where both sides have made concessions and are working on something that we can all agree on,” Vculek said.

If an ordinance is passed, Vculek said, it will likely be revisited after six months.

“It’s going to be a process,” he said. “I don’t think it’ll be set in stone.”

SactoMoFo 5 scheduled for Saturday

2012-07-17T00:30:26Z

About 30 food trucks will gather on Saturday for SactoMoFo 5 under the freeway at Sixth and W streets.

What started more than a year ago as a showcase of the food truck scene in protest of city ordinance that food truck operators regard as unfair has gathered a strong following of both trucks and those who love the food.

According to SactoMoFo, Saturday’s event will be the biggest one yet, with the amount of new trucks and, like last time, beer.

~~Sacramento’s newest food truck, OMG Burger is scheduled to participate in the event as well~~ [Update: Due to a last-minute permiting delay, OMG Burger will not be able to participate in this SactoMofo, according to event organizers.]

The event is free, and parking is free with a donation of school supplies or canned/packaged food, which will be donated the the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services. Here's the complete list of food trucks, via SactoMofo organizer Paul Somerhausen:

Sacramento-area vendors include: Drewski's, Squeeze Inn, Simply Southern BBQ, Smoothie Patrol, Dave's Dawgs, Addison’s Originals, Miz Shirley’s, Fat Face, Annie’s Sno Biz, Star Ginger, Leila's Lumpia, Coast to Coast, Chando's Tacos, Lil Rich’s Shaved Ice, Emma’s Tamales, Willie's Burgers, Volkswaffle CA, Addy's Paella, Swabbies, Juice On, Whole Foods Market, and Gizmo’s Rolling Video Games

Making the trek from the Bay Area are: The Chairman, Koja Kitchen, Seoul on Wheels, El Porteno, Sanguchon, Hapa SF, Curbside Cuisine, and Curry Up Now. Also, The famous Red Truck will come down from Lake Tahoe.

Since the initial SactoMoFo, the law limiting food trucks to 30-minute stops in the city and placing a curfew on their operations has become a topic of conversation at multiple levels in the city – from food truck owners and traditional restaurateurs to the City Council.

Talks will continue this week, and though the progress seems slow, City Council members have previously told The Sacramento Press that they want to make sure any new law is done correctly. A scheduled start to revising the law last year was scrapped.

New trucks continue to pop up despite the law, and OMG Burger owner Ben Jones said Friday that the 2008 law is an inconvenience that he hopes will be repealed soon, but didn’t deter him from joining the movement.

Sacramento has also seen food truck operators expanding their reach over the past year. Drewski’s Hot Rod Kitchen partnered with Republic to sell its food in the 16th Street business, and Coast to Coast Sandwiches expanded to a brick-and-mortar location with the kitchen at Pour House, a new restuarant nd bar expected to open within the month.

KrushBurger – formerly Mini Burger – is also expected to get into the brick-and-mortar restaurant game later this year.

The food truck scene is a two-way street, however, with established restaurants getting on board.

Willie’s Burgers, The Squeeze Inn and even Mikuni have or are planning to join the mobile scene.

Saturday’s event is expected to draw crowds, and organizers recommend that people heading out to sample the food bring “small bills and an empty belly.”

The event kicks off at noon and runs until 7 p.m.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Sacramento's newest food truck: OMG Burger

2012-07-16T04:37:00Z

Meet Sacramento’s newest food truck: OMG Burger.

Owner Ben Jones said he’s always had a passion for mobile food, and since food trucks are such a popular craze at the moment, he decided to toss his hat in the ring.

“I wanted to serve the best burgers in town,” he said Friday.

The truck’s signature burger – the OMG burger – is ground-up bacon blended into a beef patty topped with Cool Ranch Doritos and homemade ranch dressing.

“All of the burgers are original and creative,” Jones said, adding that the Bahng-Gu Burger is a nod to his half-Korean heritage, a cheeseburger topped with Korean bulgogi and fresh kimchi.

His favorite burger, he said, is the Dirty Sanchez, which features carne asada topped with homemade salsa and potato chips.

Prices for burgers will range from $5 to $8.50, and Jones said combo meals – including a burger, shoestring french fries and a soda – will run about $10.

“All the patties are handmade, and we take a lot of care with the details,” he said.

Paul Somerhausen of SactoMoFo said he is looking forward to tasting Jones’ offerings.

“The menu is very interesting and very provocative,” Somerhausen said. “He brings what food trucks are all about – a new angle to an American staple food. He brings a fresh look at the hamburger and has some very creative recipes.”

OMG Burger joins three existing burger trucks in Sacramento, The Willie Wagon, The Squeeze Inn and KrushBurger (formerly Miniburger).

Jones said he isn’t looking to get into a brick-and-mortar space, but if the truck is successful, he’d like to expand to Southern California and Las Vegas.

Setting up the business took about six months, including locating a truck that wasn’t too expensive and didn’t need too much work.

Jones’ background is in owning a small moving company, and OMG Burger is his first foray into food service, and he said he hired two restaurant veterans to bring food service experience to the table.

OMG Burger is expected to roll out on Friday, and it can be followed on Twitter, @OMGBurger.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

[Editor's note: This aricle has been corrected to reflect the fact that due to a last-minute permiting delay, OMG Burger will not be able to participate in this SactoMofo, according to event organizers.]

Plans taking shape to bring Lowbrau, a German beer hall, to former Lounge on 20 space

2012-07-12T18:32:08Z

A deal is in the works to bring a German beer hall with a modern twist to the former Lounge on 20 space at 20th and K streets.

Called Lowbrau, one of the business partners, Michael Hargis, explained that it’s a fresh take on a Bavarian beer hall.

Some of the classic Bavarian elements are planned to be incorporated, such as long communal tables, a healthy selection of imported German and Belgian beers, and imported sausages for the food menu.

“It’s a play off the German beer halls,” Hargis said. “It’s not going to be uber-German, and the name Lowbrau kind of shows that we’re not taking ourselves too seriously.”

Since the deal is not finalized, details at this point are scant. Hargis said he will be able to share more information if the deal is struck and he’s able to get into the space.

Despite some rustic German elements, Hargis said modern design cues will be a fit for the Midtown area.

The idea was partly inspired by other businesses with similar concepts – Wurstküche in Los Angeles and Suppenküche in San Francisco – and Hargis said he hopes Lowbrau will see the same success in Sacramento.

In Germany, the beer hall is a communal gathering place, and the communal tables encourage strangers to get to know each other over a half-liter or liter of beer. Hargis said he hopes Lowbrau will be able to provide a similar sense of connectivity to the community at 20th and K streets.

Hargis stressed that the deal has yet to be struck, so at this point it is still in the planning stages and is not a sure thing. The Sacramento Press will continue to follow developments with the business and the former Lounge on 20 space.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Fox & Goose adds Churchill-themed banquet room

2012-07-09T06:38:24Z

A private banquet room modeled after the home of Winston Churchill is the most recent addition to Fox & Goose Public House at 10th and R streets, and owner Allyson Dalton said it has a World War II theme with a modern twist.

“I’d always wanted to do a private banquet room,” she said. “We get lots of requests, and now we have it.”

The room can seat 32 at custom-made white oak tables in large chairs, and it can accommodate 55 people when standing.

Reading lamps give the lighting an intimate feel, which is complemented by wood floors.
While Churchill is best known for his leadership of Great Britain during World War II – and for his signature cigar – Dalton said that there was more to the man than his wartime successes.

“He was a prolific writer and loved champagne,” she said. “He’s not just an interesting war figure, but he had a fascinating rise to power, and he was the quintessential Englishman.”

The theme for the expansion dates back to 2009, when Dalton and her husband were in England and first saw the now-famous “Keep Calm and Carry On” propaganda poster drafted in World War II. A trip to Chartwell, Churchill’s home in Kent, inspired the décor.

“I was fascinated by the lack of opulence,” Dalton said. “It was very lived-in. I loved the feel: It was very English, but not stuffy.”

She said that feel translates perfectly to Fox & Goose, allowing it to be a little more formal than the rest of the restaurant, but still retain some of the pub feel.

The banquet room can be reserved for breakfast, lunch or dinner by calling the Fox & Goose.

A more gritty part of the expansion is the bathroom upgrades, something Dalton said she has wanted to do since the mid-1990s.

The London Underground – the Tube – is the theme for the restrooms, with a large London Underground emblem on the hallway wall and subway tiles in both restrooms.

Each one takes its name from an Underground stop, with the men’s room called King’s Cross and the women’s room called Queen’s Park.

New custom concrete sinks and a large-scale map of the London Underground complete the look.

Marvin Maldonado, of inForm, the firm that designed the expansion, said he is happy with the end product and that the construction followed his firm’s designs to a T.

“It is still a work in progress,” he said. “One of the more authentic parts she’s going to add is that her husband’s grandfather served in the war, so they’re going to bring in some of his things to add that extra touch of authenticity.”

He said working in the 100-year-old warehouse presented unforeseen minor problems, but city representatives were easy to work with.

“The city did a great job helping us through this,” he said. “The city gets a lot of negative press right now, but there are people down there who work hard and really helped us out.”

The restaurant has been in business since the 1970s, serving traditional pub fare from the British isles. Last year, outdoor seating was added, and the space serves as a venue for live music and other community gatherings, such as the lighting of the archway on the R Street corridor.

“I love how the project turned out,” Dalton said. “It’s exactly how I envisioned it.”

Downtown post office's final day before move July 20

2012-07-05T06:26:40Z

The downtown post office’s last day in the federal building at Eighth and I streets will be July 20, after which the post office will be in Westfield Downtown Plaza.

“We’ll be moving and opening up on the 23rd,” said Ralph Petty, marketing manager for the Sacramento District of the U.S. Postal Service. “Our grand opening will be Aug. 6.”

The move has been talked about for some time, and the new location inside Downtown Plaza will allow access to the post office seven days per week, Petty said.

Currently, the federal building in which the downtown post office is housed is only open five days per week, and it closes at 5 p.m.

Petty said the post office lobby – including access to post office boxes – will be open at all times the mall is open, which is 6 a.m. - 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Sunday.

“It’s a much nicer setting,” Petty said.

There will not be an automated postal center at the new location, but two window clerks will be on staff, and the post office will validate parking.

Staff will be on-hand at the post office from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. on Saturday. Unlike the current space, customers will not be required to go through a security checkpoint.

The post office will be located on the ground floor of Downtown Plaza on the J Street side across from the Golden 1 Credit Union, according to a Westfield Downtown Plaza representative.

Historian William Burg, in commenting on a previous Sacramento Press story, said the new location is not far from another post office that used to be on the corner of Seventh and K streets, where St. Rose of Lima Park currently is.

The Squeeze Inn goes mobile with a food truck

2012-07-03T23:07:19Z

No stranger to producing food in a small space, Squeeze Inn owner Travis Hausauer rolled out his newest venture recently – The Squeeze Inn Truck.

“Part of it is of course getting in on the food truck craze, but it’s also having the ability to be more involved in the community,” truck owner Ken Bourquin said Tuesday, adding that he has had the truck at fundraiser events for the SPCA and other entities lately.

Currently, the focus is making sure the famous burgers match the quality of the ones served in the various brick-and-mortar locations throughout the region, he said.

“We have a big name and a good reputation, so I want to make sure that we’re doing justice to the history of The Squeeze Inn,” he said.

The truck just got its graphics wrap done, and it features a picture of the original Squeeze Inn location off Fruitridge Road on one side and three diners seated at stools.

Burgers are served with the signature “bubbling cheese skirt” from the truck, and while the equipment on a mobile platform is different, Bourquin said the food comes out the same.

One deviation is that there are currently no french fries being served on the truck, as the fryer can’t keep up with the demand, so chips are served instead, though he said he is looking to rectify the situation, and possible serve onion rings.

Prices are the same as the restaurants, he added, with a burger, chips and a soda running $10.

Don’t expect to see the truck running around Midtown and downtown Sacramento right away, however.

“We’re taking baby steps,” Bourquin said. “Mainly, right now, we’re doing a lot of fundraising and community events. We’re focusing on giving back to the community and not driving around on a route.”

That could change after a while, and Bourquin said his eventual goal is to serve food from the truck to people who can’t make it to a brick-and-mortar location on their lunch breaks.

The best way to get in touch with the truck, he said, is to call 712-3994, or visit The Squeeze Inn’s website.

Originally, The Squeeze Inn was located off Fruitridge and Power Inn roads, and it was successful even before it was featured on Guy Fieri’s Food Network show “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.” It has since expanded to Roseville, Galt and earlier this year, to Midtown.

Those interested in the newest way to grab a squeeze with cheese can follow the truck on Twitter, and Bourquin said social media efforts will be stepped up in the near future, allowing people to find out where the truck will be.

“We’re really excited, and we’re looking forward to being able to serve more customers,” he said. “We’ve been very blessed with the way Sacramento has received us.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Tako Korean BBQ coming to historic gas station on Alhambra

2012-07-03T00:06:53Z

The old gas station on the corner of Alhambra Boulevard and T Street is scheduled to open next week as Tako Korean BBQ, selling tacos and burritos with a Korean flair.

“It’s really big in L.A., and we wanted to bring the concept up here,” co-owner Alex Won said Monday. “We’ll have beef, pork and chicken with a Korean sauce and slaw on tortillas.”

The concept is similar to GoGi’s Korean Barbecue, which opened inside Cafeteria 15L last year.

Details are still being finalized, but the tacos and burritos will likely be sold in combo plates with rice, and salads will be available. Won said diners should expect to pay between $6 and $8 for lunch.

Also planned for the space is a selection of Korean beers and soju, a Korean liquor that tastes similar to vodka but is about 20 percent alcohol, Won said.

He said the business will pay homage to the building’s historical use as a gas station, retaining the same look from the outside, albeit with patio tables and umbrellas, and using a retro-themed logo meant to recall the gas station signs from half a century ago.

Co-owner Yoon Cho said the name Tako is a play on the words taco and Korean. She formerly owned Yunece 61, a Memphis-style barbecue restaurant.

“There, the location was not as good,” she said. “Everybody said they liked the food, but here we have a much better location.”

Currently Sacramentans, the owners moved to the area from Seoul, South Korea, in 1986.

She said the changes in restaurants farther up on Alhambra Boulevard, with both Lyons and Eppie’s being replaced in the past month, will likely equate to increased traffic at night, and she hopes to benefit.

“To start with, we will probably be open from 10:30 (a.m.) to 10 (p.m.), but if people want to come in later, we will stay open late – maybe 3 in the morning,” she said.

The restaurant is contained in the building at the former gas station, and indoor seating is limited to a few tables, but patio seating, takeout and catering options are planned to make up for the smaller interior space.

“It’s pretty exciting,” said Bay Miry of D&S Developments, which has owned the property for eight or nine years. “I have a really good feeling about them. I know their food is good, and if they execute it well, they will be very successful.”

Miry said his firm initially wanted to put in another gas station, but neighbors opposed the idea, and a four-story residential building was then planned. When the economy went downhill and getting funds became difficult, the project was scrapped.

“We thought, why don’t we try to find a good operator to open a unique and exciting concept?” he said. “We went to their house, and they gave us all kinds of different things they want to potentially offer there. Their food is unbelievable. I think it’s going to be a hit.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Revolution Wines expanding food menu in Midtown

2012-07-02T06:41:47Z

Revolution Wines is stepping up its game when it comes to food, adding Executive Chef Darren Thompson to the staff and rolling out larger portions of food, with an eye to expanding the kitchen within the year.

“Instead of just small plates, we’re going to be doing more entrée-size portions,” Thompson said.

Last week, Thompson introduced several sandwiches, which are the initial phases of the refocus on food.

“Right now, our capabilities are kind of limited,” he said. “We have plans to put in a hood and a stove and that kind of thing. When we get that up and running, we’ll have more entrées.”

Current favorites such as the cheese pairings and bruschetta won’t be going away, but owner Gina Genshlea said she wanted to redesign the menu and add more protein in items that pair well with red wine.

One of the sandwiches debuted last week was a deconstructed French dip, Thompson said.

“It’s a big piece of chuck roasted with herbs and anchovies and oliye oil and sliced real thin,” he said, adding that he served the sandwich on grilled Italian bread and soaked it in a house-made au jus. The sandwich is served with a green salad and capers.

Unlike a traditional French dip, Thompson said, where the diner dips it into au jus, this one comes ready to eat, but is more conducive to being eaten with a fork.

Another open-face sandwich is made with Idaho trout flown in fresh and smoked at Revolution Wines. It includes Meyer lemons, herbs and whipped cream cheese on a baguette and is also served with capers and green salad.

A barbecue brisket smoked for 10 hours will be served on mini ciabatta rolls with coleslaw and house-made barbecue sauce, and Thompson said there will be more options available as he tweaks the menu.

“We’ve been planning to do this,” Genshlea said. “Our chef before moved out of town to be with her boyfriend, and so when we interviewed, as soon as we met Darren, he was our top contender.”

Thompson’s experience includes Sacramento establishments Ella Dining Room & Bar, Selland’s Market-Cafe, Kupros Bistro and Lounge on 20, as well as a sushi restaurant in Auburn. The sushi experience, he said, will allow him to bring in some raw dishes in addition to the sandwiches and cooked entrées.

The sandwiches will be in the $12 range and are designed to be a full lunch, Genshlea said, adding that most of what is on the menu ranges from $4 - $18.

“We do have a small plates menu,” she said. “It’s lots of cheeses, beet salad with goat cheese and bruschetta with triple-cream brie melted with sea salt and local honey.”

Revolution Wines is located at 2831 S St. in Midtown.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Pour House details emerging, opening in one month

2012-06-29T00:29:36Z

Pour House will open by the end of next month or early August, operator Trevor Shults said Thursday, adding that the 32 beer taps will feature only craft brews, while whiskeys and bourbons will play a central role in the business’ appeal.

“It’s tough to turn the big guys down, but we wont have Coors Light or Bud Light or any of those on draft,” Shults said, adding that he wants to stock local brews such as Ruhstaller, and some up-and-coming beers from the region, with one in particular from Lincoln.

“We hope to be the first to bring Hoptologist Double IPA from Knee Deep Brewing,” Shults said, adding that it recently beat Pliny the Elder in a tasting contest.

By the time bottled brews are factored in, Shults said he hopes to stock around 100 different beers.

It’s been widely reported that four of the booths in the business, located at 1910 Q St. in the old Whiskey Wild building, will have taps at the tables, and Shults said each table will feature two beers and a whiskey on draft, and the beers will be rotated.

Each of the booths will have an iPad set into a table and covered with Plexiglas to show diners how much they've drank, and how much more they can have.

The table serve system is Alcoholic Beverage Control-approved, and limits the service to two beers or two shots of alcohol per drinker similar to the way gas pumps regulate fuel flow, Shults said.

After the limit is reached, a server must go by to reset the system, ensuring no one is being served too much.

“It’s more regulated than pitchers of beer,” Shults said.

The exposed, low-wattage lightbulbs, exposed brick walls and soon-to-be-hung Steampunk-style artwork by local artist Terry Flanigan are complemented by scrap-wood paneling behind the bar and a custom back bar with lockers that can be rented for alcohol storage.

Only two TVs will be installed, with one for the front bar and one for the back bar.

“This is in no way another BarWest,” Shults said, referencing his establishment on J Street.

Another facet of the business is the inclusion of food from popular food truck Coast to Coast Sandwiches.

When co-owner Robert Ramos started the food truck, he said his original goal was to open a brick-and-mortar store, but unable to secure a loan, he went the food truck route.

Now it’s come full circle.

“This is the perfect marriage of two really good ideas,” Ramos said.

All of the food from Coast to Coast Sandwiches will be available at Pour House, and the kitchen will allow him to prepare food that wouldn’t be possible on a mobile platform.

“We got a huge barbecue, and now we can do some things like a Texas brisket,” he said, adding that a Carolina pulled-pork sandwich will also be featured.

Prices for beers will range from about $4 - $10, and Ramos said the prices for food will be close to those of the food truck at lunch, but in line with the amount of food served.

The business will employ about 45 people, and it can seat approximately 150.

Shults said part of the business will revolve around pairing alcohol with food, and there will be a Whiskey 101 class periodically for about 25 people at the back bar.

“We also want to do something for when the trains come by,” Shults said, noting that the train tracks run beside the business. “When a train goes by and the building shakes, we’ll do $2 shots of Jack.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Council Tuesday: Gun shop law

2012-06-26T00:10:33Z

Gun stores are targeted in a new ordinance City Councilmen Kevin McCarty and Rob Fong plan to introduce at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, McCarty said last week.

The ordinance would require any new gun stores to go through a permitting process with the city – similar to a recently passed ordinance governing tobacco stores located within 1,000 feet of schools.

Any gun store located anywhere within the city would be subject to the new ordinance, McCarty said, but the ones already in business wouldn’t be affected, including M&J Gun Trade, which is scheduled to go into the old Cornerstone space at 2330 J St. as early as this week.

Critics of the ordinance say it undermines the Second Amendment, and proponents say that it lets neighborhoods have oversight into the kind of businesses that can go in near them.

Jesus Figueroa, one of the licensees of M&J Gun Trade, said his shop will largely stock collectible and relic firearms, as he handles estate sales and other antiques, and the federal firearms license issued to him is a necessary part of transferring the guns.

Before the ordinance can become a law, it will need to be researched by city staff, then pass through the City Council’s Law and Legislation Committee before coming to the full City Council for a vote.

McCarty was also the author of two 2007 firearms ordinances. One of them requires gun owners to report any lost or stolen guns to authorities within 48 hours, and the other requires a thumbprint and identification for registration of ammunition.

Read The Sacramento Press’ full article on the gun shop ordinance here.

'Cash mob' to benefit local bookstore on Saturday

2012-06-22T00:12:53Z

As independent bookstores feel the crunch from the economy and the rise of digital sales, bibliophiles are looking at new ways to keep the businesses alive, and one of those ideas is a “cash mob,” which will converge on Underground Books in Oak Park this weekend.

The idea of the cash mob is that a group of people will descend on the store with the intent to all spend money – a sort of flash mob with the purpose of giving local retailers an economic stimulus.

“It seemed like summer was a good time,” said Mary Ann Robinson, a librarian at Sacramento City College who organized the cash mob. “People are looking for summer reading, and she has a lot of good reading.”

Robinson said she is a fan of Underground Books, and she wanted to do what she could to boost the business’ sales.

Underground Books owner Georgia West – widely known as Mother Rose – said she wasn’t aware of the cash mob until Robinson, whom she’d met only a few times, gave her the heads-up that there would be an influx of customers Saturday evening.

“It’s a tough business,” West said. “It’s a specialty industry, and the economy has really hit us hard.”

She said the store isn’t in immediate danger of closing, but it isn’t riding high, as she is the owner/operator, sometimes aided by interns.

The store will celebrate its 10th anniversary next year, and West said she enjoys interacting with the community, but also feels bookstores like hers play an important role in keeping literacy and the joy of reading alive.

Primarily stocking books of African-American interest, she said the store also carries other titles, and any book can be ordered.

West said popular summer reading titles include “The Language of Flowers” by Vanessa Diffenbaugh, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot, “Destiny’s Divas” by Victoria Christopher Murray and “Home” by Toni Morrison.

“We want to serve as a place for the community to come and feel at home,” West said, adding that the work of local artists hangs on the store’s walls for sale and customers are welcome to come for the free WiFi and comfortable seating.

The name Underground Books is a reference to the Underground Railroad, as slaves were not allowed to read.

“The shop’s tagline is ‘find your freedom,’ ” West said.

The cash mob will begin at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Robinson said. The store is located at 2814 35th St., next to Old Soul Co. at Forty Acres.

“To me, bookstores are one of the core parts of a community,” Robinson said. “If we don’t have bookstores, we don’t have a community.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

City to ponder new law regulating gun store locations

2012-06-21T22:20:38Z

A new law governing gun shops will be proposed at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, and while proponents say it will give the city a chance to vet gun shops before they open, opponents say it undermines the Second Amendment.

City Councilman Kevin McCarty said he and City Councilman Rob Fong will ask staff to look into an ordinance that would require a conditional use permit for any new gun store within city limits.

The law would not likely affect the incoming gun store at 24th and J streets, but would govern future ones.

“We want reasonable regulations,” McCarty said. “This doesn’t even regulate them. It just regulates where they’re located.”

But Gene Hoffman, chairman of the Calguns Foundation, a California-based Second Amendment advocacy group, said it walks a thin line, at best.

“The simple question is can you place a bookstore there?” Hoffman said Thursday. “If you can place a bookstore there, you can place a gun store there. Otherwise it’s a violation of the Second Amendment.”

He added that banning a gun store would be just as much a violation of the Second Amendment as a whites-only diner would be a violation of the equal protections granted under the 14th Amendment.

The proposed law comes after The Sacramento Press reported last week that a new gun store will likely come to the old Cornerstone location at 2330 J St. in Midtown, as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives issued a dealer license to that address.

The site is a block and a half away from where Old Sacramento Armory – another gun store – stood for decades before closing in the mid-2000s.

Currently, the city treats gun stores like any other retail use, and no special city oversight is required before they can open.

McCarty said Wednesday that there are other instances where the city regulates businesses, including requiring conditional use permits for tobacco businesses operating within 1,000 feet of schools – an ordinance the council passed Tuesday night.

“If you’re a Subway sandwich shop, you can lease a building and move in,” McCarty said, “but there are certain things you have to ask permission for.”

He said the future opening of the gun store “raised some people’s eyebrows in the neighborhood,” and that he thinks it’s an issue that bears looking at.

“We’re just looking at a little more hurdles,” he said. “It’s not a flat-out ban. They could still do it, but this would give people the ability to come to public hearings.”

Hoffman said the city, if it eventually enacts the law, needs to make sure that any restrictions need to apply equally to any other businesses that might open in the same space, or risk opening itself up to a lawsuit.

“We will be announcing a lawsuit in the next couple of days in a similar situation in Northern California,” Hoffman said. “The gun store went in for a variance, and it got a variance, but the local board of supervisors overturned it.”

He declined to give details of the situation, but said the lawsuit will be announced within days.

Jesus Figueroa, co-owner of M&J Gun Trade, said he could open as early as next week at 2330 J St., but added that a law like the one being proposed would likely make some prospective gun store owners balk at doing business in a city that already has tight gun store regulations.

"I think people will take their business elsewhere," he said.

Other municipalities have similar laws, and Bill Sharff, co-owner of STS Guns in Folsom, said he had to place his gun store a minimum of 500 feet from residences and 1,000 feet from schools.

“The first place we leased was 480 feet from from a residence, so we had to get another spot,” he said. “I don’t think it has anything to do with the Second Amendment. The gun store owner has rights, but you also have to realize you deal with public sentiment also.”

Sharff said the permitting and licensing process to open his gun shop – which opened on Christmas Eve – took him about seven months.

McCarty said the proposed ordinance will join two others from 2007. One requires ammunition sales within city limits to be registered with the buyer’s thumbprint, and the other requires that all lost or stolen firearms be reported to police.

Laws regulating ammunition sales have been upheld by the Supreme Court, McCarty said, and Hoffman said the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has determined that gun shops and shooting ranges are an essential piece to the portion of the Second Amendment that protects the right to bear arms.

McCarty declined to say whether he thinks regulating the location of gun stores will lead to reduced gun violence. ~~, pending the outcome of staff research.~~

[Editor's note: After the article was published, McCarty contacted the Sacramento Press and said his comment regarding staff research was regarding legal issues, not whether gun stores correlate to violence.]

Hoffman pointed to research done by the city of Sunnyvale, Calif., last year that found “there is no correlation between gun-related crimes and the location of firearms sales businesses.”

Hoffman and Sharff both said that gun stores are among the most-regulated businesses in the country, and people selling and purchasing firearms must undergo criminal background checks.

"The types of people who go to gun stores are the law-abiding and cops," Hoffman said. "The last time I checked, hanging out around law-abiding people and cops who are armed isn't what most criminals want to do."

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Queen Sheba Ethiopian restaurant a hit on Broadway

2012-06-16T06:39:11Z

Queen Sheba is one of many ethnic restaurants on the Broadway corridor, where diners can sample food from such places as Nepal, China, Japan and beyond.

Vaguely reminiscent of both Indian and Mexican cuisine, the Ethiopian food at Queen Sheba, located at 1704 Broadway, is an authentic taste of owner Zion Taddese’s homeland, she recently told The Sacramento Press.

“I left Ethiopia, and I was in England for 10 years,” the 38-year-old Taddese said. “My aunt had an Ethiopian restaurant in London, and that’s where I learned how to cook and take care of customers.”

Taddese came to the United States in 2001 and opened Queen Sheba about seven years ago. It has been in its Broadway location for the past five years.

I recently met with Taddese to talk about some of the hallmarks of Ethiopian cuisine, and she told me that it’s characterized by a lot of flavorful spices such as garlic and ginger, an abundance of vegetables and meats such as beef and lamb.

While flatware is available at the restaurant, one of the first things diners will notice when they get their food is the side of rolled-up sourdough crepes served with entrées. It’s called injera, and is similar to Indian naan bread in that it’s baked on a grill and is meant to be used to eat the food.

Meals are served family-style, and diners tear off pieces of the bread to scoop up the food from the main plate.

“It’s about getting together and sharing the food,” Taddese said. “Back home, nobody eats by themselves. That’s what we’re trying to reproduce here.”

One of the most popular traditional dishes at Queen Sheba is the kitfo – a minced beef with a medley of spices.

Spices common to Ethiopian dishes include turmeric and paprika.

To showcase the range of Ethiopian foods, Taddese brought out a plate with kitfo, potatoes, lamb, yellow split peas, red lentils, greens and doro wat – chicken served with an egg.

She explained that many first-timers have a tough time getting more than one type of food with per bite while using the bread as a utensil, but once they get the hang of it, they are able to mix and match with ease.

A lunch buffet features vegetarian items, and Taddese said that is one of the restaurant’s most popular offerings.

The sourdough bread contains wheat and the gluten-free grain teff, and those who cannot eat gluten can call a day or two in advance to ensure the bread is baked solely with teff for a full gluten-free meal.

If you’re looking for a taste of Ethiopian cuisine, Taddese said her staff is ready to walk first-timers through the process.

“Most people who come in here want to know about our culture and our history,” Taddese said. “Our staff is ready to explain the food and the culture so they can have the whole experience.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Gun store coming to Midtown

2012-06-14T23:32:20Z

The next tenant for the old Cornerstone space at 2330 J St. could be a gun store, as a federal firearms dealer license was issued for that address Wednesday.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives spokeswoman Helen Dunkel said Thursday that the license was issued to Manuel Hernandez and Jesus Figueroa, and the business listed on the license is M&J Gun Trade.

“It’s an 01-type license, so that’s handguns, long guns, and probably accessories and ammunition,” Dunkel said.

Calls to the license holders were not returned Thursday afternoon.

According to Principal Planner Greg Bitter of the city Community Development Department, there is no public hearing process before the store can open.

“Selling firearms is considered retail use and is allowed in the general commercial zone,” Bitter said. “There is no specific land use or entitlement needed. All they would need is building permits for any internal tenant improvements.”

He added that he currently has no specific information on the intended use of the space.

The space previously housed popular Midtown breakfast spot Cornerstone, which moved in 2010.

M&J Gun Trade won’t be far from the site of a previous gun shop, Old Sacramento Armory, which ran for decades a block away at 2215 J St.

Old Sacramento Armory closed in the mid-2000s and was replaced by Capital Stage last year.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Former Brew it Up! owner seeking investment for comeback

2012-06-14T03:22:03Z

Will Brew it Up! return? The answer is a resounding "maybe."

The brewpub and restaurant that featured a brew-your-own-beer aspect in addition to its selection of craft beers closed last year after a 15-year run. Now, owner Mike Costello said he’s got a new business plan in place to resurrect some of the successful aspects of the former business, and build upon them.

He’s only missing one thing.

“It all comes down to money,” he said, adding that while he has pledges of about $300,000, the potential investors don’t have quick access to the money, and he's looking for something more solid in the next month.

“Basically, the long and the short of it is that the concept of Brew it Up! worked,” Costello said. “We just pushed the finer dining aspect of it too hard.”

Costello said he will not own the next business, Brewhouse Concepts Land & Management, but will be an employee. Any new business will likely be run by a board of directors made up of investors.

The business itself will be markedly different as well. Instead of focusing on a brewery and restaurant concept, Costello said, the plan will be to focus on larger-scale manufacturing of the beers that already have a name in the local market and expand to other parts of the state and region. A tasting room and individual brewing facilities will still be included.

“We have a strong portfolio of beers people like,” Costello said.

Beers that were popular at Brew it Up! and will return if the new business is funded include the Vienna Lager, Oatmeal Stout, Engine 2 Pale Ale, Nordendorf Pilsner and Captain Ron’s Double IPA.

Despite using Brew it Up! recipes and having the name associated with the new business, there is a solid barrier between the two, and Costello said it is too early to say whether existing gift cards, Groupons or the like that were for Brew it Up! will be honored by the new business.

Until money is invested, Costello said, there won’t be serious talks about a location, but somewhere in Sacramento, West Sacramento or Roseville will be a priority.

“It makes sense to start in Sacramento because we already have a market here,” he said. “We’re going to be in a place with lower overhead, and we won’t serve food, initially.”

The setting could be a warehouse or other more industrial space than the downtown corner of 14th and H streets, where Brew it Up! was located, and though there will be a tasting room, food will be handled by outside sources such as food trucks.

“I took what worked, and I focused on that,” Costello said, referencing the new business plan. “Now we’re looking at what else is strong, and we’re focusing there.”

Since the closure of Brew it Up!, local craft beers have become more popular, and breweries such as Track 7 Brewing Co. and Ruhstaller Beer have opened and expanded their operations.

“Hyper-optimistically, if I am able to get the funding by the end of the month, I could open three months from then, so by Oct. 1,” he said.

Sonny Mayugba, executive vice president of the marketing and communications firm Augustine Ideas and a partner at Red Rabbit Kitchen & Bar, said he’s seen Costello’s business plan, and he thinks it can be “wildly successful.”

“He learned a lot from failure,” Mayugba said. “He had a pretty good success for years, but he’s learned a lot from the old place and is applying it to the new one.”

Mayugba said he was a fan of Brew it Up!, and he liked the aspect of indvidual brewing.

“I not only used it personally, but it was a great thing for company gifts and employee team-building and things like that,” he said. “I thought it was very cool that you could do that in Sacramento.”

Despite his praise for the private brewing aspect, Mayugba said he thinks it’s secondary to the distribution angle of the new venture.

“The part that has me most excited is the manufacturing aspect,” he said. “Beer is seeing a huge resurgence, especially in craft brews. My thought is to keep it eminently local and really own a small region. He’s not going to come out and be where Sierra Nevada or Lagunitas is right away.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Lil' Hopper: New bus makes bar hopping easy, safe

2012-06-13T06:18:06Z

A new central city hop-on/hop-off bus route begins June 22, and it aims to provide a low-cost shuttle service between restaurants and bars on the weekends, according to owner Laura Allen.

Called the Lil' Hopper, the 27-seat bus will make 30-minute loops throughout downtown and Midtown. It will likely start at 7:15 p.m. and end at 1 a.m.

The scheduled route will begin at 12th and J streets and make stops along J, K and L streets and Capitol Avenue on its loop. Stops include 15th and J, 18th and J, 23rd and J, 24th and K, and 18th and Capitol Avenue.

The Lil' Hopper will run Friday and Saturday nights. Tickets are $10 for the night, and they can be purchased from the bus driver.

“People have asked for the new route,” Allen said. “Some people get on downtown, and they don’t want to ride back to Sac State before going to the next stop. This is more of a bus for people who want to hop between different locations on the grid.”

The bus comes from Allen Transportation, the same company that launched the Sactown Hopper in March. The Sactown Hopper transports riders between stops in the central city and the area around the Sacramento State campus, and is also expanding its operation to run Wednesday through Saturday beginning next week. A single ticket allows unlimited rides on both buses.

“We’re trying to keep people safe, let them have fun and make sure they don’t drink and drive,” Allen said.

h/t: Story tip via The Gridizen Facebook page.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

IHOP's arrival continues restaurant shuffle trend

2012-06-12T00:19:12Z

IHOP’s scheduled July 2 opening at 30th and N streets is the most recent case in a trend over the past month that saw chain restaurants taking over the spaces of their competition.

The well-known restaurant will take the space that previously housed Eppie’s once a minor remodel is complete, District Manager Wade Hampton said Monday.

Also scheduled to open across the central city July 2 is Perko’s Café, which is now located in the old Denny’s spot at 925 Third St.

On May 22, Mel’s Diner opened in the former Lyon’s restaurant at 30th and J streets.

IHOP is not deterred by the recent turnover, Hampton said.

“We felt that this location needed a breakfast house, definitely needed IHOP’s presence,” Hampton said. “There’s customers down here we can serve.”

The restaurant will be open 24 hours per day.

“I don’t think this location represents any more challenges than any other location,” he added. “I think those types of trends do come and go. I think some of the older restaurants tend to fall by the wayside and newer brands come in.”

The 3001 N St. location is the only IHOP in the central city.

Via The Gridizen Facebook page.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Sugar and Spice Specialty Desserts shuts down retail

2012-06-11T23:38:02Z

Sugar and Spice Specialty Desserts closed its retail space last week, but the business will live on as catering and wedding orders continue to grow.

“It’s a good move, but it’s also sad,” owner Carissa Jones said Monday. “I’ve already had lots of hugs from my customers. It just wasn’t working, and I didn’t want to lose the rest of the business.”

She said that weddings are booked through 2013, but there were days when the labor costs of being open to the public outpaced revenues. The shop focused on European-style desserts with an American twist, which included cookies, house-made pop-tarts and other pastries, cakes and pies.

The dessert shop opened in January of 2011 with a variety of secondhand baking equipment as Jones, whose previous experience is in catering, fulfilled her childhood dream.

According to the Cowtown Eats blog, Sacramento Magazine named the bakery “Best New Bakery” in 2011, and it recently grabbed a “Best of the City” title in Sactown Magazine.

The wholesale side of the business is growing as well, Jones said, adding that her desserts are stocked at Shady Lady Saloon and Midtown Village Cafe.

Items at Shady Lady Saloon include raspberry lime cheesecake and salted caramel profiteroles.

Jones said she and her staff have not yet set a minimum order requirement for catered goods, but it won’t be possible to call the shop and place individual small orders.

The business will stay in its spot at 12th and F streets, and Jones said the best way to reach the shop is to call 952-5253.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Bike-based ice cream business 'pops' up

2012-06-08T00:34:16Z

Rachel Sprinkle-Strong might just have the perfect name for her bicycle-based ice cream business, Popcycle Creamery.

The 44-year-old Sacramentan recently bought a bicycle from a specialty shop in Portland, which has a freezer mounted on the front, which can hold enough of her artisinal ice cream to fit in more than 200 push-pop containers, and she’s already been hitting local events.

“I’m really going for pushing the envelope with the flavors,” she said.

Flavors include basil with honey and pine nuts, goat cheese and cherry, lavender honey, strawberry balsamic and lemon verbena.

“I try to use seasonal ingredients locally sourced whenever possible,” she said, adding that she uses mint from her garden and other produce from farmers markets.

The idea to do a mobile ice cream business harkens to her first job as a teenager in Ohio, when she helped a local ice cream parlor owner make ice cream. She later worked in ice cream shops and then spent 20 years in corporate communications.

She moved to Sacramento about 13 years ago, but a little more than a year ago, she was laid off from her job at Verizon.

That gave her the time and the motivation to get back to one of her passions.

“I was always into food,” she said. “I was looking at a food truck, but since it’s just me and no partner or investors, I looked at how to start small and turn it into something people will truly enjoy.”

On Wednesday, she catered some of her popsicles to local public relations firm Edelman for an office party.

“We kind of designed our own flavors,” Edelman Receptionist Kim Baker said. “We wanted a tropical theme, and she brought us mai tai, pineapple mojito and banana chocolate macadamia nut.”

The flavors, Baker said, were made without alcohol, and they were very close in taste to the drinks.

“They were great,” she said. “We were all looking at her list of flavors and deciding what we wanted next time.”

During this week’s Second Saturday Art Walk, Sprinkle-Strong will serve from 2 - 6 p.m. at Heart Clothing Boutique, located at 1903 Capitol Ave.

For the time being, Sprinkle-Strong said she is focusing her efforts on deliveries in downtown, Midtown and East Sacramento, with a minimum order requirement of six popsicles, priced at $3.50 each. The popsicles come in at just over 3 ounces of ice cream.

“I’m going to have rotating weekly flavors, but if you want 12 or more, you can pick your flavors from my list if the weekly flavor isn’t your cup of tea,” she said.

Sprinkle-Strong said her two-year plan is to expand into a food truck, with a retail location to follow within a year after that.

She makes the ice cream at a commercial kitchen in the Del Paso area, and she said the freezer on the bicycle is commercially insulated, and she uses dry ice to keep everything cold.

Kicking off the business in the summer was good timing, she added, though she anticipates being able to offer holiday flavors such as pumpkin and cranberry in the colder months.

She is also working with local caterers and wedding planners, and she said she hopes to be able to team up with local restaurants in the near future.

To contact Sprinkle-Strong, visit the Popcycle Creamery website.

“I was giving out samples at the Good Market on Sunday,” she said. “I ran out of my 300-plus samples, so hopefully that’s a good sign.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Trio: a new downtown Sacramento restaurant à la Dean and Deluca

2012-06-05T23:42:09Z

A downtown restaurant opening July 1 will feature not only sit-down and takeout service, but a market with Mediterranean-style food that will take up about 30 percent of the space, adding unique grocery items to an area devoid of grocery stores.

Gönül Blum is putting the final touches on Trio Restaurant, Bakery and Market – a garden-to-table Mediterranean establishment that will take over the 3,600-square-foot space at 826 J St. that formerly housed Table 260.

“The concept is healthy, organic, locally grown food – a garden-to-table concept that is fresh and healthy,” Blum said. “It’s going to be a lot like Dean and Deluca.”

Blum also own’s Vanilla Bean Bistro, which switched spaces with Formoli’s Bistro farther up J Street about a year ago.

Trio, however, won’t be a second location for Vanilla Bean Bistro.

“It will be a much bigger space, and we’ll have huge display cases when you walk in,” Blum said. “My menu is very unique, and I create my own sauces and everything. And the market is something we don’t have at Vanilla Bean Bistro.”

Open for lunch and dinner, Trio will serve sandwiches, soups, full meals and salads.

An open-faced chicken sandwich will be served on focaccia bread with sautéed seasonal vegetables. Blum said it will come with salad or soup.

Another sandwich is the open-faced lamb burger.

“It’s served over bread with organic rice and free-range lamb topped with salad, and we have our own house-made yogurt sauce,” Blum said.

Dinner options will include a chicken dish served with fresh seasonal fruits, mascarpone and cream cheese as well as moussaka, made with an eggplant and three cheeses.

Inspiration for the dishes comes from around the Mediterranean, including France, Jordan and Blum’s homeland, the southern portion of Turkey.

Lunches will run about $10 and higher, with dinner starting at about $20 per person. Takeout sandwiches will likely start at about $7, she said.

Blum is taking a cance on Sunday brunch, which she said she is not sure will be successful in the heart of downtown with the nearby businesses largely closed, but she is going to give it a shot.

The restaurant will be open from 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. seven days per week.

Sean Kohmescher is the owner of Temple Coffee, which has a coffee bar located around the corner from the new restaurant, and he said he’s happy to see another nearby business come in – and stay open seven days per week.

“It’s wonderful,” he said. “We had kind of a surge of a lot of restaurants going out, and now I’m glad to see new businesses opening up downtown.”

He added that few businesses in the area, adjacent to K Street, which is undergoing a sort of Renaissance, are staying open all week, but he hopes the trend continues.

“I hope that people consciously go and support the businesses and know how important it is to support the vibrancy of downtown,” he said.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Midtown Thai Basil celebrates 10 years with festival

2012-06-04T06:14:19Z

Thai dancers, boxers and, probably most importantly, street food, will take over the corner of 25th and J streets Saturday as Midtown restaurant Thai Basil celebrates its 10-year anniversary.

Owner Suleka Sun-Lindley said the event will kick off at 9 a.m. as five Buddhist monks make their rounds, collecting food in a time-honored Thai tradition.

“Whenever they have a new business open or an anniversary or something else significant like that, they have the monks come out of the temple – always an odd number – and they take food offerings and give blessings,” Sun-Lindley said.

People visiting the festival will be able to take food from a table and hand it to the monks as they walk around the business.

The same was done a decade ago when Thai Basil opened, and though the monks will finish their blessings at 11 a.m., the festival will continue with a rural-style Thai dance troupe from Berkeley and Thai boxers.

“In Thailand, the boxers must dance before they go into the fight, so you will see that,” Sun-Lindley said.

Traditional Thai jewelry and other items will be on sale at a table alongside the restaurant, and Sun-Lindley said she hopes it will be a good way to showcase Thai culture, which is less-celebrated than some cultures in Sacramento.

“We have Cinco de Mayo and the Greek festival and others, but there aren’t any big Thai events, so people can come and see traditional Thai culture on Saturday,” she said.

A beer garden and Thai barbecue will be held on the restaurant’s back patio, with Thai sausage, spicy pork, grilled chicken and shrimp skewers available for about $5 with rice.

When Thai Basil opened, Midtown was in the beginnings of its ascendance to the popular hive of arts venues, restaurants and bars that make it one of Sacramento’s most popular destinations today.

“Midtown has come a long way,” Sun-Lindley said. “We came in at the right time.”

Other Thai Basil restaurants were opened earlier, with the Roseville location in its 16th year and the Elk Grove location in its 13th year, but Sun-Lindley said she enjoys riding her bicycle to work at the Midtown restaurant and being a part of the community.

“We have seen some kids coming here and really watched them grow up,” she said. “Everybody down here knows each other, and it has a small-town feel.”

One of the restaurant’s longtime customers is 55-year-old Sacramento resident Mike Smith, who said he discovered it after moving from the Bay Area about seven years ago.

“It’s a wonderful place to eat,” he said. “Every time I go in there and try something new, it becomes my favorite dish.”

He said his apartment is a block away, and he eats at the restaurant regularly.

The business has also seen its share of vandalism, with black paint thrown on the door, and a statue stolen from the back patio on two different occasions, but Sun-Lindley said the rapport she has build with customers is one of the joys of the job.

Sacramento Wine and Dine Week is currently under way, and Thai Basil made a special dish for the occasion, which will still be on offer during the 10-year anniversary: spicy eggplant with organic tofu in a green peppercorn and wild ginger sauce served with rice.

“We just want people to come down, have a low-key event and experience Thai culture,” Sun-Lindley said.

Thai Basil is located at 2431 J St.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Never Felt Better Vegan Shop to close

2012-05-30T23:40:23Z

Never Felt Better Vegan shop will shut its doors Thursday, ending a nearly seven-month run at its 19th and P streets location.

“We’re going to go ahead and close down,” co-owner Jen Fosnight said Wednesday. “To be honest, we’ve been struggling to pay – it’s a great deal, and it’s not too much rent – but business has just been slow.”

The shop focused on vegan retail items such as clothing, non-leather wallets, art produced by vegans and soaps, and also carried some food.

“We’ve tried a bunch of things, but it was either lose this or lose the house,” Fosnight said. She added that the products will still be available online at the Never Felt Better Vegan Shop website.

Vegan options at numerous restaurants in the area are growing, Fosnight said, adding that if the business had just sold vegan food, it probably would have succeeded.

In the future, she added, the business might relocate in the East Bay.

The business will be open from 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Thursday for its final day of business.

For more information on the business concept, read a previous piece by The Sacramento Press.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Carmichael Dave: I’m coming back

2012-05-30T22:36:01Z

Sacramento hasn’t heard the last of “Carmichael Dave” Weiglein.

The 36-year-old radio personality and self-described stay-at-home dad took a moment for a phone interview with The Sacramento Press Wednesday afternoon. He’d just put his two kids down for naps and said he recently attended a preschool graduation.

But that’s not all he’s been up to. Since being fired from KHTK 1140 The Fan, Weiglein has been plotting his next move. He’s not going away, and he wants to make sure his former employers know about it.

“CBS Radio made a catastrophic error in letting me go, and one of my biggest motivations is to make sure that statement rings true for many years,” Weiglein said. “I want them, if it hasn’t already happened, to sit in a smoky back room with papers and figures and say, ‘We really fucked this thing up.’ ”

He may not like the way he left, but Weiglein says that being fired for the first time in his life did not take away his “deep appreciation” for CBS Radio. They gave him his chance, saw his talent and allowed him, a guy who was once just a teenager calling in to a show, to become being a fixture of the Sacramento sports talk scene.

It’s just that he’s not about to stop there.

“Nobody who knows me can expect me not to fight,” he said. “Whether it was sweeping the floors as an intern or the last year with the Sacramento Kings going forward and trying to work with this community, the last thing anyone can expect is for me to slip away.”

Weiglein said he has “been in a bunker these past three weeks” working on his next project. He is staying tight-lipped, but there were some details he was willing to share.

The content will be on a medium that is accessible to everyone, and it will still be in the form of radio (This sounds an awful lot like a podcast and/or streaming Internet radio to us, but Weiglein wouldn’t say if that was the case.l). Soon, he said, his website carmichaeldave.com – currently a shell site used as a placeholder – will become a countdown clock.

[ Update: After this article was posted, Weiglein wrote the following on his Twitter account Wednesday afternoon, "So in a roundabout way, my FIRST announcement is this: Sean and Dave Unfiltered. Coming soon. Very soon."
The "Sean" in the equation refers to Sean Salisbury, whose Twitter handle, Sean Unfiltered, lists him as a former University of Southern California quarterback and TV/radio sports analyst.]

Content for his new venture will be similar to what his fans are used to, Weiglein said

“The content is going to be me-related,” he said, “and with me comes the Kings. Obviously I’m a fan first and foremost, but I will finally be able to go at the Kings predicament from an angle that has not been available to me in the past.”

Weiglein said the show will be the equivalent of him sitting at a sports bar, having a pint and talking about whatever strikes him – be it sports talk or the more off-topic chats regularly held in sports bars.

“There will be no handcuffs on me anymore,” he said. “I won’t be dealing with some of the hurdles I had to deal with in the past.”
And that leads to the question that has been on his fans’ minds for the past three weeks: What, exactly, happened?
He confirmed that he was terminated from CBS Radio, and he said he still doesn’t know why.

“I will never be able to tell the whole story of everything that happened,” he said. “There’s rules, and I will always be governed by them due to agreements I have with CBS, but most importantly because I do not know. I swear on my kids I’m not sitting here with knowledge as to why I was let go.”

He said his termination caught him off guard, and still doesn’t make sense to him. He added that it was not a money issue, and his contract with CBS Radio ran through July of 2013.

“The numbers for the show were fantastic, and I thought I was a pretty decent part of that,” he said.

Calls for comment to 1140 The Fan were not immediately returned Wednesday afternoon, and previous calls for comment to the station were not returned.

Some of Weiglein’s fans suspected from the moment of his termination that it might have had to do with the fact that one of the station’s partners is the Sacramento Kings organization.

“When I worked for CBS Radio, understand that CBS Radio’s biggest partner is the Sacramento Kings,” he said. “There’s not censorship. We’re not directed to say certain things, but there was an understanding that we were partners with the Sacramento Kings. I also have fantastic relationships with the kings. I heard directly from ownership, including George Maloof, (and) from many other high-up people that they appreciated me.”

He said his new project will not be designed to “kill the Kings,” but will allow him to approach some topics he previously wasn’t able to.
“Some of the roads I wasn’t able to travel before are roads I can travel now,” he said. “Those are roads I think are relevant, and they weren’t in the arsenal I had in the past.”

A spokesman for the Kings did not immediately return calls for comment on Wednesday afternoon.

For his own part, Weiglein said he has no regrets.

“I want to say it was a good thing not just for me, but for the members of the community that have been so fantastic in following me,” he said. “I am forever indebted to them, and they protested loudly. Their protests won’t be in vain.”

Editor's note: This article was updated at 5 p.m. May 30 to reflect the information from Twitter.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Chef Oliver Ridgeway of Grange talks about his roots – and guilty pleasure

2012-05-29T03:59:10Z

Executive Chef Oliver Ridgeway came to Sacramento last year and began working for Grange, the restaurant in the ground floor of the Citizen Hotel at 10th and J streets, when former chef Michael Tuohy left.

The Sacramento Press met with Ridgeway, 35, last week to talk about his cooking experience, what he enjoys most and what his take on Sacramento is after spending much of his career in international cuisine.

Sacramento Press: How did you get your start in the business?

Oliver Ridgeway: My father had a restaurant in Sussex, England, where I was born. It’s near the coastal city of Brighton. My parents were divorced – always have been since I’ve known – and that meant weekends with my father working in the restaurant. I was always around, and it was just a natural progression, really. I’ve always enjoyed the environment and the buzz and the excitement around it.

It’s something I went to school for after high school, and I’m still doing it.

SP: When did you come to the United States?

OR: Originally in 2001 I did a short stint in New Orleans for six or seven months, and then I went over to Park City, Utah, in 2002 and did the Winter (Olympic) Games. I’d previously done the summer games in Australia.

It was mainly VIP sponsors for the performers in the opening ceremonies, like private dinner boxes, and that sort of thing.

SP: How did you become involved with the Olympics?

OR: I flew to Australia in 2000 and ended up seeing an old friend I’d worked with back in ’98 on the Queen Elizabeth II, and he had a gig at the stadium, and he got me some part-time work. They said, “Look, we’ve got the Olympics here in September, why don’t you come back?”

It was really top-notch equipment, and money was no object on the food. The luxury box holders were people like Rupert Murdoch and Deutsch Bank, and you never knew if they would be entertaining, so you could have people come in out of the blue.

SP: If you had to cook one dish that you think of as your absolute favorite, what would it be?

OR: I like to cook a good bouillabaisse, a good seafood dish. It’s a Provencal dish. I like the delicacy of the broth and how you’ve got different shellfish and seafood elements, and when they’re all cooked in harmony, you’ve got a really good dish. It comes across as like a peasant’s dish, but really, not really.

We don’t serve it here, but I definitely recognize some of the flavors in what we do.

SP: What do you enjoy about cooking in Sacramento?

OR: I enjoy cooking with seafood and a lot of vegetables. They’re really in abundance here.

SP: More common than in Sussex?

OR: Yeah, I think England produces a lot of vegetables, but I think the climate here in Northern California, you know we’ve got asparagus coming out the back door, and everything is in proximity.

If you go to a market on Sundays, it’s all grown here: strawberries, blueberries, cherries, summer squash is in now – green beans. It’s all from here. It’s not imported, and at Grange, that’s what it’s all about, but it’s really not hard to cook local because everything is from here.

SP: Since coming to Grange, how would you say your cooking has changed?

OR: We are a local sustainable farm-driven restaurant, and I think I have stayed true to that and brought some of my global flair. You use ingredients, but you make sure not to mask them. I definitely recognize things from the Mediterranean and my time in New Orleans and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

SP: What do you enjoy cooking most here?

OR: I really enjoy spring, after a long winter just seeing all the vibrant ingredients coming out, sort of the pan searing with olive oil and really lightening things up a bit.

SP: What is an aspect of your job that people don’t know about or aren’t familiar with?

OR: In today’s job, you’re the forefront of your kitchen, and you’re almost an ambassador for your business, so you come out and talk to the guests and let them speak to the chef and let them understand why we’re doing something we’re doing, and it goes a long way to really making sure they have a great evening. It kind of puts the icing on the cake.

SP: How has the advent of Yelp changed the business?

OR: Well, everybody’s a food critic, and like it or not, they all have their opinions. Sometimes you do have criticisms where they might have a valid point, but we’ve been really fortunate where we’ve hit some good home runs, but there’s no filter, and I think it is great to have an opinion. Love it or hate it, it’s not going to go away. We use it as an active tool, and we will respond to them and always look into something. You have to learn from it. You can’t have a negative attitude about it.

SP: Is there anything you look forward to with summer cooking?

OR: Tomatoes. I can’t wait to work with tomatoes, and we’ve got the stone fruits coming out – the peaches and nectarines – and I’ll probably be doing some raw preparations with fish, crudos and ceviches.

SP: What is your guilty pleasure food?

OR: If I’m going to be dirty, and I suppose it really doesn’t have to be dirty, but pizza is mine. I like a good wood-burning oven, Italian pizza, just a margherita with mozzarella and fresh basil, just a simple, delicious pizza.

SP: Where would you like to see Grange go from here?

OR: Just to really have it be a destination where people go when they visit Sacramento. I want it to be a must-go-to restaurant because we’re celebrating the foods of Sacramento, and everything we cook is from here. It’s innovative, it’s fun.

SP: What do you like most about Sacramento, from a livability aspect?

OR: I’m still discovering it. It’s got so many little pockets. My first impression was of downtown, and then you walk five minutes and you’re in Midtown and it’s cool and funky, and you’ve got those little cafes. I like the diversity of the city, and you’ve got so much to discover here. Then, as you go farther out, you’ve got Napa and Sonoma and Tahoe and Yosemite and San Francisco and all sorts of places like that.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Grid Quiz: How well do you know bars on the grid? Win $20

2012-05-26T03:30:49Z

How well do you know bars on the grid? If you’ve gone out to have a beer, you’ve probably spent some time eyeing the beer taps at various bars, but will you recognize them again?

The Sacramento Press took some shots of downtown and Midtown bar beer taps. Can you identify them? If so, you could win $20 in cash.

Last week, we had 28 people respond to our restaurant quiz, and seven people got perfect scores. One winner was drawn to receive a $20 gift card to de Vere’s Irish Pub.

The drawing can be viewed here.

Do you have what it takes to win this week’s quiz?

Entries will be accepted as comments on this article, and the deadline to enter is midnight on Tuesday, May 29. Those with the highest scores will be entered into a raffle, and one $20 prize will be awarded.

Question 1: Whose taps are these?

A. Pine Cove

B. BarWest Burgers & Wings

C. Crescent Club

D. The Distillery

Question 2: Whose taps are these?

A. The Golden Bear

B. Alley Katz

C. Torch Club

D. Old Ironsides

Question 3: Whose taps are these?

A. Mercantile Saloon

B. Bonn Lair

C. The Other Office

D. Press Club

Question 4: Whose taps are these?

A. Ink Eats & Drinks

B. R15

C. Shady Lady Saloon

D. Cafeteria 15LQuestion 5: Whose taps are these?

A. KBar

B. Dive Bar

C. Shenanigans

D. Pre-Flite Lounge

Question 6: Whose taps are these?

A. Firestone Public House

B. Capitol Garage

C. Badlands

D. Bows & Arrows

Question 7: Whose taps are these?

A. MVP Sports Grill

B. Flame Club

C. Round Corner Tavern

D. Streets of London

Question 8: Whose taps are these?

A. De Vere's Irish Pub

B. The Elixer Bar

C. Fox and Goose Public House

D. Back Door Lounge

Surf's up in Elk Grove with Surf Xtreme

2012-05-25T00:10:45Z

If you’ve ever wanted to try surfing, but fears sharks and sunburns or just don’t have the time to drive to Santa Cruz , you can head to Elk Grove to try out the Flowrider, the indoor surfing wave at new business called Surf Xtreme.

Darla Parvizyar and her husband, Chris, opened Surf Xtreme at 3443 Laguna Blvd. May 1. In addition to the Flowrider, the complex also houses a 2,400-square-foot trampoline room, an outdoor paintball arena and a beer and wine bar.

“We wanted something that was fun for all ages,” Darla Parvizyar said. “We love kids, and we love making people happy.”

She said that the business was previously open and run by another owner, but issues with the humidity generated by the Flowrider were a drain on his pocketbook, and he had to shut down.

Chris Parvizyar said he and Darla enclosed the Flowrider and made other changes before reopening.

“The community was very upset when it closed a couple of years ago,” he said. “It’s one of only three in California.”

Using two large pumps set in a 10-foot-deep pool under the surface of the surfing area, the Flowrider sends water about two inches deep at 35 miles per hour. The surface is similar to a trampoline so that when people fall, they are not injured.

When the business is less crowded, riders have the surface to themselves, but on crowded days, the wave area is split to allow two riders at once.

All surfers are given instruction on how to stand up and what positions are good for surfing, and they are recommended to try bodyboarding – laying down – before standing and surfing.

“We make sure everyone has a good time,” Chris Parvizyar said. “I don’t want anyone to come here and do nothing but fall down all day.”

Riders are limited to 45 seconds on the wave at a time, but Chris Parvizyar said that most people can’t stay standing that long.

“If you’re on there for 30 seconds, it feels like you’ve been out there for several minutes,” he said. “It’s really a workout.”

The time limitation keeps the riders rotating through the lines quickly, and the maximum capacity for the room is 30 riders, so the wait is short, Darla Parvizyar said.

Angela Perry, executive director of both the Elk Grove Chamber of Commerce and the Elk Grove Economic Development Corporation, said Tuesday that Surf Xtreme brings much-needed family entertainment to the city and is a complement to the nearby bowling alley.

“We’re thrilled to have another new company bringing jobs to our community, and it’s always helpful to have something unique in our city to bring people from outside areas in,” she said. “We’re thrilled to have it back in operation.”

One hour of surfing for adults costs $19.95 for non-members and $17.95 for members, with subsequent hours costing $12.95 and $9.95, respectively. An all-day pass on the trampoline area costs $9.95, and a day of paintball costs $19.95, which includes mask, gun, 250 paintballs and air refills.

“If you’re good at surfing, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be good on the Flowrider,” Darla Parvizyar said. “It gives the illusion of surfing with the ride feel of snowboarding and the tricks of skateboarding.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Downtown Denny's closes, will become Perkos Café

2012-05-23T22:20:26Z

The downtown Denny’s location closed about two weeks ago, and now the local owners of several Perkos Cafés are refurbishing the space. They plan to open July 2.

Ryan Federico, 27, and his brother, David, 28, were contacted by the property owner when the space became available, Ryan Federico said.

The family owns three others, the one off Bradshaw, one in Antelope and a third in Yuba City.

Perkos Cafe sells diner-style fare for breakfast, lunch and dinner, including items such as steak and eggs, burgers and pork chops. The business has more than 35 locations throughout the state, according to the corporate website.

“It’s a great location,” Ryan Federico said Wednesday of the space at 925 Third St. “It’s a prime area downtown, it’s right by the freeway, and there’s lots of traffic.”

The landlord stipulated that the business not operate 24 hours per day, keeping noise levels down for nearby residents, Ryan Federico said.

The restaurant will be open from 6 a.m. - 10 p.m. most days and until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

“We don’t run any of our businesses 24 hours,” he added.

The floorplan will remain the same, but the booths are being redone, and the walls will be repainted, among other details.

Denny’s representatives did not return calls for comment Tuesday and Wednesday.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Photos: Bacon and Butter now open

2012-05-22T23:19:10Z

Bacon and Butter, Midtown’s newest breakfast, lunch and brunch restaurant, opened on Sunday, and Chef Billy Zoellin said Tuesday that the first day was a learning experience, but the restaurant is now running smoothly.

“Our most popular dish has been the biscuits and gravy,” he said, adding that all of the food options are his own creations and the focus is on freshness.

“We take the classics and give them a whimsical twist,” he added.

One of the dishes he is most proud of, he said, is his grablox, which features house-cured salmon with chive mascarpone, shaved celery and crimson lentil salad and is served with house-made soda bread.

Zoellin previously worked at The Golden Bear in Midtown and was the chef there when the Food Network show “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” featured the location.

Read the previous article by The Sacramento Press for more information on Bacon and Butter.

Bacon and Butter is located at 1119 21st St.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Ruhstaller gives customers chance to influence brew

2012-05-22T02:37:02Z

Beer drinkers have the chance to steer one of Sacramento’s newest breweries – Ruhstaller Beer – in the direction they think it should head with its newest brew, an as-yet-unnamed lager.

“It’s the next step in the line for us,” said owner J-E Paino. “Lagers are the holy grail of craft beers because they’re so hard to make.”

The lager was brewed in four small batches for a total of 32 kegs’ worth of beer, and they were brewed to different recipes, with some being mild and others being hoppier.

Local places carrying the beer, including Beach Hut Deli in Midtown, Kupros Bistro, 58 Degrees & Holding Co., Pangaea Two Brews in Curtis Park and Whole Foods in Folsom, serve a heavier and a milder version together, with an empty glass for blending. Customers are encouraged to give feedback to Ruhstaller.

For Ruhstaller, which resurrected one of Sacramento’s classic names in beer when it began brewing last August, the goal is to take it slowly and solicit input from the community.

“I’ll be brewing another batch in the next month and a half, and we’re tweaking the recipe in direct response to the comments,” Paino said.

I met Paino at Beach Hut Deli in Midtown Monday afternoon, where two of the four batches – numbered 838 and 256 – are currently on the taps.

The 838 is smoother, while the 256 clearly has more hops and runs more toward the bitter side.

We tried them both individually, and then played around with blending. I thought a two-to-one ratio of 256 to 838 kept the flavor of the hoppier beer but smoothed it out to a point where it was the type of brew I could see myself drinking leisurely over the summer.

Paino said the difficulty is that the 838 has more mass-market appeal, but the 256 appeals more to the hardcore craft brew connoisseurs, and the goal is to find the balance between the two that will ultimately appeal to both groups.

The dilemma is one beer brewers face everywhere, as craft brewing recently became much more widespread in the past several years, and beer drinkers took notice.

Before Prohibition, the United States had more than 2,000 breweries. Paino said the country is just now back to those numbers, and Sacramento is no exception, with Ruhstaller, Track 7, American River Brewing Co. and others opening within the past few years.

On the Ruhstaller website’s lager page, a commenter by the name AJ said the 838 was “way too thin” but had a good hop flavor with a little corn aroma. AJ then described the 256 as a “nice hoppy (bitter aroma) lager, good for me but maybe too hoppy for the Budweiser masses.”

Rob Archie, owner of Pangaea Two Brews, said Monday that his customers’ response to the lagers has been positive.

“I’m excited because, with breweries, I tend to really get into the ones that continuously take chances and continue to grow,” he said. “Lagers are a very tough beer to make, and our response was great. The kegs went really fast.”

All four batches of the lager use the same amount of malts – 97 percent of which comes from California – and have varying levels of hops – all of which comes from the state.

“Before Prohibition, the Sacramento area grew the most and highest-quality hops in the world,” Paino said. “There’s no reason we can’t do that again.”

Editor's note: A change was made to this article after publishing to reflect that the 2,000 breweries were nationwide, not just in California.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Farmer-owned coffee co-op Pachamama Coffee now serving Midtown

2012-05-21T08:02:30Z

Pachamama Coffee Co-op is Sacramento’s newest coffee business, and CEO Thaleon Tremain said it takes fair-trade coffee a step further since it is actually owned by coffee farmers in Latin America and Africa.

All profits go back to the farmer/owners, with Tremain essentially serving as an employee of the co-op. Customers can learn more about the farmers by scanning a QR code with their smartphones to pull up videos of the farms on which the product is grown, see the farmers and, if they choose, tip them.

“It’s a premium product, but I think we’ve seen with fair-trade coffee that people are willing to pay a little extra to know they are supporting good wages for the people producing it,” Tremain said. “This is the next step in that, since the farmers actually own the business.”

The store is the first brick-and-mortar location for Pachamama Coffee, which has sold coffee wholesale to grocery stores such as the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op, the Davis Food Co-op, Nugget Markets and others since 2006.

Their location in a Midtown alley at 20th Street between I and J streets is ideal, Tremain said.

“Hipsters love alleys, and we love hipsters,” he said.

Director of Outreach Mollie Moisan said that in addition to being a place where walk-in customers can pick up bagged coffee and sample the 11 products sold – from light blends to dark roasts – it is also a photo gallery, with shots of the actual farmers who grow the coffee.
The exposed brick walls contrast with the photos of farmers in Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Nicaragua and Ethiopia, and Tremain said it allows customers to feel the connection with the places their coffee comes from.

Pachamama Coffee Co-op is currently looking to set up accounts with local restaurants, since the grocery store and food co-op market has proven strong, Moisan said.

The coffee beans are roasted in Fort Bragg, Calif., by the Thanksgiving Coffee Company, and Moisan said a variety from darker to lighter roasts are available, and all of the coffee is certified organic.

Currently, the business, which opened May 12, is open from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Tremain said it will always do something for the Second Saturday Art Walk, and in the future, it will likely expand its hours to include Saturdays as foot traffic improves.

Brandon Darnell is a staf reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Quiz: How well do you know restaurants on the grid?

2012-05-19T00:56:13Z

Upate:

And the winner is...

Dining is a big part of living in the grid and its environs. We want to see how well you know the restaurants that call the grid home, based on snapshots of some of their décor.

And if you are one of those who turns out to be in the know, we'll put you in a raffle to win a $20 gift card to de Vere's Irish Pub that can put food and drink in your hands.

Post your answers in the conversation below, and all those who post the most correct answers by midnight on Tuesday will be entered into the raffle for the aforementioned prize. We'll announce the results in a video Wednesday, so you the winners can pick up the gift card in time for the weekend.

Question 1: Which restaurant's doorway is this?

A. Zen Sushi

B. Tamaya Sushi

C. Nishiki Sushi

D. Kru

Question 2: On which restaurant's wall is this mural painted?

A. Dad's Sandwiches

B. Beach Hut Deli

C. Sandwich Spot

D. Juno's Kitchen & Delicatessen

Question 3: In which restaurant does this photo of downtown Sacramento and Old Sacramento hang?

A. Luigi's Slice

B. Pete's Restaurant & Brewpub

C. Chicago Fire

D. Uncle Vito's

Question 4: Which restaurant's bar is this?

A. Tres Hermanas

B. Zócalo

C. Tequila Museo Mayahuel

D. Centro Cocina Mexicana

Question 5: Where does this piece of artwork hang?

A. BarWest Burgers & Wings

B. The Golden Bear

C. Capitol Garage

D. Ink Eats & Drinks

Question 6: Where is this wall located?

A. Hot Italian

B. Formoli's Bistro

C. Pizza Rock

D. Bacon and Butter

Question 7: Where is this sign?

A. Celestin's Island Eats & Cajun Cuisine

B. The Porch

C. Paesanos Pronto

D. Paesanos

Question 8: Where does this blimp hang?

A. Nationwide Freezer Meats

B. Suzie Burger

C. Hamburger Patties

D. Jim-Denny's

New Facebook group launched for Carmichael Dave, details about CBS exit remain scant

2012-05-17T19:10:06Z

A Facebook group has been set up in support of Carmichael Dave, and though its numbers are a fraction of the following he has on Twitter and Facebook, he had this to say on the page: "Wow. Thanks guys! You are the reason I've smiled so much this week after a horrible, horrible event in my life. I cannot put into words what you all mean to me."

Carmichael Dave was a radio personality on local CBS Radio affiliate KHTK, and he was instrumental in keeping the Sacramento Kings in the city last year with the Here We Build campaign. Even as CBS Radio and Carmichael Dave remain tight-lipped on the reason for his departure from the radio station more than a week ago, fans continue to support him, immediately responded to his departure with condolences, support and well-wishes, with many of his Twitter followers urging him to start a podcast.

On Friday, Carmichael Dave posted a video on YouTube in which he explained his situation, but details were scant as he said he will say more in the future.

The Sacramento Press will continue to report on the story as more information becomes available. Representatives from KHTK have not returned phone calls for comment on the matter.

Organic on demand: New farm takes orders from chefs to bring organic mainstream

2012-05-17T01:16:37Z

Feeding Crane Farms reversed the process on local organic farms – instead of growing something and selling it, farmers ask local chefs what they want, and then grow it, said General Manager Shannin Stein.

She added that her goal is to help create a fully sustainable local food scene within the next five years.

“We’re doing things the way nature meant for us to do things,” Stein said. “We feel like it’s gaining momentum and that we’re not just a business, but a voice for social change in the food business.”

Feeding Crane Farms is located in Natomas within city limits and currently has more than 80 acres of certified organic lands, with four and a half in use at one site and five in use at a second nearby site.

Workers on the family-owned farm grow, pick and deliver fresh produce to restaurants and grocery stores in and around the grid, including Grange, Michelangelo’s, Tuli Bistro, Restaurant Thir13en, the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op and Corti Brothers grocery store.

To aid in working with the local chefs, the Feeding Crane crew brought one on board – Mike Ward, who was most recently the sous chef at Lounge on 20 before it stepped back from fine dining.

“We really have an opportunity to change to organic, fresh ingredients,” Ward said. “At Lounge on 20, we were 85 percent organic, and a lot of our produce came from Feeding Crane Farms.”

One of the dishes he said he likes to make with the fresh produce is a vegetable glacée, which includes numerous vegetables each cooked differently to bring out their flavors.

“We’ll take carrots, turnips, asparagus and others, find out how to cook them the best they can be cooked, and what you’re getting is an amazing vegetable dish,” he said.

Michelangelo’s Italian Art Restaurant, located at 1725 I St. in Midtown, is one of the restaurants that works with Feeding Crane.

“The advantage is that it’s in the ground until you need it, and they pick it, wash it off and drive it down to you,” Managing Partner Jacqueline Barton said Tuesday. “Our customers are able to get super-fresh local produce.”

Arugula used in the restaurant’s smoked salmon bruschetta comes from Feeding Crane Farms, and Barton added that the arugula is also used in a pesto sauce that tops a dish of cavatappi pasta.

Stein said that the produce grown at Feeding Crane Farms is certified organic by California Certified Organic Farmers, which she described as meaning “it’s just done right.”

“It’s like your backyard garden, but on a bigger scale,” she said.

The farm grows what’s in season, and farmers are currently working with carrots, potatoes and lettuces, among other produce, but Stein said the Sacramento climate allows a lot of food to be grown for a long time throughout the year.

Ward agreed, saying the Sacramento River Delta and San Joaquin Valley is one of the best areas in the world for growing produce.

“It’s all at our fingertips,” he said. “And that’s what we want to put in the restaurants. Corporate restaurants aren’t going to change, but the local restaurants can really make this change.”

The farm is also partnering with the Sacramento Dining Collective, which aims to showcase the best of Sacramento’s cuisine, which Stein said is best-served with organic produce – easily grown locally.

“There’s no reason that in five years we can’t be a world-renown food travel destination,” Stein said. “We have the perfect climate, and we already have some amazing chefs.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Sacramento Dining Collective announces kickoff event

2012-05-15T23:51:21Z

Ten of the best chefs in Sacramento are partnering with Plates Café and Catering, which will host, the launch of the Sacramento Dining Collective June 7 – an organization formed to showcase Sacramento’s cuisine.

Generally off the radar of national food publications, a band of chefs started the collective in March, and the June 7 event will be a three-course meal open to the public.

“We wanted to do something that was community-oriented, so we came up with the idea of working with Plates,” said Adam Pechal, owner of Tuli Bistro and Restaurant Thir13en.

Plates Café and Catering, located in Depot Park, is operated by the St. John’s Shelter Program for Women and Children and offers a unique way for women – many of whom are single mothers – to get back on their feet, Pechal said.

The three-course meal’s menu has yet to be set, but Pechal said he and nine other local chefs will collaborate on it.

Other chefs include David Hill of The Chef’s Table in Rocklin, Michael Thiemann of Ella Dining Room & Bar, Patrick Mulvaney of Mulvaney’s B&L and Billy Ngo of Kru.

“It’ll be ultra-local,” Pechal said. “That’s one of our big things. We are all about promoting what we have to offer.”

Tickets to the event cost $45 and can be purchased online. They will not be available at the door.

“Our goal is to kind of bring out food and dining scene to more of a national stage,” Pechal said. “We’re doing a lot of great things in this town, and we want people to know about it.”

Plates Café and Catering is located at 14 Business Park Way, Building 149 in Depot Park. The event will run from 5 - 8 p.m. June 7.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Party buses keep kids busy

2012-05-14T04:42:23Z

Where do old regional transit buses go when they get replaced? Two of them went to local businessman Dave Carpenter, who, after spending 11 years in the children’s party rental business, wanted to put a new spin on a saturated market.

The Busy Bus is his take on modern party rentals, and he set up one bus as a video game center and another as a gymnastics and tumbling gym on wheels.

Carpenter bought the buses from Davis transit in 2008.

“I was trying to offer something new,” Carpenter said, adding that he launched his business in early 2009.

He’d heard about a company on the East Coast that had set up a similar operation, and he said he thought the idea was intriguing.

Mobile businesses are a growing trend, with food trucks being the most prevalent, but mobile retail shops are also popping up.

The video gaming bus has a pair of 47-inch 3D TVs up front, four 32-inch TVs in a line down one side and a 74-inch projector display on the back wall. About 30 kids can simultaneously play games on the Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Wii consoles, selecting from more than 100 games.

The tumbling/gymnastics bus is geared toward kids ages 2 to 7 and features a trampoline, a ball pit, a rock-climbing wall, rope-climbing stations and various gymnastics equipment.

“It’s basically all the stuff you’d find at a kids gymnastics center,” Carpenter said.

Originally, his idea was to work with preschools to show up on a regular basis with the tumbling bus, but he said the recession saw budgets get cut, and that didn’t pan out.

Calling on his experience as the operator of one of the early companies to rent bounce houses at birthday parties, Carpenter reached out to parents for their kids’ parties.

“It works where if you do one party, the other people see it, and you get business at another party,” he said. “You can have a mixed party with boys and girls, and they’ve been really popular.”

One of the business’ regular clients is Origin Church in Rocklin, which rents the tumbling bus on Sundays for the kids in the congregation.

“He pulls it up here Sunday mornings, and we run our kids’ ministry in there,” said Ryan Alias, pastor’s assistant. “We have three different age groups that we run through there on a rotation. They run in and play around.”

He said the availability of the bus gives the kids something they love, and there is no setup or maintenance required on the church’s part.

“It’s fun,” he said. “It’s got the ball pit, rope swing, climbing wall – I don’t really know what they wouldn’t like about it.”

The tumbling bus rents for $395 for a three-hour session on weekends and $295 on weekdays. The video game bus rents for $495 for three hours on weekends and $395 on weekdays.

For more information, visit The Busy Bus website.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

Photos: A first look inside Firestone Public House

2012-05-11T00:33:01Z

Downtown Sacramento’s Firestone Public House opens Friday, offering 60 beers on tap, a multitude of TVs and a classic American fare including pizzas baked in the old California Pizza Kitchen oven.

The Sacramento Press got an early look inside the business located at 16th and L streets, which features a rectangular bar dominating the main entry area.

Originally scheduled to open in February, co-owner Henry de Vere White previously told The Sacramento Press that building and design delays necessitated a later opening, but that it’s better to open with a finalized business than to open earlier.

Along with the de Vere White family, the Wong family of Mix Downtown, Cafeteria 15L and other entertainment spots, co-owns the business.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

K Street's resurgence

2012-05-10T02:14:49Z

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 to the 1960s, K Street was where it was at.”

Burg said the street was, until the latter part of the 20th century, a hub of activity – from retail to restaurants and nightlife spots. In later years, buildings emptied and, despite there still being activity on the street, perceptions changed.

The new KBar and its adjoining Cafe Bernardo on the corner of 10th and K streets is the fourth Cafe Bernardo for Paragary. It replaces Cosmo Café, which he said he opened in 2007 to serve patrons of the Cosmopolitan Cabaret Theatre.

What started off as a strong business model took a hit during the recession, and even now that the recession is technically over, Paragary said the concept didn’t fit the area.

He added that when Pizza Rock, Dive Bar and District 30 opened more than a year ago, a different demographic came to the area.

After considering how to fit in with the neighborhood, Paragary said he embarked on a $400,000 remodel of Cosmo Café to change it to a business model he said is designed to appeal to those who frequent the area for breakfast, lunch, dinner and late-night eats and drinks.

Cafe Bernardo is billed as a European-style cafe with entrées ranging from under $10 to about $14, a midrange venue in the district that he said is dominated by higher-end restaurants such as Ella Dining Room & Bar, Grange and his own Esquire Grill, which opened about 13 years ago.

“You had a lot of those finer-dining places, and then you had Blimpie and Subway,” he said. “For the people around here, they aren’t going to the high-end places every day. Those are occasional places for retirements or birthdays.

“This is not Google’s headquarters,” he added. “This is California’s headquarters, and a lot of the people around here are state workers.”

Paragary said that if midrange dining options such as the nearby Ambrosia and Cafe Bernardo succeed, it will likely make others take notice, and he speculated that businesses such as Jack’s Urban Eats and Chipotle might take an interest in the downtown portion of K Street.

“We’re open from 7 a.m. until midnight, and our neighbor, Pizza Rock, is open until 3 a.m. serving food,” he said. “People are coming down here more and more.”

Burg agreed with Paragary that the area is reclaiming its former status as a destination within the city.

“It absolutely has seen a resurgence,” Burg said. “Just in the past couple of years. That project on the 1000 block of K Street – in some ways it was used as the butt of jokes and the bludgeon against redevelopment, but it worked.”

Other businesses have opened in the area recently as well, including Tequila Museo Mayahuel, Blackbird Kitchen & Bar, Estelle’s Patisserie, Plaza Café Lounge and Broadacre Coffee.

Lisa Martinez, spokeswoman for the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, said that in the past year, 43 new businesses opened downtown, with four of them located on K Street and another eight located in the immediate vicinity, six of which are on the numbered streets.

“The city is looking beyond J, K and L as thoroughfares and seeing how they can make what they call the numbered streets more vibrant,” Paragary said.

Cafe Bernardo features a large elevated patio capable of seating about 22 along 10th Street. He said city officials made the process easy, allowing him to get it built and operational without having to face multiple hurdles.

Martinez credited the businesses on and around K Street with taking it from a blighted area to moving in the direction of regaining its former status.

“I think that over the past several years we’ve seen a lot of promise with K Street with a lot of new business owners coming in,” she said. “They’re creating a good, vibrant area in that space.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

Updated: Lounge on 20 makes cuts to dining options

2012-05-08T01:47:45Z

Editor's note: This story was updated at 11 a.m. May 8 with information from restaurant consultant Andy Soto and customer Donelle O'Brien.

Lounge on 20, which combined high-end dining with a lounge feel in Midtown’s MARRS Building at 20th and K streets, took a step back from the more complex menu items as the top chefs left the business last week in a move owner Ali Mackani said was due to the economy.

The business will move back toward its roots as a lounge with more mainstream fare, said Pajo Bruich, former executive chef.

Mackani said he, Bruich and Sous Chef Mike Ward collectively made the decision, and neither is with the company any longer, though he stressed they weren’t fired.

“We had an amazing product, and we received national recognition,” Mackani said. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t something that financially made sense to do in the current market.”

Lounge on 20 went through an extensive remodel last May in which 100 seats were added for dining, and a high-caliber chef staff was brought on.

“We made every effort to share our vision of cuisine in Sacramento and offer something that was unique and exciting and that we felt was something that could bring a fresh element to Sacramento,” Bruich said. “It was a good concept, but it wasn’t what the clientele coming in necessarily wanted.”

He added that the food had a strong following, but the majority of the clientele preferred to come to the venue for its nightlife and entertainment.

“That’s what we went back to,” Bruich said, “exciting nightlife and entertainment and one of the best patios in the city and artisanal cocktails.”

Mackani said Lounge on 20 will retain its normal hours, opening at 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and a new summer menu will be released without some of the more complex food preparation, including sous vide – a method of slow-cooking meats for hours – and molecular gastronomy selections.

“The appetizers and entrées will be more mainstream than (what) we were doing before,” Mackani said.

Customers interviewed by The Sacramento Press last year praised the food, with Mary Duffin of Sacramento calling the whole menu a “When Harry Met Sally” experience.

Andy Soto, owner of Spectrum Restaurant Consulting, said he has never worked with Lounge on 20, but speculated as to the reasons for and possible outcomes of the new direction.

“I don’t think Lounge (on 20) never truly defined themselves as to what their concept was,” he said. “I think a lot of people who frequent Lounge (on 20) now may not like where it’s headed.”

Soto added that the business accomplished a lot with respect to Sacramento’s dining scene over the past year, and the chefs brought a unique experience to the city in a great location, even though the surrounding area is primarily a nightlife district and not generally associated with high-end dining.

“I’m going to be very interested to see what happens next,” Soto said. “Certainly, there’s going to be shell shock from some of the community, but one thing is certain: Ali Mackani is no dummy. (Lounge on 20 is) one of those places where it’s the guy on the corner that you’re rooting for.”

Customer Donelle O’Brien said she is disappointed to hear of the changes, but didn’t think it was unexpected.

“Pajo brought mind-blowing dishes to Lounge on 20 that will be surely missed,” she said. “I won’t forget how he taught us how to turn mango purée into what appeared to be an egg yolk at a dinner party there. Perhaps it wasn’t the best fit for this nightlife spot. I am hoping he will consider staying in the Sacramento area, to continue his cutting-edge contributions in putting our dining scene on the map.”

Bruich told The Sacramento Press that he isn’t sure where he is headed next, and it may be outside of the city, but he has roots in the area and would like to continue working in the city.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell and on Facebook.

Macarons: What are they, and why haven’t you had one?

2012-05-05T02:51:20Z

The first time I tasted a macaron coincided with my introduction to Paris in 2004 – a time when so many aspects of French culture and the French themselves were mysterious to me. Are they really rude? More importantly, are the pastries as good as I’ve heard?

No, the French are not rude. And yes, the pastries are all they’re cracked up to be.

Especially macarons – almond meringue cookies sandwiching buttercream, ganache or jam.

Fortunately, macarons are a growing trend in the United States – the hundred-year-old treat has been called the “new cupcake” – and two Sacramento shops do a flawless recreation of the French classic.

Ginger Elizabeth Hahn, owner of Midtown’s Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates, told me that she was initially exposed to macarons through foreign food publications, and when she graduated from culinary school in 2003, macarons weren’t even part of the curriculum.

When she opened her shop in 2008, she offered macarons in both their traditional form and, with an eye toward Sacramento’s hot summers, as ice cream sandwiches.

Macarons are also featured at the French-themed Estelle’s Patisserie, which opened downtown last year.

“It’s one of the epitomes of French dessert,” owner Esther Son said. “I had to have it, otherwise it would be like not having hamburgers at an all-American restaurant.”

With fanciful flavors such as rose and orange blossom complementing salty caramel, raspberry, espresso and pistachio, there is something for everyone, and Son said the size means you can have one as a snack, or have three or four as a dessert.

“They’re really aesthetically pleasing,” Son said. “You can make a nice display with them, and if I get invited to a friend’s birthday party or something, I am probably going to bring macarons.”

Macarons sell for $1.75 at both shops, and that might seem high to some, but Son and Hahn said it’s reflective of the high-cost ingredients and the amount of skill and time it takes to make them.

“They’re hand-piped,” Hahn said. “You have to be very precise, and we make the jams and fillings ourselves.”

She added that the humidity in the refrigerator has to be right, because the slightly crispy shell needs to absorb the filling just right so the proper texture is achieved.

Son said that experienced home chefs can make them, but they are definitely not entry-level desserts.

Visiting Estelle’s Patisserie or Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates, you can get either a classic flavor like you’d find in the case at Ladurée on the Champs Elysées, or you can get something with an American twist.

“We have a peanut butter and jelly flavor, and we can really do any flavor you can think of,” Son said. “They could even be savory. I could do one with bacon. If there’s demand and they will sell, I’ll make it.”

Hahn decided to use the macaron as a starting point for ice cream sandwiches, since the cookies themselves don’t fully freeze, and they’re the perfect texture right out of the freezer.

Both Son and Hahn said they think the macaron is fast gaining popularity in the region, and it isn’t likely to go away.

I hope they’re right. If I had my way, macarons in the United States would reach the popularity level they enjoy in Europe, where, much to the chagrin of the purists, even McDonald’s carries them.

In 2009, when I decided I had to quit my job and try to live in Paris, I could get a macaron on just about any street. When Christmas season came, macarons were even parts of displays in store windows.

To me, the macaron isn’t just a dessert. It’s delicious in it’s own right, but it also reminds me of that first trip to Paris, when I wandered through streets once frequented more than a hundred years ago by macaron inventor Pierre Desfontaines of Ladurée, taking in the most legendary of cities.

If, like me, you’re looking for a little piece of France in Sacramento, or you just want to try a growing dessert trend, you can’t go wrong with the delicate, refined and oh-so-French goodness that is the macaron.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Photo gallery: A look at KBar in downtown Sacramento

2012-05-04T05:46:48Z

KBar opened April 26 and is the newest venture on K Street, which has steadily grown as a nightlife district over the past year and a half.

The newest venture of local restaurateur Randy Paragary, KBar is connected to what will be the fourth Cafe Bernardo in Sacramento, and patrons can order from the Cafe Bernardo menu.

Located at 1024 10th St., the combination KBar and Cafe Bernardo replaces Cosmopolitan Cafe, which Paragary Restaurant Group spokeswoman Callista Wengler said wasn’t hitting its mark.

“It was a large space, and it never looked full,” she said. “Now that we’ve split it up, we’re catering more to the neighborhood.”

Well drinks and domestic draft beers are $3, and during happy hour, from 3 - 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, they’re $2.

The bar has a casual urban feel, and Wengler said local artist Shawn Burner did the artwork throughout, which gives the space much of its ambiance.

Approximately 60 people can sit at the mix of booths, high tables and the bar, and the wall fronting K Street opens to a railed-in patio.

Zoellin to open Bacon and Butter in Midtown May 20

2012-05-02T01:00:52Z

Chef Billy Zoellin, whose creations were featured on Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” when he worked at The Golden Bear, plans to open his first restaurant May 20 in Midtown.

Bacon and Butter, located in the same building as Club 21 at 1119 21st St., will serve breakfast, lunch and brunch in a space designed to make diners feel like they are in their grandmothers’ kitchens.

“The name came because I was thinking about what you do, and it’s your bread and butter,” the 28-year-old Zoellin said Tuesday. “And then I thought, ‘What’s better than bread?’ For me, the answer was bacon.”

In addition to The Golden Bear, Zoellin worked at The Kitchen and two restaurants run by local restaurateur Patrick Mulvaney.

The menu will rotate on a seasonal basis, with as much of the produce as possible supplied locally. Despite the name, Zoellin said healthy choices, vegan options and gluten-free items will all be available.

One of the dishes to be served is Zoellin’s chorizo and egg pancakes. Manager Pete Richter described them as pancakes made from a buttermilk batter with garlic, peppers, onions and chorizo mixed in. Atop the pancakes are fried eggs topped with grated cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream.

One of the salads is a fried green tomato caprese with fresh-pulled mozzarella, basil and balsamic vinaigrette.

Sandwiches are another feature of the restaurant, and the “Billy” club sandwich has roasted turkey, bacon, jalapeño ranch, tomato and lettuce on sourdough bread.

Entrees will range in price from about $9 to $14, with grab-and-go items such as bowls of oatmeal and house-made donuts being sold for much less.

Plans call for a range of artisan cocktails to be served, with a selection of alcohol-infused coffee drinks.

Ed Castro, owner of the next-door Ed’s Threads clothing store, said he expects the business to thrive.

“It’s definitely an improvement to the neighborhood,” he said Tuesday. “They have a lot of good energy, and that building’s had a history of failures, but I think they’re going to be a success.”

He added that he thinks the restaurant’s opening will draw more traffic through the area, helping his own business as well.

Whitney Johnson, of the Johnson & Ross interior design business, also did interior design work for Shady Lady Saloon and said she and business partner Tina Ross made much of the décor themselves, including the drapes over the windows, which were made of suit lining.

The floor-to-ceiling windows open, and Zoellin said that having them open adds to the ambiance and gives the restaurant a closer connection to the community.

He said that he was waiting for an opportunity to open his own restaurant, and when the space came open last year, he jumped at the chance to lease it.

“I’m looking forward to opening the door,” said. “I’ve been a chef for about 10 years, and it’s fun, but I always wanted to do it for myself.”

Bacon and Butter’s hours will be 7 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., and possibly longer on Sundays.

Editor's Note: The Sacramento Press has an updated article with pictures of Bacon and Butter food.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

‘Gypsy’ a first-of-its-kind shop in Sacramento

2012-05-01T06:09:16Z

It’s like a food truck, but without the food. Gypsy Mobile Boutique is the first of its kind in Sacramento – a clothing store on wheels.

Owner Bridgette Maldonado, 34, said she happened upon the idea in 2006 while in San Diego when two women set up a mobile shop in an Airstream trailer.

“They were selling vintage clothing, and I thought it was a great idea, but I wasn’t ready to do anything like that yet,” she said on Monday.

About a month ago, Maldonado opened her own version, holding an event at Fox and Goose Pub and following up with an appearance at SactoMoFo 4, where her selection of trendy clothing, accessories and handmade jewelry was nearly sold out.

The opening comes at a time when food truck operators are growing in numbers and popularity.

Paul Somerhausen of SactoMoFo said Monday that he thinks the mobile clothing boutique is an interesting concept that adds to the mobile business scene in Sacramento.

“I think because of the economics the way they are that you’re seeing people getting pretty creative,” he said. “That’s fantastic. This is American entrepreneurial spirit.”

He added that operating out of a truck saves on the overhead and long-term loans associated with opening a traditional brick-and-mortar store.

Over the past several months, at least one food truck began operating as a truck because the owners were unable to get a lease on a building and another pair of entrepreneurs are seeking crowd-sourced funding for a startup kombucha bar.

Maldonado said she is able to offer lower prices due to the lack of overhead, with dresses averaging about $50 and women’s tops and bottoms averaging about $30.

A fitting room is part of the truck’s design.

Somerhausen said he isn’t sure if a clothing store will have the same kind of impulse-buy draw that a food truck has, but said Gypsy Mobile Boutique has been well-received by the public.

“At this point, it’s just one truck,” he said. “It will be interesting to see if more show up.”

Lisa Martinez, spokeswoman for the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, said she wouldn’t be surprised if more mobile retailers start showing up.

“I think we’ve seen with the food trucks that there’s definitely some interest in bringing more options to people where they are, and I think a mobile food truck or retail truck can help increase some foot traffic temporarily, so it could be a symbiotic relationship with brick-and-mortar businesses.”

While increased foot traffic can be a boon to traditional businesses, Martinez said some restaurateurs are concerned that the mobile vendors will take some of their sales.

With Midtown’s Très Chic Boutique closing soon, Maldonado, a Midtown resident, said she wants to stay away from the territory of other boutiques to keep from stealing their business.

“I want to be a good neighbor and not get too close,” she said. “I’m trying to build relationships with the food trucks so if the food trucks go somewhere, especially with some of the state areas, I can maybe team up with them so customers can have food and shopping on their lunch hour.”

Maldonado said is developing a regular schedule of days when people can visit the truck. For more information, check the truck’s Facebook page.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Midtown Business Association services at stake in vote

2012-04-30T04:56:18Z

Midtown Business Association Executive Director Elizabeth Studebaker said she is hopeful that the organization will be able to renew its status as a property and business improvement district in July.

That status comes at an annual cost to local property and business owners – totalling $633,000 for the district – that is similar to an added property tax. In return, the MBA provides numerous services, such as graffiti removal, trash cleanup, private security patrols and marketing.

If the assessment renewal is not passed, those services will not be funded, and the MBA will revert to being a much smaller organization able to do minimal marketing and advocate for the district at City Council meetings.

Property owners and business operators will be voting on whether to continue paying the fees in the next few months.

“We have gotten a lot of support,” Studebaker said. “There’s a lot of positive energy in Midtown right now, and everybody is kind of looking forward to the ballots going out and getting the renewal finalized so we can start planning for 2013.”

The organization announced on Saturday that the first step in the process is complete – gathering signatures in support of the fees.

“This is really impressive” Michael Heller, an MBA board member and owner of the MARRS building on 20th and K streets, said in a press release. “I have been part of several (property and business improvement districts) in Sacramento, and this is by far the quickest I have seen signed petitions come in! I believe this is a clear indication of how property owners are supportive of the current efforts in place.”

Studebaker agreed with Heller’s perspective, saying that she is optimistic if the balloting process goes as smoothly.

The fee paid by property owners ranges between about 6 cents per square foot to about 14 cents per square foot per year, and it varies based on a number of factors, including whether the property is a business, residence, house of worship or nonprofit organization.

Studebaker said there are no expectations of raising the rates, and 2013’s rates will be the same as 2012’s rates if the assessment is agreed to by property owners. There is a provision for a 3 percent raise per year, but she said she doesn’t foresee that being enacted.

Board Vice President Beth Hassett told The Sacramento Press on Thursday that renewing the assessment is not a rubber-stamp process.

“We have to get a majority of the property owners to sign off on it, and there are some big owners like Sutter (Hospital), the state, (Regional Transit) and Union Pacific,” she said. “The bigger property owners are paying a lot of money.”

Studebaker said the majority of the work, which began last fall, is done, and the balloting process – handled by the city – will begin in late May or early June.

If renewed, the new assessment will begin Jan. 1, 2013, and run through Dec. 31, 2017.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Photos: Plaza Café Lounge now open

2012-04-27T23:43:11Z

Plaza Café Coffee Lounge opened April 2 after numerous construction delays.

The coffee bar at Seventh and K streets fronts St. Rose of Lima Park, and co-owner Omar Tarin said Friday that it is already attracting regulars.

“We have a modern lounge feel, and we have two TVs playing news at all times, and people are already telling us how good our paninis are,” Tarin said.

Cups of coffee, with beans supplied by Vaneli’s, run $1.50, and panini sandwiches average about $7. A range of desserts, fresh fruits, salads and smoothies is also available. Free wireless Internet access is provided as well as many electrical outlets.

The 1,600-square-foot interior seats about 45, and an 800-square-foot patio able to seat another 45 is in the works.

Currently, the coffee bar is open from 7:30 a.m. - 8 p.m., and Tarin said he hopes to push the opening time back to 7 a.m. in the next few weeks.

To read more about the business, click here.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

This year's Midtown Business Association elections come at 'pivotal moment'

2012-04-27T00:44:11Z

Candidates for the Midtown Business Association's June 20 elections will need to be able to cast aside their own business goals and work together to make Midtown a better business environment as the organization goes through a transition, according to MBA staff and business owners alike.

“We’re at this pivotal point in Midtown, and I’d like to see a focus on the greater good – a sustainable Midtown business environment,” said Kimio Bazett of The Golden Bear and the upcoming Hook & Ladder Manufacturing Co.

Ten of the 25 Midtown Business Association Board of Directors seats are open to be filled by June 20, and only about seven incumbents are returning, meaning the organization will see new faces in its leadership, said Executive Director Elizabeth Studebaker.

“There are certain issues we are always focused on: trash, security, graffiti abatement and those sorts of things,” Studebaker said. “What I’m hoping we will also be focusing on is a new identity for the MBA that is focused on working very closely with the small business community and developing those businesses in whatever ways we can.”

Candidates must own property within the Midtown business improvement district or own businesses in the greater Midtown area, which stretches from 16th to 29th streets and from C to W streets.

Candidates must submit applications by May 11, after which the organization’s nomination committee will review them, selecting eligible candidates.

MBA members will have the opportunity to cast their votes at the June 20 board meeting.

“I want someone that wants to invest in their community,” said MBA Board President Jimmy Johnson of the Mexican restaurant Zócalo. “There are a lot of time requirements because we all serve on one or two committees.”

Johnson said restaurateurs, bar owners and developers are well represented, and he would like to see a commercial real estate broker to provide expertise to attract more businesses – specifically strong retail chains.

“I’d like to see something cool like an Apple store or an Anthropologie come in here,” he said. “A chain retailer like that would be a great addition to Midtown.”

Board Vice President Beth Hassett, of WEAVE, Inc., will become president June 20 and said she is looking for candidates who can put the greater Midtown interests above their own business goals.

“One of the big challenges for this as part of the board is that you have a lot of people with a dog in the fight,” she said. “It’s important to be able to take off your business owner hat and put on the hat of what’s better for the greater good in Midtown.”

Hassett said the past year has seen the MBA board strengthening its cooperative efforts, and she hopes to see that continue with whoever is elected to the board in June.

Corey DeRoo, co-owner of French Cuff Consignment, said she is happy with the way the MBA has been progressing since Studebaker took over the organization in January.

“It’s a renaissance,” she said. “It’s a true rebirth. Having been a longtime business owner in Midtown, I can honestly say I’m excited about it again.”

DeRoo added that Studebaker is setting a strong example of working together – something she said is essential to the local economy.

“It’s really hard for business owners to remain impartial because there is a dog-eat-dog environment,” DeRoo said. “Personally, I have always appreciated the types of board members who can see past that and see that Midtown businesses are all stronger as one unit.”

She said her ideal situation is to have a governing body that values each segment of the market equally, not placing emphasis on any one type of business.

Bazett, of The Golden Bear, agreed that cooperation between the MBA and businesses is key, and he said that Studebaker’s overhaul of the organization allows for the reexamination of priorities.

“This notion of protecting the appearance by graffiti abatement and reaching out to the homeless and trying to get tenants back in, it seems like a simple concept, but it hasn’t been a priority before,” he said.

Bazett said he looks at the district from a business point of view, but also as a resident, and he applauded Studebaker’s efforts to reach out to residents over the past four months.

“Elizabeth has made real efforts to listen to the residents and mitigate some of the tension that’s been building for years now,” he said. “She’s taken real efforts to see both sides of the coin.”

Both Bazett and DeRoo said they will not be seeking a board position, but they agreed that the MBA needs board members who will adapt to the changes in the organization in the coming years.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Lululemon takes over Newsbeat spot in MARRS Building

2012-04-26T01:04:07Z

The primarily yoga-focused Lululemon Athletica clothing company opened a showroom Friday in the MARRS Building at 20th and J streets, a space vacated by Newsbeat last year.

Showroom Manager Victoria Tanforan, 24, said that the showroom is designed to be a temporary space with a retail area to introduce Lululemon’s attire to the local market. If it garners enough interest, she said, a full retail store could be forthcoming.

“We’re a company that specializes in high-quality yoga and running wear,” Tanforan said. “We are all about becoming a part of the community we’re in, and we have free classes every week.”

The Lululemon showroom will work with 10 athletic ambassadors, which range from athletes to gym owners and yoga instructors. Two of them will be on-hand to give a free yoga class at 8 a.m. Saturday.

“It’s a great way for the community to get involved in fitness and learn what Lululemon is all about,” Tanforan said.

The MARRS Building was chosen because of its placement in the heart of the city’s vibrant Midtown district, said Tanforan, a Sacramentan who graduated from Sacramento State and chose the location.

She said the Vancouver, Canada-based company set up a showroom about four or five years ago in Sacramento, but the market didn’t warrant opening a store at the time.

Now, however, she said there is a following of Lululemon buyers in the region, and the company is giving Sacramento another look.

Designing the space was up to her, and she said her dad did much of the buildout, and friends helped with ideas, including artwork.

Shipping palettes divide the 2,300-square-foot space between showroom and inventory storage, and Tanforan said she wanted to keep the industrial feel with a few splashes of color to brighten the area.

Yoga mats are stored on steel-pipe shelves, and what construction wasn’t done by her father, Tanforan said was done by her and her three employees.

“They built out the space in a very clever way,” said building owner Michael Heller of Heller Pacific. “It’s great to see what was done with the space.”

Heller said there was a lot of interest in the location after Newsbeat moved out, and he is happy to have an international corporation as a tenant.

“We quickly made the decision with Lululemon,” Heller said. “We have a growing yoga community in Midtown, and it’s a fitting partner.”

Tanforan said that though the company has more than 100 locations in the United States, it still gave her autonomy in the Sacramento location, and one of the employees, 22-year-old Saba Rahimian, is using the business as her first art exhibit area.

“I majored in art at UC Davis, and (yoga is) an avenue for what I paint,” said Rahimian, who also teaches yoga classes at Zuda Yoga in Midtown. “I couldn’t think of a better place to showcase my art.

The showroom opens Friday, and Tanforan said local DJ Nate Spross will spin music meshed with Eastern-inspired beats.

Lululemon Athletica, located at 1050 20th St., is open from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. Free weekly classes will be held at 8 a.m. every Saturday. For more information, visit the showroom’s Facebook page.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

SideTrax night club sets Labor Day weekend opening date

2012-04-25T00:49:33Z

SideTrax, a night club being built on top of Hot Rod’s near 20th and K streets, is now on pace for a Labor Day weekend opening, and an innovative membership program may be the key to allowing 18- to 20-year-olds access despite the club having a full bar.

The venue was initially scheduled to open last spring, but the date had to be pushed back due to construction delays involving design changes and the addition of an extensive patio.

Owner T.J. Bruce said the club will accommodate about 300 people in a cigar bar-meets-urban lounge setting with high-quality sound and lighting systems.

Bruce also owns nearby Lavender Heights night spots The Depot and Badlands, and he said SideTrax will appeal to the LGBT community, but is open to all.

“We decided to add a large patio,” Bruce said Tuesday, explaining the delay in construction. “You’ve got to have outdoor area. The people with the outdoor areas are the people that are going to survive.”

About one third of the 3,000-square-foot, second-floor venue will be taken up by the patios, one of which faces the street while the other is larger and on the backside.

Yet to be determined: whether it will be open to those aged 18 to 20.

Bruce said he hopes the city will allow him to serve alcohol and stay open to a younger crowd, and he has an idea for a set of controls to keep out the ones who become problematic.

“With anybody under 21, we will do a membership kind of thing,” he said. “It won’t cost, but we’ll have extra information on them – name, address, ways to contact them. We’ll have a face and video surveillance so we can tell if they’re a problem.”

He said he thinks the idea is unique, and those who try to get alcohol or otherwise cause trouble would be contacted, and potentially have membership revoked.

“It’s really kind of hard to draw the line,” Bruce said. “It’s not like it’s some kind of weird private club, but we’ve got to divide those who are responsible and those who are not.”

Bruce added that he believes if young adults are treated with respect and told about the strict compliance system, the club can run smoothly and be fun for all.

Maurice Chaney, spokesman for the city’s code compliance division, said that entertainment permits, which SideTrax will need to operate, are granted on a case-by-case basis after being reviewed by a variety of city entities, including the Police Department.

“I’ve never heard where the operator sort of proposed their own system to ensure the health and safety of those who are underage,” Chaney said Tuesday. “That seems very positive in my mind.”

He said it is premature to comment on whether SideTrax will be issued a permit that allows alcohol sales to the 21-and-over crowd while the under-21 age group is allowed in the building.

“We want to be fair and objective, and we want to make sure that culture and entertainment ~~innovation~~ in the city is safe,” he said. “If we can make it all work, I think that’s all for the best.”

Editor's Note: A correction was made to this article after it was published. The incorrect information was struck out and the correct information was added.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Firestone Public House sets grand opening for May 10

2012-04-20T00:09:59Z

After a number of construction delays that pushed Firestone Public House from its original projected opening date in February, the sports bar/restaurant will hold its grand opening on May 10.

“We’ll have 20-plus TVs,” said co-owner Henry de Vere White, who also co-owns de Vere’s Irish Pub. “We’re going to show as many sports games as humanly possible.”

Food will include a variety of dishes from burgers and steaks to appetizers, pizzas and other options. Co-owner Mason Wong previously told The Sacramento Press that Philly cheesesteak sandwiches and the Korean street tacos featured at GoGi’s Korean BBQ will likely be available as well.

The restaurant occupies the 5,800-square-foot space at 16th and L streets left vacant when California Pizza Kitchen closed last year. It’s co-owned by the de Vere White family and the Wong family, which owns Cafeteria 15L, Mix Downtown and other local businesses.

A rectangular bar in the center of the restaurant holds 60 beer taps, and de Vere White said the selection will provide something for a range of beer drinkers – from those who stick to well-known classics such as Budweiser to others who seek out craft brews.

Kegs from local brewers such as Ruhstaller Beer, Rubicon Brewing Company and American River Brewing Co. will be carried, and de Vere White said an extensive training program will give the bartenders the knowledge to help customers find new beers to enjoy.

The pizza oven from California Pizza Kitchen is where Firestone Public House chefs will cook the new venture’s pizzas, and de Vere White said the pricing is designed to be mid-range, with a burger, beer, tax and tip running around $20.

The work to the interior accounted for much of the construction delay, de Vere White said, adding that an idea to store empty beer kegs as decoration above a window to the kitchen required the work of an engineer.

“It’s just part of the business. I’ve never had a bar that I’ve helped build or owned that’s opened on time, “de Vere White said. “It’s opened in the appropriate fashion, when it’s ready.”

A grand opening will be held from 6 - 9 p.m. May 10. Tickets are available for $75, and proceeds benefit the UC Davis Children’s Hospital. For tickets and more information on the grand opening’s details when they become available, click here.

For more information on the business, read previous Sacramento Press stories by clicking here and here.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Caverna 57 to offer wine lockers, ambiance

2012-04-19T00:07:00Z

Caverna Fifty-Seven, a new business offering climate-controlled wine storage, is set to open next month at 836 57th St. in East Sacramento.

Originally a coal and wood supplier in the 1940s, the property was later a house, and last October, the upstairs was opened as executive offices.

“The wine locker area is just finishing up,” said Faith Lane, manager of operations and client services for Caverna Fifty-Seven. “It’s been a project of about two years, and I think the attention to detail is really paying off.”

Those details include an arched entryway dominated by stonework, a faux arched wooden doorway as an accent and a fountain designed to lend ambiance to the outdoor patio, which includes a kitchen and seating for up to 16 when the space is rented for events.

While there are other wine storage spaces in Sacramento, such as Midtown’s 58 Degrees & Holding Co., Lane said the ambiance and the fact that Caverna Fifty-Seven is not a restaurant make it unique.

“We don’t serve food here,” Lane said, “but we offer the space to people who would hold events here, and we’ve had the local Little League have their meetings in our conference room.”

The conference/event room separates the patio area from the wine vaults, which range in size from being able to hold a few cases to a more substantial collection.

Vault rentals start at about $39 per month for one that will hold 10 cases of wine. There are no shelves installed, allowing clients to either use their own racks or stack wine by the case, Lane said.

Larger vaults are available, and 16 case-vaults are $59 per month, 30-case vaults are $96 per month and 60-case vaults are $139 per month.

“We want to give them options, and we want to ensure the facility is secure, so we have the scanners and video surveillance,” she added. “It’s more than just a cold storage space for wine.”

All 220 vaults are kept chilled at 57 degrees, and though the business’ hours are 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, keycard and fingerprint scanners allow those with wine lockers 24-hour access to the facility.

Wine experts recommend storing wines between 55 and 60 degrees, and Lane said the 57th Street location and the number falling within the recommended storage temperature dovetailed nicely with the name.

Kary Moore, a 52-year-old commercial real estate agent, said he has been renting one of the upstairs offices since October, and he thinks the wine vaults are a good use for the property.

“They’re very nice, and so is the facility,” he said. “It’s a fun environment, and I recently had a gathering here of alumni from my fraternity. It gives you a unique space for doing business.”

Though the six upstairs offices are all currently leased, Lane said groups can book the downstairs space for events or rent a wine locker by calling Caverna Fifty-Seven at 737-5757. The business is still determining a pricing guideline for the event space, Lane said.

A grand opening event is scheduled for May 2, and Lane said those interested can call for an invitation.

Robert Puleo, co-owner of the next-door Puleo Gentry Gallery antiques business, said he thinks having another business on the block will increase the visibility of his own business.

“People who collect wine would probably be more affluent, and they might then come over here and look for antiques,” he said. “I would hope it increases our business.”

For more information, visit Caverna Fifty-Seven’s website by clicking here.

Très Chic Boutique to bid adieu

2012-04-18T02:05:14Z

Midtown’s Très Chic Boutique announced this week that it will close its doors for good after 18 years in business.

Owner Susan Tiesing, 53, said she decided to shutter the business by the end of May due to the impact of the economy as well as her need to be in Oroville to be with a family member in poor health.

“I left my shop with my worthy store manager, and I think in this tough economy you can’t expect your business to continue on without you there,” Tiesing said. “Although I think she did a good job, I wasn’t there to manage it myself.”

The shop, located at 2228 J St., specialized in prom dresses and clothing for special occasions.

Tiesing said this is the first year she has seen online sales take a large cut of her business, and though she said she heard “horror stories” from customers coming in to shop at the last minute when they were unhappy with their online orders, it made it hard for the business to run properly.

“I have to price cut to get them to stay,” she said. “I lose my profit margin, and you should never stay in business if you’re forced to cut your prices to the point where you’re selling at basically your cost just to keep them coming in.”

Despite closing the store, Tiesing said she enjoys owning the business and plans to reopen the business when the economy turns around – but likely not in Midtown.

She said the city’s removal of parking meters and switch to computerized pay boxes about three or four years ago caused many of her customers from outlying areas to stop shopping in the district.

She said she believes the city’s removal of the familiar coin-operated parking meters in favor of the new pay boxes caused confusion among some of her customers, who aren’t accustomed to using them. She added that the quick ticketing done by parking enforcement officers drove them off.

Lauren Lundsten, owner of Swanberg’s for Men: Hawaiian Shirts & More, located at 2316 J St., said he saw the same decline in business once the parking meters were uprooted.

“I bet we lost 10 percent of our business at that point,” he said. “The system chases away business.”

Lundsten said he would like to see the time limit on the street parking increased to two hours from one hour, but even that wouldn’t solve the issue.

“A lot of my customer base is seniors,” he said. “The pay boxes can be confusing, and if they get a ticket, it’s $52. I’m lucky if I can sell them a $20 shirt. A lot of them – if they get a ticket, that’s the last time they’ll shop downtown.”

In business for the past 15 years, Lundsten said he is sad to see Très Chic Boutique close.

“She’s been here for quite a while, and like me, she has a niche business,” he said. “It comes in seasons, and it’s hard to pay for those lean months when the good months aren’t very strong. I feel like I’m swimming upstream.”

Midtown Business Association Executive Director Elizabeth Studebaker said that the organization is working with the city to develop better parking options – including working out a system to have private office lots be available to the public after hours and on weekends.

“I sincerely feel it’s a negative thing for Midtown that Très Chic Boutique is closing,” Studebaker said. “They have a long history of being a well-established business here.”

As the boutique winds down its business, Tiesing said she will be putting the store’s inventory on sale starting Thursday.

“I’m choosing a time when I have a very good inventory so my sale will be full of great finds for my customers and not just odds and ends,” she said. “I’ve been down here for a long time, and I will miss it.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Think Big ponders next move

2012-04-17T00:45:47Z

Think Big Sacramento Executive Director Chris Lehane said Monday that Friday’s spat with the Maloof family does not spell the end for an arena deal in downtown Sacramento, but that it was a setback that can be overcome.

“First of all, we’ve continued to believe that a downtown-based entertainment and sports complex makes tremendous sense for the city and the region for jobs creation and economic development,” Lehane said. “All of that continues to exist, and I think we need to explore alternative ways to move forward.”

Lehane said one option would be to follow the model of Kansas City, in which an arena was built without having a professional sports team as a partner. Another way could be to present the National Basketball Association with an alternate ownership group to replace the Maloofs.

“From the perspective of how we deal with the Kings right now, ultimately they are owned by the Maloofs, and that is what it is,” he said.

In a letter sent to Think Big Sacramento members on Sunday, Lehane outlined the arena effort over the past year, from initial talks of moving the team to Anaheim to exuberant collaboration with the city to Friday’s dissolution of the Feb. 27 handshake deal that provided the framework for an arena financing plan.

“The letter was a very straightforward effort to explain to people in layman’s terms how (the whole process) went down,” Lehane said.

In the four-page letter, Lehane wrote that the Maloofs attempted to renegotiate a deal that had been struck, then falsely claimed they sent a reworked term sheet to the city before the City Council approved the original term sheet March 6.

“One of the many reasons in a series of different reasons (the Maloofs) gave for backing out was that the deal was financially bad for the city,” Lehane said. “Then they offered a marked-up term sheet that would have been worse for the city.”

Think Big Project Manager Jeremiah Jackson told The Sacramento Press on Monday that Lehane’s letter clearly lays out the process, and he agreed with Lehane’s remarks about the Maloofs’ changes to the term sheet. Both Lehane and Jackson said the changes to the term sheet were not revealed before the City Council vote on March 6.

“On the one hand, they say the deal will be bad for the city financially, and they’re worried,” Jackson said. “On the other hand, their problems with the current deal are that the city is requiring collateral (for the loan), and they didn’t want to do a 30-year lease (on the facility) or pay predevelopment costs. Those are all things that put the taxpayers in a worse position.”

In one of the more strongly worded sections of the letter, Lehane took on the Maloofs’ financial concerns for the city.

“And then, on top of all of this, they asserted that the proposed deal was not in the best interest of the city, which coming from the Maloofs is a little like getting weight loss advice from Fat Albert,” Lehane said in the letter.

Downtown Sacramento Partnership Executive Director and Think Big Committee Member Michael Ault said Monday that the letter shows frustration with the current state of the deal.

“Chris obviously has been the driving force behind the leadership of the Think Big efforts,” Ault said. “I think what you’re reading is in large part based on personal frustration with the way this has transpired, but I think a lot of people are disappointed.”

Ault added that the local business community felt a sense of momentum generated by the process, and the death of the proposed deal is a setback, but not an end to efforts to build a downtown arena.

“From day one this has not been about the Kings or the Maloofs,” Ault said, echoing Lehane’s sentiments. “While they were an important piece, this is about the region’s desire, and building a state-of-the-art entertainment and sports complex is still a priority.”

Representatives for the Maloof family did not return phone calls on Monday.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Weekend bicycle tour to local coffee bars

2012-04-12T23:59:46Z

Bicycle-riding coffee enthusiasts are gearing up for the fourth monthly Second Saturday Coffee Bike Tour, a free daytime event hosted by Broadacre Coffee.

Broadacre Coffee has been open about six months, and co-owner Jake Elia, 21, said Thursday that the bicycle tour of locally owned coffee bars has gained popularity each month, with the first ride in December drawing about a dozen riders and the most recent one bringing almost 30.

“It’s fun and simple,” Elia said. “It’s a super-casual pace, and people bring anything from beach cruisers to road bikes to fixies, and we get young people and old people, and even some kids.”

He said the tour was an idea the owners had wanted to launch because “coffee and bikes just go together.”

The route changes each month, and this month’s ride starts at 10 a.m. at Broadacre Coffee, 1014 10th St. Riders will set off to Insight Coffee Roasters at Eighth and S streets, then head to The Naked Lounge at 15th and Q streets. A longer stop is planned for Old Soul at Weatherstone, 21st and I streets, so riders can have lunch or grab a beer, and the ride ends back at Broadacre Coffee.

View Broadacre Coffee Bike Tour - April 14th in a larger map

“It usually takes about two or three hours,” Elia said, adding that no one is obligated to stay the full time or buy coffee.

Riders must bring their own bicycles, but Elia said he is hoping to work with a local bicycle shop on future rides to have a supply of bicycles to loan or rent.

The tours haven’t faced heavy rains yet, and Elia said that if it is raining heavily, the tour likely will not proceed, but riders can call Broadacre Coffee at 442-1085 to check before the ride.

When it comes to taking people to competing businesses, Elia said he doesn’t think he is costing himself patrons.

“I believe that a rising tide raises all boats,” he said. “We like to support our local cafes. If we aren’t drinking here, we’d be having coffee at the other places. We want to show everyone what Sacramento has to offer.”

Past rides have included stops at Temple Coffee locations and Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters, and Elia said he likes to switch the routes to keep the ride fresh.

Ben Lance, co-owner of Insight Coffee Roasters, said Thursday that the rides help promote Sacramento’s independent coffee bars.

“I think the bike rides are a phenomenal idea,” he said. “Every shop is so different, and it’s pretty distinct once you see these places. A bike ride like these guys do is an effective way to see that come across.”

Lance said similar events are held in cities such as Portland and San Francisco, and he is glad someone locally took the initiative to start the Second Saturday Coffee Bike Tour.

“They look like a hell of a lot of fun,” he said. “It’s a whole gang of bikes coming down the street. To me, that’s pretty awesome.”

Elia said two or three Broadacre Coffee workers go on each ride, with one leading and one taking up the rear to ensure that the group stays together.

Broadacre Coffee co-owner Andrew Lopez, 24, said the bicycle tour gives people the chance to explore downtown.

“Back in the day, downtown had a lot of livelihood to it, and that’s sort of gone by the wayside,” he said. “Nowadays, we’re trying to bring that lively community back to downtown. By doing the bike tour, we’re getting people out and about and building up businesses other than our own.”

He said that doing the tours by bicycles allows people to see parts of downtown they might not traverse on a normal basis, and they can see some of the interesting architecture in the city.

“They get to see other things and kind of experience it,” he said. “They get to slow down a little bit and experience downtown.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Torch Club celebrates anniversary at current location

2012-04-12T00:58:01Z

The Torch Club will celebrate 12 years at its current spot on 15th Street across from Memorial Auditorium on Friday, but owner Marina Texeira said the club’s history dates back to the 1930s.

The business opened in 1934, run by Johnny “Bananas” Oreb and Ernie Maskovich, and it was one of the first local businesses, along with Old Ironsides, to receive a liquor license after Prohibition, Texeira, 46, said Wednesday.

“It’s kind of rolled with the tides and trends without being too trendy,” she said of the club’s longevity.

The business came into Texeira’s family when her grandfather purchased it in 1969. It moved from its original location at 601 J St. to the corner of Eighth and L streets, where it became the stomping grounds of politicians.

“It was a couple of doors down from Frank Fat’s, and the music was mostly 45s in a jukebox,” Texeira said. “It was big with the political scene, and Gov. (Jerry) Brown would go by there back in those days.”

Another move occurred in 1982, when the club went to 16th and L streets, and despite being just on the other side of the Capitol, it dropped out of the politicians’ rounds, becoming popular with workers in the almond-growing industry, who worked nearby.

The area did not have many bars, and Texeira said one of the draws was having a DJ on Friday and Saturday nights. Blues became a fixture at the club in the late 1980s and early 1990s after Sam’s Hofbrau closed on the corner of 17th and J streets, which is now occupied by Hamburger Pattie’s.

It was around that time that Texeira’s brother began booking live music seven nights per week, she said, adding that live music had been featured in the past, but had never been a fixture of the business.

“My dad and I were partners, and we moved to this location when they built the (Capitol Area East End Complex),” Texeira said, referencing the current location at 904 15th St.

Opening night was April 13, 2000.

“It was a great location across the street from Memorial Auditorium,” she said. “There was no nightlife in the area, and we were packed before and after shows.”

Mark Mitchell, who owns a local catering business, handles booking and promotions for Torch Club, and he described it as a “legitimate club.”

“You can come in here and talk to people, and they say they feel like they can be themselves,” he said Wednesday. “It’s got good music and quality service and is just a good, comfortable club.”

Texeira said it’s the people who come into the club who give her the most enjoyment in her job, and Friday’s anniversary event is a low-key thank-you to them.

“I knew we were coming up on our anniversary, and I wanted to acknowledge the people who come in here week in and week out,” she said.

Acoustic blues music will be played by Jimmy Pailer and Lew Fratis, who are veterans of the Torch Club stage.

The happy hour show begins at 5 p.m. and goes to 7:30 p.m., and there is no cover charge – just like all happy hour shows, except for the occasional special feature.

Mitchell will cater the event, and though details are still being worked out on what the food will be, Texeira said it will be a spread of food, and it will be free to patrons.

Happy hour alcohol prices are $3 for domestic beers, $4 for draft and imported beers, $4.50 for well drinks and $6 for wines.

As Torch Club moves forward, Texeira said, she is broadening the music genre from primarily blues to include some more Americana, bluegrass and rockabilly.

“We’re trying to reach out to other music fans in town,” she said. “We all need to support live music.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Kombucha bar eyes Hina's Tea space

2012-04-11T02:03:40Z

Two Sacramentans are looking to bring a kombucha bar to the Midtown space that formerly housed Hina’s Tea by the end of July, if they can raise $50,000 via the Internet to launch.

The drink, which is carbonated through a fermentation process, contains probiotics and a living culture, co-owner Joseph Melrose said, adding that the probiotics are good bacteria that typically are absent in the average American diet.

“It really works to helping with everything from irritable bowel syndrome to bad hair and bad skin,” he said. “People have been drinking it for 2,000 years for its health benefits.”

Kombucha Kulture will not brew its own kombucha – a fermented tea drink – but stock about 10 flavors from at least four suppliers in or around the Bay Area, co-owner Brianne Giatras, 26, said.

Flavors range from gingerberry and elderberry to a milder vanilla and honey concoction Giatras said has the best mass-market appeal.

The 16-ounce glasses of kombucha will run about $3 or $4 on average, with some possibly being around $5, Giatras said. No food will be made in-house, but she said she wants to have premade sandwiches and baked goods on offer.

Melrose, 32, said kombucha can be an acquired taste – similar to starting with a light beer before acquiring a taste for a heavy stout – and people coming into the future business will be able to sample different flavors.

Kombucha on tap isn’t a unique idea, but Melrose said the only place he knows of to get it locally is Whole Foods in Folsom, and he and Giatras want to bring it to the central city.

“It’s much fresher tasting on tap,” Giatras said.

During this week’s Second Saturday Art Walk, Kombucha Kulture will set up at Denim Spot, 1050 20th St., to serve samples.

The problem Melrose and Giatras had when looking to start the business was finding a bank to front them approximately $50,000 needed to turn the former Hina’s Tea space at 2319 K St. into a kombucha bar.

Giatras said that is when they turned to Kickstarter, an online funding mechanism that allows anyone to put up financial backing to businesses they support.

“What we’re doing with the Kickstarter campaign is trying to raise the funds to get a lease going on the building on K Street,” Giatras said. “There’s some construction that has to be done, but it’s pretty much built out for what we need.”

Half of the $50,000 will go to equipment such as a tap system, refrigeration and an espresso machine. Another $8,000 is designated to go to construction costs, $7,500 will go toward the lease and deposit, $5,000 goes to Amazon and Kickstarter as part of the fundraising policy, and $4,500 will go to purchasing the products.

The deadline to raise $50,000 on Kickstarter is May 17, and so far the couple has raised more than $2,300, but Giatras said the campaigns tend to pick up as the deadline nears.

Another local business recently received funding via Kickstarter to produce unique bicycle racks. Click here to read more.

If the campaign is successful, Giatras said, she hopes to have the space open for business in late July. If the money isn’t raised, she said she and Melrose aren’t planning on giving up, but will continue saving money to eventually move forward with the business.

For more information on Kombucha Kulture, visit the company’s website. To view the Kickstarter page, click here.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Track 7 to introduce rye pale ale

2012-04-07T01:43:13Z

Three months after opening, Track 7 Brewing Co. co-owner Geoff Scott said he is happy to see a mixture of new and returning customers, and he hopes a new beer coming out later this month will be received as well as the business has.

The as-yet-unnamed beer is a rye pale ale.

“It uses about 25-30 percent rye in the grain build,” Scott said. “It’s a little on the heavier side. Most ryes are 10-15 percent, so it has a little more rye spice.”

The beer will go on sale April 20, and seven barrels – 215 gallons – are finishing the brewing process.

“I don’t think it’ll have quite the bitterness (our Daylight Amber) has, so it’ll be a nice mellow pale ale with some rye spice to it,” Scott said. “It will be pretty hoppy aroma-wise, but it won’t have the same bitterness of an IPA.”

He said the beer will be good for spring, and when a small batch was made about two months ago, people enjoyed it and have been asking for its return.

The Daylight Amber is Track 7’s best-selling beer, accounting for 35-40 percent of all beer sales, Scott said. He added that a limited run of a Belgian India pale ale brewed for Beer Week in February lasted about a week.

The Belgian IPA will likely return sometime later in the year, Scott said.

Distribution of Track 7 Brewing Co.’s beer has been on a small scale, and the brewery is waiting on approval for labeling of kegs from the Alcoholic Beverage Control before being able to distribute to more restaurants and rent them to customers, Scott said.

Currently, Blackbird Kitchen & Bar carries both the Soulman Stout and Alkali Wit.

“We like to carry Track 7’s beers,” Blackbird Chef de Cuisine Kevin O’Connor said in advance of the restaurant’s opening on Wednesday. “We’re both kind of the new kids on the block, so it’s a good match.”

The Soulman Stout is also on tap at Dad’s Sandwiches.

Later this year, Scott said, Track 7 is looking to bring in more brewing equipment and begin bottling the beers to sell to local grocery stores and other local restaurants.

Paul Belleau, a 52-year-old Sacramentan who works in sales, said he frequents Track 7 Brewing Co.’s tasting room and enjoys it.

“It’s laid-back, dog-friendly and casual,” he said. “Their beers are good. I’ve tried them all.”

Scott said the business is progressing well, and he hopes to see it continue to succeed. Since opening, he said he is happy with the number of people who come in.

“I was taken aback by the amount of people who come and hang out in our tasting room,” he said.

Track 7 Brewing Co. is located at 3747 West Pacific Ave.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

City to meet with mobile food vendors to discuss ordinance

2012-04-07T00:04:33Z

Nearly a year after the inaugural SactoMoFo mobile food festival designed to raise awareness of the city’s restrictive mobile food ordinance, the law hasn’t changed, but city officials and mobile food vendors will meet early next month to discuss the issue.

Currently, the ordinance limits food trucks from stopping in one space within city limits for more than 30 minutes at a time.

“We want to talk to (restaurateurs and mobile food vendors) and see what’s the best policy on this,” said City Councilman Jay Schenirer, chairman of the council’s Law and Legislation Committee.

Any change to the ordinance will have to go through the committee before it can go to the full City Council for approval or denial.

Since the initial SactoMoFo last year, there have been two others, and SactoMoFo 4 is scheduled for April 21.

“My feeling is that the best policy we can come up with will involve engaging with the people we are regulating,” Schenirer said, adding that there is currently no goal on a timeframe to bring the issue before the council.

Andrew “Drewski” Blaskovich, owner of Drewski’s Hot Rod Kitchen, a food truck that recently expanded to include a brick-and-mortar store, said Friday that he and other food truck operators are looking forward to getting the issue on track again.

The state Legislature briefly looked at a law banning food trucks from operating within 1,500 feet of a school, but it was later withdrawn.

“The city was kind of waiting for them, but now that’s not an issue,” Blaskovich said. “I’m just ready to get this ordinance put to rest, you know, and move on to the next thing.”

Blaskovich said he, other food truck operators and other owners of traditional restaurants can all work together to come up with an ordinance that works for everyone.

Davin Vculek, co-owner of the Mini Burger truck, told The Sacramento Press on Wednesday that the current ordinance needs to be reworked to allow food truck operators to do business in the city.

"We're bringing jobs to the area," he said. "The city is kind of just dragging its feet on this ordinance."

Talks between restaurateurs, food truck operators and city officials began last year, and Schenirer said the meeting scheduled for the beginning of May will be a continuation of those talks.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

New restaurant serves families in Old Sacramento

2012-04-06T03:42:48Z

The new Harvey House restaurant opens in Old Sacramento on Saturday, and co-owner Simon Mandell said it incorporates the area’s rich history while providing affordable family dining.

“My wife works for the (California State) Railroad Museum, and she said the only complaint they ever get there is that they don’t have a good family restaurant nearby,” Mandell said. “Everything is either a bar or high-end dining or a hot dog.”

Mandell, 62, got his start in the restaurant business in Orange County after graduating from culinary school. He’s lived in Sacramento for the past 20 years, and most recently, his focus was on his catering business, Simon’s Catering.

Located at 900 Second St., the restaurant is at the original street level in Old Sacramento and occupies the space formerly housing Fulton’s Prime Rib, which closed several years ago.

Fred Harvey, the restaurant’s namesake, came to the United States from England in the 1870s and, traveling by train, saw that most of the places that offered food were saloons, which were often seedy.

Harvey opened his first restaurant in Kansas, and opened more down the rail lines heading west. The original Harvey House chain had numerous locations, but Mandell said he isn’t aware of any originally in Sacramento.

“Two things were very important to him: fine service and fine food,” Mandell said, adding that a movie, “The Harvey Girls,” starring Angela Lansbury and Judy Garland, immortalized the restaurant chain, which closed in the 1960s.

In homage to the original restaurant, the serving staff of the new restaurant will have the same uniforms as the original servers, and some of the restaurant’s food will be made off the original recipes, with the remainder being Mandell’s own creations.

The restaurant will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and Mandell said he will have items such as Monte Cristo sandwiches, New York Reubens, patty melts and chicken fried steak.

Sandwiches range from $6.99 - $8.99, and dinner entrées typically fall around the $10 mark, with the ribeye steak and prime beef more expensive, but still under $20.

Breakfast items include pancakes, French toast and a range of omelets, including a salmon Benedict.

“I make it fresh – a lemon tarragon salmon served on an English muffin with Hollandaise sauce dribbled over it,” Mandell said. “It’s awesome.”

The children’s menu was developed with the intention of being able to give kids “actual real meals,” Mandell said.

“We have a brisket meal for a child,” he said. “It’s a full meal.”

Healthy options such as grilled chicken with mashed potatoes and vegetables stay away from deep-frying.

“Everything kids get anymore is deep-fried,” General Manager Greg Williams said.

All kids meals are priced under $4.

About 30 employees – 25 up front and six in the kitchen – will staff the restaurant, which can seat 150 inside and an additional 70 on the patio.

Inside, the restaurant is segmented into cozy dining rooms. The walls are a mix of wood paneling and brick. A room off the waiting area will be used as a mini museum to house a small collection of memorabilia from the Railroad Museum across the street.

Chris McSwain, business district manager for the Old Sacramento Business Association, said he is happy to see a new restaurant taking the space at what many consider to be the entrance to the historic district.

“The fact that it is here right across the street from the Railroad Museum is fantastic,” he said. “That space has been one of our priorities to be filled with a restaurant.”

McSwain added that the restaurant should add to Old Sacramento’s draw as a dining destination.

“We’ve been well-known going all the way back to The Firehouse,” he said.

Mandell said the 4,000-square-foot restaurant will carry beer and wine once the liquor license is approved, but it will be a small selection of bottled beers with wine, as the focus is not to be a bar.

“Our emphasis is to have a family restaurant where anyone can afford to eat,” he said.

Initially, the restaurant will be open from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday and 8 a.m. - 9 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. After Memorial Day, the restaurant will be open 8 a.m. - 9 p.m. seven days per week.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Food trucks: A day in the life

2012-04-05T00:51:56Z

Local food trucks do brisk business at lunch and dinner, popping in for a short time before heading off to the next location, but the Mini Burger truck’s co-owner, Davin Vculek, said the business typically requires 12-hour days, with only four or five hours of actual food service.

“We start about 8:30 in the morning,” he said Wednesday as he stood next to his truck, which was parked in Rancho Cordova awaiting the opening rush. “We do a lot of prep work at our commissary, and that’s what most of the trucks will be doing at that time.”

Once the preparatory work is complete, Vculek and three or four employees head out to the day’s first location.

The truck itself – made in the 1970s – holds a driver, and two passengers can sit sideways on a bench seat. Any additional employees follow the truck in another vehicle, and they typically arrive at the first location by about 10:30 a.m. to prepare for opening at 11 a.m.

On Wednesdays, Vculek and crew set up at 11000 White Rock Road in Rancho Cordova, where the local laws allow them to park on private property with the permission of the property owner and do business.

About 20 people were lined up at the truck on Wednesday waiting for it to open, and business started with a rush, which didn’t die down for the next few hours.

“We sell about 1,000 burgers per day,” Vculek said, adding that most are sold at lunchtime.

The truck is a tight fit, and on Wednesday the 14-foot kitchen held Vculek and four employees, all working in tandem to get the burgers out quickly.

Mini Burger truck from Brandon Darnell on Vimeo.

“A lot of people think that you just have to get a food truck and park somewhere, and you’ll draw crowds,” Vculek said. “But really, it’s hard work. I was working 16- or 18-hour days in the beginning, and it was tough to break even. We really worked on efficiency and building our brand. That didn’t come easy.”

Recognition has spread over the course of the past year, and David Siedlecki, a 50-year-old driver for Regional Transit and resident of Rancho Cordova, wore a Mini Burger T-shirt Wednesday and said he is one of the truck’s biggest fans.

“I used to have a (bus) route here, and I saw it parked here one day and called my wife and told her to stop by,” he said. “I like all of it, and I’m looking forward to them getting their next truck.”

Vculek said a new, 30 percent larger truck will debut in three weeks, and the current truck will be transformed into a taco truck.

“It’s going to be unique,” he said. “We’re going to make our tortillas from scratch, and we will have, like, a Maine lobster taco and a Korean-style taco.”

The name of the truck and more specifics on the menu aren’t being released at the moment, he added.

Another step for Vculek this year is the opening of a 2,500-square-foot quick-service restaurant in downtown Sacramento in September.

He said the menu will be an expanded version of what is available at the Mini Burger truck, and beer and wine will be available.

A former chef for Guy Fieri, owner of Johnny Garlic’s and other restaurants, Vculek, 29, said his background is in running brick-and-mortar restaurants, but the food truck presented a whole different set of challenges.

“One of the reasons we are going to the bigger truck is for more refrigerated storage,” he said, adding that after the current truck runs out of supplies, it’s time to head back to the commissary and stock up for the dinner shift. A larger truck will allow more time to be spent selling, increasing revenues.

“If you have a restaurant, you’re open,” he said. “With a truck, we have to do a high volume in a short time to make money. And when it rains, we’re closed. A restaurant can stay open.”

The constant line at the truck during lunch on Wednesday was evidence of the truck’s ability to do a high volume of sales, and Julie James, a 25-year-old Elk Grove resident who works in quality assurance in Folsom, said it’s worth the drive – and the line.

“Their food is really good,” she said. “I wouldn’t be coming from Folsom if it wasn’t good.”

The line Wednesday was typical of what she said she sees, and it usually takes 10 to 15 minutes from ordering to having a burger in-hand.

She added that she is looking forward to visiting the brick-and-mortar restaurant once it opens in Sacramento.

Cory Wozniak, a 34-year-old Fair Oaks resident who works in the technology industry, agreed with James, saying he plans on visiting the downtown restaurant once it opens.

While some food truck detractors wonder about the amount of sales tax being collected in the largely cash-based business, Vculek said Mini Burger uses the same computerized systems that restaurants use to track sales.

“We report all of our sales to the IRS,” he said. “It’s the same as any other business, and we actually have more licenses and restrictions.”

He said he has a business license for each city in which he does business, and all mobile food employees must go through a state-mandated background check before being allowed to work in the food trucks.

“That can take as long as 30 days, and I really have no idea why they make us do that,” he said. “It’s not required for other restaurants.”

Sacramento’s current controversial food truck ordinance, which limits stops to 30 minutes or less within the city limits, makes doing business in the city difficult, Vculek said, adding that he parks at the state Board of Equalization offices every Tuesday, because state property is exempt from the city ordinance. The Board of Equalization is located at 450 N St.

“They lost their cafeteria, and they asked us to come down there,” he said, adding that he spends only one day in Sacramento as the result of the ordinance. “We’re hoping to get that changed.”

Vculek said the interest in the downtown restaurant, coupled with the success of Drewski’s Hot Rod Kitchen opening in another downtown space, is proof that the food truck is a good incubator for small business.

“We started 18 months ago with two employees,” he said. “Now we’re getting ready to have our second truck and 10 employees, and when we open the restaurant, we’ll be at 30 employees. That’s tax money and jobs brought to the region.”

For more information on locations of the Mini Burger truck, click here.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Simply Southern: Corn cakes, sandwiches on the go

2012-03-31T00:53:54Z

Southern food and corn cakes will take to Sacramento’s streets once again in a slightly different twist on mobile food than the popular food trucks.

Simply Southern Foods is the catering and one-time mobile food business owned by Donell Hendrix, and he said the city’s recent look-the-other-way attitude toward enforcing its controversial 30-minute limit to stops enticed him to get back in the game.

Unlike the trucks, Simply Southern Foods is contained in a 30-foot trailer.

“I was out there since back in 2005, and when the law came along, the city was always hassling us about the 30-minute window,” he said. “It takes me 30 minutes to set up, and if that’s how long we can stay there, I can’t make money as a business.”

He said the rise of popularity with mobile food vendors has seen an unspoken relaxing of the enforcement of the ordinance – which allows vendors to stay in some spaces for several hours at a time – making the business once again viable.

“SactoMoFo 4 is going to be our coming-out party,” Hendrix said. “We got the trailer out of the shop on Monday, and we’ve got pictures of the food on the side, and it should be a good time.”

Originally from Fresno, Hendrix, 42, said he came to Elk Grove after working at his family’s restaurant in Fresno, opening The Bayou off Laguna Boulevard.

“I had that for a couple of years, but then I got really sick and had to close it,” he said, adding that he started his catering business in the early 2000s and launched his trailer in 2005.

The Southern-style food offered out of the trailer is a medley of sandwiches, including barbecued tri-tip, catfish, pulled pork and pork hot links.

Sides include baked beans, macaroni and cheese, potato salad and coleslaw.

“My family is all from the South, so I have the South in my blood,” he said. “We also do things like a jambalaya, collard greens and candied yams.”

Prices for a sandwich, side and drink range from $7 - $9, depending on the meat ordered, he added.

One of the business’ unique foods is the corn cake.

Derived from a family recipe, Hendrix said he put his own twist on it, which gives the standard cornbread a texture more like cake than the rougher cornbread. It’s topped with a sugary glaze, he added.

Eric Crawford, owner of Original PoBoys, a restaurant located at Broadway and Alhambra Boulevard that serves New Orleans fare, said he hopes Hendrix is successful.

“I think it’s great. This area is heavily populated with people from the southern part of the United States, and it’s a huge market for this type of food,” Crawford said. “We have been really accepted here in this area with open arms because there’s a lack of this type of food.”

He added that he doesn’t see the business as a threat to his, but more as a complement.

“I hope he’s successful, and I hope it’s done right – that’s the main thing,” Crawford said.

Blackbird opening next week

2012-03-30T05:56:43Z

A soft opening this weekend for friends and family is planned to give the staff at Blackbird Kitchen & Bar some hands-on experience and feedback before opening to the public on Wednesday.

“It’s been a lot of work, but everything is turning out really nice,” said Kevin O’Connor, chef de cuisine for the restaurant.

Housed in a pair of connected buildings at 1015 Ninth St. dating back to the early 20th century, much of the extensive work to the interior of the gourmet seafood restaurant involved carefully exposing and highlighting what was already present.

Fluted panels on the walls and an intricate ceiling are a couple of the details that were preserved from the original structures.

“It’s been kind of neat seeing the line between construction and art kind of blur,” O’Connor said.

The prominent bar visible when walking into the restaurant is made from a dead redwood tree taken out of Tahoe Park. The tabletops are also from the tree, General Manager Dona Bridges ~~Tyler~~ said.

The restaurant currently employs about 22, with five of them being in the kitchen, she added.

Seating for about 60 is currently being provided, Bridges ~~Tyler~~ said, with 30 seats in the upstairs dining room and 30 downstairs, mixed between table and bar seating.

Like many of the buildings in the area, the basement is the former street level, and it was raised in the 1800s, she said.

O’Connor said the old safe from when the space was a bank now houses wine racks, and he plans to hang charcuterie in it in the future.

Owner Carina Lampkin has been working with O’Connor, whose cooking experience includes work at The Kitchen and Ella Dining Room & Bar in addition to living in Southern France. The two of them have been focusing on the menu, but prices have not yet been set.

In general, O’Connor said, prices will range from $6 - $18.

O’Connor said the crudo – an Italian term meaning raw – entrees will be what sets Blackbird apart, but there are numerous other seafood plates and non-seafood meals available as well.

The crudo fish plates – Lampkin’s forté – are garnished with a medley of flavors, he said, adding that they are different from sushi.

One of the raw dishes is kampachi with Cara Cara orange, lemon grass vin, cilantro, mint, micro cilantro, chili threads and Maldon.

Another is arctic char with beets, shaved fennel, arugula and black pepper.

Cooked fare will include beer-popped mussels, smoked clam chowder, seared dayboat scallops, an assortment of pastas and a burger option.

A full liquor selection is available, and O’Connor said the restaurant will offer happy hour specials, probably starting around 3:30 p.m. and going until 6 or 7 p.m.

“We want to have a feel like a neighborhood place where people can come in for a drink and a meal,” he said.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Editorial Note: Corrections were made to this article after it was published. The incorrect information was struck out and the correct informatoin added.

Restaurateurs to fight 'cow town' stigma

2012-03-28T01:14:29Z

More than 20 restaurateurs are joining forces to promote Sacramento’s dining scene and edge away from the image of the city being a barren “cow town” with a dearth of good restaurants.

“One of our main standards is to raise the level of the Sacramento dining scene and how we are viewed from the outside,” said Adam Pechal, co-owner of Tuli Bistro and Restaurant Thir13en.

“We feel like we have almost a bad rap – cow town and all that,” he added. “We have a bunch of great chefs doing great stuff.”

The group, called Sactown Dining Collective, was started by Amber Turner, a marketing specialist with a love for Sacramento’s restaurant scene.

“It started back in November, and there were several things that led up to it,” she said Tuesday. “Facebook had a lot to do with it. It blows me away how instrumental Facebook can be in orchestrating something like this.”

One of the major catalysts for the formation of the group was a survey published by LivingSocial that named Sacramento as the second-worst place in the nation for dining.

“In looking at it from my corporate background, when we see a threat or opportunity, it’s not uncommon for a group to get together and leverage one another’s strengths,” Turner said.

A Facebook message sent to about 30 people ended up resulting in the first of a series of meetings Jan. 30.

The most recent meeting was held Monday, and Pechal said the group’s major focus now is to hold a kickoff event, likely in the first part of May, that will introduce the group to the public and the media, allowing locals to participate in raising the stock of the local dining scene.

“Pretty much every well-known chef in town was there,” Pechal said. “It’s cool to get in an environment where we can all talk to each other.”

Mutual support among Sacramento’s restaurateurs is not surprising, Pechal said, as many of them are friends and support each other, despite competing for business.

Another local chef, Billy Ngo of Kru, a Midtown Japanese restaurant, said he thinks a major goal of the group will be to get recognition in national food publications.

“All these big media magazines never come here,” he said. “We have great restaurants, like The Kitchen, and they deserve recognition.”

He said the group is in its formative stages, and it is too early to say whether it is headed toward a formal nonprofit trade organization status or something else.

“We talked the last couple of days about the problems we’re having and how to get things changed,” he said. “We want to see what we can do to elevate this town.”

Pechal said that updates for the kickoff event will be posted on the group’s Facebook page.

Some of the restaurants and suppliers involved in Sactown Dining Collective include Kru, The Kitchen, Mulvaney’s B&L, The Golden Bear, Tuli Bistro, Restaurant Thir13en and Chocolate Fish Coffee.

Pechal said the group, currently at more than 20 members, is still growing.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

River City Brewing Co. getting ready for spring

2012-03-23T02:20:50Z

River City Brewing Company, located in Westfield Downtown Plaza, is gearing up for spring with two seasonal beers debuting May 1 and the barbecue on the patio set to return April 14, weather permitting.

“Our head chef will be out there barbecuing oysters on the half shell, chicken and shrimp, and sometimes artichokes,” said General Manager and co-owner Beth Ayres, 35.

The patio barbecues have been held on the patio for about 10 years, and Ayres said Head Chef Ignacio “Nacho” Sanchez enjoys taking the time to socialize with the customers, barbecue and share a beer.

Held from 5:30 p.m. to about 8:30 p.m. on Friday nights, the barbecues are popular with the after-work crowd, Ayres said.

“It’s a great patio, just for the people-watching alone,” she said with a laugh, noting that it’s also wind-protected and can seat about 70.

Oysters run about $1.75 each, and two skewers of chicken – a couple bites each – cost $1, with two skewers of prawns available for $1.50.

“We’ll have people come in and order 20 oysters at a time,” she said.

Currently, the seasonal beer is the brewing company’s California Irish Red Rye Ale, which Brewmaster Brian Cofresi described as a darker red beer with a little extra alcohol in it – at 6.3 percent.

“I tweaked it a little and added rye,” he said, adding that the malts are all from California, and he expects the beer to be in stock for another two weeks.

On Tuesday, he brewed one of the beers that will be released May 1, a German-style Maibock.

“It’s a pale lager,” he said. “The Germans would call it a helles Maibock, and helles means light-colored, not light beer.”

The other seasonal brew to be released May 1 is the brewery’s Belgian White.

“It’s an unfiltered wheat beer with a unique Belgian yeast,” Cofresi said. “It’s light, but it has a lot of flavor.”

He added that the beer has coriander as well as sweet and bitter orange peel for flavoring.

“I did my apprenticeship here in ’96, and we were brewing this one, and it’s won a lot of first-place ribbons at the State Fair,” he said.

Beers range in price from $3.75 - $7.50, with the medium – served in a pint glass – $4.50.

The brewpub itself celebrated 18 years in business in December, and Ayres said she and a couple other employees bought the business in 2007 to keep it locally owned.

All the beers are served on tap, and while some of the brews are sold at local restaurants such as River City Saloon, the brewpub itself sells most of them alongside its classic American fare.

Lunch dishes include sandwiches, burgers, pizzas, and fish and chips, while dinner is a bit heartier with steaks, pastas and salmon dishes.

For more information and menus, visit the brewpub’s website by clicking here.

Local grocers on 'pink slime' meat

2012-03-20T02:33:45Z

The slaughterhouse leftovers and trimmings recently tagged as “pink slime” that are present in many meats has brought nationwide attention to the content in store-bought meats, and The Daily published a graphic on Monday showing which large retailers do and don’t stock “pink slime.”

The Sacramento Press looked at some local grocery stores and asked if they carry “pink slime,” and other local options, such as Safeway and Target, were included in the larger report.

Locally, representatives of both Corti Brothers and the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op said they do not sell “pink slime.”

“Corti Brothers grinds its own ground beef,” said Corti Brothers Owner Darrell Corti. “Corti Brothers has nothing to do with pink slime.”

Corti said that the meat stocked in his grocery store, located at 5810 Folsom Blvd., is ground in a refrigerated unit by small machines.

“There is no such thing as pink slime this way,” he said. “That’s done with machines that are very high-tension.”

He said the heat generated by machines at large processing plants creates what the industry calls “lean finely textured beef,” which is often treated with an ammonia formula to kill potential contaminants such as E. coli.

“Friction causes heat. That’s what produces pink slime,” he said. “We don’t have that.”

Paul Cultrera, general manager of the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op, said Monday that most of the store’s red meat is organic and sustainably produced.

“There’s no pink slime here,” he said. “Frankly, until this issue came up, I was not even aware of what pink slime was.”

The co-op, located at 1900 Alhambra Blvd., began selling red meats about seven or eight years ago, he said, and the demand has steadily risen.

Cultrera said he is not sure whether the rise in meat sales is because customers are specifically seeking locally sourced sustainable and organic meats or if it is a natural effect of the store’s recent entry into the meat market.

“It’s easy to grow from (not having it before), but we have seen consistent growth in the department, with people seeking what we have,” he said. “It tends to be more expensive, but people are obviously seeing the value in it.”

According to The Daily, Safeway, Target, Walmart and Albertsons all carry “pink slime” in both store-ground and prepackaged meats. Costco and Whole Foods are two of the large chains that do not carry “pink slime,” and others, such as Winco, carry “pink slime” in prepackaged products, but not in store-ground meats.

Calls for comment to the corporate offices of the locally owned Grocery Outlet and recently opened Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market on Monday were not returned by press time.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

New Chinese restaurant for Fifth and Broadway

2012-03-15T01:10:27Z

A family from China with a successful restaurant on Watt Avenue is opening a new Chinese eatery at Fifth Street and Broadway later this month.

Tan’s China Bistro will open once inspections are completed in the 2,400-square-foot space formerly occupied by Hong Kong Cafe at 501 Broadway, said Andy Tan, whose family owns the new business.

“The concept is really modern,” he said Wednesday. “All the food is prepared freshly – our goal is freshness”

Originally from Taishan, China, Tan, 25, came over with his parents, brother and sister about 14 years ago.

His parents owned a restaurant in Taishan and opened Wong’s Canton Chinese Restaurant at 5811 Watt Ave. about a decade ago, he said. Opening their second restaurant in the Broadway area made sense not just because of the number of cars on the thoroughfare, but also because it was the area the family moved to when it immigrated.

“We know what’s around us, there’s lots of freeway entrances and exits, and it’s a really good area for restaurants,” Tan said.

The restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner, with prices ranging from $6 - $10 per plate.

“We know the economy is bad, so people need to be able to go out and get a quality meal for a reasonable price,” Tan said.

He added that some of the traditional Chinese dishes on the menu will be served in hot iron plates and pots, which will allow the food to sizzle.

Some of the items served in the ironware include a braised cod filet in an iron pot, sizzled fish filet and prawn, and beef short rib with spicy black pepper sauce.

An assortment of teriyaki and Sichuan dishes are also on the menu, with meat options including chicken, pork and beef. Tofu is also available.

Beer and wine will be served, with a rotating selection of local wines, Tan added.

In addition to Andy Tan, 55-year-old Goulin Tan, 48-year-old Yongci Wong, 29-year-old Hong Tan and 20-year-old Janet Tan will run the restaurant.

Greater Broadway Partnership Executive Director Teresa Rocha said she has been watching the site with interest.

“We were very sorry to lose the Hong Kong Cafe,” she said Wednesday. “It had been there many years and held a significance in our district – many people had gone there with their families over the years.”

She added that seeing a new business move in so quickly – Hong Kong Cafe closed last June – is a good sign, and its Chinese cuisine will provide a similar flavor for the area.

“That end of Broadway is not served by as many restaurants as the Tower (Theatre) district, so we are delighted that there will be another restaurant in there,” she said.

The restaurant will be open from 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 11 a.m. - 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

New bus service to connect central city, Sac State area

2012-03-14T00:42:55Z

A new independent bus service aims to solve a problem facing many Sacramento State students: how to get to the central city restaurants and bars from the campus area on the cheap.

Laura Allen, 26, said she, her sister and father are working through their family business, Allen Transportation, to provide a bus that will make a circuit with several stops around the school, downtown and Midtown on Friday and Saturday nights, starting this week.

“The Sactown Hopper is a service we’re providing mainly for Sac State students right now because the pickups are around that area,” Allen said. “We’re stopping at three locations around Sac State and four locations downtown.”

A list of the stops can be viewed on the business’ Facebook page.

There are two buses, but only one will be running, with the second serving as a backup. Riders will pay $10 when they board the bus and be given a wristband that lets them ride anytime between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.

“We like to have fun, and I know just from that area around Sac State to get to downtown is about $45 each way in a cab, and we thought that we’d try to do something more affordable and safer for people.”

The bus holds about 50 people and takes an hour to complete the loop, Allen said, adding that she hopes it will cut down on the number of drunken drivers going on the roads.

“It lets everybody enjoy partying and get home safely,” she said.

Allen, her sister, Lisa Allen, and their father, William Allen, are all graduates of Sacramento State.

Stops in the downtown and Midtown area include 15th and R streets,10th and K streets, 15th and L streets and 28th and J streets. Laura Allen said those could expand if the service becomes popular.

Downtown Sacramento Partnership Director of Marketing and Outreach Lisa Martinez said that while she is not familiar with the specifics of the business, she is encouraged to see another way for people to reach the central city.

“I think that service encourages people to come and visit Midtown and downtown and connects the central city with the Sacramento State campus, and we’re hopeful it encourages people to be more responsible when they’re going for a night out,” she said. “I think it’s a positive thing, and it’s definitely an asset for local businesses.”

Laura Allen said the bus’ position will be updated via its Twitter feed, which states that the bus will start early on Saturday for St. Patrick’s Day, at 2 p.m.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

When waste is good: Caterer's donations to homeless

2012-03-08T01:55:34Z

While canned food drives and holiday donations may bring awareness to the needs of homeless people in the community, the need for donations exists year-round, and sometimes those needs are filled by unexpected donors.

For the past 10 to 15 years, Classique Catering – which contracts with the Sacramento Convention Center to provide food for convention center events – has been donating its excess to charity.

“A lot of times, there will be events where a company plans on 800 people showing up, and they pay for food for that many, but maybe only 600 show up, leaving us with 200 extra meals,” said Classique Catering General Manager Vickie Housholder.

Those extra 200 meals – whether they be individual boxed lunches, pastries and fruits, buffet dishes, salads or any other item – are then picked up by workers for the Union Gospel Mission and served later that day to those in need.

“There’s a huge variety of food, and it helps us be green, because we aren’t throwing it into a landfill, so it’s good for everyone,” Housholder said.

Only the food that is not served can be donated, since anything that has been sent out to a table cannot be re-served without violating the health code.

The Union Gospel Mission serves between 120 and 160 people each evening, and Food Services Manager Tim Trenum said the partnership is a good program.

“Anything is a blessing,” he said. “We have cooks here who are knowledgeable and can incorporate whatever we get into a soup or some type of dish.”

He said that there are also cases where the charity receives boxed lunches and salads already measured for individual servings, and those are then offered to the people who come through the door.

The Union Gospel Mission is not just open to homeless, but anyone in need of a meal or other services offered, including showers and clothing.

“We turn no one away. People should know we have an open-door policy,” Trenum said.

While the Sacramento Convention Center is a city-owned entity, Classique Catering is a contractor, and the city is not providing food through the center for the homeless.

“The food is paid for by whoever is having the event,” Housholder said. “When we let them know what we can do with the leftover food that wasn’t used at their event, they are usually happy to see that it’s going to do some good.”

Other places Union Gospel Mission receives food from include Foodlink and Senior Gleaners, both businesses that collect food from private businesses such as grocery stores and then sell it at very low prices to charities, Trenum said.

During the course of a typical month, he added, about 8,600 meals are served.

Housholder said that Classique Catering typically makes about 5 percent more food than is ordered in case more people show up to an event, and not every event has overages that can be donated, but sometimes the truck from Union Gospel Mission will come as many as three times per week for pickups.

“It’s really nice to know that something that is perfectly fine and safe to serve is going to people who need it,” she said.

Union Gospel Mission is located at 400 Bannon St.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Midtown Monthly publishes final print issue

2012-03-05T23:41:38Z

Midtown Monthly, a magazine covering arts, entertainment and life in Midtown Sacramento, will cease publishing a print edition after this month, Editor Tim Foster announced Monday.

Originally an offshoot of Capitol Weekly called Midtown/Downtown, Midtown Monthly launched as its own glossy magazine in March 2007, Foster said. The two magazines shared a printer, designers, advertising sales staff and other expenses.

When Capitol Weekly moved to publishing online only in January, all of the shared costs suddenly fell to Midtown Monthly, and it was too much, Foster said.

“We were back to shouldering 100 percent of those costs,” said Foster, 46, whose full-time job is working on political messaging and advertising for Capitol Weekly, among other duties. “We could keep doing it, but the reality is it was going to be too stressful.”

Foster added that the website, which can be viewed by clicking here, will stay active, with the latest issue being uploaded. The archives will stay online, and Foster added that now he will likely continue writing for the site, and some of those who wrote for the print publication may continue to post online.

The free magazine was written by freelancers, and Foster said that despite the sense of loss, he is happy to have worked with a dedicated cadre of writers.

“I feel lucky I was able to work with the people I worked with in putting this together – they did an amazing job,” he said. “We did it on a shoestring budget, and we did it with people who were not professional writers – they were just people who loved what they did.”

The magazine had its best year in the past 12 months, with revenues up 15 percent over the previous year, but taking on full costs of printing and designing negated the progress made over the past years, Foster said.

Associate Editor Becky Grunewald said she will miss the magazine for the unique perspective it provided to the community.

“It was written by Sacramento nerds – we nerd out on everything Sacramento: the best bike routes, 60s garage bands and all those topics,” she said. “When we all came together for meetings, we could just talk for hours – it’s really people coming together out of a love of Sacramento.”

She added that the magazine, combined with other free publications in the city, including SubMerge Magazine, the Sacramento News & Review and The Sacramento Press, provide an important point of view on local happenings.

“Some of these free publications are the only thing standing between us and some monolithic point of view in The (Sacramento) Bee,” she said. “We need these, and we just lost one of them.”

Foster said he spent the past six weeks searching for an investor or partner to join in the business, but to no avail.

“I would love if someone came to me and said, ‘I think this is a really valuable voice,’ and wanted to carry on publishing it – I’d love to talk to them,” Foster said. “The reality is, I did that five years ago, and I’m not in a position to do that again. I just don’t have the bucks that I did five years ago.”

One of the places Midtown Monthly was carried was The Beat, an independent music store at 17th and J streets. The Midtown Monthly rack was empty Monday afternoon.

Waylon Horner, a 28-year-old Oak Park resident and employee of The Beat, said he would leaf through it and read an article here and there.

“It was pretty cool,” he said. “I’d see pictures of people I knew in there. I never got into it really that much, but other people did.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Two new players in the local brunch scene

2012-03-03T00:14:11Z

A pair of Sacramento restaurants entered the local brunch scene in February, adding to what owners said is a strong market for weekend eats.

Both the newly opened Red Rabbit Kitchen & Bar and Restaurant Thir13en are working to finalize their brunch menus.

Restaurant Thir13en, located at 1300 H St. downtown, opened eight months ago, and Sunday will mark its third week of doing brunch, Chef and co-owner Adam Pechal said Friday. Pechal is also the chef and co-owner of Tuli Bistro.

“It was something that we always planned to do,” he said. “It’s proven at Tuli to be one of our best shifts, and I always heard that Chanterelle, our predecessor, had a really successful brunch.”

Currently, the restaurant only serves brunch on Sundays, but Pechal said he wants to add Saturday brunch service, likely in about a month.

One of the most popular brunch items in the past few weeks is the hog belly hash, which centers around pork belly cooked sous vide for 12 hours. Ground up with Kennebec potatoes and beets, it’s a different take on the traditional corned beef and hash.

Another popular dish is chicken and waffles. Buttermilk-fried poussin – chickens slaughtered when they are 3 weeks old – about the size of a game hen is served with a goat cheese herb waffle and topped with a bacon maple syrup.

“We infuse the syrup with bacon, and there’s actual bacon bits in the syrup, and then we garnish it with fried sage leaves,” Pechal said.

When it comes to drinks, there’s an emphasis on sharing.

“We’re actually doing pitchers of Bloody Marys, and we have other breakfast-oriented pitchers,” Pechal said.

The Bloody Marys are made with a varying assortment of pickled vegetables, including brussels sprouts, green beans, cauliflower and peppers.

“It’s not your usual Bloody Mary,” Pechal said. “Every week, there will be some different pickled things.”

Other pitcher drinks include a concoction of vodka and guava juice in a tribute to Pechal’s father, who used to drink a similar drink on weekends, and a tequila and orange juice mixture reminiscent of a tequila sunrise.

The food items run about $14 - $20, with the most expensive item being the steak and eggs. The pitcher drinks cost $36 and serve about eight drinks.

Pechal said the patio, which can seat about 50, is popular as the day warms up, augmenting the 40 inside seats. Brunch is served from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Midtown’s Red Rabbit Kitchen & Bar opened last month and began offering brunch on Saturdays and Sundays Feb. 25, according to Sous Chef Scott Ostrander.

“I would like to point out that it’s not breakfast,” he said. “We’re staying away from the pure traditional breakfast and lunch things and combining them.”

Some items from the lunch menu, including the fried egg burger, will be available, but the highlights were specially created for brunch.

Scotty’s Green Eggs and Yams is an eggs Benedict dish with a yam gratin that Ostrander said can be considered a hash but is layered like a gratin. It is served with two poached eggs on toast and Bloomsdale spinach Hollondaise.

Another item is the créme brûlée French toast.

“We make a créme anglaise batter, and we basically coat the bread in the glaze, put it on the flat top (grill) and sear it,” Ostrander said. “We don’t submerge it, so the fluffy texture is preserved.”

The dish is then coated in powdered sugar and served with amaretto whipped cream on the side and hot maple syrup.

“I do believe I’m going to be adding on some sausages I’ve been working with and a burrito with some chorizo,” he added. “I just haven’t finished it yet.”

Co-owner Matt Nurge said Bloody Marys will be available during brunch, which runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., but more creative cocktails are also being crafted.

“Corpse Reviver No. 2 is a classic cocktail designed to be a little hair of the dog,” Nurge said. “It has Lillet blanc – an aperetif wine – gin, fresh lemon juice and cointreau with a dash of absinthe.”

A celery sour cocktail has fresh lemon juice, celery bitters from a pre-Prohibition-era recipe, pineapple-flavored gum syrup and whiskey.

A cilantro cooler is another cocktail for brunch, and it combines chili syrup, tequila, cilantro, cucumber and yellow chartreuse.

Nurge said he knocked a dollar off the cocktail price for brunch, bringing them to $6 each.

Ostrander said food prices range from $7 - $18.

To read a previous roundup of local brunch options, click here.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Temple Coffee expands to East Sac

2012-03-02T23:40:27Z

Temple Coffee, popular in both downtown and Midtown, is opening a new location in East Sacramento near Loehmann’s Plaza Monday.

“It’s in a great corner spot,” said owner Sean Kohmescher on Thursday. “It’s got a huge outdoor patio, and it’s a great neighborhood over here.”

The approximately 1,000-square-foot space was previously Cafe La Boca, and Kohmescher said when the opportunity came up to move into the space early last month, it seemed like a good fit.

“We’re just happy to be in the neighborhood and have great coffee,” he said. “We’re going to be doing similar things to what we’ve done at our other locations.”

Temple Coffee opened in the old Levinson’s Books building on 10th Street downtown in 2005. A second location opened on S Street in Midtown in 2009, and the original location moved to its current spot on Ninth Street between J and K streets last year.

Kohmescher said each location has its own vibe, largely due to the neighborhoods in which they sit and who frequents them. The newest location, he said, is homier than the other two.

Kecia Conrad, the 56-year-old owner of The Salon, located a few doors down from Temple, said Friday that she will likely frequent the coffee bar.

“It’s a place to be able to go and sit down and kind of unwind between clients,” she said. “Coffee shops always have a nice atmosphere.”

She added that the area is busy, and the locals tend to favor locally owned businesses over corporate ones.

Hours at the new space, located at 2600 Fair Oaks Blvd., will be from 6 a.m. - 10 p.m. daily.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Mad Cat Bicycles moves to East Sac

2012-03-01T02:03:21Z

The popular Mad Cat Bicycles moved from Town & Country Village to a bigger location in East Sacramento Feb. 1, and owner Mike Upchurch said the extra space will allow for more inventory and a space for cyclists to gather and talk bikes.

“This space popped up, and we hadn’t really thought about the area – there’s quite a few bike shops in Midtown and downtown – but looking at the corridor through here, I thought that it would be a good spot,” the 40-year-old Upchurch said.

The 4,800-square-foot-shop, located at 3257 Folsom Blvd., is geared toward the racing community, but Upchurch said it is a full family bicycle shop, with a selection of bicycles that aren’t primarily for racing in addition to the higher-end racing components.

At the old location, the shop was 3,000 square feet, and Upchurch said the new space will allow him to stock more cycling clothing in addition to having more room.

“We live, love and ride bikes. We’re all about it,” Upchurch said, adding that all the shop workers race, and many commute to the store on bicycles.

A pair of couches and a coffee bar encourage bicycle enthusiasts to hang out. On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, free coffee is provided, and Upchurch said he wants to create an atmosphere where people can kick their feet up, read cycling magazines and eat their lunches.

Second Saturday Art Walk events will be held, with live music and food from the nearby 33rd Street Bistro. Local photographer Tim Westmore’s prints of local racers hang on the walls.

“You can buy parts anywhere. You can buy parts at other shops or online,” Upchurch said. “We’re creating a central base camp for those who want to hang out.”

With a strong racing component to the shop, about 60 riders belong to the shop’s competitive racing team, Team Mad Cat.

Team members are required to participate in a certain number of races per year, and volunteering – including working at races and maintaining bicycle trails – is required.

“The customer service is what brought me to this shop,” said Vee Bhopla, who became part of Team Mad Cat about five years ago and now manages it. Outside of cycling, he works as a nurse.

“One of the biggest things that Mike believes in as an owner is really going out in the community and doing work – whether it’s trail maintenance or leading rides,” he said. “I love the new location. I’m a little biased because I live in East Sac, but it’s great to have a good bike shop two miles from home.”

One of the faster-growing segments of bicycle racing, Upchurch said, is cyclecross, which combines components of mountain biking and road racing, with riders taking laps around a course that is typically a mile long, usually dirt. They often require cyclists to dismount and lift their bicycles over obstacles.

Members of Club Mad Cat, which is similar to a store membership and has no racing requirement, get discounts in the shop and can take part in less-competitive rides.

The space is also used for classes and workshops. One upcoming workshop is an urban cycling skills class put on by the bicycle advocacy group Smart Cycling that teaches riders a variety of tips to stay safe and legal on urban streets. It lasts eight hours and begins at 8 a.m. March 17. The class is free, but advance registration is required. Click here for more information.

Other classes include a bicycle mechanic workshop and a class on how to build a bicycle wheel at home. For more information on those and other events, click here.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Two Rivers Cider Company rolls out sour cider

2012-02-25T02:46:09Z

The local Two Rivers Cider Company recently delved into offering sour ciders, and the newest Two Rivers Sour Apple Cider was released Friday.

Hot City Pizza in East Sacramento will stock the cider this weekend, and Samuel Horne’s Tavern in Folsom will carry it next weekend. Plans for Pangaea Two Brews to possibly stock a different sour batch this weekend were being worked out Friday, according to Nick Vellanoweth, production manager.

The businesses are hosting events with sour brews as part of Sacramento Beer Week.

“Sours are always hit and miss, so my biggest challenge was if it would work,” Vellanoweth said, adding that he was very happy with the sour ciders.

After two weeks of fermentation, the sours were aged since last May.

The apples used are a blend, including Golden Delicious and Granny Smith apples. They were selected to ensure the proper balance of sweet and sour, as well as acidity and other factors.

The process for making the sours involves using bacteria to eat the sugars, much in the way champagne and sparkling wine are produced.

Vincent Sterne, founder of the cider company, which began almost 16 years ago, said he likes to think of cider as the backwoods cousin of wine and the unwanted stepchild of beer.

“I mention that because there’s a big trend in the American (beer) brewing industry to start doing sours. Sours originated, I think the style came out of Belgium and France,” he said. “As far as I know, none of the other ciders, none of the other big guys, are doing sours.”

He said that he likes to be creative and come out with something that no one else has done.

Cascade Barrel Brewing House in Portland, Ore., was the first place the sours were sent, and they did well, so Sterne said he and his crew decided to release them locally.

The first locally released sour cider was released last year and called Lehe, in homage to a friend of Vellanoweth’s who died suddenly. Sold in 6.32-ounce bottles, it is based off Gravenstein apples and is available at The Shack in East Sacramento, and it has also been sold at Pangaea.

The current batch is only available on draft, and it was done in small batches of about 120 gallons.

“It’s something I’d like to continue doing, because I think it’s working really well,” Vellanoweth said.

He added that his hope is to see more people expand their palates to cider, sampling the different varieties. Like beer and wine, he said, cider varieties have distinctly different flavors, and those who try different types will notice that.

In addition to sour ciders, which were made in small batches, the Two Rivers Cider Company typically produces about six types of cider at a time. For a list of where to buy the ciders locally and in the Bay Area, click here.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Editorial Note: A spelling correction was made to this article after it was published.

Beatnik Studios to add outdoor element

2012-02-25T01:49:41Z

Located just off Broadway on 17th Street, Beatnik Studios will launch an expansion project to add an outdoor artwork space, patio and event venue adjacent to its existing space.

Construction is set to begin in two weeks, and the 1,800-square-foot spot of largely unused asphalt will be fenced in with a stone wall between it and nearby residences and an “art wall” made of tin panels and distressed wood by local artist Kermit McCourt.

“We’d like it to be a place to have a sculpture garden, do some art shows and events, and maybe have some outdoor music if we can do it legally,” co-founder Wes Davis said Friday.

Over the past year, Beatnik Studios, 2421 17th St., has become more involved as a wedding venue, holding an average of about two weddings per month, according to Art Curator Greg Pond. Having the added outdoor space will allow the studio to be more appealing to those who want an outdoor aspect to their ceremonies or receptions.

Another use for the exterior area could be arts fairs, where artists would set up in a space and sell pieces similar to the way a craft show runs, Pond said.

Event Coordinator Karen Popovich said the capacity of the whole space will not be increased from its current limit of 299 people. She added that they prefer to keep the number down around 200, since that is the most comfortable. Weddings are typically held to between 150 and 175 people.

“It absolutely makes it more attractive to have that,” she said. “A lot of times with weddings people will set up an outdoor space so people can go outside for fresh air or to smoke, and they have to bring their own tents and set them up. This will allow us to charge a little bit more, and it should pay for itself.”

Davis said that the space will be big enough to have a wedding ceremony outdoors.

The fence is expected to be finished by March 24, Davis said, adding that finishing it will likely take about a year. When finished, there will be flooring of some sort over the asphalt, and a shade structure – possibly stretched canvas – is planned.

Access to the outdoor area will be via a gate in the fence, and a pathway between the fence and the rest of the studio will allow tenant access to the lofts above.

Beatnik began more than three years ago as a photography studio in a more-than-5,000-square-foot space that was, at the time, being used for storage. In the past, it was also a studio, topless bar and possibly built as a meat processing plant, Davis said.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Barber shop ambiance displayed in art show

2012-02-24T02:43:13Z

Sixty years of haircuts on Stockton Boulevard are being celebrated over the next two months as the Master Barber & Beauty Shop showcases a photography exhibit highlighting the barbershop environment.

Called “Hairitage,” the photos by local artist and photographer Gerry “Gos” Simpson give insight into not only the hair-cutting aspect of the business, but the role of the barber shop as a communal gathering point.

“Taking these photos took me back to my first haircut,” Simpson said, adding that one photo of a young boy getting his hair cut sticks out in his mind. “Young men come here and get their first haircuts, their dads slip them a few dollars to tip the barber, and they learn the basics of business.”

The exhibit, which features more than 20 photographs out of the approximately 2,000 Simpson shot since late August of last year, will open March 3 and run through April 28.

At times using a standard lens, Simpson said he often opted for a telephoto lens to allow him to trespass on the process of those getting haircuts, essentially removing himself from the equation.

“That allowed me to get close-up shots without being close,” he said, adding that all the people in the photos gave him permission to photograph them.

“The barber shop is a place where people come to discuss everything from religion to politics to family and their girlfriends,” said Rodney Brown, whose family has owned the shop since 1974.

Brown said that, with documentation of the shop being open as early as 1952, it is one of the longest-running independent businesses in the area, and some say that it was open even earlier, in the 1940s.

Over the past quarter century, Brown said, the shop has had to innovate to stay relevant, adding a beauty salon portion in 1989 and making it a center for the arts over the past few years as the economy flagged.

“It’s a hub,” Simpson said. “They host community events, they have art shows, they have music performances and poetry readings.”

Brown said about 80 people recently came to a workshop on how to get a job with the state of California by BASS – Black Advocates for State Service.

An opening reception for the show from 4 - 7 p.m. March 3 will feature poetry reading from 9-year-old Lil Ro-Ro, a local poet, and live music, though what musicians will play has yet to be confirmed.

Mary Brown, whose late husband, Earlie, took over the shop in 1974, said that working with the community has long been a part of the shop’s culture.

“He used to go deep-sea fishing and come back with salmon,” she said. “We’d barbecue them out front and offer some to whoever came by. That’s important to keep going.”

Master Barber & Beauty Shop, located at 4340 Stockton Blvd., is open from 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and from 9 a.m. - 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. It is closed Sunday and Monday.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Specialty grilled cheese coming to Ninth Street

2012-02-24T02:30:17Z

A specialty grilled cheese sandwich shop called Cheese Louise is slated to come to Ninth Street between J and K streets downtown as early as the beginning of April.

Ron Berger, a local veteran of the hotel industry, will be running the shop, and he said the idea is similar to a shop called The Melt in San Francisco, but will be expanded with the addition of soups and a salad bar.

“We’ll have various types of grilled cheese, with Spanish, French, Italian and American cheeses,” he said. “We’ll also have soups every day, and we might do specials with a lasagna or something.”

Opening at 7 a.m. and closing by 6 p.m., the store, located at 1009 Ninth St., will serve a breakfast selection of hot cereals such as oatmeal, fruits and pastries and an English muffin with melted cheese, among other items.

Berger said he expects lunch customers to be able to eat for between $5 and $9, depending on what they order, and breakfast customers to eat for about $5.

Beer and wine are planned to be on offer, with possible drink specials from 3 - 6 p.m.

“It’s nice for something that is quick and fresh and all of that,” building owner Mo Mohanna said. “Hopefully they’ll do good. That area is coming along. It’s happening little by little.”

The 1,500-square-foot space previously housed a sandwich shop called Crave It, and it was vacant for about four months before Berger began work on Cheese Louise.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Local clothing line to have 'pop-up' shop this weekend

2012-02-23T05:56:44Z

The pair of locals who founded KingsTribe Clothing in 2007 are bringing an event to Sacramento this weekend that is meant to mimic short-term retail sites prevalent in cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles – a “pop-up shop.”

“This is a first for us. It’s kind of an experimental thing,” said co-owner and designer Samuel Parkinson, 26. “A pop-up shop is up one day and out the next. We’re going to open Friday and leave Sunday night.”

The shop will be in what is essentially the basement of a Victorian building at 2017 I St., which was a tattoo shop at one time, Parkinson said.

Partnering with another local clothing brand, Urbal Apparel, Parkinson and his business partner, 27-year-old Erayis Montes will be open from 1 p.m. - midnight on Friday and from 10 a.m. - midnight Saturday and Sunday.

The line has no permanent storefront.

A temporary mural out front by local artists Kids Crew and ongoing live art on clothing by locals including Raul Mejia, who goes by El Pngwn, are part of what Parkinson said he hopes will draw crowds to the space. A pool table and DJ will also be on-hand.

“Mainly we want to support locals because we’re trying to grow our city,” Parkinson said, adding that he wants to see a more in-depth fashion week.

KingsTribe’s pop-up shop is meant to dovetail with Sacramento Fashion Week, and Parkinson said he wants Sacramento to get to the point where there are multiple events and multiple venues throughout the city to celebrate fashion.

Montes said he hopes the pop-up shop will bring increased community awareness to the brand and allow him and Parkinson to expand toward ultimately opening their own manufacturing facility.

“The most exciting thing for me is getting more community involvement in the company,” Montes said. “We’re really trying to get a great group of people involved and build up our image.”

The name KingsTribe comes from a belief that all people are part of one tribe and each individual becomes a king within that tribe, Parkinson said.

“We’re a bunch of characters who come together and bring our unique characteristics to the world,” he added.

Montes and Parkinson met while attending the International Academy of Design and Technology in Sacramento, and they launched their clothing line in 2007.

Initially, they stuck with screen-printing T-shirts, and they now produce a full line of clothing, including T-shirts, hoodies, jackets and other items such as bags and backpacks.

Parkinson described the products as having a big-city, metropolitan character and appealing most to those ages 18-28.

“We do it all ourselves,” Montes said. “We cut, sew and screen-print. We only buy the fabric, the ink, T-shirts and some of the hoodies.”

Working out of their houses, production runs aren’t very large, but one local merchant who sells the clothing said it is high-quality.

“I’ve had good experience with them,” said Lacadia Olsen, owner of Cuffs in Midtown. “Their stuff does really well, especially in terms of local designers.”

Olsen added that she thinks the quality of the work is very good, and it’s clear that the duo spend time on the product.

“They do a lot of really clean, contemporary stuff, stuff I think is really right on for right now,” she said. “I think they have a pretty good fighting chance of going somewhere.”

In addition to Cuffs, the clothing is also sold at French Cuff Consignment in Midtown and ZuhG Life in Westfield Downtown Plaza.

David Sanson, 38, owns Urbal Apparel and is partnering with KingsTribe for this weekend’s event.

He said he started his line about six years ago, but it went on hiatus when he moved to the Bay Area.

“They basically reached out to me and invited me to be part of this,” he said. “I’m very excited about being back in the scene and seeing people walking around Midtown and downtown wearing my stuff.”

During the three days that the pop-up shop is up, Parkinson said, exclusive items will be for sale, including T-shirts screen-printed on-site that combine KingsTribe and Urbal Apparel’s designs. Three unique jackets will be auctioned or raffled off as well.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Taxi ordinance to be tweaked

2012-02-22T08:22:47Z

The Sacramento City Council will look to further regulate the city’s taxi fleet, allowing police officers to cite taxis that park in metered spots and require cabs to have the city’s 3-1-1 number on them to moderate complaints against the service.

City Councilman Jay Schenirer said Tuesday before the council meeting that the ordinance amendment – which will likely be passed by the council in the next few weeks – is just to iron out the kinks and clarify the existing taxi ordinance.

“If everybody knows the rules, it makes it easier for everyone to play by them, and the overall service will improve,” Schenirer said.

The issue was on the agenda at Tuesday’s meeting as a routine step to publish the ordinance before it comes to the council for final approval.

According to the staff report for Tuesday’s City Council meeting, the change is in response to residents’ complaints about some aspects of the city’s taxi fleet.

If passed, residents can call the city’s 3-1-1 information line in the future for all complaints about the taxis.

An ordinance passed in October 2010 made it illegal for taxis to park in metered spots, according to the staff report, but there was no mechanism for enforcement. The change that will come to the council for review allows officers to cite taxi drivers parking in metered spots.

Fred Pleines, president of Yellow Cab Company of Sacramento, said Tuesday that there used to be a significant problem with some taxis using metered spots to turn a two-cab taxi queue into as many as 15 cabs in a queue.

“They were parking in the metered spots, and some of those cabs would be two or three blocks away,” he said. “Consequently, you didn’t have parking for those businesses. Also, the drivers wouldn’t pay for parking unless they saw the meter maid coming, so the city was losing revenue.”

Pleines said his concern with having the ordinance prohibiting parking in metered spaces is lack of enforcement, but he isn’t sure if the current change will be enough.

“It’s not quite the way I would address it,” he said. “I would require cab companies to have radio dispatching – actual offices where people are answering phones and taking requests and dispatching cabs – the meter queueing would disappear.”

That requirement has previously been discussed by the City Council Law and Legislation Committee, but it has not been put into effect, and it was met with criticism from cab drivers who say the expense of setting up such a center would cripple their business.

When it comes to the current ordinance amendment’s requirement to include the city’s 3-1-1 informational number on all cabs, Pleines said he isn’t happy about it, but he understands it.

“I like taking complaints, because I handle each complaint. If a driver cheats you and charges you $20 for a $5 fare, that’s taken care of because your call comes to my dispatch center,” he said.

For some companies, he added, the calls would simply go to the driver who cheated the passenger, which doesn’t help resolve the issue.

“That’s why it’s being taken to the extreme,” he said. “It wasn’t always being handled in a businesslike manner.”

Gina Knepp, manager of the city’s 3-1-1 service, said Tuesday that there have sometimes been complaints about taxis coming in to 3-1-1, but she doesn’t expect the call volume to increase markedly.

“In the past, there have been complaints about taxis from business owners about cabs competing for certain corners, and some people have complained that they charge too much,” she said. “I could be wrong, but I don’t think the number of calls will go up very much.

She added that there were some complaints about that on the corner of 10th and J streets, where The Citizen Hotel faces Cesar Chavez Plaza.

Knepp said residents don’t need to call 3-1-1, but can email 311@cityofsacramento.org, and all emails are attended to in 24 hours.

Schenirer said he does not expect any opposition to the ordinance change from City Council members.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Ruhstaller launches new brew

2012-02-18T01:30:28Z

Ruhstaller, a local brewery in operation for about eight months, launched its newest beer this week, called Captain California Black IPA, and owner J-E Paino said Friday that the company is working on another brew, which should be available by summer.

Bottles went on sale in local stores by early December, after a launch party for the brewery in November, Paino said. To read more about the launch party and the story behind the beer – which recalls Sacramento’s pre-Prohibition-era history, click here.

The brewery, which produces its flagship 1881 Red Ale and seasonal Hop Sac, originally offered its beers on tap at local restaurants such as Mulvaney’s B&L and Selland’s Market-Cafe. The expansion to bottles allows them to be purchased at local markets including Whole Foods, Nugget Markets, Taylor’s Market and Corti Brothers.

“That’s gotten us into Roseville, Folsom, El Dorado Hills and Elk Grove, even Vacaville and Woodland,” Paino said.

Captain California Black IPA is a cross between a dark beer and a traditional India pale ale, Paino said, but the beer isn’t heavy, as some would expect traditionally dark beers such as porters and stouts to be, and unlike most IPAs, it doesn’t rely on bitter hops, but mixes bitter and aromatic hops.

Paino said India pale ales get their name from the times when India was a colony of Great Britain. The beer was brewed in England and loaded up with hops to preserve it on the long voyage to India, after which the hops had become bitter.

“The history of the beer is really that they made it to keep the (British) soldiers happy,” he said.

One quirk in bottling the beers that Paino said was unexpected was that sales went up when a piece of burlap was added around the necks of the bottles for character.

“I think it’s because the burlap calls out to (beer buyers), and they take it off the shelf because they want to touch it, and it ends up in their cart,” he said.

Paino and a friend initially glued the burlap to the bottles themselves, but realizing that they needed a larger workforce, they turned to Pride Industries, which employs people with developmental disabilities.

“They’re great to work with,” he said. “They come by once or twice a week and put the burlap on the bottles for us.”

Paino declined to give details about the next beer in the works, saying only that it will be good for drinking in the summer and will round out the brewery’s portfolio.

Ruhstaller is also looking for a home in the city, and whether it will be solely a production facility or a tap room and brewing facility is yet to be seen.

With Sacramento Beer Week starting Feb. 24, Ruhstaller will be taking part, and Paino said events will include a three-course dinner at Grange with a Q-and-A session, an event at Kupros Bistro and others. For a full list, click here.

One of the events will be a brunch Feb. 26 at Bows & Arrows in Midtown, which is one of the places Ruhstaller is served.

“The response (to Ruhstaller) has been really positive,” said Bows & Arrows co-owner Olivia Coelho. “They have their flagship 1881 red ale, and it’s really good. People love it. I think they have a really captivating story behind the beer, which is really exciting for people.”

The brunch event on Feb. 26 will run from 11 a.m. - 1 or 2 p.m., with the Fat Face Cafe mobile food vendor on the back patio at Bows & Arrows, along with the 1950s truck from Ruhstaller with beer taps on the side.

Coelho said that, with limited space of six taps and 12 bottles at the cafe in the back of the business, the on-tap beers are rotated, but Ruhstaller will remain for sale.

“We want to keep them around,” she said. “If we did take it off draft, we would definitely get the bottles. It’s nice to be able to support the local breweries, especially the ones that are just starting out.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Grateful Dog marks third year in business

2012-02-16T01:34:29Z

Drivers passing Grateful Dog Daycare and Boarding in Midtown might not notice the small building, but inside, as many as 50 dogs romp in supervised play yards, get their hair done or simply lounge on couches.

The business marked its third anniversary Tuesday and continues to provide cage-free daycare and overnight boarding.

Owner Robert Espinosa said that the economy started going bad almost as soon as he signed the lease in 2008, but that people still want their dogs cared for, and the daycare reaches its capacity of about 50 dogs nearly every day.

“This is a way for dogs to be out and get exercise and socialize with other dogs,” he said Wednesday. “It’s not your typical kennel.”

Large and small dogs are separated in the indoor play yards, and they have the option of playing with toys, climbing on play equipment or napping on a couch.

Dogs that stay overnight aren’t put in cages, but spend the night in a room with other dogs and a human supervisor.

“We bring in dog beds, blankets and pillows, and they can sleep on those or on the floor or on the couches – wherever they want,” Espinosa said. “It takes someone who really likes dogs to work here. They have to be OK with having three dogs sleeping with them on the bed.”

Grateful Dog has 16 employees and is open seven days per week. Daycare starts at $32 per day, with reduced prices when multiple stays are purchased. Overnight boarding starts at $45 per night, and includes daycare.

To make sure the dogs get along and are well-suited to group environments, all dogs go through an approximately 30-minute evaluation session at Grateful Dog where they interact with the other dogs to ensure there won’t be any problems. They must also be current on their vaccinations.

“They have to be able to get along, and some dogs don’t, or they get stressed out when other dogs are around, so they aren’t a good fit,” Espinosa said, adding that there is no charge for a dog that fails the evaluation.

Lesley Kirrene, spokeswoman for the Sacramento SPCA, said Thursday that while she is not familiar with Grateful Dog, the cage-free daycare and boarding houses can be great experiences for dogs.

“Dogs are social animals and pack animals, and if they all can get along, they would certainly thrive in an environment like that,” she said. “If they can work it so everyone gets along and there aren’t any fights or tussles, I think that kind of environment makes for a fun day.”

Kirrene said she has friends who work long hours and take their dogs to daycare so they aren’t cooped up in the home or backyard all day.

“They have a ball,” she said. “They come home exhausted.”

Espinosa said that some dogs become close friends and follow each other around all day.

“They get really excited to see each other and are inseparable,” he said. “It’s fun when you see that.”

Grooming and washing services are available, and customers can either wash their dogs themselves or have them washed. Full-service washing and grooming rates vary on dog size and breed.

A retail store in the front of the business focuses on American-made and environmentally friendly products.

“We’re not going to compete with Petco or any of those, so we carry things with a different focus,” Espinosa said, adding that some of the items are locally produced, such as dog collars made out of old leather belts by Chako, a local pit bull rescue center, and 15 percent of proceeds benefit canine rescue.

Before moving to Sacramento in the early 2000s, Espinosa and his wife lived in San Francisco, where he worked with a nonprofit organization helping to take care of dogs that belonged to people who had diseases such as AIDS, allowing them to keep their pets.

He later worked as a manager for a dog daycare facility in the Bay Area.

“When we came to Sacramento, I didn’t see any facilities like this,” he said. “Even though it was the start of the recession, people still were willing to pay to keep their pets in a place like this, so we were lucky in that sense.”

Grateful Dog is located at 430 17th St. Business hours are 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. on weekends.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Will The Sacramento Comedy Spot move?

2012-02-15T08:18:50Z

The Sacramento Comedy Spot’s lease for the MARRS Building at 20th and J streets is up in September, and owner Brian Crall said he wants to stay in the building, but that might not be possible if the rent is raised.

The comedy club has been in the MARRS Building for two years, and Crall said the business has done well there, looking to expand to having shows seven nights per week as well as beginning to offer beer, but the expiration of the lease might mean being “priced out” of the building.

“(Building owner Michael Heller) is a good guy, and he gave us an opportunity to be in Midtown,” Crall said. “We want to stay here, but he is in business too, and we get that.”

Crall said that “nobody is out to get anybody,” and Heller is working with Crall to find a solution that works for both landlord and tenant.

One of the ideas to come out of the talks was a potential partnership between The Sacramento Comedy Spot and the B Street Theatre, though it came to naught.

“We decided the two concepts just wouldn’t mesh,” Crall said.

B Street Theatre Managing Director Bill Blake said the MARRS Building is a good spot for comedy and, noting The Comedy Spot’s success in the space, said it made sense to have the conversation.

Though the partnership didn’t work out – and each side stressed that there is no animosity toward the other – Blake said that the theater saw success with a string of improvisational and sketch comedy events at the Cosmopolitan Cabaret last summer and is looking to offer similar events this spring.

“We are looking around for a space that will work for us,” Blake said. “We also have some time available at our own space, but we’ve got a lot on our plate with 19 productions and the work we do anyway.”

He said the theater, though holding its own financially, lacks the capital needed to get into a space like the MARRS Building, especially as it works toward constructing a new theater.

The positive response from the community to last summer’s comedy shows was encouraging, Blake said, adding that it’s not a direct competition to The Sacramento Comedy Spot.

“Our general feeling is that Sacramento is a great market for this stuff, and there’s room for multiple players for improv or sketch comedy.”

Crall said that The Sacramento Comedy Spot has a rich history of sketch comedy, and he wants to bring in San Francisco- or Los Angeles-based sketch comedy groups as well as bigger-name standup comedians in the future.

“This year, we’re doing a lot of new stuff we’ve never done, and adding beer sales is good,” he said. “The economy was slow for so long, but everything is starting to really move forward now.”

Crall said he has not explored other places in the city, preferring to stay in the MARRS Building if at all possible, but if it does come down to having to move, he said he wants to stay in the grid.

“If we had to move, I’d probably look to something like the R Street corridor or K Street near Pizza Rock,” he said. “We haven’t looked into it, but if I had to pick my second-favorite spot, it would be one of those two places.”

Crall said he will know by the end of the month whether he will be able to stay in the MARRS Building. Heller was not available for comment Tuesday.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Local bicycle product to go into production

2012-02-10T08:38:23Z

On Wednesday, a Sacramento company received the last bit of funding needed to launch production of a unique bicycle storage rack called The Bike Valet.

The powder-coated steel bicycle hanger was designed by local carpenter and owner of Reclamation Art + Furniture Steve Tiller.

“We (in the urban core) live in small apartments, and we need places to store our bikes,” he said Thursday. “This keeps the tires off the floor and keeps the kickstands from scratching hardwood.”

Financing for the first production run of the product came from the website Kickstarter.com. On the site, consumers bought the product at a reduced wholesale rate of $75 plus shipping, which is a discount from the final retail price, which will likely top $160, Tiller said.

Through The Bike Valet’s Etsy.com store, the lower price is being offered through Feb. 24.

After thieves broke into Tiller’s shop in Mansion Flats, he launched his Kickstarter.com fundraising drive, with a goal of $10,000. The story was originally covered by Isaac Gonzales, a community contributor for The Sacramento Press and owner of ranSACkedmedia.com, where he continued to follow the story.

The fundraising drive was partly to replace more than $6,000 in tools that were stolen from his shop, which is not open to the public.

“It’s a great way for startups to get funding for new products,” he said Thursday. “Our drive ended yesterday, and we raised $12,900.”

The kit comes with The Bike Valet in one of six colors with either leather or neoprene padding to protect the bicycle’s frame, lag bolts to mount the rack to a single stud and a template to drill the holes in the wall upon which it will be mounted.

Hanging a bicycle on The Bike Valet works by having the bottom piece support the frame, which serves as a fulcrum point. The top piece keeps the bicycle from tipping out of it, and it can be used either on the top bar of the frame or on the seat post to hang the bicycle vertically.

“It will work with almost any type of frame,” Tiller said. “It holds the bicycle securely, and it lets you keep it off the floor.”

When the production run is complete – expected to be sometime toward the end of March – Tiller said he will set up an online shopping site as well as partner with local bicycle shops.

“I’d most definitely like to carry them,” said John Boyer, owner of Edible Pedal, located at 1712 L St. “I think it’s a great design, and it can be used for just about any bike.”

Boyer said that with the rampant bicycle theft problem in Sacramento, storing bicycles inside is the only way to truly keep them safe from thieves, with even the most expensive locks being more deterrent than security.

“You’re kind of forced to bring your bike inside, and the design of (The Bike Valet) fits the minimalist style of design that’s very popular right now,” Boyer said.

In addition to practicality, Tiller said he thinks The Bike Valet can be used to show off a bicycle that is as much a work of art as a mode of transportation.

“If you’ve got a really nice fixie you’ve spent months working on, that might be something you want to show off in your home,” he said.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Nonprofit organization reaches fundraising goal

2012-02-08T02:07:02Z

La Raza Galería Posada, a local nonprofit Latino arts organization, succeeded in reaching its fundraising goals to stay open after Sacramento County Supervisor Phil Serna helped fill the funding gap with a music event Saturday.

In November, the center announced that it needed to raise $25,000 or face closure.

“We are extremely grateful for Supervisor Serna for his beyond-the-call-of-duty support,” said Marie Acosta, executive director of La Raza Galería Posada. “It’s very rare when an elected official will go out of their way and walk the talk for a nonprofit in need of funding.”

Funding sources for the art gallery and cultural center, located at 1022-1024 22nd St., have been in steady decline since 2005, threatening the existence of the 40-year-old center.

Saturday’s event, titled “Phil Serna Music on a Mission,” raised $30,000, which was split between La Raza Galería Posada, Cottage Housing, Women Escaping a Violent Environment and Roberts Family Development Center, according to a Monday press release.

While the extra push was needed over the past year, Acosta said Tuesday that there are several new funding sources opening up for the center this year, and the organization will apply for funding from places such as the National Endowment for the Arts, the Sierra Health Foundation, the Sacramento Region Community Foundation and the James Irvine Foundation.

“We are very hopeful that we will be able to receive funding from those sources, but we will always need support from the community, and now more than ever,” Acosta said.

New venue The Cave to host live music, comedy, other events

2012-02-08T02:04:31Z

The Cave is a new music and multi-use venue coming to Stockton Boulevard, moving in next door to the Colonial Theatre.

Formerly a shoe store, The Cave is currently used to hold wrestling events put on by Total Wrestling Federation, and starting Feb. 24, it will be opened to live music, standup comedy, art exhibits and other uses, said Mike Flanagan, who books the venue.

“We want this to be a public space where people can come and see a show, hear some comedy or see an art exhibition,” he said. “We have no intention of getting a liquor license, because we want this to be an all-ages place.”

Flanagan, who owns Bad Current Records and has been involved with the local music scene, said he wants to make the roughly 1,000-square-foot space available to neighborhood kids after school as well.

“I have a friend who refurbishes old arcade games, so we could have some of those, and they could come in here and play them for basically free, and they would have a place to go instead of getting in fights and that kind of thing,” he said.

Flanagan said keeping the cover charge down between $5 and $10 is key, and he wants to provide another venue for local musicians at a low cost. A tentative rental rate of $200 for a day is planned to make it affordable for local acts to get exposure.

The grand opening party Feb. 24 will include music from four musical acts including local singer Autumn Sky, two local comedians and photography exhibits from local photographers. For more information on the event, click here.

While the venue is still waiting on final inspections, Flanagan said he hopes to be able to fit about 100 people into the space in addition to the bands and other performers, who will be on a raised stage.

Total Wrestling Federation will continue to hold training and events at the space, with a removable wrestling rink brought in when the space is not being used for other events.

“I’m excited to be able to expand it,” said TWF owner Jake Sherman. “It’s going to be great to get live music in here, and I really think we can do a lot with the space.”

Flanagan said he wants to be able to offer light refreshments at the place, but it does not have a kitchen or food preparation facilities. Working with local food trucks to provide eats and drinks on event nights is something he said he wants to pursue.

A recent talk at Time Tested Books about the state of Sacramento’s music scene touched on the need for more venues, and while Flanagan said that most agree more medium venues are needed, he hopes to be able to expand the possibilities for local artists and those interested in seeing music shows in more intimate settings.

For more information about The Cave, visit the Facebook page.

The Cave is located at 3512 Stockton Blvd. Shows are anticipated to be held from 8 p.m. - midnight. For booking information, email Flanagan at indiehelpsindie@gmail.com.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Willie's Burgers launches food truck

2012-02-07T08:04:11Z

The locally owned Willie’s Burgers plans to launch a food truck – the Willie Wagon – in Sacramento this week, carrying burgers, chili burgers and fries.

“We’ve always thought a food truck was a good way to get the product and what we do out to people,” said Bill Taylor, owner of Willie’s Burgers. “I’d started developing the idea of a Willie Wagon since 1995, but it’s been in the back of my mind.”

Willie’s Burgers opened at 16th and Broadway in 1991, and a second location opened in Carmichael in 2004. Now, taking the burgers to offices and events with the food truck is proving a good addition to the business, Taylor said Friday.

“It’s been terrific,” he said. “We follow basically the same menu we have downtown, and we will be bringing in shakes once we get the milkshake machine.”

The original idea behind Willie’s Burgers was to bring some of the burger culture from Los Angeles to Sacramento, including staying open late, Taylor said. Currently, Sacramento’s mobile food ordinance requires the trucks to finish serving at 6 p.m., but it is moving to 8 p.m. in April, and Taylor said getting the laws changed is a priority.

“Having a downtown food truck roundup would bring more people downtown, and to the streets, and that would make the streets safer,” he said.

Another benefit to the food trucks, he added, includes giving some local chefs the chance to start small with a cheaper venture to showcase their creations – making a name for themselves without having to open a brick-and-mortar restaurant.

Prices at the Willie Wagon will be between $7 and $10 for a burger, drink and fries, and a few dollars more with a milkshake or chili fries.

Managing the food truck is J.J. Wakamiya, who said Monday that he wants to use the truck to encourage more people to explore the diverse areas of Sacramento.

“I want to encourage people to get out and try new foods and look for new things,” he said.

Final inspections with the city of Sacramento were scheduled for Tuesday morning, and Wakamiya said he planned to start running a downtown route this week.

Currently, the truck is licensed to operate in Rancho Cordova and Sacramento County.

“We’ve done a few events, like a rugby tournament and some office gatherings in Rancho Cordova,” he said. “We’d like to do more events like SactoMoFo 4 on April 21.”

He said that while the main goal is to sell burgers and spread the Willie’s Burgers name, the truck is part of a campaign to change the controversial ordinance that constricts food trucks to operating for only 30 minutes at a time within city limits.

“We want to support the mobile food industry and enhance it from a generic taco truck or roach coach to a branded truck with specialized menu,” he said.

To find out where the Willie Wagon will be, check the truck’s Facebook page.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

The Red Rabbit opens on J Street

2012-02-07T01:47:39Z

The Red Rabbit Kitchen & Bar is now open in the space that used to hold Red Lotus in Midtown, and a grand opening is scheduled for Friday.

The restaurant and bar aims to bring affordable food and drinks with an international flair to the block and see the same successes that other businesses – Harlow’s, BarWest Burgers & Wings and Centro Cocina Mexicana – have seen, said co-owners Matt Nurge and John Bays.

“We’re going with the globally inspired concept,” said Bays, who is the restaurant’s chef. “We’ve got a little Vietnamese, a little American – a lot of braising going on, and we’ve got some Hawaiian.”

An assortment of cheeses – including Spanish Manchego – will be on the menu, and while those come from overseas, much of the rest of the food is locally sourced.

“We try to get everything from local suppliers whenever we can,” Bays said.

Bays said the food prices are still being tweaked, but he plans on offering salads for around $5 - $7, and entrées range from around $11 - $15, with appetizers falling in between.

The menu itself is still being finalized, but some items, such as the “Bastard Banh Mi” – a Vietnamese banh mi sandwich with lemon chicken, pickled vegetables and chillies on grilled bread – are essentially finalized.

Vegetarian items are included as well, and Bays said it was important to build them from scratch, not just have them as an afterthought.

“These are vegetarian and vegan meals,” he said. “They’re more than just a side of vegetables.”

One of the vegetarian items is the “Earth Burger,” which has beans, rice, almonds, carrots, zucchini, onions and a goat cheese spread on an egg bun.

Brunch – including a Bloody Mary bar – will be held Saturdays and Sundays starting Feb. 18.

Nurge said house cocktails will be about $7, and well drinks such as a gin and tonic will be $4.

Currently, the restaurant is waiting on its liquor license, but all draft beers will be California brews.

“The ABC doesn’t tell businesses when they will get their licenses, but we’re hoping it’s soon,” he said.

“Everything we’re doing is simplified, but with high-quality ingredients,” Nurge said.

The theme of simplification is carried through with the décor of the restaurant, which is markedly different from Red Lotus, but those familiar with the former business will notice some of the same features, including the circular bar inside the doorway and the back patio.

“We were looking at the space, and a lot of it was really nice,” Nurge said. “On the patio, we took out the bamboo, and we really liked what we had left.”

The back patio is an all-weather patio with a roof, gas heaters for the winter and water misters for the summer. A front patio also runs along J Street, and Nurge said the whole restaurant can hold about 150 people comfortably.

One facet of the restaurant that pertains more to the approximately 30 employees than customers is a monetary incentive. A percentage of the restaurant’s profits will be doled out to the workers each quarter, and they will share in the profitability of the business.

“We open the books to them, and they can see exactly how we’re doing financially,” Nurge said. “It’s absolutely transparent, and we want them to feel like they’re more than just workers. We want them to feel like they’re a part of our success, because they are.”

The Red Rabbit Kitchen & Bar is located at 2718 J St. It is scheduled to be open from 11 a.m. - midnight Sunday through Thursday, until 2 a.m. on weekends, Nurge said. When brunch begins later this month, the restaurant will open at 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. For now until Thursday, it will open at 6 p.m., and then will follow normal business hours.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

The Republic opens

2012-02-04T08:07:30Z

The Republic Featuring Drewski’s opened downtown Friday, bringing a combination lounge, sports bar, video arcade, pool hall and food truck menu to one location.

“I’m excited we pulled it off,” said Andrew “Drewski” Blaskovich, owner of the popular food truck Drewski’s Hot Rod Kitchen. “I’m 100 percent confident in our staff here, and I know our kitchen crew, wait staff, bartenders and everyone will help make this happen.”

The 6,500-square-foot space opened at 5 p.m. Friday, and it is scheduled to stay open until 3 - 4 a.m. on the weekend nights.

Customers filtered in the doors – including a glass-paneled garage door that opens onto a patio – from 5 p.m. onward Friday, and they quickly took to the arcade games even as workers were on the other side of the building putting the finishing touches on an elevated stage that will be used for live music.

“It’s great. I see this place taking off,” said 37-year-old Scott Abraham of Sacramento. “I love the garage door. It’s one of those concepts that’s really taken off lately, and it reminds me a little of how they do things in Hawaii, with the sliding doors. It’s perfect for Sacramento in the summer.”

One of the anticipated features in the space is a pair of skee ball games.

“It’s huge on the East Coast,” said Andy Duong, a marketer for the establishment. “We also have four pool tables, eight video games, and we brought in some board games – Jenga, Connect Four and Battleship.”

TVs will show sporting events, including mixed martial arts on Saturday and the Super Bowl on Sunday.

Duong said the space doesn’t fit the mold of a sports bar, lounge, restaurant or pool hall, and he referred to it as a “party bar.”

“We’re going to start with some small music acts, and then maybe expand to larger ones,” he said. “We’re here across from Memorial Auditorium, and it’s going to be a great location.”

In addition to entertainment, the space will see the expansion of the menu Sacramentans are familiar with from Drewski’s Hot Rod Kitchen.

“We’re going to be doing a lot more with the food,” Blaskovich said.

A buffalo chicken melt called the Roadrunner will be added to the menu, and another one will be the Chevelle, which features tri-tip, bell peppers, onions, sauce and provolone cheese on flatbread.

The Republic Featuring Drewski’s is located at 908 15th St.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Sacramento job search website to expand nationally

2012-02-02T01:27:50Z

Local job search engine Sacjobs.com is expanding despite the economy and job sites such as Craigslist and Monster, and it launched Sackjobs.com Jan. 2, with plans to expand nationally.

“We’ve got about 1,200 local listings right now, and then our next step is to focus on the Bay Area and Southern California, so we’re going to take our thrust from Sacramento and hopefully by next year take over the West Coast,” said Sackjobs.com owner Ian Coltoff, a 40-year-old Sacramentan.

The site launched in 1999 as Sacjobs.com as an homage to Sacramento, and Coulter said he added the K to appeal to a national audience, with the tagline “Your next career choice is in the bag.”

And to be clear – typing “Sacjobs.com” and “Sackjobs.com” will take job seekers to the same place.

Coltoff said he thinks the site fills a niche in job search engine options by providing as much information to job seekers as possible, not inundating them with advertisements and adding a function that will allow job seekers to comment on postings.

The startup saw initial success in 1999 by charging less than other job search websites to post advertisements, and it brought in more than $30,000 in the first month, Coltoff said.

When Craigslist became popular, it cut deeply into the business, and Coltoff said he had to innovate to stay relevant.

“We’re providing a service,” he said. “You have to keep innovating and coming up with new ideas, and I don’t think Craigslist is innovating. It looks pretty much the same, and sometimes it’s hard to tell what company is posting about a job, or even if it’s a scam.”

Before starting Sacjobs.com, Coltoff ran a roommate referral service that proved successful, and he attributed the same type of innovation to that success that he said he hopes will carry Sackjobs.com forward.

“We let people post on whether they did drugs, their sexual orientation, their cleanliness and those sorts of things,” he said. “That wasn’t something you’d see in The (Sacramento) Bee, or anywhere else.”

After that came Campus Cash, which started as a coupon book for colleges, but employment advertisements generated the most money, and he decided to make an online job search site focused locally.

At the time, he didn’t know what an email was, and he said he is still not exactly tech-savvy.

“I am an idea guy,” he said with a laugh. “I have ideas, and I don’t wait a lot of time to figure out all the details. I just get going. When I need help with something, I find someone who knows how to make it work.”

Coltoff said he is currently in talks with investors to generate funding that will allow him to move forward faster, and a redesigned website is scheduled to roll out next week.

Andrew “Drewski” Blaskovich, owner of Drewski’s Hot Rod Kitchen and one of the people behind The Republic Featuring Drewski’s – a sports bar and restaurant set to open Friday at 908 15th St. – said he found Sacjobs.com to be the best resource for finding help at the new restaurant.

“Three of my guys I hired – chefs for my kitchen – I hired them off Sacjobs.com,” Blaskovich said Tuesday. “It seems like I got more attraction off of there because it’s local. Craigslist is good, but Sacjobs is more personable.”

Coltoff said he hopes that employers find that to be the case as the website expands.

“I like doing this,” he said. “It sounds cliché, but I like providing the service and helping people. It’s rewarding, and it really feels great.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Co-op eyes new grocery store location

2012-02-01T01:45:33Z

The Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op is looking at the possibility of moving its store from the current site at 1900 Alhambra Blvd. to a larger location with more than double the parking at the block that borders R, S, 28th and 29th streets ~~24th and S streets~~ .

Members will vote on the potential move toward the end of March or early April, and if approved, the new store could open in 2014, said Wendy Hoyt, an urban planer who works for the new site’s developer, Separovich/Domich Real Estate Development. Ravel Rasmussen Properties is also part of the development team.

Co-op General Manager Paul Cultrera said Tuesday that the proposed move would be advantageous for a number of reasons.

“Our current site is too small, the retail space is cramped and parking is inadequate,” he said. “I’ve been talking about this for a number of years.”

He added that the co-op board and management began seriously looking for a new site about two and a half years ago, and they wanted it to be close to the current store and have more parking.

“Parking is a major complaint we get from our customers,” Cultrera said. “We have 56 spaces for about 2,800 customers coming in every day.”

If approved, the new site will include 61 parking spaces in front of the store and another 55 on the ground floor of a four-story parking garage. Currently, the site is a parking lot, and for the building to be constructed, will need to be moved, as they are used by state workers. The other three floors of the garage would be for them, but open to co-op shoppers on nights and weekends.

The store itself will be able to carry more products, and Cultrera said more space would be added to adequately stock them, though not likely bring in entirely new product lines.

“We certainly could expand the produce market,” he said. “We’d like to feature more local farmers.”

Other areas for expansion include the cheese department and, most notably, the meat department, which was added about five or six years ago.

“The deli is also very busy, and when it was laid out 14 years ago, it was doing $20,000 per week in sales. Now it’s doing about $50,000,” Cultrera said, adding that all the deli products are produced in a small kitchen behind the deli area, and a larger one is needed to keep up with demand.

Another asset to the proposed new space would be consolidating the co-op’s five buildings into one, allowing management offices, administrative departments, the learning center and the grocery store to all be together.

Hoyt said the administrative portion would be on a second-floor mezzanine, and the overall retail space would – under the current preliminary plans – grow about 38 percent from 16,000 square feet to 22,000 square feet. The total building will be about 40,000 square feet.

The developers are planning to spend approximately $15 million up front, and the co-op will spend an additional $6 million on improvements such as refrigeration units, and will then sign a long-term lease for the building, Hoyt said.

~~The total project cost is estimated to be about $15 million, Hoyt said, meaning it will have to be approved by the co-op’s membership.~~

Since the money needed to be borrowed is more than the company’s net worth, co-op members will need to OK it with a simple majority.

Cultrera said that members – who are also owners – will vote on a ballot that will be sent out to the entire membership.

Hoyt said informational meetings will be held with the members and the neighbors starting in March.

The move will not be the first for the co-op, which had its first major store on Freeport Boulevard and moved to the current location in the late 1980s. A second store opened in Elk Grove in 2005, but it shut down in early 2007.

If the membership approves the move to the new site, Cultrera said, the building will be done as sustainably as possibly, but it is not likely that the co-op will seek certification by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).

“Everyone knows the standards, and we want to build it to meet the standards, but the certification is $70,000 or $80,000,” he said.

The former Elk Grove store was built to be energy efficient, and the electric bills were about 50 percent less per cubic foot than the current co-op site, Cultrera said.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Editorial Note: Corrections were made to this story after it was published. The incorrect information was struck out and the correct information added.

LivingSocial shuts down 'Adventures' in Sacramento

2012-02-01T01:34:26Z

The daily deal company LivingSocial decided last week to stop offering its “Adventures” program in Sacramento and an unspecified number of other markets, but company officials stressed that the daily deals and other programs will not be leaving the Sacramento area.

“Adventures are curated activities that you do with friends around you, like a day where you go tubing on the mountain and then have a beer tasting afterward,” LivingSocial spokesman Brendan Lewis said Tuesday.

He said a few dozen markets across the country offered “Adventures,” and it was in the Sacramento area for approximately one year.

“Daily deals will continue to be there,” he said. “Families, At Home and Escapes will be there as well. We remain committed to Sacramento.”

The final local event in the program is a skydiving event scheduled for this weekend.

The scaling back was “during the ordinary course of business staffing decisions,” Lewis wrote in an email, and he said that two full-time employees staffed the “Adventures” department in Sacramento, bolstered by a number of part-time employees.

“Those employees were released,” he said. “I’m not sure the number of part-time employees, but for us, it’s two full-time, which is a very small percentage of our total workforce.”

The company, based in Washington, D.C., launched about two and a half years ago and employs 5,000 people worldwide, according to Lewis.

One of the employees laid off was part-time Experience Coordinator Drew Garrison, who told The Sacramento Press Tuesday that he and other staff were notified of the decision via a conference call Thursday afternoon.

“There really wasn’t any warning, but I don’t think there’s ever a good time to tell people they lost their jobs,” he said, adding that about 15 part-time employees worked for the Sacramento LivingSocial Adventures department.

“They said we all did a great job, and there was great customer feedback, but the possibility for future profitability just wasn’t there,” he added.

Garrison said LivingSocial closed 17 of the 28 “Adventures” departments across the country.

“Sacramento gets knocked a lot for not being a profitable market, and you hear that with the Kings stuff going on, but they cut places like Dallas, too, and that’s a huge market,” he said.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Blackbird to open by end of February

2012-01-28T01:37:16Z

Replacement of a gas line is postponing the opening of the downtown seafood restaurant Blackbird Kitchen & Bar from Valentine’s Day to Feb. 21, but the restaurateurs are still able to work inside, and the iconic graphic on the front is complete.

“The buildout is being done right now, and the menu will be available in a couple of weeks,” said General Manager Shayne “7evin” Iles.

“We’re going to open when PG&E finishes the work, so hopefully it’s sooner, or at least on time,” he said.

Officials from Pacific Gas and Electric did not return messages left on Friday.

Blackbird Kitchen & Bar is located at 1013-1015 Ninth St.

Mediterranean food coming to K Street

2012-01-27T01:07:29Z

Influences from the Andalusia region of Spain such as Moorish arches and water features will be the architectural highlights of a Mediterranean/American restaurant coming to 925 K St.

The restaurant does not yet have a name and won’t be open until at least June, but Gene Hopkins, the superintendent in charge of the buildout, said it will be a combination buffet and full-service restaurant that will feature Mediterranean cuisine as well as some American dishes.

Formerly Farley’s Soup and Salad, the building has been vacant for about six years, and work began on the new business at the end of last year, Hopkins said.

Customers entering the 4,200-square-foot ground floor will be greeted by a waterfall on the right side, recalling the Moorish architecture prevalent throughout Spain. Two more waterfalls are planned to divide the buffet area with the seating area, and Moorish arches will serve as accents.

“It’s definitely going to be classy,” Hopkins said. “It’s going to fit in with some of the other businesses that are here or going in around here. We’ve got the restaurant and bars down the street (Dive Bar, District 30 and Pizza Rock), and we have Sharif Jewelers coming in across from us.”

While it will likely come after the restaurant opens, a facelift of the façade is planned. At the least, it will be repainted, but if plans are approved, one option is to carry the arch theme to the front of the restaurant and add pillars to accent the doorway.

The menu is still in the early stages, but Hopkins said it will include traditional Mediterranean fare such as hummus and pita sandwiches. No pork will be served, and it’s not yet determined whether alcohol will be served.

The owner, Sam Abukhdair, is from Palestine, Hopkins said, adding that he is bringing the inspiration for the cuisine.

The building itself is historic, and Hopkins said he sees it as a blend of 1820s and 1970s design.

As part of the city that was originally at a lower level, what is currently the basement used to be at street level.

“The entrance to the shop was set back, and if you go down there, you can see where the doorways and windows used to be,” Hopkins said. “They’re concreted over now, but the hinges are still there.”

At one point, the building served as a bank, and a heavy vault door Hopkins estimated to weigh at least a ton will be the new entryway to the walk-in refrigerator.

“There’s no way we can move that out of here,” he said with a laugh.

Despite the historic elements, the interior design will be more modern.

“The wall behind the buffet is going to glow,” Hopkins said, adding that LEDs will be placed behind frosted Plexiglas. The bathrooms are walled and floored in marble tile, and granite countertops will be installed.

A removable stage might be incorporated into the back end of the restaurant to allow for live music, and exterior seating along K Street will be built if plans are approved, Hopkins said.

The second floor of the building is being renovated as well, and it might be used to house events, while the third floor is being built out as offices.

The business, when it opens, will be another in a recent wave of businesses opening along the once-dreary K Street.

“It’s been a huge change here over the past six months, even,” Hopkins said, noting that new businesses and other changes to K Street have brought increased foot traffic to the area. “This is totally turning around.”

Esther Son, who opened Estelle’s Patisserie at the other end of the 900 block about a month ago, said she is happy to be on K Street, and added that she thinks another business will only add to the success she is seeing.

“It’s definitely an aid,” she said. “It’s synergy. I want neighbors. That will bring more people down here, and we’re building a community.”

Son said she wants to see more retail stores open as well as restaurants, but she has gotten support from local workers and customers that she said she is happy for.

“I enjoy being there,” she said. “I’m doing really well, and we get pretty busy during lunchtime. People come in, and they say they’re happy to have more businesses, and they want us to succeed. It’s been really good, and I think more (businesses) need to open up.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Mikuni celebrates 25 years

2012-01-26T01:12:52Z

Mikuni Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar will celebrate a quarter century in business May 15, and co-owner Taro Arai said that after the touch-and-go nature of the first five years, the business has come a long way.

“The first five years, the more we worked, the more money we lost,” he said. “I still cannot believe it’s been 25 years. We’re so lucky to have all the support we’ve had.”

Now with nine restaurants in the greater Sacramento area, Arai said the business will be expanding in 2012, and while more brick-and-mortar restaurants are likely in store, the next thing people will see is a food truck.

There is no set timeline for rolling out the food truck yet, but Arai said he and his family have already started shopping for a truck.

“If it takes a year, I’ll be pretty upset,” he said.

“We’re working on the menu,” he added. “That’s the exciting part. I think we’re going to change the menu every week to see what people want and what works out there.”

Fitting the menu to be something the customers want and come back for has been key to staying in business for the past 25 years, he added.

When the first restaurant opened in Fair Oaks in 1987, it was due to a miracle, Arai said.

Working in a family member’s Japanese restaurant, Arai’s father was approached by a man who asked for his bank account information. Trusting the man, Arai’s father gave him the information.

A few days later, $300,000 was deposited into the account, and the man said to pay it back whenever it was possible.

“He gave us a no-contract loan,” Arai said Wednesday. “It was crazy.”

That loan enabled the family to open Mikuni, which translates as “kingdom of God.” The family planned to feature sushi, but there was one problem – Arai didn’t know how to make sushi. To remedy that, his father sent him to the bookstore.

“I needed, like, ‘Making Sushi for Dummies,’ ” he said with a laugh. “I learned how to do it, and we kept making new rolls for the people. My father told us to never stop making new rolls.”

Starting as a family of five who arrived from Japan with little more than a dream and the earnings from Arai’s paper route, there are now 17 family members involved in the restaurant, with Arai’s four children working during the summers and for special events.

“Its nice that it’s still a family business,” he said.

Despite success, the restaurant was not immune to the financial troubles brought about during the recession.

“We did struggle from 2007-2009,” Arai said. “My brother-in-law took over as CEO, and he’s just turned everything around, and we’re coming back strong now. He’s done a great job, and my brother is executive chef, and my sister is working in marketing.”

The Sacramento restaurant, located at 1530 J St., was part of the revitalization of the area when it was developed in 2003, said Downtown Sacramento Partnership spokeswoman Lisa Martinez.

“That was a historic renovation of a building that was not the best site before then,” Martinez said Wednesday. “Mikuni and P.F. Chang’s moved in, and it was kind of a turning point for the district. That year and the following year saw a big transformation in a lot of places downtown, and they were on the cutting edge.”

Martinez added that since the restaurant is on the border of downtown and Midtown, it helped create a bridge between the two districts and aided in making the area become more pedestrian-friendly.

“It’s been nine or 10 years since that development, and now downtown is known as a great location to go out and eat,” Martinez said. “Downtown really is the hub, and I think Mikuni and that development really strengthened the district.”

Arai said that being in business to make money is important for the 650 employees and their families, but it isn’t the end goal for the company.

“We’re committed to give back,” he said. “We’ve just reached $1 million in donations to breast cancer research, and we want to make a difference. We want to continue to help the charities in town. That’s another goal we have, and we keep pushing it.”

As part of the anniversary celebration, Mikuni is having contests and promotions that include a trip for two to Las Vegas, and someone will win a Honda Fit. For more information, click here.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

New Orleans fare coming to Broadway

2012-01-25T07:28:14Z

Original PoBoys will open Friday at Broadway and Alhambra Boulevard, bringing what owner Eric Crawford said will be an “oasis for anyone from New Orleans.”

Crawford said the restaurant will offer authentic New Orleans food served in a fast food setting, and everything served – from the signature shrimp po’boy sandwich to the beignets – will be something found on menus throughout New Orleans.

“It has that smell you only get in mom-and-pop shops down south, and it has a Mardi Gras ambiance,” he said.

Three generations will work at the restaurant, as Crawford and his wife, Zena, have six children of their own, and Crawford’s mother, Alice Thiel, will help out.

Eric Crawford’s background is in construction, which helped the family save money when preparing the restaurant to open.

“I worked in construction here, but then the housing market fell apart,” he said. “That helped when it came time to open the restaurant, though.”

Originally from New Orleans, he met Zena Crawford in San Francisco, and they have lived in Sacramento for close to a decade. He said the current restaurant, at 3119 Broadway, is the first in what he hopes will be something he can franchise.

The signature sandwich is the shrimp po’boy, which has a medley of Cajun spices mixed in with the breading, but not so much that it overpowers the taste of the shrimp, which he said is what shines on the sandwich.

Sandwiches come “dressed,” which means they are topped with lettuce, tomatoes and pickles.

Sandwiches start at about $4 for an 8-inch smoked sausage and range to about $16 for a 16-inch soft-shell crab po’boy. Most 8-inch sandwiches fall in the $5 - $9 price range.

Those who don’t eat meat won’t be left out. A full salad bar with two types of lettuce, cucumbers, eggs and other toppings will be offered, and a po’boy sandwich with a vegetable patty will be on the menu.

“It was really important for us to have a vegetarian and vegan option,” Zena Crawford said.

A double-roasted beef sandwich is the most complex sandwich, Eric Crawford added. The meat is baked for three hours, then eventually shredded, and beef gravy is poured over it in a process called “debris cooking”. It all then goes back in the oven for another three hours of baking.

But the meat isn’t what makes the sandwich authentic.

“When people hear about a New Orleans po’boy, the first thing they want to know about is the bread,” Eric Crawford said.

Unable to find a supplier that makes the French baguettes to the perfect consistency for a po’boy, he took matters into his own hands and bakes the bread on-site. While he said it isn’t exact, it’s close enough so even those familiar with the real deal will be happy.

Zena Crawford said the restaurant – which will be open from 6 a.m. - 11 p.m. – will have an all-you-can-eat cereal bar, with a bowl running $2.60. Twenty-four pastries will also be available, including beignets, brownies and cookies, and a full range of Seattle’s Best coffee will be available.

All pastries are made in-house, and cereals will include Captain Crunch, Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Special K, Apple Jacks and Fruit Loops.

Waffles, sausages and grits are available for breakfast as well.

Soft-serve ice cream and milkshakes are served as well, and she said ice cream sundaes will likely be available in the summer.

“Anywhere you go in New Orleans, you can get a beignet and a coffee,” Eric Crawford said. “We want to be a part of the community. We’re here at the gateway to Oak Park, and it’s going through a change we want to be a part of.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Sharif Jewelers to open new location on K Street

2012-01-24T00:45:38Z

Sharif Jewelers is the next locally owned business to take a chance on K Street, with a new store expected to open in the former Breuner’s Department Store at 1001 K St. in June or July.

Like the company’s Howe Avenue and Folsom locations, the downtown location will be a full-service jewelry store, with new and pre-owned jewelry, watches, repair and service, said co-owner Mahmud Sharif.

“We have been looking into going downtown for the last three or four years,” Sharif said Monday. “We had the chance to invest in that corner, which we believe is the best corner in downtown.”

He added that he believes people who work downtown and near the Capitol will provide a strong customer base to the store because it is more convenient to the area than the Howe Avenue location, which hosted its grand opening in November after moving to a larger space.

Erica Clark, sales manager, said customers at the Howe Avenue location have given positive feedback, which encourages the company that the downtown store will be a success despite the economy.

“I would consider the space the heart of downtown, and that’s a part of the metropolis,” she said. “We feel very confident it will be a thriving business.”

She added that the development on K Street over the past year reaffirmed the decision to open a store in the area.

“The reopening of K Street to cars solidified us,” she said.

The business will occupy the 5,000-square-foot ground floor of the building, which has, in years past, been home to historic holiday window displays.

Sales of new jewelry will likely be the “driving force” of the store, she added, though repair, modification and custom jewelry will be important as well.

As with the other stores, Turkish coffee and baklava will be offered to customers, Clark said.

Sharif Jewelers has been in Sacramento for more than 30 years, and Sharif’s son, Omar Sharif, said he plans to continue with the business that started with his great-grandfather in Palestine.

“With the jewelry market and industry itself, most families shop at the same jewelry store for generations, so it’s nice to have a jewelry store run by the same family and the same people and always be there,” he said. “People tend to like it, and we get to know our customers that way.”

He added that he grew up in and around the store and is currently studying business administration at Sacramento State.

“Downtown is going to grow, and we hope to grow with downtown,” he said. “I think, personally, that everything is starting to move away from Midtown and back into downtown, and K Street is the heart of that area.”

Store hours have not yet been set, but it will likely open around 10 a.m. and close between 5 and 6 p.m., Clark said.

“We are very excited,” Mahmud Sharif said. “Truly we are blessed, blessed to have that location and be downtown.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Local businesses collaborate on coffee-infused beer

2012-01-19T02:02:34Z

A small-batch, coffee-infused India pale ale is the result of the collaboration of Old Soul Co. and Rubicon Brewing Company. The month it’s spent on the taps at both businesses has brought good reviews, the business owners said.

“We’ve done coffee beers before, but they tended to be darker beers – the stouts and the porters,” said Rubicon Brewing Company Brewer Aldred Griffin. “We almost scoffed at the idea of doing an IPA, but after trying it the first time, it surprised us, and it was really pleasing.”

Griffin said the bitterness and hops in the IPA complemented the roastiness of the coffee.

Old Soul Co. co-owner Tim Jordan said the coffee used in the beer is Ethiopian Beloya, which is one of the rare reserve coffees.

Griffin agreed, saying, “It’s almost kind of a trick when you’re drinking it and smelling these aromas and seeing the color not really matching up with what you’re drinking.”

“We cold-brewed it, and we picked it because it had a little bit of floral character we thought would complement the hops,” Jordan said. “We’ll do this IPA as long as it makes sense for them to have time to do it in their fermenting tanks.”

He said the beer has a little bit of richness to it. The scent of coffee gives the drinker the impression of a sense of warmth inside.

The beer is offered at Rubicon and the Old Soul locations with beer taps: Weatherstone at 812 21st St. and 40 Acres at 3434 Broadway.

A pint runs $4.50, and Jordan said Old Soul pours legitimate 16-oz pints.

“We’re a cafe and coffeehouse first and foremost,” he said. “We’re not trying to make a bunch of money off alcohol. We like to carry artisanal and craft brews.”

Rubicon Brewing Company owner Glynn Phillips said he enjoys working with Old Soul Co.

“They are a great account of ours that has a very local spin on it,” he said. “We buy a fair amount of their coffee and serve it here at Rubicon. I like the way they run their business.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Drewski's combines food truck fare, sports bar

2012-01-17T01:24:21Z

After less than a year on Sacramento’s streets, local food truck Drewski’s Hot Rod Kitchen is adding a brick-and-mortar establishment at 908 15th St. that blurs the line between sports bar and food truck.

The Republic Featuring Drewski’s is set to open the week before the Super Bowl (Feb. 5), and Drewski’s owner Andrew “Drewski” Blaskovich said he’s excited to be part of the growth in downtown Sacramento and to offer a late-night food and entertainment spot, closing around 3-4 a.m. on the weekends.

“It’s going to be a sports bar,” Blaskovich said. “We’re going to have 12-15 TVs, pool tables, video games and – we’re hoping – skee ball.”

The four pool tables will complement old-school video games such as Pac-Man and Donkey Kong, and entertainment will be provided by live bands as well as DJs.

Moving to add a traditional restaurant and bar is something many food truck owners aspire to, but Blaskovich said he has no plans to rein in the food truck aspect of the business.

“The trucks are my babies,” he said.

And that is trucks – plural.

“We’re going to be adding another truck, and we’re shooting for about two months,” he said.

One of the biggest problems that comes with operating the trucks is solved by opening the brick-and-mortar establishment, Blaskovich said.

“For the truck, I don’t have any storage, so I have to shop every day,” he said. “Now, I have a place to prep all the food, take deliveries and store it so I have to shop only once a week, plus I can save money by getting discounts on things in bulk.”

Blaskovich is partnering with a bar operator, whose name he is not yet releasing, and he will focus on the food.

The cuisine will include the menu from the food truck, but the full kitchen will allow an expanded menu.

“We’re going to have some street tacos, and we’re doing a variety of burgers, different hot wings, chicken sandwiches and all kinds of good stuff,” he said.

Meals will run about $10, he added.

Appetizers, including garlic rosemary tater tots, will be included, as well as salads and other sandwiches. A variety of sauces such as Thai peanut sauce, a tangy barbecue sauce and others will accentuate the dishes.

Plates won’t be used, with all the food served in the cardboard boats with paper linings that those who frequent the food truck are familiar with.

Those who want to challenge themselves will have the option of facing down a massive burger, getting their photo on the wall and a T-shirt if they’re up to the challenge.

The 18-Wheeler will be a 4- or 5-pound burger that Blaskovich said will be a meal for about three people, but anyone who finishes it in a set time, possibly 20 minutes, will earn a spot on the wall.

Formerly Dream Ultra Lounge & Restaurant, The Republic Featuring Drewski’s is getting a facelift with black ceilings, a roll-up door facing Memorial Auditorium that leads to one of two patios, and interior décor of faux brick and wood molding with either mirrors or stained glass artwork.

Downtown Sacramento Partnership Marketing Director Lisa Martinez said it’s unique to see a food truck open a brick-and-mortar establishment in Sacramento, and the location should be a successful one.

“They’re in the middle of an entertainment district, and it’s a great amenity,” she said. “I think the beauty of it is they already have a successful following, so the business is coming in with an established clientele.”

Across the street from Memorial Auditorium, the business is close to the Torch Club and not far from the Wells Fargo Pavilion, the newly opened Maydestone apartment building and the future site of Coyote Tap House.

Blaskovich said he is looking to appeal to the after-work happy hour crowd, opening around 4 or 5 p.m., as well as anyone looking for late-night eats and entertainment, or people leaving Memorial Auditorium after a concert. Sunday brunch will be served and will likely feature a dish of waffles and fried chicken, which is growing in popularity.

“I’m from Sacramento, and I’ve always been a big supporter of downtown Sacramento and the growth we’ve experienced in the past,” Blaskovich said. “I want to be a part of that, and this gives people downtown the chance to have Drewski’s if the truck is out in Roseville or Elk Grove or something.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

J Street Yummy Yogurt Cafe on hiatus

2012-01-14T00:06:57Z

The Yummy Yogurt Cafe at 19th and J streets closed Dec. 1, and though it was expected to reopen by the end of the year, owner Jason Yee said it will remain in hiatus for a while longer.

“Right now, we’re working on a new plan, and we just really haven’t gotten to the point to expose the plan yet,” Yee said Thursday, adding that he is still looking for ideas or anyone who wants to partner with him for a new concept.

The idea is to have the space up and running again in a couple of months.

Yee said he didn’t shut down the space because of lack of sales, but because he wants to revamp the store itself to provide something more than frozen yogurt.

“It’s a great location, and that’s part of why we decided to close,” he said. “The location is great, so we want something greater in there. We want something more unique.”

The original Yummy Yogurt Cafe in Westfield Downtown Plaza remains open, and there are no plans to close it, Yee said.

Groundbreaking for new mixed-use development in Midtown

2012-01-13T01:49:29Z

Ground broke on a new mixed-use retail and residential development in Midtown Thursday, and work is set to be complete on two vacant former state lots at 16th and O streets by mid-2013.

“We’re going to get 84 market-rate apartments, 13,000 square feet of retail, and we’re going to have another chunk of Sacramento with a nice infill, pedestrian-friendly development,” said City Councilman Rob Fong, whose district contains most of downtown and Midtown. “It’s the kind of live-work space that really is a nice fit for the city.”

The project – with one four-story and one five-story, mission-style building – is a partnership between the Capitol Area Development Authority – a joint powers group between the state and city formed in 1978 – Ravel Rasmussen Properties and Separovich/Domich Real Estate Development.

The approximately $24 million project includes $1.5 million in funding from CADA, which also provided the two lots. The developers brought in $5 million and financed another $17 million, said Scott Rasmussen of Ravel Rasmussen Properties.

“We’re hoping to get some small public improvement grant money from SMUD as well,” he said.

Across the street from the Fremont Building and a few blocks away from Fremont Park and the popular restaurant Hot Italian, Rasmussen said the location is a prime spot.

“It’s a dynamic location, and it may be kind of the new center for downtown and Midtown,” he said.

The 84 apartments are expected to rent for between $1,200 and $1,500 and will be one- or two-bedroom units. The 13,000 square feet of retail space will likely house between five or six tenants, Rasmussen added.

Rasmussen declined to comment on the nature of the tenants, saying that while some outreach to businesses has been made, it is too early to speculate on which ones will eventually be a part of the project.

“I hear one of the retail users is going to be some sort of restaurant with patio dining,” Fong said, adding that it’s too early in the process for specifics.

Congresswoman Doris Matsui was in attendance at the groundbreaking, saying the project shows progress for the city.

“It shows that we’re doing things in Sacramento, and we know that we’ve had a hard time, but things are getting better slowly,” Matsui said. “It’s going to provide a livability and a sense of community.”

She added that the new plan in urban development – reverting to plans from a century ago – is to make living and working space that is walkable and easily accessible to bicycles.

“I think that by next year, we’ll find real progress,” Matsui said. “People (will be) walking around and enjoying themselves here. That’s the goal.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Coyote Tap House to take old Brew it Up! spot

2012-01-13T00:27:46Z

Coyote Tap House, a new bar and restaurant serving Asian cuisine complemented by 50-60 beers on tap, is in the works to take the spot at 14th and H streets vacated by Brew it Up! last year.

“It’s going to have a full bar and live entertainment,” said Valerie Mamone-Werder, business recruitment manager for the Downtown Sacramento Partnership.

The owners, brothers Ken and Ming Le, own and have run Oshima Sushi and Fugu Lounge in Natomas since 2004, Mamone-Werder said.

“They’re really good operators,” she added. “We met with them when the news came out that Brew it Up! was leaving the space. It didn’t take long to have a lot of interest. They’re going to be a fantastic addition for that area.”

The Music Circus is located nearby, and Mamone-Werder said the new tap house will complement the area by providing a place where she expects a crowd of those in their late 20s to their 40s will frequent.

“We want everybody to continue to succeed in that area, and having someone come into the vacant space helps,” Mamone-Werder said.

The Le brothers were not available for comment Thursday afternoon. Mamone-Werder said she expects that the pair will make improvements to the interior, and possibly the exterior of the space, and that she hopes to see the business open by spring or summer, depending on how long it takes to make the improvements.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

How do bookstores survive in the digital age?

2012-01-12T04:44:15Z

From increasing availability of digital content to online shopping and a still-sluggish economy, independent bookstores are finding it harder to survive. The Sacramento Press checked out three central city bookstores to see what is working for them.

When Borders Books and More closed last year, emails to the store’s Borders Rewards members cited surges in electronic readers as one of the major reason’s for the bookstore giant’s collapse. Locally, Newsbeat – a Midtown indie newsstand – shut down in November, with the owner pointing to the availability of digital content.

Beers Books, The Book Collector and Time Tested Books – all located within the grid from 24th and J streets to Ninth and S streets – emphasize selling used books.

“We buy and sell as many used books as possible,” said Bill Senecal, manager of Beers Books, located at 915 S St. “We haven’t focused on new books in a long time.”

What new books are sold at Beers are typically ones that are sought after or popular new releases, but 90 percent of the store’s sales come from used titles.

Peter Keat, owner of Time Tested Books, located at 1114 21st St., said that while he sells some used books, the secondhand books give him and his staff greater control on pricing.

“Given the fact that people price check on Amazon.com and other Internet sites, we really have to be pretty careful with our cost and the price of our books,” he said.

Sales have been steady for the past year at Time Tested Books, but Keat said that translates more to “hanging in there” than prospering.

While Beers Books and Time Tested Books carry a mix of new and used, The Book Collector, located at 1008 24th St., only carries new books when they’re from local authors and poets.

“Our focus is still on being an inexpensive, general-use bookstore,” said owner Richard Hansen. “We sell used books and focus on the overall pricing to stay competitive.”

Hansen said the main goal in staying competitive with discount online or secondhand booksellers is to price books to compete with the cost of the title and the shipping.

“People will buy a book for 99 cents and then pay $3.99 in shipping from Amazon,” he said. “The sellers are making their money on the shipping, since it only costs them $1.50, but it’s still costing the buyer $5 to get it to their door.”

Senecal, Keat and Hansen all said the reason they don’t focus on new books is because they can’t compete with nationwide chains, but nationwide bookstores aren’t the biggest reason.

“The big box stores will kill you,” Senecal said. “You’re up against Costco, Target and Walmart.”

Hansen said the markup on new books is so slight that it makes it impossible to compete with the larger stores, which can often negotiate better deals with publishers by buying in bulk.

Each store has its own strategy for staying relevant and profitable in an era dominated by digital media.

“For us, it’s partially the mix of books that we have and the level of customer service we provide, and also the general atmosphere with high ceilings and a lot of light,” said Keat of Time Tested Books.

Keat said one of the strategies Time Tested Books uses is searching for books that customers are looking for, even if it means buying them online.

“It’s a matter of getting what the customer wants in terms of condition and the proper edition,” Keat said, pointing out that online sellers might have a different idea of what “excellent condition” means than a reader.

“We assume the risk for the customer if they aren’t happy with it,” Keat said. “That means they’re not stuck with something they don’t want.”

Keat also hosts regular events, such as author appearances and book signings.

Beers Books keeps customers coming back with competitive prices, a high turnover rate of books and weekly sales – including storewide sales during every Second Saturday Art Walk.

“I think the wide variety of merchandise is really important,” Senecal said. “Some people come back every few days to see what’s new, and also, not every book is on Kindle (and other e-readers).”

Senecal, of Beers Books, and Hansen, of The Book Collector, also mentioned the bookstore’s role in being a place for the “serendipitous find” that only a bookstore can offer.

“When you go to a bookstore, you get the experience of browsing,” Hansen said. “You see things you otherwise wouldn’t look for, and you find new authors that way.”

Hansen said he draws customers into the store with books out front on sale for 25 cents or $1, and hosting events featuring local authors and poets are popular as well.

“We’re going to have a book art workshop here later this year,” Hansen said, adding that the bookstore is not just a place to sell books, but a venue for book-related events.

Another way the bookstores keep in business is by selling online through various outlets, including ABE Books.

All three booksellers mentioned that having a bookstore in an urban area is one of the key ways of keeping culture alive and allowing people easy access to an environment where they can leisurely peruse books, and all three mentioned that the number of bookstores is dwindling.

“It remains to be seen what will happen to the physical book,” Senecal said. “I hope there’s a place for the physical book in the future.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Photo essay: Track 7 Brewing Co. now open

2012-01-11T01:39:50Z

Gallery photo is exterior shot

Track 7 Brewing Co. opened Dec. 31, and co-owner Geoff Scott said he knew Sacramentans embrace new businesses, but the 1,000 people who showed up opening day – causing a line out the door for three hours – surprised him.

The microbrewery and tasting room is located at 3747 West Pacific Ave. in Curtis Park and currently serves beer in the 30-seat tap room at the front of the brewery. The owners are working on partnerships to serve it at other local restaurants and bars.

“There’s definitely a growing awareness for specialty and craft beers,” Scott said. “People like to experiment with the different beers.”

Beers are brewed in seven-barrel batches – 200 to 220 gallons – and there are four mainstay brews with two rotating seasonal brews.

The four beers are the Alkali Wit, a Belgian-style white beer; the Daylight Amber, an American amber; the Big 4 Strong Ale, named after the four railroad barons of Sacramento; and the Soulman Stout.

The brewery only serves beer, but Scott said he and Graham are looking at partnering with food trucks, which can park outside. A garage door can be opened in good weather for easy flow in and out of the establishment.

“We wanted to pay tribute to Sacramento’s railroad history, and my family has been here since the early 1900s," Scott said. "We wanted to pay respect to the history and the community. The second part is track seven is the furthest from the main line, and if you’re stuck out on track seven, you’re having a bad day. So now, if you’re down, come over to Track 7 and cheer up.”

Local artists including Skinner and Jesse Baggs designed the labels for the beers, larger images of which are hanging on the wall in the tasting room.

The railroad-based bar – with actual railroad rails – was created by René Steinke, a local artist and glassblower.

Beers are available in 3-ounce tastes, half-pints and pints, and the 64-ounce growlers will be available in three to six weeks.

The Big Four is sold in half-pints for $3.50 due to its 10 percent alcohol content, Scott said. All other pints cost $4.

The beer is heated with a steam sleeve setup during the brewing process, which heats the beer more evenly than a burner on the bottom, similar to a large stove, Scott said.

Track 7 Brewing Co. is open from 5 - 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday, from 2 - 9 p.m. Saturday and noon - 4 p.m. Sunday.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Editorial Note: A spelling correction was made to this article after it was published.

Work finishes on The Porch

2012-01-11T01:28:25Z

The namesake of The Porch, a southern-style restaurant and bar that replaced Celestin’s Island Eats & Cajun Cuisine, is now finished.

Completed last week, the front patio area seats 16, and a back porch is planned, though construction likely won’t begin for at least a month, said Olivia Pinto, a host at The Porch.

The restaurant, located at 1815 K St., opened in December. To read more about the restaurant, click here.

Mongo Mongo Mongolian BBQ opens in Midtown

2012-01-10T06:52:12Z

Mongo Mongo Mongolian BBQ restaurant at 19th and J streets opened Saturday, and owner Jonathan Ng said he is pleased with the customer turnout.

“It’s been good, we’re really excited to be open,” Ng said Monday.

Much of the interior design still needs to be finished, Ng said, but getting the restaurant open and focusing on the food was the top priority.

“It’s kind of barren, but we’re working on it,” Ng said, adding that interior décor details are being worked out.

In order to keep the garage doors installed when the business was Garlic Shack – which shut down after only three months – Ng said a unique setup had to be made to meet health department regulations that stipulate the kitchen can’t be open-air.

Customers walk in along the left side of the restaurant, go through sliding glass doors and prepare their bowls for the chef. The chef then cooks the food on the Mongolian barbecue – a circular device originating from the shields used by Ghengis Khan’s army – and customers can go to their tables, to have the food delivered when it is completed.

Dinner bowls cost $10.95, and lunch bowls – weekdays until 4 p.m. – are $7.95. The restaurant takes cash only, but an ATM is inside.

The enclosed kitchen allows the garage doors to be opened when weather permits, and customers can sit on the patio once the furniture is installed.

Jenifer Estrada, a 20-year-old Sacramentan who works in retail, said Monday that she enjoyed the food, and it stacked up well against other Mongolian barbecue restaurants she has tried.

“It’s my first time here, and I really liked it,” she said. “The food was very good, and I hope they stay around longer than the last places that were here.”

Estrada said she had pork with noodles, vegetables and teriyaki sauce.

Another Sacramentan, 35-year-old construction worker and musician Chris Orozco, agreed with Estrada’s take on the restaurant.

“It’s pretty good, and I think the fact that they stay open late is nice,” he said, referencing the 3 a.m. closing time for Friday and Saturday nights.

“It’s fresh, and everything was crisp,” he added. “People need to make it out here and support the new local eateries.”

Mongo Mongo, located at 19th and J streets, is open from 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. - 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Favorite sandwiches star in new food truck

2012-01-10T03:09:38Z

Coast to Coast Sandwiches – Sacramento’s newest food truck – brings what the owners say are some of their favorite sandwiches from across the country, including a South Philly cheesesteak and a Reuben.

Co-owners Robert Ramos and Sean Figueroa – not able to find an exact match of their favorite sandwiches from east of the Mississippi – decided they had a niche, and they looked to open a business.

Both graduated from culinary school, where they initially came up with the broad strokes of the Coast to Coast Sandwiches idea. Ramos was born in New York and lived in Florida, while Figueroa’s family is from Louisiana, and the Louisiana po’boy sandwich is his mother’s recipe.

“The Reubens here don’t compare to the ones in New York, and the cheesesteaks aren’t the real thing, not that we’ve found,” Ramos said. “We had both lived in different parts of the U.S. and loved the foods from those areas but could never find an exact match out here.”

Initially, the plan was to open a restaurant, but Ramos said lenders weren’t willing to take a chance on loaning money to a couple of chefs without restaurant ownership experience.

“I went four to five months looking for a location,” Ramos said. “It was pretty frustrating.”

Finally, the pair decided to focus on an idea that was originally an offshoot of the brick-and-mortar store: a food truck.

“We found a truck, went through the hurdles the city and county like to put in front of you, and in November, we started doing small engagements and gatherings,” Ramos said. “We started going out on the streets right before Christmas.”

As the name implies, the fare focuses on sandwiches. There are five types, and each is $7.

Sandwich types include a South Philly cheesesteak, Louisiana catfish po’boy, NorCal BLT, New York City pastrami and a Reuben.

The sandwiches are served on rolls or sliced breads, and both hot and cold options are offered.

Two sides are available – sweet potato fries and bacon macaroni and cheese – and a combo meal includes a sandwich, a side and a drink for $10.

“I really like the staff,” said Angela Marbay, a 42-year-old Sacramentan who is a manager for the state. “They’re very nice and personable.”

Marbay bought a Reuben sandwich on Monday near the DMV offices, saying that the quality of the food the first time the truck came by brought her back, and she is happy to have the food truck option in the area.

“The South Philly cheesesteak is really, really good, too,” she said. “I like when the food trucks come by, and I think people should support the small businesses.”

John Glaeser, a 48-year-old association manager from Sacramento, said Monday that he recently took an interest in local food trucks and wanted to try Coast to Coast Sandwiches.

“I like that you can get in and out fast at lunch,” he said.

Ramos said the ultimate goal is still to build a traditional restaurant, with a much-expanded menu.

“We don’t have the space on the truck to do everything we want to, and there’s a lot more we’d like to offer,” he said. “Right now, we’re hoping to build our brand, and the truck is a great moving billboard for it.”

The side of the truck is decorated with graphics of the Golden Gate Bridge meeting the Brooklyn Bridge above the Gateway Arch from St. Louis. Ramos said it shows some of the different parts of the country that the food comes from.

To keep up with Coast to Coast Sandwiches’ whereabouts, check its website, which has a schedule of appearances as well as a live Twitter feed.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Selland's Market-Café expands to El Dorado Hills

2012-01-07T01:15:34Z

East Sacramento’s popular Sellands Market-Café restaurant is expanding to El Dorado Hills, with an opening in the posh Town Center shopping area set for Jan. 30.

“It’s exactly the same format as our Selland’s Market-Café in East Sacramento, and it’s a bigger space,” said co-owner Randall Selland.

The 4,200-square-foot location is 1,000 square feet bigger than the Sacramento store, and it can seat 100 people inside and an additional 50 on the patio.

“It’s basically got food my wife grew up on,” Selland said. “You’ve got meatloaf, macaroni and cheese, different chicken dishes, roast pork, pulled pork and pizzas out of a wood-fired oven.”

Also available are cookies and other desserts, and Selland said everything is made fresh daily.

One of the most popular options at the Sacramento location will also be a staple at the new space: dinner for two and a bottle of wine for $25.

Wine will be offered on draft, coming out of 5-gallon kegs that Selland said are new to the market, but that numerous wineries are already embracing.

The restaurant is family-friendly, something Selland said is integral to all the restaurants he owns.

“We’re a family, and whether it’s Selland’s or Ella or anything, we make sure it’s a place we’d want to go with our family – with our children and grandchildren,” Selland said.

Chef Jordan Davis will run the kitchen, and Selland said he is a veteran of Animal in San Francisco and another restaurant in Mill Valley.

“We want to have a chef at each location, not a corporate chef,” Selland said, adding that he and his family believe that investing in an individual chef will help maintain quality food and diversity at the various restaurants.

The Selland family has been thinking about opening another restaurant for a few years, Selland said, adding that unlike some corporations that look at demographics, income levels and other factors, he and his wife, Nancy Zimmer, make their decisions based on the space.

“This one just happened to work out really well for a number of reasons,” Selland said. “The biggest thing, though, was we just saw the space and said, ‘Yeah, that’s it.’ ”

He said the shopping center has a European feel, which fits with the restaurant’s décor and ambiance, and it is westward facing, so it has a good view of the setting sun. Just off Latrobe Road, the Town Center is one of the first areas visitors encounter when they enter El Dorado Hills from the freeway, and anyone going to the nearby movie theater will drive right past the restaurant.

“It’s wonderful to have them here,” said Debbie Manning, president and CEO of the El Dorado Hills Chamber of Commerce. “They’re already involved in the area, and we are hearing nothing but good things – people are so excited about them.”

Manning said she thinks Selland’s Market-Café will draw in people familiar with the Sacramento location and expose them to all that El Dorado Hills has to offer – including a number of new restaurants and bars.

“It’s a win-win because the El Dorado Hills community is excited and wants to support them, and they are going to bring in traffic because of their name, and those people will now get to see El Dorado Hills,” Manning said.

The El Dorado Hills Town Center is located at 4364 Town Center Blvd. Selland's Market-Café will be open seven days a week from 10:30 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Elizabeth Studebaker leads MBA

2012-01-05T03:45:10Z

The Midtown Business Association kicked off the new year with a new executive director: Elizabeth Studebaker, who took over the position that has been vacant since Rob Kerth left in October.

Studebaker, 33, officially took the helm of the MBA on Monday, with an operating budget of about $650,000 per year. Most recently, she spent almost five years as executive director for a similar organization in San Diego, the North Park Main Street Business Improvement District. The Sacramento Press caught up with Studebaker to ask her some questions about what she has in mind for Midtown.

The Sacramento Press: What are your immediate goals for Midtown?

Elizabeth Studebaker: My immediate major goals are pretty much all focused on the sidewalks and street appearance. I think they are in pretty dire need of increased attention. We need the installation of new trash cans, more aggressive litter removal and graffiti abatement. We also need increased nighttime security patrols.

I have meetings set with several of our contractors already to get a more thorough explanation of what we get from them. I will then determine if they are the right fit or if we should go with someone else. I’m in the process of doing a complete organizational overhaul, revamping and retooling where I see the need.

SP: What are some of your long-term goals?

ES: One of my next priorities is creating stronger relationships with our counterparts in neighboring districts. There are lots of economic development groups, including the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, the Metro Chamber, River District and Broadway District. There are a lot of lessons that we can learn from each other.

SP: Some have said there is an “us versus them” mindset between Midtown and downtown. What are your thoughts on that?

ES: I think the identity of Midtown is pretty obviously different from that of downtown. As adjacent neighbors, we’re better-served if we’re working together and in close communication. If nothing else, I want to be attending their meetings, and I hope they’ll be coming to mine and meeting with each other’s staff on a regular basis. A lot of learning comes from peer-to-peer communications. I had a lot of success with that in San Diego, where we all met on a monthly basis.

SP: What drew you to Sacramento and Midtown?

ES: I moved to Sacramento as a result of my husband being offered a new job. We moved up here a few months ago, and the timing happened to be pretty good in terms of the position opening at MBA. The district I was the director of in San Diego had about the same number of businesses, with 500 small- to medium-sized businesses and very few national chains and corporations.

I am also very excited about the history and nature of the district and its buildings. The character of Midtown is one of the most exciting things, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the trees. Coming from San Diego, we had a very unhealthy tree canopy pretty much everywhere. I still get giddy when I go for a walk in Sacramento under all those trees.

SP: Some longtime neighbors have been at odds with restaurants and bars that put a heavy emphasis on alcohol sales. How do you plan to balance business activity with residential livability?

ES: The MBA does not have the authority to set (alcohol) licenses or set conditions on those licenses. From the perspective of an organization like the MBA, I was in a similar situation in San Diego. I would hope I have a similar relationship here in Sacramento, with regular and aggressive education for business owners and staff about being a good neighbor. I need to meet with resident groups, and those are some of the meetings I will be having soon. I’ve requested to be on the NAG (Neighborhood Advisory Group) agenda, and I’ve met with a few of the residents. It’s still too early to say anything direct about how I’m going to work with the residents.

Basically, I want to keep the lines of communication open. If there are specific problems that need to be addressed, I’ll do my best to address them. I understand this is an area densely populated with residential and commercial uses, and we all need to get along.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

River Cats to hire about 200 people

2012-01-05T01:31:20Z

The Sacramento River Cats organization is hiring for about 200 stadium jobs starting next week, and unlike previous years, this year’s jobs are being filled online – not at a job fair.

“There’s a wide variety of positions we’re hiring for,” said River Cats spokesman Nick Lozito. “They’re all positions that involve interaction with our fans, so we’re looking for people who are friendly and people who can help maintain what we’ve created here.”

Positions include grounds crew, ticket sales, in-game promotions crew, kid’s corner attendants and parking attendants.

Applicants don’t need to be experts on baseball, but they must be at least 18 years old, Lozito said. Before hiring, applicants will be drug tested and given a background check.

“The most important thing we’re looking for is someone who will fit in with the environment we’ve created here over our first 12 seasons,” Lozito said. “It’s a family environment, and we want someone who enjoys interacting with the community and helping others create a fun place.”

All jobs will be at Raley Field in West Sacramento, and none of them involve traveling with the team for away games. The first home game of the season is April 13. While there is no set deadline to apply, Lozito said the positions tend to fill up fast.

This year doesn’t bring any significant change in the number of positions open for the season, he added.

The creation of 200 positions – even though temporary – represents “an economic shot in the arm,” said West Sacramento Economic Development Coordinator Diane Richards.

“It’s a great entry-level job, and it’s a great asset to have Raley Field and the River Cats, especially with unemployment being so high,” she said.

Yolo County – where West Sacramento is located – has an unemployment rate of 12.2 percent, according to the most recent numbers, Richards said. West Sacramento itself has 18.6 percent unemployment. She added that unemployment in Sacramento County is 11 percent.

“These are tough times,” Richards said. “During the season, a lot of economic activity is centered around Raley Field. We have people from all over the region come here, and it’s definitely great to capture those dollars here.”

To apply for a position with the River Cats, visit the team’s website and click on the employment opportunities tab.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Midtown gets its long-awaited Squeeze Inn

2012-01-04T01:43:01Z

A long line of eager Sacramentans arrived at 17th and K streets Tuesday looking for the perfect skirt. But it wasn’t apparel they were after – it was the “cheese skirt” that cloaks the meat patties on burgers at The Squeeze Inn.

Owner Sabrina Nicola said this is the eighth Squeeze Inn location, and the first day of business went well.

“Everyone seems to be really happy,” she said Tuesday afternoon. “I think we had about 150 people for the lunch rush, and they’re a lot of locals and nearby workers who are happy to see us.”

Nicola, who previously worked at the original Squeeze Inn on Fruitridge Road, said she wanted to bring the feel of the original space and combine it with contemporary artwork.

To read more about Nicola's efforts to open the restaurant, click here.

Pricing is about the same as the other locations, but varies slightly due to taxes being included in the list price. Single burgers range from $6.25 to $8.75.

Customers eating lunch on Tuesday said the new location measures up to their expectations.

“I’ve been to the old one, and I’m happy this one is here,” said Ann Monson, a 58-year-old state worker from Sacramento. “My office is right next door.”

She said she’s been anticipating its opening for the past few months and described the cheeseburger as “outrageous cheesy goodness.”

Another local happy to see the restaurant open was 29-year-old KC Caitano, who works at the Artistic Edge art gallery, 1880 Fulton Ave.

“I couldn’t be happier that they’re in Midtown,” he said, adding that he lives nearby. “To finally have one here and close to home – I’ll probably be in here every day.”

He said he was happy to see an option on the menu that appealed to his Hawaiian roots: a Squeeze with Cheese with spam.

“If you’ve never tried (The Squeeze Inn) before, you’ve got to,” he said. “It’s one of the things you should do before you die.”

The restaurant can seat about 55 people at a combination of tables and a counter, and a railed-off front patio will be added to the seating area when the weather warms up, Nicola said.

Midtown’s Squeeze Inn is located at 1630 K St. It is open from 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Sunday. It is closed Monday.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

New businesses coming in 2012

2011-12-30T04:51:12Z

As 2012 approaches, there are several new businesses preparing to open, from much-anticipated restaurants to a privately funded bicycle share program. Below is a list of some of the new businesses Sacramentans can expect to see in the new year.

Those who frequent the downtown area will have a new place to eat and drink in late February or early March as the Firestone Public House opens with 60 beer taps in what the owners said will be a new take on the sports bar theme.

The Wong family – which runs Mix Downtown, Cafeteria 15L and the Park Ultra Lounge – is teaming up with the de Vere White family – of de Vere’s Irish Pub – for the new business that will replace the old California Pizza Kitchen spot at 16th and L streets.

Midtown will be getting a Mongolian barbecue restaurant, with Mongo Mongo Mongolian Barbecue due to open in the next few weeks. Previously the home of the ill-fated Garlic Shack, owner Jonathan Ng said he plans to stay open for the late-night crowd that frequents the area.

Also in Midtown is a restaurant that will be replacing Hangar 17, at 17th and S streets, which closed earlier this year. The owners of The Golden Bear restaurant and bar are opening Hook & Ladder Manufacturing Co., which co-owner Kimio Bazett said will be a “grown-up” version of The Golden Bear.

Brian Mizner, formerly of Hot Italian and L Wine Lounge, will be the chef at the restaurant, and Chris Tucker, from The Golden Bear and Shady Lady Saloon, will be the beverage manager, Bazett said Wednesday.

The restaurant is expected to open in late March or early April.

Red Lotus Kitchen and Bar, an Asian restaurant at 2718 J St., closed in September, allowing Shady Lady Saloon bartender Matt Nurge and his business partners to open their own space, which will serve peasant-style food from multiple cultures.

Named Red Rabbit – partly inspired by the new artwork at the airport – the restaurant will share profits with its employees. That aspect is something Nurge said he believes will help show the workers they are valued as well as give them an incentive to keep working there, saving costs on training new staff in an industry that has high turnover.

City Hall Garage will be getting a new restaurant: Big Joe’s BBQ, which will replace Fog Mountain Cafe at the corner of 10th and J streets. Fog Mountain Cafe closed in April, and Big Joe’s is expected to open early next year.

The beer business in Sacramento will have a fresh face next year as well, with the New Helvetia Brewing Company expected to open in late February or early March on Broadway.

Owner David Gull said he will initially open as a brewery and tasting room, and a restaurant may be added to the space about six months later, though there is no set timeline on it.

Bicycle enthusiasts won’t need to bring their own set of wheels to Midtown once The Last Mile launches in the first quarter of 2012. The Last Mile is a privately funded bicycle share program owned by Aaron Zeff, who also owns Priority Parking.

With the new business, cyclists will be able to rent bicycles by the hour for a little more than $1. Zeff, a board member for the Midtown Business Association, said that most programs of the kind are funded with public dollars, and The Last Mile won’t have its bills footed by taxpayers.

Are there more businesses opening next year that you know about? Share them in the conversation below.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Editorial Note: A spelling correction was made to this article after it was published.

Year in review: Business comings and goings

2011-12-29T02:18:58Z

The past year saw quite a bit of businesses come, go and expand in the central city area, and The Sacramento Press covered many of those happenings. Below are some of the major expansions and changes as well as some of the most-viewed stories on businesses closing.

A favorite Sacramento lunch spot changed hands this year as Chef Daniel Pont handed over ownership of La Bonne Soupe Café in late April. The 72-year-old chef said he still enjoys cooking, but running the one-man shop by himself was too much. He has since opened another restaurant, this time in Folsom, where he has a staff to help run it.

New owners Ed Stoddard and Leah Brown reopened the restaurant in the same location in May.

The popular Bows & Arrows vintage clothing store closed its spot at 17th and L streets in April and moved across from Safeway on 19th Street. As part of the move, owners Olivia Coelho and Trisha Rhomberg partnered with Davis-based Fat Face Cafe to add food and drinks to the new spot as well as art shows and musical performances.

Curtis Park’s Pangaea Two Brews Cafe expanded its business from being a taphouse and cafe to include a bottle shop. Owner Rob Archie said he wanted to offer locals the chance to grab individual bottles of less-common brews at to-go prices.

The Downtown 24 Hour Fitness club completed an extensive remodel in October, a $10 million project that added 31,000 square feet to bring the total to 50,000, which now includes a basketball court, a racquetball court and new cardio machines.

A couple who started a donut business called Doughbot Donuts from home in May 2010 added a Southside Park storefront in September. Owners Bryan Widener and Dannah O’Donnell said they sold 700 donuts on the first day and 1,000 the next.

Temple Coffee was a fixture in an old bookstore on 10th Street between J and K streets since 2005, but it moved a block east in September, reopening in a larger location. Owner Sean Kohmescher said the new, more open space allows for more conversation and personal engagement.

The owners of Tuli Bistro opted for a downtown location, opening Restaurant Thirteen on the ground floor of the Sterling Hotel at 1300 H St. in March. The new restaurant is intended to have an atmosphere similar to a fine-dining establishment, but without the stigma, said Chef Adam Pechal.

Shoki Ramen House also opened a second location in May, this time bringing the Japanese noodles to R Street. The ramen is all made from scratch in-house.

Despite many restaurants doing well in 2011, there were some that closed – with closures due to retirements, a bad economy or any number of other reasons.

Newsbeat, a newsstand that stocked a wide range of hard-to-find magazines, closed its doors in the MARRS Building in Midtown in November. Co-owner Terrence Lott attributed the closure to high rents and the decreasing demand for print media as digital media continue to grow in popularity.

Perhaps the biggest flop in central city business in 2011 was Garlic Shack, which was much-anticipated and kept delaying its opening date. When it did open in July, it was to mixed reviews, and by mid-October, it was gone, with no word from the owners.

The unique Hangar 17, a restaurant in a Quonset hut in Midtown, shut down in March. Owner Joey Madrid said the economy cost the business its viability, and workers left with a bitter taste in their mouths, saying their final checks bounced.

Next-door Midtown businesses Aura and Red Lotus also closed in 2011, and Aura was replaced by BarWest Burgers & Wings, while Red Lotus will be replaced by another restaurant, Red Rabbit, in 2012. Aura closed in March, and Red Lotus closed in September.

Despite the popularity of bicycles in Midtown, the bicycle-themed Spin Burger Bar at 16th and K streets wasn’t able to make it, closing in July. The closure, however, opened the space for a new Indian restaurant, which was up and running in December.

The 52-year-old Capitol Aquarium also closed in 2011, calling it quits in July as the owners were unable to find a buyer for the business.

Another veteran business, Brew it Up!, wasn’t able to make it at the corner of 14th and H streets, shutting down in late July. Owner Mike Costello said debt piled up and not enough customers came in to pay the bills, so he had to call it quits.

Not all restaurant closures were due to the economy, with Celestin’s Island Eats & Cajun Cuisine being one example. The 28-year-old business closed when owners Patrick and Phoebe Celestin decided to retire. They said they didn’t want to sell it, and the space reopened in December as The Porch, a Southern-themed restaurant run by the owners of nearby Capitol Garage.

Do you have a favorite business that expanded or closed in 2011? Let us know in the conversation below.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Year in review: Up-and-coming R Street

2011-12-28T01:55:25Z

The R Street streetscape improvement project that broke ground in 2010 finished in the fall, and several other changes to the R Street corridor signal it as an up-and-coming district heading into 2012, with more improvements on the way.

Improvements to R Street between 10th and 13th streets came in at less than the allotted funding, allowing the city to add a few more amenities, including 13 more benches for pedestrians.

Other improvements included creating uniform sidewalks, new pavement and new streetlights. Rail lines were left in place in a nod to the area’s history.

The construction stayed on schedule, coming to a close in the fall.

Completion of the first phase is just one step in the process that includes more than 20 blocks of improvements, and The Sacramento Press took a look at what else is in line for the area, including the R Street Market Plaza.

It wasn’t just government-funded infrastructure improvements that brought changes to R Street over the past year.

A popular local eatery, Shoki Ramen House, opened a second location near 12th Street on R Street. The owners told The Sacramento Press that they had always liked the R Street area, so when the space became available, it was a natural choice.

The Fox and Goose Public House, a longtime business at 10th and R streets whose owners applauded the infrastructure improvements, added a patio seating area, allowing customers to eat outside for the first time in its 36 years in business.

The owners of the restaurant took ownership of the Fuller Building in which it is housed, allowing them to convert the front ramps to seating.

A few blocks up R Street – on the heavily trafficked block between 13th and 14th streets – Top This Yogurt closed, allowing Burgers and Brew to significantly expand its draft beer selection.

Co-owner of both businesses Philippe Masoud said the yogurt shop didn’t work in the area, so he expanded Burgers and Brew into the space, using the storage for more beer kegs in a move other local businesspeople said helps strengthen the block’s draw for nightlife.

The Ace of Spades nightclub next door to Burgers and Brew also opened in the beginning of 2011, and numerous bands have played there since, drawing more attention to the R Street corridor.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Year in review: Changes to K Street

2011-12-28T01:30:41Z

K Street was a fixture in local news this year, with the most noteworthy event being its reopening to vehicular traffic for the first time since the 1960s – a major part of the city’s plan to revitalize the area. Other revitalization efforts included redevelopment and the moving of the Greyhound station.

The section of K Street between Seventh and 12th streets known as the K Street Mall has long been blighted, and city officials argued that much of that blight was the result of the failed pedestrian mall concept for the area.

That led to a long process of returning it to vehicular traffic, which was well under way by the middle of the year.

By mid-September, there were noticeable changes to the streetscape as crews dug up old paving and prepared the street to handle light rail and cars.

K Street officially reopened to cars on Nov. 12, to much fanfare.

Though it is now legal to drive down the street, Sacramentans have been slow to start using it. In early December, about a month after the street reopened to vehicles, The Sacramento Press asked businesspeople on the street if they had noticed a change. While most said they had not, the general feeling was that it is too soon to tell, and some were hopeful for a revitalized K Street in the near future.

One large-scale redevelopment project is under way on the south side of the 700 block. D&S Development, Inc., which worked to redevelop the historic Maydestone Building at 15th and J streets, partnered with CFY Development, Inc., on the 700 block of K Street.

The $47.7 million project is seen by city officials as a catalyst to turn the street into something the city can be proud of.

The City Council approved the project in July, and in late August, The Sacramento Press took a tour of the buildings that are scheduled to be redeveloped starting in 2012.

Another move in changing the face of K Street was the moving of the Greyhound station from nearby L Street to Richards Boulevard. After the move, police reported seeing approximately 60 percent fewer calls in the area around the station, including K Street, and D&S Development, Inc., representatives concurred.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Year in review: Business milestones

2011-12-27T05:29:55Z

The Sacramento Press covered many stories in 2011 of businesses coming and going, but there are a number of Sacramento businesses that celebrated milestones, withstanding the test of time and recessions big and small.

Midtown Italian restaurant Paesanos – Italian for “friends” – has been in business for 15 years, since April 1996. Director of Operations Dana Scarpulla told The Sacramento Press that Midtown has undergone major changes since the restaurant’s founding, and most have been positive.

Pastas, pizzas and salads top the list of favorites at the restaurant, which has since expanded to Paesanos Pronto and a couple other locations. There’s also word of another location opening in 2012.

The Kitchen, owned by husband and wife Randall Selland and Nancy Zimmer, has been in business for 20 years, starting in May of 1991.

Known for its presentation dinners that are highly interactive, The Kitchen caters to an upscale crowd with $125 four-course demonstration meals. Selland is expanding as well, opening another restaurant in El Dorado Hills in mid-January.

Another restaurant in business for 20 years is Ernesto’s Mexican Food. The Midtown eatery weathered recessions by focusing on quality and service, said owner Pauline Jiménez.

It opened in November 1991, and top dishes at the restaurant include tortilla soup, chile rellenos and carnitas. Of course, the margaritas play a big role in the restaurant and bar as well.

Biba Restaurant celebrated its 25th birthday with a reopening and makeover in July.

"Just like a beautiful woman, you don't stay beautiful forever unless you do something," owner Biba Caggiano told The Sacramento Press. "This place needed something: color, other things. I'm very, very, very happy."

Caggiano ws born in Italy, and the name might be familiar to those who watch The Discovery Channel and The Learning Channel, as she hosted more than 100 episodes of “Biba’s Italian Kitchen” on the networks.

The nonprofit cable TV Access Sacramento turned 25 in March, marking a quarter century of covering local life, including entertainment and cultural events as well as high school sports.

Local officials including Assemblyman Roger Dickinson and City Councilman Steve Cohn attended the organization’s birthday party, and Sacramento Press Community Contributor Kati Garner was there to take photos.

Locally owned Lofings Lighting sits in an unobtrusive spot on J Street most noticeable when driving by at night, and the business marked its 50th year in November.

Over the past half-century, the Lofing family has become renowned in the industry for expertise in lighting fixtures and technology, serving both residential and commercial clients across the country. The Lofings routinely test new technology and give input to manufacturers before the products go to market.

The American River Parkway is often called “the jewel” of the region, and for the past 50 years, the Save American River Parkway Association has been working to preserve it and encourage its use by local residents and tourists alike.

The nonprofit group has more than 600 members and keeps tabs on the 23-mile stretch of parkway, which hosts 5 million visitors each year doing everything from bicycling and running to boating.

Are there any other businesses that celebrated milestones this year? Let us know in the conversation below.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

New Texas barbecue spot on Broadway

2011-12-22T08:57:49Z

T & R Taste of Texas opened on Broadway near 36th Street in late October, and Chef Rodney Ray said he thinks the barbecue restaurant will be able to last in the spot that has seen several businesses come and go in past years.

“It’s simple, good, home-cooked food,” he said Wednesday. “It’s great barbecue, and we don’t grill it – we smoke it.”

All meats are smoked a minimum of five hours in an on-site smoker, and four types of wood are used: apple, hickory, mesquite and cherry, Ray said. Meats and other ingredients come from local restaurant suppliers, and he added that he wants to work with farmers markets to bring in local produce during harvest season.

Ray, who is a longtime friend of owner Clarence Pughsley Jr., said he got much of his experience with barbecue cooking as a freelance chef – including time on cruise ships.

“I travel all over, and Sacramento has been my home base for the past 10 years,” he said. “I really like going to the Caribbean. They’ve got a lot of great barbecue there.”

Both Pughsley and Ray have Texas roots, and Ray said he likes the Texas style of barbecuing, with a heavy emphasis on ribs.

“Our pork ribs are our most popular,” he said. “We’re working on a boneless beef rib, too, and tri tip is really popular here.”

The 1,300-square-foot restaurant holds 30 people, and there are plans to build a patio starting in March or April. Prices range from $6 - $10 for meals, with a combination platter of two meat types with two sides for $7.99 available from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Before T & R, the space was briefly Johnny Broadway’s, another barbecue restaurant, Ray said.

Sides include coleslaw, barbecue beans, potato salad and tater tots.

In addition to walk-in dining, T & R also caters, and Ray said he can cook a multitude of types of food – not limited to barbecue.

“We’re a barbecue restaurant, but we can do a lot more,” he said.

Sandra VanHook, owner of the Images & Beyond sign-making and silk-screening business a block away, said she has eaten at T & R several times since its opening nine weeks ago.

“When I tasted their pulled-pork sandwich for the first time, it was really good,” she said. “I think it’s the first time I’ve tasted it done right, with coleslaw on top.”

She said she has liked all the food she has tried, including the pulled pork, fried wings and hot links.

“The hot-link sandwich is unusual, but delicious,” she said.

She added that the restaurant is a good addition to the area, with food options predominantly being fast food.

Norma Henderson, owner of the Norma J’s Place beauty salon less than a block away, said she thinks that once the restaurant gets established, it will help draw business to the area.

“It’s very good, and the hospitality is really nice,” she said. “I’m glad to see a business there.”

T & R Taste of Texas is located at 3621 Broadway. It is open from 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and on Sunday from noon until the customers stop coming in, Ray said.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Photo essay: Estelle's Patisserie

2011-12-21T08:39:56Z

French pastries arrived on the corner of Ninth and K streets Dec. 8 when Estelle’s Patisserie opened without fanfare to gauge the market before adjusting and doing a grand opening sometime in January.

“The customers have been so supportive,” said owner Esther Son, whose first name translates to Estelle in French. “I’ve owned other businesses, and this group down here is just so dynamic and supportive.”

The staff of about 12 starts baking as early as 3 a.m., and the bakery offers about 35 items – from fruit tarts, puff pastries and croissants to soups, sandwiches and baguettes.

Cream-filled puff pastries, raspberry and blueberry tarts, buttery croissants and Madeleines in various flavors from chocolate to poppyseed top the pastry selection. Also available are shortbread cookies, caprese sandwiches – tomato, mozzarella and basil on a baguette – and a host of soups and quiches.

All items are made in-house, including sauces.

The most popular items so far have been the croissant sandwiches and the puff pastries, Son said.

Danielle Blacet, a 35-year-old Folsom resident who works across the street from the bakery at a political trade association, said the tomato bisque soup was excellent and reason enough to go back.

“I’m glad to have something here again,” she said, noting that the space previously housed Danielle’s Creperie and La Bou. “People in our office like to try new things, and having this on K Street is great.”

Sacramento real estate developer Kipp Blewett, 46, said he had Estelle’s Patisserie cater an event for him, and he was pleased with the pastries, returning Tuesday afternoon for lunch.

“What Temple is to coffee, Esther (Son) is to pastries,” he said. “We have little pieces of Paris on K Street. Who would have thought?”

Teo Judal, a 65-year-old retired Woodland resident, said he came to the pastry shop looking for a rum baba – a pastry he said is hard to find in Sacramento – but wasn’t able to get one at Estelle’s Patisserie.

“I had the almond tart instead,” he said. “It was good, and I think they have a good location.”

Linda Anderson, a 63-year-old Sacramentan who works with Blacet, has been to the pastry shop multiple times.

“The potato leek soup was the best I’ve ever had, and I make it at home,” she said. “I also had the vegetable quiche, and the crust was impeccable. The quiche was a perfect consistency.”

She said the prices aren’t the cheapest – they range from $1 for a Madeleine cookie to about $4.50 for a fruit tart – but they are a good value for the quality.

“I had the shortbread cookie, and it was the perfect mix of flour, butter and sugar,” she said. “It’s really good, and you can tell they pay a lot of attention to detail.”

Son said she is building up a following for the catering side of the business, with free deliveries throughout downtown Sacramento for orders of $80 or more, and a fee of about $10 for orders less than $80.

The pastry shop is located at Ninth and K streets and is open from 7 a.m. - 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Expanded bike share program to launch early next year

2011-12-17T01:19:08Z

Midtown’s Ride Your Own Way bicycle share program wrapped up its six-month trial period this week with an average of 20 bicycle rentals per week and plans to significantly expand it under a private company in 2012.

“I think the bike share is a really great program to have in Midtown,” said Midtown Business Association Streetscape Program Manager Niki Fay. “It obviously gives people a way to get around businesses quicker and easier, and the environmental benefits are great.”

The bicycle share program launched in June and provided two locations with six bicycles each that were rented to riders via automated systems. Similar programs are successful in cities such as Washington, D.C., Montreal and Paris.

After a six-month pilot program that saw some vandalism and bicycle theft, MBA and business partners concluded that the system should expand, but under the control of a private business.

The new business, named The Last Mile, will launch in the first quarter of 2012, said founder Aaron Zeff, who also co-owns Priority Parking – which housed the kiosks for the pilot program.

“We learned a lot from the MBA trial, and since MBA doesn’t have the funding ability, we thought we’d try it as a private enterprise to come up with a bike share that would be complementary to our customer base as well as something good for the community.”

The program will use smartphone applications to allow riders to take a bicycle from one area and ride it around the city, dropping it off at any other location, Zeff said. There are plans to have 30 locations with 10 bicycles each, but they will be rolled out slowly throughout the year as the bugs get worked out.

The app will work similar to the way in which Zipcars are rented, he said.

Pricing – though not final – should be around $1 per hour and $10 per day, Zeff said.

“The idea is to promote short use of the bike to get to a destination,” he said. “We don’t want to be competition to a bike rental company for recreational bikers.”

He added that he thinks this is the first program to be privately funded and operated in the country. Most bicycle share programs receive government subsidies or infrastructure, and the end cost of the bicycles can be $6,000 each.

“We’ve drilled that down to under $1,000 because of our system not having infrastructure other than bikes and existing parking facilities,” he said.

Unlike heavy steel bicycles in other cities, bicycles from The Last Mile are all-aluminum three-speeds with internal hub gearing.

The major problems during the pilot program, according to Ikon Cycles owner Adrian Moore – who purchased the bicycles to be used in the pilot program – was that they were targets for thieves because they were not overseen.

To combat that issue, the bicycles will now be housed in parking garages with attendants as well as businesses, so someone can always see them.

“Theft was not a surprise,” Moore said of the pilot program. “The system was not good enough to prevent it.”

Ikon Cycles, near 23rd and J streets, will be one of the early businesses to host a bicycle station in 2012, Zeff said. Another place will be Mexican restaurant Zócalo, where Priority Parking handles valet services, and riders will be able to hand their rented bicycles off to the valets for safekeeping.

“If you have an Internet connection, you can put (a station) in your store,” Zeff said. “It’s a universal locking system, and it’s essentially an iPhone or Android app.”

Initially, the stations will be located in the downtown and Midtown areas, and expansion throughout the city is possible, including stations for college students at Sacramento State.

The Last Mile is named after the problem many users have when using public transit – how to get the first and last mile to their destinations if they are not located near a bus or light rail stop, Zeff said.

With the initial 30 locations to be rolled out slowly, he added that it’s a good opportunity to let the free market influence something for the public good.

“It’s up to the consumer to decide if they want it,” he said.

Fay said she expects the program to be popular, especially with the bicycle culture being a large part of Midtown life.

“The first benefit is how it makes it easier for Midtown residents and visitors to get around town,” she said in an email, adding that other benefits include the air quality of having multimodal transportation and solving the problem of how public transit commuters get from their stops to their final destinations.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Indian restaurant opens on K Street in Midtown

2011-12-15T02:30:48Z

Indian cuisine arrived at the corner of 16th and K streets last week when Monsoon Indian Bar & Grill opened Dec. 8, and the response has been positive, co-owner Paul Singh said.

“I go to Yelp, and we’re getting reallygood reviews,” Singh said. “I think it’s a good barometer, and it also gives you feedback. People take the time to go and write, and I take them seriously, even though it’s only about 10 or so so far.”

Some of the most popular dishes so far, Singh said, are thechicken tikka masala, lamb Vindaloo and the samosa pakora appetizers – vegetarian-friendly pastry wraps of peas and rice.

“People are coming back for additional visits, and that gives me confidence,” Singh said.

Many of the nearby buildings house state offices, and some of those employees were in the restaurant for lunch on Wednesday.

“This is my first time trying Indian food,” said Nadine Jordan, a 50-year-old state employee from Sacramento. “It was an awesome experience. I’ve never tried it in my life, and it was absolutely good.”

Farzana Buksh, a 27-year-old state worker from Sacramento, is from an Indian background and said she thinks the food is authentic, though not necessarily what her mother would make at home.

“The food was really delicious,” she said. “I had the chicken tikka masala, and it was good.”

Erik Sweeting, a 28-year-old state worker from Rocklin, said he tried the mango prawns and enjoyed them as well as the naan.

“The service was very friendly,” he added. “I’ll definitely come back.”

Those unfamiliar with Indian cuisine are given samples of the food, Singh said. A new dish is in the works that will provide three samples of three different foods during lunchtime.

“We currently have a lunch deal that is very popular,” Singh said. “We call it the two for 20, and you get an appetizer, two meals of your choice, rice and naan bread for $20.”

Though the soft opening was last week, Singh said the grand opening will likely be the first week in January.

“We wanted to wait until after the holidays since everyone is so busy,” he said.

The interior décor, which Singh said he originally envisioned as being more traditional, is more modern – a result of the restaurant’s large window space.

Stockton-based interior designer Kathleen Jennison worked with Singh and his business partners.

“They wanted it to be Indian but also contemporary,” she said. “They were looking for a nightclub feel, but also a family-friendly atmosphere.”

Jennison said she wanted to evoke a sense of rain, given the restaurant’s name, and the gray and blue walls are accented by crystal light fixtures to give a feel of cloudiness with lightning. The concrete floors were polished to give a sense of shiny water.

One wall is red, which Jennison said is an homage to the colors of Indian spices.

Monsoon is open from 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. - 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

The Porch opens in old Celestin's spot

2011-12-14T02:21:24Z

The Porch, a southern-style restaurant, opened Thursday and is celebrating its grand opening this week in the space built to hold the popular Celestin’s Island Eats & Cajun Cuisine, which closed in September.

“We’ve had a really nice response,” said co-owner John Lopez. “Everyone has said good things so far, and we have several people who have been back multiple times.”

Popular food items include shrimp and grits, fried chicken, homemade brisket and a shrimp purloo – andouille sausage, bell peppers, onions, shrimp, rice, blue crab gravy and grilled chicken.

Customers familiar with the layout of Celestin’s will notice several differences in the remodeled space. The floor-to-ceiling walls have been chopped to much lower heights, giving the restaurant a more open, less-compartmentalized feel. Bamboo floors cover the entire dining area, and a faux fireplace on a wall adjacent to several faux windows looking out to a Charleston plantation’s grounds give the feeling of being in a southern home.

“We wanted to open it up and make it feel welcoming,” Lopez said. “We took one of the server stations and turned it into a 12-foot family table that people can reserve now.”

The restaurant can seat about 110 people inside, and the namesake front porch is still under construction, with work expected to wrap up within the next week.

“We have gas lamps, and it’s going to look like a porch with white pickets along the railing,” Lopez said.

Grand opening events with drink specials will be continuing through Friday, with representatives from vendors such as Sudwerk, Lagunitas and Big Sky Brewing Co. coming.

A cocktail menu was devised by a bartender the owners met on a research trip to Charleston, and there are 12 beers on tap.

The custom-built wooden back bar area is designed to show off the restaurant’s whiskey and bourbon selections, and Lopez said he plans to add tastings with several flights – multiple small samples – of the spirits in the coming weeks, as well as with beer and wine.

Much of the ingredients in the menu items are locally supplied, with fish coming from farms in Sloughouse, sandwich bread from Old Soul Bakery in Sacramento and cornmeal from Grass Valley Grains of Wheatland.

Lopez, who also co-owns the nearby Capitol Garage, said brunch will be added to The Porch in January, featuring southern fare, though the menu is still being determined.

Approximately 30 employees work at the new restaurant, including four of the employees from Celestin’s. When Celestin’s closed in September and the co-owner Phoebe Celestin agreed to lease the space to The Porch, she said the new restaurateurs’ willingness to interview her former staffers made her happy.

Gregg Hill, a 47-year-old software developer from Rocklin, said during lunchtime Tuesday that the barbecue pork sandwich was good.

“The restaurant is big, and it’s nice and clean,” he said.

Another diner who stopped in for lunch was 32-year-old state worker Bentley Jorgenson of Sacramento.

“I liked to eat at Celestin’s, and I was sad to see it go,” he said. “(The Porch) is great. I was amazed with how they redid this place. It looks great.”

The Porch is located at 1815 K St. and is open from 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and from 11 a.m. - midnight Thursday through Saturday. The “social hour” is from 3 - 6 p.m. daily and includes $1-off drink specials.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Ikon Cycles moves to larger Midtown location

2011-12-13T05:19:45Z

The 3-year-old Ikon Cycles bicycle shop recently relocated from its 18th Street location to a new spot on J Street, finishing construction last week.

Owner Adrian Moore, originally from Portland, came to Sacramento in 2004 and shortly thereafter decided to open a shop similar to the ones in his hometown.

“In Portland, there’s a lot of fiercely independent local stores,” he said. “I think of this shop as being like some of the locally owned ski and snowboard shops.”

The original location, 1126 18th St., was a 500-square-foot space, and Moore said some were skeptical that he could fit a bike shop inside, but it worked well.

Deciding to move to the new location, at 2318 J St., took the shop from what Moore called the best corner in Sacramento, but it meant a space about three times the size for the same price.

“It’s not quite as good for visibility, but it’s a high-traffic area, and I’m hoping as things get better, the foot traffic picks up, too,” Moore said.

The first thing customers see upon entering the shop is a large pipe sculpture Moore created. Coming out from the left wall, the PVC pipes stretch to the ceiling and branch out like a tree, and many have LED light fixtures in red, white and green – the colors of the Italian flag.

“We sell a lot of Italian products in here, so that made sense,” Moore said.

The industrial look to the space is complemented by bamboo benches suspended from the ceiling. A trio of bicycles are set up in the corner to provide state-of-the-art training to cyclists preparing to race or keep up their skills through the winter months.

“The trainer stations are amazingly popular,” Moore said. He added that unlike the more rudimentary Gold Sprints, where riders pedal a stationary bicycle for all they’re worth, the trainer stations at Ikon Cycles accurately simulate terrain, steering, wind resistance and a number of other factors, and video screens in front of the riders give the feel of a virtual tour of some of the famous cycling areas in the world.

“They have a lot of the major climbs, and they have several stages of the Tour de France,” Moore said.

Moore said his shop includes an eclectic mix of bicycles and gear, adding that customers can get everything from introductory bicycles all the way up to professional-grade cycles hand-built in Italy with carbon fiber frames.

“One thing we do that really no one else is doing is custom-fitting you for your bike,” he said, adding that an adjustable bicycle frame allows him to determine the proper size bicycle needed for a customer.

“If you’re riding for four hours, the fit of the bike will really determine whether you keep riding or whether you hang it up in your garage,” he said. “If you’re not comfortable on that bike, you’re not going to ride it.”

A seating area in the front of the shop underscores what Moore said is his priority when it comes to running a business – customer service.

“The only way to survive is by really being there for the customer,” he said. “We give them a place to sit, and we spend probably eight hours with a customer buying a bike before we ever get any cash handed to us.”

Kimio Bazett, co-owner of The Golden Bear bar, said he is a customer of Ikon Cycles and thinks the shop has a personality to it.

“The emphasis on people’s comfort and the feeling of welcoming is something you don’t really see too much of these days,” he said. “Having the living room lounge area where people are encouraged to hang out and get a feel for the place is better than the feeling of ‘buy something or get out.’ ”

Bazett said he bought a used bicycle and took it into Ikon Cycles for a tune-up, and he’s been going back for the past year and a half.

“Adrian (Moore) is part of this new breed of Sacramento entrepreneurs,” Bazett said. “I actually believe he’s not chasing the dollar, but he’s chasing the vision. He’s more interested in the aesthetic and the experience than he is about the bottom line.”

Moore said he enjoys being a part of the community, and he was the purchaser of the bicycles for the Midtown Ride Your Own Way bicycle share program.

Ikon Cycles is open 10:30 a.m. to at least 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday at 2318 J St.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Firewood supplier roundup

2011-12-10T01:14:38Z

As temperatures dip with the approach of winter, Sacramentans are turning to their fireplaces for added warmth. The Sacramento Press checked out a number of vendors who sell and deliver firewood as well as the regulations and safety of burning in your home.

Firewood is usually sold in cords or fractions of cords, and a single cord of wood is stacked 4 feet by 4 feet by 8 feet and can typically be held in two pickup truck beds.

Firewood vendors and fire officials stressed the need to burn only seasoned wood in fireplaces so it burns at the correct temperature and doesn’t cause damage to chimneys or stoves.

“Only burn approved products – no cardboard or paper products,” said Cal Fire Battalion Chief Bill Mendonca.

He also recommended getting a chimney inspection or cleaning at least once a year to ensure there are no obstructions or layers of creosote buildup – a byproduct of burning wood in fireplaces – that can be a fire hazard.

When it comes to Christmas trees, Mendonca recommended keeping the tree a safe distance from a fireplace so sparks can’t reach it and set it alight. He also emphasized that Christmas trees should not be burned at the end of the Christmas season because they aren’t seasoned, and the high temperatures from quickly burning needles can damage fireplaces and chimneys.

According to Cal Fire, people can cut their own wood with permits obtained through the federal government or in certain Cal Fire forest areas, but the wood needs to be seasoned a year before it is burned.

Once wood is seasoned – let sit in a dry space – it can be stored outside or inside, and it does not need to be covered, but should be dried for 20 minutes before burning.

In the Sacramento Metropolitan area, it is illegal to burn on certain days, so check the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District’s notices before burning.

M&M Firewood & Quality Cookingwood
6217 32nd St., North Highlands
614-9000

Secretary Leticia Mejia said the business has been around for more than 10 years and sells many different types of firewood.

“We have oak, almond and an almond mix, as well as lots of odds and ends,” she said. “A lot of people buy the oak or the almond for smoking meats, and we sell a lot of firewood to downtown restaurants and the public for heating purposes.”

M&M delivers in the Sacramento area, and prices vary depending on location, with delivery fees starting at $44. All firewood sold is seasoned for at least one year.

“We do offer kindling, and we’re open to the public so they can come in and pick up firewood,” Mejia said.

Tony’s Firewood
6000 Auburn Blvd., Citrus Heights
969-9663

Started in 1970 by husband and wife Tony and Connie Dorado, Tony’s Firewood sells oak, walnut, cherry, eucalyptus, cedar, pine and mixed woods, according to Linda Noe, daughter of the Dorados.

“We sell a lot of wood to restaurants as smoking wood and also to homeowners not only with wood-burning fireplaces but with inserts and stoves also,” she said. “We’ve been keeping Sacramento warm since 1970.”

Deliveries of wood are $35, and free delivery is offered in May and June. All wood carried this time of year is seasoned for at least a year. The wood is split and sold in 16-inch lengths with diameters of 5 to 7 inches.

NPC Firewood
8320 Hazel Ave in Orangevale and 11257 S. Ridge St. in Rancho Cordova.
853-9541

Owner Jeff Hadden said NPC Firewood carries a wide range of firewood including the common oaks, cedar and pine.

“We turn some of it into lumber, but most of the firewood we sell is seasoned about a year,” he said. Unseasoned wood is available as well.

NPC Firewood delivers throughout the Sacramento area for a $60 delivery fee for up to a cord.

Pak & Save Firewood
8385 Jackson Road, Sacramento
381-3143

Manager Javier Hernandez said popular types of firewood offered at the business include pine, walnut, almond, white oak and black oak.

All firewood sold is seasoned at least one year.

“We keep our wood covered, so it is always dry and ready to go into the fireplace,” he said. “A lot of our almond wood is used for people who smoke meats, and the rest is usually used for heating.”

Pak & Save delivers in the Sacramento area. Delivery fees start at $50 and vary depending on location.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

New website focuses on Sacramento videos

2011-12-09T01:46:50Z

SacTV.com, a website aiming to showcase videos that give a “virtual tour of Sacramento” launched Monday, with local radio veteran Alex Cosper at the helm.

“Basically, it’s like the YouTube of Sacramento, minus all the garbage,” he said Thursday.

The 49-year-old founder of the site said that “garbage” consists of videos with bad audio and recording qualities as well as really shaky camerawork.

“It’s a chance for anyone in Sacramento to voice an opinion or post a review that’s relevant to other Sacramentans,” he said.

Videos currently on the site include clips of Mayor Kevin Johnson’s pitch to keep the Sacramento Kings in Sacramento, an aerial video of Folsom Lake and several musical performances.

All videos will actually be hosted on YouTube, but SacTV.com serves as a filter to ensure the videos shown add value to the site.

Topics can be on anything from the local music and arts scene to business and political issues or funny videos. Video reviews of restaurants and music events are some of the things he said he expects will be submitted the most.

Anyone can submit a video via a form on the website, and Cosper then determines if it’s a good fit. His long experience at the now-defunct radio station KWOD 106.5 allowed him to understand the types of things that appeal to locals, he said.

He started at KWOD in 1984 as an intern, then became assistant music director and music director before taking over as program director in 1991, a position he held until 1996 when he left the station.

“In that time, we went from one of the worst-rated stations to a top-five station,” Cosper said.

Cosper said he hopes to take the sense that helped him play a part in the radio station’s success to his current venture.

It’s an idea that’s been in the works for more than a decade, as he bought the domain name in 2000, but he only began building the site from scratch in mid-November.

The films currently on the site are his work, but he is partnering with local videographers and production companies to bring in more content.

One of those partners is the locally owned video production business The Studio Center, which primarily produces TV commercials and informational videos but also works with local creative filmmakers.

“I’ve known Alex from back in the days when he was in broadcast radio and I was in marketing and advertising,” said Frank Casanova, owner of The Studio Center. “He’s one of those creative people in town that’s always looking for where there’s a void that can be filled.”

Cosper approached Casanova earlier this week to talk about bringing some of the films The Studio Center worked with in relation to a cable access film festival called “A Place Like Sacramento.”

“We’ve produced about 30 short films and two feature films,” Casanova said. “He wants to put those films on the site, and it’s really a win-win for all of us, since the filmmakers get their work viewed by a wider audience.”

Casanova added that he thinks the site will be “a wonderful open venue” for Sacramentans to post videos that affect other local residents.

“Alex took KWOD from a nothing radio station to a powerhouse in its day,” Casanova said. “This is going to be something of value into the future. He really knows the Sacramento audience.”

Cosper said he wants the site to serve not only as a resource for locals, but as a place where others can learn about all the city has to offer before traveling to it or, possibly, before deciding to move to the city.

“I really want this site to be a virtual tour of Sacramento,” he said. “This is my hometown, and I know it better than any other city, and it’s a great place to be.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Man on the Street: business after cars on K

2011-12-07T01:50:25Z

It’s been almost one month since cars returned to K Street between Eighth and 12th streets, and The Sacramento Press asked business owners and managers on the former pedestrian mall if they have observed any differences as a result.

To read about the reopening of the K Street Mall to vehicular traffic, click here.

Larry Bethune, 25-year-old shift leader at Quiznos, 902 K St.

“I think it allows a lot more people to know about the different restaurants on K Street,” Bethune said. “It hasn’t increased business yet because there’s nowhere to park. There’s a lot about a block from here with purple fence around it. If they turned that into a parking lot, then having cars on the street would turn into a really great idea.”

Veni Sharma, 63-year-old co-owner of DeRow & Sharma Clothier & Tailors, 916 K St.

“It’s too early to tell, but it’s improved a little bit,” Sharma said. “People are still learning they can drive down here. It’s a positive thing.”

Chuck Karajeh, 51-year-old owner of Midtown Market, 1026 K St.

“There’s been no change so far,” Karajeh said. “I don’t think it’s going to change anything. To me, well, I’ve been here a long time. I don’t think people are going to stop, and there’s no parking. If they had street parking, it would help.”

Chris Dooley, 32-year-old bar manager at Ella Dining Room & Bar, 1131 K St.

“We’re still doing the same, but we have always had a street with cars on it, since we’re on the corner (of 12th and K streets),” Dooley said. “For some, I’m sure bringing cars back has increased business. It definitely makes the street more approachable to pedestrians and families, so it’s more accessible now.”

Jesse Lua, 29-year-old manager of Blimpie Subs & Salads, 1023 K St.

“There’s been no change,” Lua said. “It really hasn’t gotten any traffic at all. I don’t think it’ll do anything without parking. The only traffic I’ve seen is maybe some cabs, but there hasn’t been an accident yet.”

Sid Garcia-Heberger, 46-year-old general manager of the Crest Theatre, 1013 K St.

“I’m seeing increased activity on the street,” Garcia-Heberger said. “Most of the increased activity is on the weekends and at night. I think people are still getting used to it. Once more people know about it, I think it will really help.”

What is your perception of the changes to K Street over the past month, since cars were allowed. Have you driven down the former pedestrian mall? Let us know in the conversation below.

New coffee bar focuses on community, sustainability

2011-12-05T03:28:28Z

Two Sacramentans with a decade each working in local coffee bars are set to branch out on their own this week as they open Insight Coffee Roasters at Eighth and S streets.

Ben Lance and Lucky Rodrigues met about five years ago when they both worked at Temple Coffee, and their idea of what a coffee business should be is set to open Wednesday – possibly as early as Monday or Tuesday if all goes well.

“We’re opening this to stay in coffee, not just to own something in coffee,” Rodrigues said. “We want to do this our whole lives, and this is a way to stay in it and not earn minimum wage in our 40s.”

The premise of the business is to keep things simple while providing sustainable coffee to the Southside Park area, Lance said.

“Simplicity is the most effective concept,” Lance said. “We’re working directly with coffee growers in El Salvador and Guatemala. We’re actually going down there in a couple of weeks to meet them and see their sustainable business and know that they’re able to put a roof over their families’ heads.”

Working through Atlantic Specialty – a business that connects coffee roasters in the United States with coffee growers – Lance said Insight Coffee will be able to trace where each shipment is coming from and know that it’s not exploitative.

“We want to work with like-minded people,” Rodrigues said. “We’re really into sustainability, and we have a high attention to detail, so it’s nice to work with people who feel the same way.”

In keeping with the simplicity theme, furniture consists of a few couches along the back wall of the roughly 2,000-square-foot cafe area, wooden counters along the windows and a host of wooden tables built by Rodrigues. Chairs in the space are theater seats built in 1918 that used to be in the basement of the Masonic Lodge on J Street.

The space will hold 40 people, and Rodrigues said the emphasis is on community, with large communal tables and an open atmosphere.

Lance said that free Wi-Fi will be offered, but there are only about eight outlets in the seating area.

“We don’t want this to be a place where everyone is clicking away on their laptops and you’re afraid to make a sound,” Lance said. “We want you to play a board game or sit and have a conversation.”

Music will be provided by an old record player, and Lance said he wants to bring the work of local artists in two or three times per month to make use of the extensive wall space.

All the coffee will be French press, and while iced drinks will be available, there aren’t any plans to provide blended iced drinks or smoothies.

A standard cup of coffee will cost $2.25, and the most expensive drinks will be about $4.50.

A unique style of brewing using Chemex coffeemakers will be available, in which coffee is brewed in a hand-blown glass pitcher to the customer’s specifications. The 24-ounce vessel will cost $5 and is meant to be shared.

All milk and sugar in the business will be organic, with the milk being the Crystal organic line, from cows that live near Chico, Lance said.

“It will be reflected in the price, maybe a nickel or 10 cents more per cup, but it’s organic from the start,” he said.

The coffee roaster, in the approximately 2,000-square-foot space behind the cafe, was custom-made in Nevada.

Business hours will be 7 a.m. - 8 p.m. every day, and Lance said if business levels dictate, he will extend them. He said he also plans to bring in live music, with local bands playing two or three nights per week once Insight Coffee is up and running.

Another future addition, Rodrigues said, will be a beer bottle shop.

“We’re just waiting on our license,” he said. “We want to bring in beers from abroad – beers that follow sort of the same idea as our coffee. We want this place to be a mature area where people can lounge and have a drink, without being a bar.”

Insight Coffee Roasters, 1901 Eighth St., will be open from 7 a.m. - 8 p.m. every day. The scheduled opening date is Wednesday. For more information, click here.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Editorial Note: This story has been updated after it was published. The website link was added.

Freshii closes, reopens as Fresca Deli

2011-11-29T01:52:06Z

Freshii, a health-conscious walk-up eatery located at 400 Q St., morphed into Fresca Deli over the holiday weekend in a move the owner said is meant to appeal more to the people who dine in the area.

“Ultimately, that concept didn’t suit the demographic of this area,” said co-owner Eric Heffel, explaining that the adjacent cafeteria in the CalPERS building is always full.

“What we’ve started doing is more sandwiches and hearty soups, but we still have healthy options here,” he added.

The interior looks similar, although Freshii signage has been removed.

At Freshii, customers filled out menu cards to make custom food items, or they could choose from a list. Fresca Deli uses a more standard menu.

The same staff is making the food, and some items, such as the pozole soup and a quesadilla, are their creations. The rest of the recipes came from Heffel’s co-owner, Larry Shield.

“He’s kind of a Texas boy,” Heffel said. “He went back to his roots.”

Grilled cheese with a choice of meats, chicken salad sandwiches, roast beef sandwiches and even a hot meatloaf sandwich are all on the menu. Sandwiches range in price from $4.50 to $8.50, and all are offered as combo meals with soup or sides such as potato salad and coleslaw.

“Nothing on the menu is over 10 bucks, even the combos,” Heffel said. “We had to be really conscious of competing with the cafeteria. We want to provide better food for the same or better price.”

Wraps, grilled burritos, salads and soups are also available, and all the food is purchased from local wholesalers. The Yogurtagogo frozen yogurt is still available.

Soups include pozole – a traditional Mexican soup, cream of tomato basil, Asian lemongrass, and shrimp and corn chowder.

Freshii was open for about eight months, and Heffel said the revenue projections have shown for some time that the concept didn’t work out for the location.

Customers entering the new space, he said, will see a completely different menu, but if they look closer, they will see influences from Freshii.

“We still use brown rice for all of our bowls and our wraps, and we have a number of salads available,” Heffel said.

Monday was the first day the rebranded business was open, and Heffel said it was too soon to determine its success.

“We won’t know until people start coming back,” he said. “Most of our business is to-go orders, so we will see what the feedback is.”

In addition to serving the largely state-employed lunch crowd, Heffel said he wants to make Fresca Deli a local hangout.

With that goal in mind, he brought in a Foosball table, is showing the American Film Institute’s Top 100 films on a TV and, like he did when it was Freshii, will be featuring live local music on the patio.

“When the weather was warmer, we had blues jam sessions every Thursday night for about four months,” he said. “We will be bringing back more local music once it warms up again.”

Heffel said the break from Freshii was straightforward, with no major problems. For a time, catering will not be available, but he said that will change once the deli gets up and running.

The work done over the weekend largely consisted of reorganizing the kitchen area and making sure that the new food being offered could be produced efficiently.

People eating at the restaurant on Monday afternoon said they found it to be convenient and affordable.

“I haven’t tried (Freshii) for a long time, but I like this,” said Amil Chandrasekara, a 40-year-old CalPERS employee. “The price is good, and the food is good.”

Roxane Divol, a 39-year-old consultant from San Francisco, said the prices are good, and the deli is another option for those looking to eat in the area.

“It’s a regular deli,” she said. “It’s nothing fantastic, but the prices are good and it’s convenient.”

Fresca Deli, located at 400 Q St., is open from 7 a.m. - 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. - 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Monsoon to bring Indian cuisine to 16th and K

2011-11-28T05:41:56Z

Monsoon Indian Bar & Grill is scheduled to open the first week of December in the building at 16th and K streets that formerly housed Spin Burger Bar and Bistro 33.

“It’s going to be fresh food, prepared daily,” said co-owner Chan Singh. “This is Indian food where we use spices to enhance the flavors of the food, not overkill it.”

Singh, originally from Delhi, India, came to North America in the 1990s, getting into the restaurant business in Toronto, Canada, opening his original Monsoon location.

Singh said his business in Toronto is well-run by his managers, allowing him to come to Sacramento and focus on the new venture.

In India, the monsoon season typically lasts from June to September, and it’s a special time, according to Singh.

“It’s considered to be kind of a romantic time in India,” he said. “You have five to six months of 100-plus temperatures, and then the monsoon comes, and it really brings everything to life and cools down. People love to go out and have fun and eat.”

The restaurant, which will be open seven days per week, will serve lunch and dinner and have a full bar. A limited late-night menu will be available after about 10 p.m., and Indian-themed cocktails will be available as well, Singh said.

The food will be traditional Indian, served to Singh’s specifications.

“It’s going to be the kind of food I like to eat,” he said. “If I wouldn’t want to eat it, why would I serve it?”

Chicken Vindaloo, a spicy dish from the Goa region; Kerala fish, a fish topped with coconut sauce, peppercorns and curry leaves; chicken tikka masala, roasted chicken in a curry sauce; and numerous other dishes including shrimp and salmon will be available.

In addition, there will be a variety of what Singh said are more modern dishes in India, including a dish with chicken atop a coconut chickpea sauce and lamp chops in a creamy curry sauce.

A range of vegetarian items will be available as well.

Full menu details are still being worked out, as is the cocktail selection. Prices for food will range from around $10 for vegetarian items to $12 - $15 for non-vegetarian items. The lunch menu will be less-expensive, with food running from about $8 - $10.

The 2,800-square-foot restaurant will seat about 95 people inside, and the existing patio will be retained.

Most recently, the space held Spin Burger Bar, which evolved from Bistro 33.

“We originally wanted to decorate it in a traditional Indian way, but when we saw the building, it’s very modern, so we will have a more modern influence,” Singh said.

Some of the décor will be paintings imported from India.

While Singh is not a Sacramentan, he said he will be living here for the foreseeable future as the restaurant gets started, and he has two local partners.

“We were looking in Roseville, but when we saw that this space was available, we knew we had to come here. I don’t think there is anything else like this around here.”

Jennifer Young, a 41-year-old state worker from Sacramento who works in the area, said the restaurant will be a nice complement to the area.

“I like curry,” she said Wednesday afternoon. “I’ll definitely try it out.”

Young said that, with numerous state office buildings in the area, affordable food will likely be key to staying in business.

Another nearby state worker, 27-year-old Abby Eddy of Sacramento, said she thinks the corner location is the perfect spot for a restaurant, and it will be successful if it provides a good late-night option for diners and those looking for drinks.

“I’ll definitely give it a shot,” she said.

Monsoon Indian Bar & Grill, 1020 16th St., is scheduled to be open from 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. - 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Sunday.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

New East Sac deli pleases locals

2011-11-23T03:58:43Z

East Sacramento’s month-old Juno’s Kitchen & Delicatessen focuses on serving sustainable food out of a small space with a name inspired by a unique dog.

“Juno is a very unusual dog,” owner Mark Helms said of the pit bull/bull terrier mix. “She likes to swim underwater; she likes to carry around sticks that are like twice her weight. She’s an extreme athlete.”

Helms and his wife, Susan Vasques, opened Juno’s, located at 3617 J St., at the end of October, mere months after selling their restaurant in The Pocket, Ravenous Cafe.

They sold the upscale American-style restaurant to be closer to home, Helms said.

“I always wanted to have a place where bread was kind of the focus,” Helms said, explaining that most of the bread products are made in-house in a pizza oven that was already installed in the 1,100-square-foot space. They are then sliced on one of his prized possessions: an electric bread slicer that dates back to the 1940s.

The shop offers a wide range of sandwiches for lunch and dinner, including Vietnamese-style banh mi pork sandwiches, steak sandwiches, salmon sandwiches and grilled burgers. Also on the menu are dishes such as couscous.

Ingredients are grown locally, and nitrate-free meats and cage-free eggs are used. All sauces are made fresh in-house as well.

“That’s really important to me,” Helms said. “We don’t want to have a bunch of processed food in here. We’re serving something that’s really higher-end, but at a more reasonable price.”

Sandwiches range from $8 - $12, and Helms said he expects to bring in some new dishes in the near future, including scallops with curry served on bread.

Helms said the pizza oven – a leftover from when the space was Pizza Guys – allows him to bake airy bread, since it can cook with steam.

The bread is one thing customers eating at the deli took notice of Tuesday afternoon.

Sarah Miles, a 38-year-old registered nurse from Curtis Park, said the baguette on her steak sandwich was perfect.

“Sometimes baguettes are too hard, but this one was perfectly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside,” she said. “The meat is really tender, and the mushrooms are like butter in your mouth.”

Miles was brought to the restaurant by her friend, 52-year-old Rose Varesio, an instructor at Sacramento State.

Varesio, however, praised the fact that there wasn’t any bread on her sandwich.

“I don’t eat gluten, and I don’t eat pork,” she said. “My banh mi doesn’t have bread or meat, and I really like it that way. They’ll work with you to make you exactly what you want, whether it’s vegan or gluten-free or whatever.”

Though without bread the sandwich was directly on the plate, Varesio said it was still very tasty.

She added that she lives nearby and has already picked it out as a favorite where she takes her friends.

“I love this place,” she said.

Helms, 44, said he has lived in the area for more than 20 years, and the response from customers has been better than he expected, with more than 200 people coming in one day – a surprise for a place that seats 12 people inside and 12 more on the patio.

“I wanted to set this up to be available for a lot of takeout,” he said, adding that the business is also available for catering.

Julie Holt, a 46-year-old Sacramento City College professor from the Arden area, came to Juno’s with her parents for her birthday Tuesday.

“It was amazing,” she said, adding that she had a burger with caramelized onions and Manchego cheese, a style from central Spain. “The bun was great, and it was the perfect size – not too much and not too little.”

The restaurant is currently open from 11:30 a.m. - 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, though that might change as business demands, Helms said.

“I’ve been a chef all my life,” Helms said. “This is my life, and it’s what I want to do. I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

Editorial Note: Spelling corrections have been made to this story. Rose Varesio's name has been corrected.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Local vegan shop reopens in new location

2011-11-18T01:49:26Z

Never Felt Better Vegan Shop, which reopened Nov. 4 in a new location at 19th and P streets, offers not only vegan food, but a range of products made in what the owners say are ethical methods by local vegans.

“Everything we offer is vegan-friendly,” said Jen Fosnight, co-owner of the store. “Nothing here was tested on animals, and there are no animal products in anything here.”

She said the shop is not just for vegans, but for anyone who wants a wide range of goods.

The boutique offers non-leather belts and wallets, vegan nacho cheese, vegan tamales, other assorted vegan and fair-trade food items, soaps, artwork produced by local vegans and even clothing made locally that promotes animal rights.

Monica Engebretson, 37, is a co-owner of the Puppy Bird clothing line – sold in the store – and worker for Born Free USA, an animal rights nonprofit organization.

“Jen asked me if I wanted to sell my clothing line in her shop, and I’m a vegan, so it seemed like a perfect fit,” Engebretson said.

She added that she and Fosnight met through Sacramento’s craft scene, as Fosnight makes jewelry.

“I like having her shop here because I can go in there and find products that maybe aren’t available or carried in other local stores,” Engebretson said. “There’s lots of local handmade items, so I know I’m not supporting sweatshops and exploitative models of consumerism.”

Engebretson said she gets clothing from secondhand stores and screen prints images of animals with quotations about preserving animal habitat and caring for animals. Oftentimes, she screen prints the images on patches and applies them to the clothes.

“We turn the clothes into a statement,” she said.

She added that seeing a vegan shop in Sacramento is “a sign that Sacramento is growing up and getting hip and getting with the times.”

Fosnight said she became a vegan about eight years ago, and her husband, Shawn Fosnight, has been a vegan for about 22 years.

Together, they decided to open the store about two years ago. Originally in an upstairs location at 24th and K streets, the move to the new location Nov. 4 provided more visibility and translated to increased foot traffic in the store.

“We are definitely not just for vegans,” Shawn Fosnight said. “Anyone can come in here, and a lot of people love the soaps, and even a lot of non-vegans buy the food because it is healthier and locally produced.”

Jeannie Trizzino, 48, is a vegan from Chico who stopped in the store Thursday morning.

“I love it here,” she said. “I can come here and buy whatever is in the store and not have to worry about looking at the labels.”

She added that places such as Trader Joe’s are selling more vegan food, and though it is well-marked, it is often mixed in with non-vegan food.

“Anyone can come in here and poke around,” Trizzino said. “They can see that being vegan isn’t hard, and it’s good for them and for animals.”

Jen Fosnight said that,as the store gains recognition, she wants Never Felt Better Vegan Shop to be a resource for vegans and non-vegans alike who would like to find out more about ethically produced items, local produce and animal rights.

One of the items Shawn Fosnight said many non-vegans come to the shop for is fair-trade chocolate, which like fair-trade coffee is produced in a manner friendly to workers and the environment.

The store is also used as a spot for people to meet up on a variety of topics, Jen Fosnight said. From 6 - 9 p.m. Dec. 10, the store will host a vegan cookie exchange, where people can bring in their favorite vegan cookies and exchange them with others.

From 6 - 9 p.m. Dec. 17, Jen Fosnight said the shop will hold a workshop on how to veganize beauty and makeup practices, including a list of products that don’t include animal products or test on animals, as well as where to get them locally.

Never Felt Better Vegan Shop is located at 1910 P St. and is open from 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Saturdays and noon - 4 p.m. Sundays. For more information on upcoming events, check the company’s website.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Photo essay: La Tavola linen rentals

2011-11-17T01:32:45Z

More than 1,500 linen items from napkins to tablecloths and chair cushions are available for rent at La Tavola Fine Linen Rental, which has operated out of 1221 19th St. for about six months.

Whitney Werts, marketing manager for La Tavola, said much of the business centers on linen rentals for events such as weddings, holiday parties and other receptions.

“We import fabrics from all over the world and manufacture everything ourselves, and then we rent that out to customers,” she said.

The business started in Napa four years ago, then expanded to Southern California. With a strong client base in Sacramento, Werts said it made sense to open a store in the area. The Sacramento location is in a building formerly occupied by Le Petit Paris, which closed last year.

Sharing the former Le Petit Paris spot is the next-door Devine Gelateria.

The company is owned by Betsy and Herb Stone of Napa, who previously owned two other rental businesses that were subsequently bought out by larger corporations.

“No order is too small,” Werts said, adding that standard tablecloths made of polycotton linens are about $18 each, and napkins cost 75 cents each. Shipping orders in the Sacramento area costs about $25, or customers can pick them up at the store.

Tablecloths, table runners, chair covers and cushions are all produced in standard sizes, Werts said. For complete size listing, check the La Tavola website.

All linens are laundered at the facility in Napa upon their return, Werts said.

The satellite showrooms, such as the one in Sacramento, stock a complete set of the linens, and when orders are given, they arrive from a 65,000-square-foot warehouse in Napa.

“At the very minimum, we need to know three or four days before the event,” Werts said.

The business is open from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and closed from noon - 1 p.m.

Editorial Note: Spelling corrections have been made to this story after it was published.

Ruhstaller beer makes Sacramento comeback

2011-11-16T05:49:27Z

A Sacramento entrepreneur is looking to bridge past and present with the resurrection of one of Sacramento’s most-recognized names in beer: Ruhstaller.

J-E Paino, a native San Franciscan who grew up in Houston before moving to Davis for college, settled on the idea of marketing new, California-grown and brewed beer under the classic Ruhstaller name about two years ago, and he officially launched the product Tuesday night at Mulvaney’s B&L, 1215 19th St.

“As I researched Sacramento’s brewing history, the guy that kept coming up over and over again was Ruhstaller,” Paino said Monday.

Frank Ruhstaller left Switzerland for the United States in the mid-1800s, and he made his way to Sacramento, setting up his brewery in the old City Brewery in 1881, Paino said. Shortly after, he became a partner in the Buffalo Brewery.

William Burg, a member of the Sacramento Heritage Board of Directors and other local historical societies, said the Buffalo Brewery was a virtual “Who’s Who” of prominent Sacramento brewers.

“Ruhstaller’s son took over his business and may have run (the Buffalo Brewery) for a while,” Burg said. He added that Ruhstaller was adept at marketing – producing numerous novelty items, plates, mugs and other beer-related merchandise that remain highly collectible today.

Paino said Sacramento was a natural site for brewing around the turn of the century, with hops growing from the area of Campus Commons out to Sloughouse, and the rivers provided ready access to ship all over the region as well as Asia.

Under Paino’s ownership, Ruhstaller is produced in two varieties – the Ruhstaller 1881 and Hop Sac ’11.

“The 1881 is a California red ale,” Paino said, explaining that all the hops are grown in California near the Oregon border. Without any malting houses in California, the undried hops are shipped to Vancouver, Wash., malted, and returned to Sacramento for brewing.

According to Paino, using the hops without drying them gives the beer a unique flavor. Much like wine, in which the drinker can taste the variation in each vintage based on weather conditions, soil and a number of other factors, the 1881 ale gets a unique flavor from California.

The Hop Sac ’11 is an orange-colored ale also made with California hops. Paino said the name is an homage to Sacramento’s history of harvesting hops, which were placed in burlap sacks.

The recipes are not the same as the originals, Paino said, since the original recipes were far different from what is popular today.

Paino said he has been producing the beer for about four months, and he has had to brew it at local breweries – including Hoppy Brewing Co. – when they have space, as he does not yet have a commercial facility.

Patrick Mulvaney, owner of Mulvaney’s B&L restaurant, said Ruhstaller beers have been the most-asked-for brews he carries at the restaurant.

The beers, so far only available on tap, can be found at several local eateries. For a complete list, click here.

Tyler Zurcher, a 31-year-old Sacramento filmmaker, said he was well aware of the Ruhstaller name, having studied Sacramento’s brewing history.

“J-E said he was going to bring back Ruhstaller, and I said, ‘Great, can I try it?’ and it was really good,” Zurcher said. “It’s a unique name that these guys brought back, and I think it’s awesome that they’re doing that.”

Burg said that, from a historian’s standpoint, he is happy to see more interest in an era of Sacramento history that is often overlooked.

“There were 17 or so breweries within the grid, total, before Prohibition,” he said. “People are realizing our history is marketable. For a long time, people assumed no one would have any interest after the Gold Rush and the Transcontinental Railroad, but there is a rich industrial history here.”

Rob Robertson, a 35-year-old software developer from Sacramento, said he isn’t familiar with the history, but he found it interesting after reading a little bit about it on the Ruhstaller website.

“So far, this beer has been at really all the premium places, and it’s really tasty and hoppy,” he said. “It’s hoppalicious.”

Paino said he is happy with the popularity of the beer, with demand outpacing supply. He plans to begin offering the beer in a bottle, possibly in 2012, in addition to kegs.

“When Ruhstaller came to Sacramento, it was a place where you didn’t need to be someone to become someone,” Paino said. “And that’s something that hasn’t changed.”

For more information about Sacramento’s brewing history, Paino and Burg said Ed Carroll’s book, “Sacramento’s Breweries” is a good read.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Newsbeat shuts doors on 20th Street

2011-11-15T04:13:53Z

Editorial Note: This story has been updated since it was published.

Newsbeat, a business that some called Sacramento’s last newsstand, closed over the weekend, leaving an empty space in the popular MARRS Building.

“It’s a tragedy for our building. A tragedy,” said Pete Haynes, owner of the next-door Denim Spot. “They were a pillar of the Midtown and Sacramento community. We’ve definitely lost a piece of our culture.”

The independently owned Newsbeat, 1050 20th St., sold hard-to-find magazines and candies, greeting cards and a mix of other goods.

Terrence Lott, co-owner of the store, said that in comparison to his other Newsbeat location in Davis – which remains open – some of the “bread and butter” business never materialized, including sales of candy, cigarettes and cigars.

“The building is trafficked significantly, but we never had that kind of neighborhood destination,” he said.

He added that opening in the space took a big capital investment, and the building is one of the higher-rent places in Sacramento, and revenues didn’t recoup the costs.

Newsbeat was open in the MARRS building for four almost four years, and before that, it was at 10th and L streets for 16 years.

Lott didn’t rule out the possibility of opening another space sometime in the future, but said there are currently no plans.

“We’re just ind of taking a step back,” he said. “There’s a lot to figure out about the idea of selling print media.”

On the closing days, Lott said the community support was touching, with longtime customers stopping by, some bringing cookies and other baked goods.

“That was rewarding and reinforcing,” Lott said. “That makes you just believe in community.”

Mike Heller, property developer overseeing the MARRS Building, said in an email Monday that the business plan was not viable, and the general economy “contributed greatly” to the business’ closure.

He said he will now look to bring in another tenant for the building.

Haynes said business has slowed considerably on the block in the past year – and high rents with a much smaller Second Saturday Art Walk crowd have hurt all the businesses.

Valeri Simons, a 51-year-old who works at the nearby Headhunters bar and lounge, 1930 K St., echoed Haynes’ statements.

“It’s been pretty slow lately,” she said. “That’s terrible that they’re gone. I think it’s definitely a loss to the area.”

Simons added that she used to purchase cards at the store, since it was close and had a better selection than many of the larger chain stores.

Haynes said the business stocked items that simply weren’t available elsewhere.

“They were so unique, people came from all over because they knew they could find or quickly get access to magazines maybe you could only get in Europe,” he said.

Brian Crall, owner of the Sacramento Comedy Spot in the same building, said Newsbeat will be missed.

“It’s a great ma and pa store, but the economy is really tough,” he said.

Nicholas Avey, a 27-year-old freelance graphic designer from Midtown, said he went into Newsbeat a few times to buy postcards and magazines.

“It’s sad,” he said, adding that he doesn’t plan to make the drive to the Davis store.

Crall said that it was disconcerting to see the moving truck packing up the last of the store fixtures Monday night.

“It’s really upsetting to see when somebody goes out of business,” he said. “I’m an independent business owner myself. We do the best we can every single day, and it’s sad when you see somebody who has put so much of their life into it have to close down.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Local blog tracks restaurants, happy hours

2011-11-11T19:23:33Z

When Darrel Ng moved to Sacramento from San Francisco in 2003, he made it a point to learn where the best happy hour deals were, and as he took more and more interest in the local restaurant scene, he decided to share his findings, launching the blog Cowtown Eats in 2009.

“I used to work at the Capitol, and we were always asking each other who had the best happy hours,” Ng said. “Most of us were from out of town, and it was frustrating trying to find the best value.”

Now a public relations professional for the health industry, Ng said his blog isn’t so much a source of income as a passion for the local dining scene, but he did say it helps fund his happy hour research trips.

Cowtown Eats, which now has about 35,000 page views per month and close to 8,000 unique visitors, has continually updated information about the local restaurant scene, be it Ng’s original writing, posting of daily deal coupons for restaurants or links to stories covered by various local media outlets.

“I post twice a day, and I spend about 45 minutes each night working on those, then I just schedule them for the next day,” Ng said.

As for the name, Ng said he wanted to take the traditionally negative connotation of Sacramento as a “cow town” and turn it into something positive.

One 23-year-old Sacramentan, Chris Odneal, took a path similar to Ng’s, moving to Sacramento from the Bay Area about a year ago to work in the Capitol.

“Most of us move up here from all over the state, and we were looking for places to go,” Odneal said. “Someone suggested Cowtown Eats to me, and we found it to be one of the most useful spots for compiling where all the happy hours are in Sacramento.”

Odneal said he uses it to find happy hours with good value when it comes time to celebrate birthdays or other events.

“It’s a great tool for folks moving into Sacramento and trying to figure out where the best places are,” he said. “You can click on a day of the week and find the best deals out there.”

Ng said he thinks the success of his blog – which lists between 100 and 150 happy hours – is due to the level of detail he provides.

“Some other blogs might have numbers, like they say a certain place carries domestic drafts for $2, but I say exactly which beers they have,” Ng said. “They might do it as a business, but I have a real passion for it, and I think that comes through.”

He added that he focuses on value. While a $2 happy hour deal might sound good, sometimes the food isn’t necessarily worth it, and maybe a $30 meal special at a place that’s traditionally more expensive is a much higher value for the dollar.

Reviewing restaurants is something he does rarely.

“Not everyone has the same palate, and besides, food review sites are a dime a dozen,” Ng said. “If I find something amazing, I’ll post about it, like maybe a seasonal burger at the Mini Burger Truck or something.”

Ng said he learns about new events in a variety of ways, be it simply walking around the city, talking to restaurant owners and workers, or, in some cases, hearing directly from restaurants themselves.

“Some of the ones with more sophisticated marketing teams send me emails when they have something new,” Ng said.

One of those is the Paragary Restaurant Group.

“I think he has a really good readership of kind of that foodie community,” said Callista Wengler, marketing director for the Paragary Restaurant Group. “For us, that’s the ultimate in terms of customers, because if you can get the foodies, there’s a whole network you want to reach out to.”

In addition to sharing ideas with Ng on a professional level, Wengler said she frequently reads Cowtown Eats when she’s looking for something new, as well as to learn about other restaurants.

In the future, Ng said, he plans to create a more permanent logo and updated design for the blog, but he has no specific timeframe for that.

“I’m still kind of surprised so many people read it,” he said with a laugh. “I never knew it would grow like it did, but I’m really enjoying it.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

French pastry shop coming to K Street downtown

2011-11-11T01:20:54Z

French desserts will once again be available at the corner of Ninth and K streets downtown as the owner of a popular East Sacramento cupcake shop plans to open Estelle’s Patisserie on Dec. 1 in the building that formerly housed Danielle’s Creperie.

“This has been my lifelong passion,” said owner Esther Son. “I’ve always dreamed of owning a bakery, ever since I was a little girl.”

Though not traditionally trained as a baker, Son said she considers herself self-taught, and she has extensive experience in coming up with recipes and tweaking them until they’re perfect.

Her cupcake shop, Esther’s Cupcakes, has been in business at 2600 Fair Oaks Blvd. for two years.

“We were always coming downtown because we had a lot of clients at the Capitol,” she said. “The politicians and the lobbyists would bring in our cupcakes for gifts at fundraisers, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger used to order from us.”

The pastry shop, however, will have a much broader set of goods. Some of the menu items include French macarons, croissants, green tea madeleines, fresh strawberry cakes, puff pastries, French baguettes and even sandwiches such as ham and cheese on a croissant.

Fruit tarts and quiches loaded with vegetables will also be available, and coffee from Temple Coffee will be sold.

Most desserts will be in the $3-$4 range, and Son said customers will be able to get lunch and a drink for about $8.

Though Son is Korean-American, she said she chose to focus on French desserts, starting at the roots, and then modifying them with Asian and American influences.

“The root of all dessert and pastry making is French,” Son said. “Not that American, Asian or Italian styles aren’t as good, but I wanted to go back to the roots and then improvise.”

The name Estelle, she said, is the French version of Esther, so it was a natural choice.

A self-described perfectionist, Son said she and her staff – the patisserie will employ about 10 workers – spent six months perfecting the croissant.

“We boast of our butter croissants,” she said. “We don’t buy pre-mixed or frozen croissants. It’s 100 percent homemade, and there are not many of those in town. It’s really flaky and buttery.”

With a husband who is a physician, Son said that even though her business has a variety of desserts, being health-conscious is still important.

“We need to educate people on what good dessert is,” she said. “Some people are used to Twinkies, and they are so unnaturally sweet and oily, but a dessert doesn’t have to be overwhelming.”

To get away from processed foods and make even a buttery croissant more healthy than the alternative, Son said she focuses on using high-quality ingredients bought from local sources whenever possible.

“We avoid shortening and corn syrup,” she said. “It’s hard to say dessert is healthy, but you can work on it by reducing those kinds of ingredients.”

Also available will be diabetic-friendly and vegan items. There will also be “almost-gluten-free” items, and Son explained that to legally call something gluten-free, it must be produced on separate equipment, which is something she isn’t set up to do.

One of the clients of her other business, Esther’s Cupcakes, is the J. Crew store in Arden Fair Mall.

“We use Esther for her cupcakes for special events for our store clients,” said Manager Sophie Pena. “Her cupcakes are a special, unique treat. They look amazing; they taste amazing. You just look at them, and you can tell they’re hers.”

Pena said she is looking forward to going down to the patisserie and trying Son’s other baked goods once it opens.

The building, at 901 K St., was formerly Danielle’s Creperie. At 3,000 square feet, it has a seating area of about 1,000 square feet that can hold 25-30 people. A few more tables will be put on the fenced-in patio that fronts K Street.

K Street will open to vehicular traffic for the first time since the 1960s on Saturday, and Son said that was one of the reasons she chose to open a downtown location.

“I’m really excited to see the city and urban life turn around, and I want to be a part of this,” she said. “If I can make a little change to the downtown lifestyle, I’ll be so honored.”

That sentiment, according to Downtown Sacramento Partnership Business Recruitment Director Valerie Mamone-Werder, is key to turning around the blighted K Street area that has seen improvement over the past year with the opening of numerous new businesses, including Tequila Museo Myahuel and the nightlife trio of Pizza Rock, District 30 and Dive Bar.

“I think that getting these tenants, these merchants and retailers that really get downtown is refreshing,” she said. “We have a lot of naysayers, but we have people who see downtown for what it is and can be, and she sees what we do have, and what’s coming.”

Having lived in Sacramento for the past 10 years, Son, 34, said she plans to raise her two children, ages 5 and 6, in the area.

Also scheduled for late winter and early spring openings are another cupcake shop in the Westfield Galleria at Roseville Mall and another Estelle’s Patisserie in the Arden area.

“I’m not here to come in and then go out of business in five years,” Son said. “I plan on being here for the long haul.”

Estelle’s Patisserie, 901 K St., will initially be open from 6 a.m. - 7 p.m. on weekdays. If business warrants, Son said, she will stay open on weekends.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Family-owned Lofings Lighting turns 50 Friday

2011-11-09T01:01:48Z

From the Governor’s Mansion to the living rooms of DIY remodelers and commercial offices, Lofings Lighting has supplied light fixtures, supplies and repairs from its J Street location for 50 years.

C.L. "Roy" Lofing started the business on Nov. 11, 1961 with his wife, Barbara, and son, Don. Even though he recently celebrated his 90th birthday, Roy Lofing said he is happy to come into the business regularly and be with his family, which now has three generations working at the store.

“Words can hardly explain it,” he said. “It’s fabulous.”

Lofing’s grandson, Max Lofing, said Tuesday that the upcoming 50th anniversary of the company’s founding is an exciting event he’s happy to witness.

“It’s a real sense of pride for a family-run business to be able to go that long,” he said. “I think it shows our commitment to our family and the community.”

He added that the company’s ability to evolve, stay abreast of technological developments and provide knowledgeable staff on all aspects of lighting has enabled it to stay alive through several recessions and remain an industry leader. Owners said they often lobby at the state Capitol as representatives the lighting industry as well. Additionally, the company gets to preview new light technology before it comes out.

Pointing at a new LED product that has been on the market for about a year and is being pushed by the Sacramento Metropolitan Utilities District as an energy-saving device, Max Lofing said Roy Lofing was called in by the manufacturer about two years before it went to market for suggestions.

“That’s one way we stay on the bleeding edge of technology,” Max Lofing said. “We really feel it’s our job to know everything about lighting that we can and really have a passion for it.”

But it's not always about the ultra-modern. Lofings Lighting has also worked on several high-profile landmarks, including Hearst Castle and the Winchester Mystery House.

Max Lofing and sister Wendy Lofing-Rossotti said the most basic part of successfully running a business is the tried-and-true method of putting customer service and product knowledge first.

“We want a long-term relationship with all of our customers,” Lofing-Rossotti said. “We really focus on taking care of them and making sure we do our best. A dissatisfied customer isn’t good for anyone.”

One of Lofings Lighting’s satisfied customers is Ron Kingston, a 60-year-old Sacramento lobbyist who has been going to the store for several years.

“The way they earn my loyalty is through customer service and knowledge of lighting,” he said. “I know few stores where they can tell you why the product really works, what’s unique about it and know the available product base systemically. They’re extremely comprehensive.”

He said that if anything needs tweaking or repairing, or if there is any other service needed, Lofings Lighting will send someone out to solve the problem.

“They’re like the old physicians. They make house calls,” he said with a laugh. “You can buy a light fixture at Home Depot, but that’s not what Lofings is about. They’re going to give you a unique level of advice.”

Lofing-Rossotti said that level of advice is what has enabled Lofings Lighting to stay strong even as big-box stores and large corporations have expanded.

“We’re really flexible, and also, we can do whatever we want,” she said, adding that the only people the company needs to clear any decision with are the other family members.

Lofing-Rossotti and Max Lofing said that while some view the business as dealing in only high-end lighting, they have something available for nearly every budget.

“They always stand behind the products and the service,” said Julie Haney, 55, of JMH Architecture. “I’ve worked with them since 1992, and I love working with them because of their knowledge of updated lighting technology like LEDs and fluorescents.”

Haney, whose company is based in Davis, said she usually works on residential remodels and likes that someone from Lofings Lighting will come out to a job site.

“I love it that they’re also family,” she said. “The grandfather’s in there, the dad’s in there and the kids are in there.”

Lofing-Rossotti and Max Lofing said they learned the importance of a good work ethic growing up with the business, and they’ve done every type of job, including dusting light fixtures in the showroom.

Their sister, Michelle Puzdrakiewicz, worked with them when they were growing up and went on to be a pediatrician.

“I think it taught us all a really good work ethic,” Lofing-Rossotti said, adding that her 7-year-old and Max Lofing’s kids, 3 and 5, will likely work in the store when they’re in high school.

The business is still located in the original building at 2121 J St. Five years ago, a second building was added, directly across the street, where customers can preview lighting styles.

“That allows them to see the true effect of the light they are looking at and what it will do, without all the other lights shining in the showroom,” Lofing-Rossotti said.

Don Lofing, Roy Lofing’s son, said he’s excited that the business reaches the 50-year milestone Friday.

“It’s been a good ride,” he said. “It’s an amazing feeling, and it’s really great to be here working with my family and being together all the time.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Editorial Note: This article has been updated after it was published.

Ernesto's Mexican Food celebrates 20 years

2011-11-08T02:17:30Z

Despite challenging times, Ernesto’s Mexican Food in Midtown will celebrate 20 years in business next week, and owner Pauline Jiménez said the key to success has been focusing on quality food and service.

“We’re a neighborhood restaurant,” Jiménez said. “I’ve lived in the community for 50 years, and I think for the past 20 years we have been a staple here, and we are still going strong.”

For 13 of the past 20 years, Jiménez said, Ernesto’s – located at 1901 16th St. – has been listed as best Mexican restaurant in Sacramento Magazine and has received other recognition in local contests.

The business opened Nov. 18, 1991 in a space that was best-known for a Chinese restaurant, The Golden Buddha, which operated for 40 years. A pizza restaurant was there for three years in between.

To celebrate the milestone, the restaurant is preparing a $20 prix-fixe menu for two people, which will include an appetizer, two entrées and dessert. The special menu will be available Nov. 17-19 starting at 6 p.m.

The local Mariachi Mi Tierra Mariachi band will perform each night starting at 6:30.

Tequila tastings will also be held during the celebration, with Jose Cuervo Tradicional tequila being used in all margaritas – without a price change.

“We partnered with Jose Cuervo, so people are getting the premium tequila for the same price for our anniversary,” Jiménez said.

The menu items have not yet been set, said Director of Operations Dani Jiménez-Pareja, granddaughter of Jiménez, adding that it will include several of the restaurant’s most popular items.

“Our carnitas are one of our most popular dishes,” she said. “A lot of people really like our tortilla soup, and the chili rellenos are good, too.”

Jiménez said that while the industrial section of the nearby neighborhood hasn’t changed too much, restaurants in the nearby blocks have come and gone.

“These times are tough,” Jiménez said. “We have had to look at places where we can save, but we don’t jeopardize the quality of our food, and we haven’t raised our prices in four or five years.”

Jiménez added that of the changes seen over the past two decades, most of them have had to do with the day-to-day running of the business, from remodeling the building after the first year to the advent of touch-screen computers for sending orders to the kitchen.

“We also made our food more healthy,” she said.

Jiménez-Pareja said eliminating trans fat and offering more healthy options with kids meals – such as fruit and vegetables – have all been recent changes in a trend toward more healthy eating, and more is coming.

“We’re working to have less sodium in the food,” she said. “That’s probably the next thing the health departments will focus on, and it just masks the flavor anyway. We’d rather have the natural flavor of the food come through.”

Jiménez said the natural flavors are key to the flavor palate of Mexican cuisine, and she only buys fresh ingredients, from local markets whenever possible.

“You get better food. It’s a healthier food when you get it fresh from the market,” Jiménez said.

Another change when vegetarianism became more widespread shortly after the restaurant’s opening was switching soup bases from chicken broth to vegetable broth.

Alyssa Bressen, a 23-year-old from Las Vegas, ate at the restaurant for the first time Monday afternoon. She came to Sacramento to visit relatives.

“These are seriously the best carnitas I’ve ever had,” she said. “They know how to do them right here.”

Sophie Bressem, a 49-year-old Sacramentan, said she thinks the chile verde is the best dish on the menu, and the restaurant is a place she takes family members and friends when they come to visit.

“I’ve been coming here for years,” she said. “I eat here at least once a month, if not more. It’s great food, a great atmosphere and it’s got great music.”

Jiménez said she enjoys the business, and even at age 74, she is happy to continue coming in to work every day, and she has done all the jobs except dishwashing and serving.

“I’ve been in the kitchen, I’ve bussed tables and I’ve hosted. In the early years, I had to do quite a bit, but now I don’t,” she said.

“It’s a tough business,” she added. “When people come to me and tell me they want to open a restaurant, I think they must be mad, but if you have the patience and the will, you can do it. I love coming to work every day, and I’ll keep doing it as long as I can.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Gourmet seafood restaurant coming to downtown Sacramento

2011-11-05T02:01:20Z

Two historical downtown buildings are being refurbished, and they will soon house Blackbird Kitchen & Bar, a seafood restaurant that owner Carina Lampkin said will serve “gourmet food at hipster prices” and is expected to open in December.

The approximately 3,500-square-foot building was formerly two separate buildings, 1013 and 1015 Ninth St., and both date back to the 1930s.

“Blackbird is a compilation of all of my experience so far,” said the 30-year-old Lampkin. “I grew up on the East Coast and spent every summer in Maine. In 2003, I moved to San Francisco and went to culinary school.”

After spending almost a decade cooking at restaurants in San Francisco, Lampkin made the move to Sacramento and partnered with Rachel Kelley, a 27-year-old pastry chef who spent the past four years working at Ella, and Shayne “7evin” Iles, a graphic designer, marketer and DJ who will be the general manager.

While Lampkin isn’t sharing too many details of what the menu will hold, she said the restaurant will feature a variety of fish, including salmon, cod, halibut and mahi-mahi. She said she also loves working with dungeness crab and lobster.

Both Lampkin and Kelley will work in the kitchen, along with other local talent they have recruited.

Oysters – both raw and cooked – will also be on the menu, and non-seafood items such as steak, chicken and pork will be available.

“Our kitchen is basically the same size as our dining room,” Lampkin said. “We have a lot of space to make a lot of different types of food.”

Before Blackbird, the space housed a Thai restaurant.

When it comes to dessert creations, Kelley said she will be using fresh, seasonal ingredients, and her double-chocolate ice cream is one of her favorite dishes.

Prices have not been set, but Lampkin said she wants to provide excellent, affordable food.

“None of us is looking to get rich off of this,” she said. “We know times are hard, and if we break even on our high-cost items like fish, I’ll be happy.”

The owners said they are happy to be in historical buildings.

“The building on the left was Skagg’s Cash Store, the predecessor to Safeway,” 7evin said. “The other one, at 1015 (Ninth St.), was built by the Dean brothers in 1933, the same people who built Memorial Auditorium.”

Setting up in historical buildings at first seemed challenging, as the restaurateurs realized there were restrictions on what they could and could not demolish inside, but in the end, it turned out for the better, Lampkin said.

“When we’re done with the interior, it’s going to be amazing,” she said. “And we’re not three kids coming from the Bay Area with money – we’re doing a lot of the work ourselves. I never expected to be scraping paint, but that’s what we’ve been doing.”

Work on the interior is still under way, and the three partners said they are enjoying designing it but look forward to its completion.

“The great thing about (Lampkin, Kelley and 7evin) is that they have a vision, and yet even with their vision and artistic abilities, they are still willing to listen to the preservation department, and they have truly partnered to make that space pop,” said Valerie Mamone-Werder, business recruitment manager for the Downtown Sacramento Partnership.

She added that that section of the city is an important area for economic development, with nearby K Street readying to open to vehicular traffic.

“I think we’ve seen a lot of success from 12th (Street) to 10th Street, and this feels like a natural progression down the street and around the corner, and that’s very exciting,” she said.

For those looking for a preview of the food to come at Blackbird, the restaurant will be participating in a celebration for bringing cars back to K Street scheduled for 4 p.m. Nov. 12 at 12th and K streets.

“We’ll be out there with our fish tacos and a few other things,” Lampkin said.

Looking to do more with the space than simply serve food, Lampkin said a large cocktail selection will be available as well, and art will feature prominently in the space.

“I feel like Sacramento is a true artists’ community,” Lampkin said. “In San Francisco, rent is too expensive to really foster that community, but Sacramento’s arts community is amazing.”

7evin, who works in graphic design and marketing but is also a DJ, said the restaurant will not have any dance space, but DJs will be brought in to perform for the diners.

“It’s not going to just be people with two turntables and a mixer,” he said. “It’s people who are really performers, who are mixing live and really creating art.”

The most noticeable artwork displayed by the restaurant won’t actually be inside. The exterior space will feature a wall painting of 7evin’s graphic rendition of Lampkin’s idea to showcase a flock of blackbirds taking flight from a tree.

Lampkin said that when she woke up after being in a car accident in 2005, she heard the Beatles’ song “Blackbird,” and it stuck with her. Sadly, her close friend did not survive the collision, and Lampkin said she has since learned that many cultures believe the dead communicate with the living through blackbirds.

“I didn’t even know that until after I named the restaurant, but it’s really fitting,” she said.

Initially, the restaurant will be able to seat 50 people, and Lampkin said that after six months of being open, she plans to add another 25 seats.

Sean Kohmescher, owner of Temple Coffee, which has a location across the street, said he is happy to see Blackbird opening.

“I’ve met them quite a few times, and they seem like great people,” he said. “I’ve had their food, and the food was amazing. There’s been so many changes going on downtown, mostly in the last few years with places closing, it’s good to see places opening up.”

Blackbird Kitchen & Bar is located at 1015 Ninth St.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

New Metro Chamber CEO brings business, political experience

2011-11-04T00:25:34Z

Former Assemblyman Roger Niello will be the new CEO of the Sacramento Metro Chamber starting Jan. 1, coming back to an organization he led in the 1990s as the area struggles to come out of the recession.

“For me, it’s sort of coming full circle, and I find it very exciting that way,” Niello said. “The chamber in a way was sort of my launchpad into politics, and now I’m coming back, still with my business roots, and will be working with the leadership to expand business.”

Niello, who spent a quarter century running retail and auto dealerships with his family’s business, the Niello Auto Group, was elected to the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors in a special election in 1999, where he served until November 2004. From 2004-2010, he served as a state assemblyman.

Former CEO Matt Mahood left the Metro Chamber in June. The chamber announced in August that Pat Fong Kushida would be the new CEO, but she never started the position.

Niello said the biggest challenge facing him and the Metro Chamber over the next several years is the economy.

“I wouldn’t say it’s any one particular issue (in the economy),” he said. “We have to look at the shape of the economy and work with other groups in the region in the private sector and the public sector at both the local and state levels.”

A study is currently under way called Next Economy, a public/private revitalization project with the Metro Chamber, the Sacramento Area Regional Technology Alliance (SARTA) and Valley Vision, all nonprofit organizations focused on economic growth.

“The effort is to study the economy, but not so much the study itself as understanding the details of the shape it’s in and getting ideas to take action on growing and expanding businesses,” Niello said. “We need to keep an eye toward small businesses in particular, because that’s where the real growth of the economy comes.”

SARTA CEO Meg Arnold said Thursday that she thinks Niello was a good choice for the position.

“I am really excited and enthusiastic about it,” she said. “He brings a whole range of attributes to the position. Obviously his business experience and his connections in the region and his political experience, but he is also really geared toward partnerships, and that’s what we need – to work together.”

Arnold said she expects to see stronger collaboration between nonprofit organizations, government organizations and businesses going forward.

Martha Lofgren, interim CEO of the Metro Chamber, said Niello’s business experience was “first and foremost” in his selection.

“He’s been a business owner in the Sacramento area for about three decades,” she said. “He obviously has a lot of experience in politics at the local and state levels, and the Metro Chamber always looks at how government affects business.”

She said his history with the organization – serving as president in 1995 – is also a plus.

Niello’s salary was not disclosed, but Lofgren said it is competitive with similar positions in other like-sized nonprofit organizations in the area.

The Metro Chamber has nearly 2,200 member organizations and businesses.

“The chamber is much stronger now than it was in ’95 in all respects,” Niello said, adding that he wants to draw more job diversity to the region. “Government jobs are good, but the percentage we have here is too high, and bringing in more jobs relying on government subsidies, like some of the green industry, isn’t the answer. We need to bring those in, yes, but we also need to grow our smaller businesses, because that’s where wealth comes from.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Photo essay: Capitol Bowl renovation

2011-11-03T00:47:27Z

The family-owned Capitol Bowl bowling alley in West Sacramento is finishing the last details of an extensive renovation that began in April, and owner Ross Amin said the 55-year-old business feels fresh and new.

A grand reopening was held Oct. 14, and final details, such as the installation of booths in the new restaurant space, will be completed in the next few weeks. During the renovation, the business was able to stay open.

“Anybody who comes here now, the first thing they say is ‘wow,’ ” Amin said Wednesday. “It’s more efficient, we can use all our space, and we can really hold a lot of birthday parties and family events now.”

The $600,000 project features a redesigned lobby that saw several walls torn down, a repositioned front desk and a restaurant space upgraded to be more family-friendly and serve healthier foods.

Salads, grilled chicken sandwiches, and turkey and avocado sandwiches round out the restaurant menu, which also includes burgers, pizzas, fish tacos and gourmet nachos. Amin said all food is made fresh, including sauces, and nothing comes from a can.

“The bar used to be in front, and the restaurant was in a dark room,” Amin said. “We made it so it is all open now.”

To read more about the renovation, click here.

More than 300 people can fit into the space, and Amin said that a newly opened party room and other spaces allow the bowling alley to host three to four parties at a time, as opposed to a single party at a time before the renovation.

Jennifer Maier, a 44-year-old Capitol Bowl customer and state worker at the nearby Ziggurat Building, said the remodel managed to bring a modern flair to the space without losing the comfort she has always liked about it.

“I just can’t believe it,” she said. “It’s completely and utterly transformed from what it used to be. The bowling lanes are the only remainder of the former place.”

Adding that the feel of the business is now “slick and open,” she said lunch specials combining bowling games with meals from the restaurant make it an attractive lunch spot for her and her coworkers.

“I think that it is going to be a hot place to hang out at the bar, especially,” she said. “The TVs are nice, and they show football, the fights and other sports. West Sacramento needed a family-friendly nightlife spot.”

Amin said lunch specials include two games, shoe rental and a meal – pizza, a chicken sandwich or a burger with fries or salad and a drink – for $11.95 from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Unlimited late-night bowling from 9 - 11 p.m. is available for $10 per person including shoes, with three people minimum per lane.

Elementary and high school students can bowl for $1 per game and $1 for shoe rental from 3 - 5 p.m. Fridays.

Future remodel plans currently in the design phase are geared toward the exterior, including adding a new sign and extending the façade of the building higher.

“This is a family entertainment center, and it’s the only sport where every generation can play,” Amin said. “We have grandpas come in with their children and grandchildren, and everybody gets to play and can have food and fun things to do.”

Capitol bowl is located at 900 West Capitol Ave. in West Sacramento. It is open from 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 11 a.m. - 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Mongolian barbecue coming to Midtown

2011-11-01T02:10:41Z

A Mongolian barbecue restaurant will be moving into the building at 1830 J St., with owners saying they will bring cuisine with about 1,000 years of tradition to a spot that has recently seen two businesses close.

Co-owner Jonathan Ng, 24, said Monday that he plans to open Mongo Mongo Mongolian BBQ with three business partners by early December, bringing to Midtown a restaurant type popular in Sacramento’s suburbs.

“Once Garlic Shack fell through, I just jumped at it,” said Ng, who formerly co-owned Tamarind – a Vietnamese restaurant at 25th and J streets – and was a manager at Plum Blossom, the restaurant that occupied the space before Garlic Shack.

Key to making the new business work will be selling quality food at good prices, Ng said, adding that he wants to keep the average meal at less than $10.

Offering a variety of meats, sauces and vegetables, Mongolian barbecue allows patrons to create their own custom meals and then have them cooked on a circular grill by a chef.

Meat choices will include beef, chicken, pork and lamb. Sauces will range from teriyaki to more custom sauces, including some fusion sauces mixing traditional Asian flavors with Italian and Spanish spices and sauces. Another sauce Ng said he anticipates being popular is an orange-flavored sauce similar to that used on orange chicken at some restaurants.

“The sauce makes the meal in Mongolian barbecue,” Ng said. “We’re going to really focus on good food and good service.”

Customers will be able to create their own combinations of items or choose from a prepared menu. Rather than standing in line and waiting for their food to be cooked, diners can sit while a server brings the cooked meals to their table.

The Mongolian barbecue cooking style dates back at least as far as the Middle Ages, when the warlord Genghis Khan led a nomadic army conquering and plundering throughout Asia.

“Cooking on a circular grill comes from the way they would cook their food on their shields,” Ng said. “They’d put whatever vegetables they stole and meat they poached on them and cook it over fires.”

Moving into the space with its newly installed roll-up garage doors fronting J Street presented Ng and his business partners with a problem: Mongolian barbecue restaurants typically have kitchens out where customers can see them, but health code requires kitchens be enclosed, so either the garage doors had to go, or another solution devised.

“We decided to take out the (existing) wall separating the kitchen from the restaurant and make it out of glass with sliding glass doors,” Ng said.

With that plan, customers can still walk in and out of the garage doors onto a patio, and the kitchen is easily seen as the chef cooks the food, moving it over the grill surface with two large chopstick-like tongs.

A separate griddle will allow the restaurant to offer vegetarian and vegan options.

The patio fronting J Street will be accented with plants, and cushioned chairs with low tables will give it a lounge-like feel, Ng said.

Currently, there are no plans to pursue a full liquor license, but Ng said beer and wine will be available. The beer selection will be broad, with some pan-Pacific selections such as Tsing Tao (from China) and Tiger Beer (from Thailand). Sake and the plum wine known as sojo will be served, and they might also find their way into sauces.

The restaurant will focus on lunch and dinner, but hours have not yet been set, Ng said. It will stay open until 3 a.m. for the Thursday through Saturday night crowd, which he said is a top priority.

“We don’t have that many late-night places in Sacramento where you can actually get good food,” he said. “That’s something we need here.”

Matt Burden, a 41-year-old entertainment industry worker, said he agrees with the need for late-night food variety.

“If it’s open late, they’re going to make a fortune,” he said.

Originally from Australia, Burden now lives in Vancouver, Canada, and travels to Sacramento on business.

“Mongolian barbecue is so good,” he said. “I like that you get your bits and your bobs and then have them grill it up. I would do some chicken, soy, teriyaki and peppers. That’ll do well.”

Amanda Moore, a 23-year-old Sacramentan who works for a nearby nonprofit health care organization, said she hopes to see the business do well.

“I wish them the best of luck. I’ve been here since July, and this is the third business that will be in there,” she said. “I hope they can make it work.”

Amber Schmaeling, program director for the Midtown Business Association, said that the area is one of the prime business blocks in Midtown, and while Garlic Shack did not last long – opening in July and closing in September – Plum Blossom lasted “quite a while.”

“In close proximity, you’ve got Starbucks and several nightlife establishments,” she said. “If I was opening a business, I would see that as a key space with a lot of potential.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Burgers & Brew expands beer selection, restaurant space

2011-10-28T05:12:55Z

Burgers & Brew more than doubled its draft beer selection with the addition of 16 new taps Wednesday, and the R Street restaurant will be debuting its own beer recipes brewed by Sudwerk Brewing in Davis as early as next month.

“It’s a very exciting time to be in the beer industry,” said co-owner Philippe Masoud. “Beer has become the main thing people are drinking, and it is getting as popular as wine has been.”

He said that when he emigrated from Jordan in the early 1980s, the only beers that were widely available in California were the traditional American brews such as Coors and Budweiser, and he has gradually seen the selection grow over the past decades to the current explosion of microbrew and international varieties.

At 1409 R St., the restaurant is in the middle of one of Sacramento’s liveliest nightlife areas, with the block anchored by popular Shady Lady Saloon, R15 and the recently opened Ace of Spades music venue.

For the past two years, Burgers & Brew operated with 12 beer taps, and weekly specials were rotated. Masoud said customers frequently asked for the special beers to be made available longer, but a lack of storage and refrigerator space made that impossible.

“Pliny the Elder is nice to have in stock, since that really has quite a following,” Masoud said.

When the next-door Top This Frozen Yogurt – also owned by Masoud – closed in mid-August, it gave him the opportunity to expand Burgers & Brew, adding a couple hundred square feet and a spacing the tables out and, more importantly, cold storage for enough beer kegs to supply 16 new tap handles.

Seating remains the same, with space for roughly 65-70 people inside.

The new beers on tap are mostly ones that have been featured over the past two years as specials, and they include a number of Belgian beers.

“Most people who really know beer agree that Belgium makes the best beers in the world,” Masoud said. “Our emphasis right now is to focus on the high-end beers.”

New draft beers will include Brother Thelonious, Czechvar, Leffe, Old Rasputin, Karmeliet and Delirium. Prices range from $4.50 - $6 per glass, and the glasses vary in size from 10 ounces to 1 pint.

“We serve them in the glasses they are meant to come in,” Masoud said. “We will also sell the glasses, since those are collectible, and people always ask us about them.”

Previously, glasses were ordered one by one, but with the added, space Masoud said he can order by the case, and even sell them at cost to customers who like to take them home.

Customers who came in for lunch on Thursday – the first day people were seated in the new space – said they were happy to see the expansion.

Melissa Eidson, a Sacramento resident who works for the state, said the restaurant feels more open and well-lit than it previously did.

“I think it’s really good,” she said. “I’ve been here before for lunch, and it’s always been really crowded. It feels more spacious now.”

Crystal Myers, another Sacramento resident and state worker, said she thinks the added selection of beers will make the 1400 block of R Street even more of a destination for nightlife.

“It’s always packed down here, and the more options people have, the better,” she said.

In about a month, the restaurant will be rolling out beers made to its own specifications by Sudwerk Brewing in Davis, where the original Burgers & Brew is located.

Five varieties will eventually be offered: Voodoo Porter, Imperial IPA, Sacrament Abbey Ale, Rapture Imperial Brown and a seasonal selection.

Also beginning next month will be a series of regular beer tastings in the restaurant, made possible with the added space.

“I’d like to do them weekly, so hopefully there is enough demand for that,” Masoud said. “I’ll be putting out fliers when we get ready for that.”

A few menu items have been added over the past year, most notably a lamb burger, but Masoud said that for now the emphasis is on the beer selection, and in addition to the 28 taps, there are roughly 70 bottled beers available.

Thomas Gutchens, production manager for Ace of Spades, said he is happy to see the business doing well.

“I believe that as it expands, more people will obviously show up to the place,” he said. “The restaurant has become a major destination.”

When booking touring bands, Gutchens said, he and his staff always direct them to the various eateries on the block, but Burgers & Brew tends to be the musicians’ favorite.

“They always go to Burgers & Brew, and when they come back through here again, they say they want to go to ‘that burger place,’ and they hurry up and finish their sound checks early so they can go next door,” he added.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Local chefs open new eatery in Natomas

2011-10-25T01:03:18Z

A group of central city restaurateurs is teaming up to branch out into Natomas, but in a more casual setting than their full-service Midtown and East Sacramento locations.

Pork Belly Grub Shack is scheduled to open this week and is a collaboration between the owners of Kru, a Japanese restaurant at 2516 J St., and Formoli’s Bistro, which recently moved to 3839 J St.

“It’s going to be really casual – burgers, sandwiches, soups and salads,” said Billy Ngo, owner of Kru. “It’s going to be simple, good food, and it’s going to be cheap.”

Menu items will feature a lot of pork, with a pork belly grilled cheese, sandwiches built around pork, and burgers such as the Notorious P.I.G., a 10-ounce beef patty with a slab of braised pork belly and pork rinds on a bun.

Suzanne Ricci, wife of Formoli’s Bistro Chef Aimal Formoli and one of the partners along with Formoli and Ngo, said pork was the obvious focus because all of them enjoy it so much.

“Everyone’s had bacon, but best part of the pig is the belly,” Ricci said, explaining that the savory area will be the restaurant’s focus.

“It’s super-basic, super-simple stuff,” she said. “It’s got lots of pork belly, which is really the best part of the pig, and it’s heavier, comfort food with competitive prices.”

Also on the menu will be some Asian-inspired dishes, most notably banh-mi sandwiches with meat selections.

Pork Belly Grub Shack, located at 4261 Truxel Road, will have items ranging from $4 - $9 and will primarily be a lunch place and sell take-out for early dinner. Hours are planned to be from about 11 a.m. - 6 p.m., though they may change.

Ngo said he, Ricci and Formoli thought the deal on the space it was too good to pass up and decided to bring a local independent eatery to an area dominated by larger chain businesses.

“There’s a lot of chain restaurants out there, so we want to bring some Midtown-style cooking to the area,” Ngo said.

Ricci said that while they all have traditionally operated full-service restaurants, the new place, which is looking to do a lot of catering and takeout as well as counter service inside, is more appealing in a down economy.

The approximately 1,600-square-foot space can seat about 30 people and used to be a specialty chocolate shop, so food-service necessities such as floor drains were already installed, Ricci said.

Outdoor seating is planned for the future, once the restaurant gets up and running.

Interior décor will feature pig paintings by locals Liz Miller and Matthew Byrd.

“We want to bring some of a Midtown artistic, creative feel to (the restaurant),” Ricci said.

Opening amid fears of a second recession, Ricci said the economy is always a consideration, but she believes the restaurant will do well.

“With Billy (Ngo) and Aimal (Formoli), I know the food is going to be good,” she said. “If the product is good and the pricing is reasonable, then it’s definitely going to be a place people can bring their families.”

General Manager David West was previously a bartender at Red Lotus, and he said he sees the restaurant growing in popularity and turning into a small chain if it does as well as he expects.

“There’s two amazing chefs behind it,” he said. “It’s gonna be good.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Firestone Public House to open in February

2011-10-22T07:20:07Z

More details are emerging about Firestone Public House, the restaurant and bar that will replace the old California Pizza Kitchen in the Firestone Building at 15th and L streets downtown.

Featuring American-style cuisine and a hefty beer selection with 60 on tap, the business will be a family-friendly restaurant that will also serve as a place to watch sports and have a brew – not a typical sports bar, according to co-owner Mason Wong.

“It’s definitely going to be a full restaurant with a full menu,” Wong said. “We’ll do lunch and dinner, and possibly brunch on Sundays. It will be focused on sports, with a lot of TVs, but it’s not going to have a sports bar look to it.”

The target opening date is sometime in February, and construction is scheduled to start in the next few weeks.

Customers looking for jerseys and sports equipment on the walls won’t find it at Firestone Public House, but Wong said he wants to work out partnerships with the Kings, River Cats and other sports teams and organizations in the area for events.

“We want to have a unique variety of food and some fun appetizers,” he added.

One example of the food is an original-style Philly cheesesteak sandwich, which will be served with the meat on the bun, but the cheese on top of a spatula, which the diner will spread on the sandwich.

Pizzas will also be featured, as the oven from when the space was California Pizza Kitchen is still in place. The popular Korean tacos sold at GoGi’s Korean BBQ will be available as well.

The beer selection will include something for everyone, said co-owner Henry de Vere White.

“It’s going to be everything from American craft brews to Belgian-style beers, the popular domestics, German and English beers,” he said. “There’s 60 tap handles, so there’s lots of room.”

Wong described the interior space as having a San Francisco feel with high ceilings, a rustic stain on the concrete floors and wood elements in the décor.

Wong, who co-owns Mix Downtown and Cafeteria 15L, among others, said that though he and his brothers come from a club background, Firestone Public House won’t be a dance club, and there are no plans for a stage for live entertainment.

“We will have some elements of a club in it,” he said, “mainly with the sound. The sound is going to be really high-quality, and we will turn the music up as the night goes on and we’ll have a more vibrant atmosphere.”

Lisa Martinez, marketing director for the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, said the block around 15th and L streets is one of the strongest areas downtown, and it will be good to have the open space once again filled with a business.

“This sounds like the kind of place you can bring a date and watch a game,” Martinez said. “It’ll fit in really well.”

Other sports bars nearby include MVP Sports Grill, at 2110 L St., and Shenanigans, 705 J St.

Martinez added that without a sports-themed business right around 15th and L, Firestone Public House will add diversity to the corner.

Wong is partnering with his brothers, Curtis and Alan, and the de Vere White brothers – Henry, Simon and Mark.

“It’s been a good working relationship,” Mason Wong said. “We’ve got three Wongs and three de Veres, and we’ve all been around in Sacramento.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

De Vere's in Davis nears completion

2011-10-21T02:44:45Z

Construction on de Vere’s Irish Pub in Davis is about two weeks from being finished, and as the bar, which was custom-built in Ireland and then shipped to California, nears completion, Davis residents said they are excited to see a business fill a long-troubled space.

The pub is a new location spawned off the successful de Vere’s Irish Pub at 1521 L St. in Sacramento.

“It seems like it’s going to be a pretty good business,” said Matt Johnson, a 25-year-old bartender from Davis. “I’m excited, and I hope they’re successful.”

Johnson said the space at 217 E St. in Davis has long been something of a revolving door for businesses, which have had trouble staying open much longer than a year.

The space previously housed several restaurants, including Soga’s, Chaat Cafe and Agave.

“I did some research on the company, and I think it totally fits down here,” Johnson said. “It’s always crowded in the other bars, so a new one is always exciting.”

Pub co-owner Henry de Vere White said Wednesday that he wants the pub to be a community gathering place.

“There’s a saying in Ireland that when you’re born, everyone goes to the pub; when you have your first communion, everyone goes to the pub; when you get married, everyone goes to the pub; and when you die, everyone else goes to the pub,” de Vere White said.

He added that the pub concept is more about sharing life experiences than going to a club.

Johnson said he thinks a pub with that atmosphere will be a good fit for Davis.

“We need a place you can sit down and have a drink and not have your ears blown out by loud music,” he said.

Another Davis resident, 25-year-old Marc Meadows, a scientist, said he is happy to see another bar where people can relax, and that has a good beer selection.

“As long as there’s not too many bros, I’ll go there,” he said.

Danielle Orosco, a 22-year-old Davis resident who attends Sacramento City College, said the downtown Davis location is perfect, as it’s walking distance from the UC Davis campus and many homes and workplaces.

“They picked a good town, because Davis is so small that everyone goes out in groups,” she said. “I’m excited. I’ve been living here for two years, and having a new bar to go to will be nice. It looks bigger than some of the other bars, where you just feel squished.”

De Vere White said he looks forward to having the space – which will offer a large selection of food in addition to drinks – be filled with all types of people, from families having lunch and dinner to students coming by in the afternoon to study or dropping by for happy hour.

The building that houses the pub was gutted at the start of construction to allow for the parts constructed in Ireland to be fitted, said Shawn Eldredge of Capitol Painting and Construction, the firm handling the build.

“De Vere’s is a very intense buildout,” Eldredge said. “It’s a lot of material not only from Ireland, but locally.”

He added that the construction has gone well, but many parts needed to be custom-fitted. In the end, he said, he thinks the finished project will be more than worth the effort.

“I believe it’s going to be prettier than the one in Sacramento,” he said, adding that he was involved in construction of the Sacramento location as well.

De Vere White said that 65 employees have been hired, and most have already completed training.

Pre-opening parties will be held, and those interested can sign up by clicking here.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Local business emphasizes the need to play

2011-10-15T01:14:25Z

A pair of Sacramento entrepreneurs are building a business centered around what they say adults are missing in their lives – play.

Jeff Louie and Chris Chu, both 30, founded Asobuyo in April as a way for like-minded locals to get together, play games, sample food from local businesses and get to know one another.

“We’re all about using play as a mechanism for life change,” Chu said. “When people play, they have better quality of life and less stress.”

Asobuyo is a Japanese word that roughly translates as “let’s play,” Chu said, adding that weekly meetings of Asobuyo members are centered around playing games in groups of four in a fun way to get to know people.

The first event was held at Capsity Offices, 2321 P St., which is a co-working space Louie co-founded. The game was several video clips of Midtown set up in a trivia game similar to “Scene It?” but that proved too difficult to facilitate, with the amount of time involved in producing the video and developing questions.

Now, game evenings are typically spent at local restaurants so the members can bond over food, and some of the restaurants Asobuyo has partnered with are Kupros Bistro, Cafe Lumiere and Old Soul Co.

One game they play is called Superstar, and in it, one member of the group is the superstar, and team members collect myriad facts about the superstar – everything from how many keys he or she has on a key ring to where he or she was born. They then must memorize the facts.

Throughout the night, different questions are asked, and the superstar’s teammates – or “fans” – have to answer correctly, racking up the most correct answers to beat the other teams.

“It’s a good game to play early on so maybe some of the more quiet people get to tell more about themselves,” Louie said.

“We plan our games strategically so they build on each other,” Chu said, adding that over the course of the night, the team that wins the most games is declared the overall winner and receives prizes – which have ranged from cakes and food to gift cards from hosting businesses.

Wendy Duncan, 27, said she enjoyed playing Urban Dictionary Balderdash, in which a definition from the popular website and book “Urban Dictionary” was read, and participants had to guess the word it described.

“I think (Asobuyo) is just a good combination of everything: food, socializing and fun,” she said.

She added that, for her, the biggest benefit has been meeting like-minded people who are interested in having fun and exploring the city.

“I’ve grown up in Sacramento, and I feel like a lot of the locals have a poor image of the city and talk trash about it,” she said. “They say there’s nothing fun to do, but Asobuyo lets us have a lot of fun and get to know the area.”

The business makes its money through some paid events as well as marketing for local businesses.

One upcoming event, scheduled for 2 - 7 p.m. on Oct. 23, is a spy-themed grub crawl and scavenger hunt, Chu said.

“Each spy team will go to each place and complete a mission, then sample some food and meet the owners,” Chu said.

While most events are free, the food crawl and scavenger hunt will cost $35, with $10 being donated to the charity Asian Resources, Inc., a nonprofit organization providing social services in Sacramento, especially to youths with limited English-speaking abilities.

Khonnie Lattasima, 29, said she found out about Asobuyo through the website Yelp while browsing events.

“I emailed them, and it sounded interesting,” she said. “I didn’t really know what it was, and I think it’s something you actually have to experience.”

She added that she enjoys the positive attitudes of everyone involved.

“It breaks down a lot of barriers, and you get to know a lot of people,” she said. “They’ve done a great job. It’s basically a play movement, and they’re building something really positive in the community.”

Louie said he and Chu want to eventually expand beyond Sacramento and create a movement where people see that taking time to play and have fun actually adds to productivity and quality of life.

Future plans involve an option of a paid premium membership and more integration with technology, including some form of mobile app.

“We wanted to start in Sacramento,” he said. “We’re both from Sacramento, and we want people to be proud that there are businesses that want to start up here.”

To contact Asobuyo, visit the company’s website or Facebook page.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Red Lotus space might be filled by January

2011-10-14T01:12:14Z

A pair of restaurateurs are opening a restaurant and bar in the space that formerly housed Red Lotus in Midtown, which closed last month, and employees are being given a special incentive to do quality work – a share of the profits.

“It’s going to be a simple, affordable neighborhood spot where families can come for a meal, and it’s welcoming of everyone,” said co-owner Matt Nurge. “It’s going to be rustic – a little like peasant food, and a little like street food.”

While still in the early stages with a possible opening date of sometime in January, the as-yet-unnamed restaurant and bar at 2718 J St. will have its food planned by Executive Chef and co-owner John Bays.

Both grew up in Sacramento, working in various restaurants and bars. Nurge said he knew Bays casually for years, and about six months ago, mutual friends helped them connect as business partners.

“It’s fun food, not uptight – just simple,” Bays said. “I have a braised short rib patty melt I'd like to do, maybe a ramen pot pie, just some different stuff.”

Other menu possibilities include Vietnamese chicken sandwiches, burgers with fried eggs, stir fry dishes made on the existing wok grill and a number of sandwiches.

“We want to really be busy at lunch as well as dinner and after,” Nurge said. “We have the Sutter building that’s opening up, and there will be 4,000 people in the area, and we want to deliver good food at a reasonable price.”

The Sutter building will house the hospital’s Anderson Lucchetti Women’s and Children’s Center.

He added that lunch dishes will likely range from $7 to $10, and dinner dishes will go for around $10 to $15.

Currently, the restaurant seats about 120 people, but the seating will be redone, with a distinct bar area up front and restaurant seating in the rear, Nurge said. Front and back patio seating will be a major part of the restaurant’s draw, he added, with more-permanent tables and chairs fronting J Street.

Nurge described the operation as half restaurant and half bar, and said he will draw on his experience as a bartender – most recently his three-year stint at Shady Lady Saloon – to create craft cocktails that will be on a regularly rotating menu.

“I want to keep the cocktail menu small so it’s simple, and I’ll rotate drinks like we will the food, providing whatever is in season locally,” Nurge said, adding that the restaurant’s six beer taps will likely be rotated with California selections.

In an industry that sees high turnover rates among staff – and the expenses that go along with training new employees – Bays and Nurge said they want to make employees a top priority, designating a percentage of the restaurant’s profits to them.

“It’s something to set us apart from other restaurants,” Bays said. “It lets them know they’re valued, that they’re working toward something that gives back to them, not just working for the man.”

Nurge said employees will not be asked to contribute any money to the business, and the plan is to have all of them included, with possible extra benefits for long-term employees, though nothing has yet been finalized.

“Mainly, we want to share our success with the people who help make us successful,” Nurge said. “My mom was a server for 25 years, and (the employees) carried the business on their backs, and people sat back and counted the money.”

He added that he intends to make money, but he wants to do it in a way that includes everyone.

If someone cares about what they do, they’ll stay longer, he said.

Bays added that the shared profits will incentivize employees to come up with cost-saving ideas and keep an eye toward cutting down on waste.

Both owners have histories in the restaurant industry. Nurge worked at numerous restaurants and bars, and Bays currently works for the Sacramento City Unified School District and owned a restaurant called Grapes at 11th and H streets in the late 1990s.

Alex Origoni, co-owner of Shady Lady Saloon – where Nurge currently works – said that extensive experience is one of the most important assets to becoming a successful restaurant operator.

“So many people get into the industry because they think it’s cool or because people tell them they have a great potatoes au gratin recipe and they should open one,” Origoni said. “Having a good menu is maybe about 5 percent of operating a restaurant business.”

Origoni said Nurge has a certain style to his cocktail creations gleaned from a career working for varied restaurants and bars, giving him experience in catering to many types of customers.

“That’s a huge advantage,” Origoni said.

Another advantage is being a part of what Origoni described as the tight-nit fraternity of restaurateurs in Sacramento who consider themselves friends and help each other out whenever possible.

Already, Nurge said, Shady Lady Saloon and other restaurant owners have offered their help.

“We see it as a team effort to build the industry and make the community even more interesting,” Origoni said. “Getting into that is the best advice I can give him, and it’s advice he already knows.”

Nurge and Bays said they are looking forward to joining the successful block of J Street anchored by Centro Cocina Mexican and Harlow’s.

“Success breeds success,” Nurge said. “That was one of the things that really attracted us to this space.”

Nearby residents have previously raised concerns about businesses selling alcohol on the block, and Nurge said he intends to work with the neighborhood associations in the area, and he currently has no plans to apply for an entertainment permit, which is required for amplified music in the city.

“We’re not a nightclub,” he said. “We’re more of a low-key restaurant and bar, and we want to be a local spot and still draw people from Midtown, families from East Sac, and people from the other areas as well.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Thai Basil and Level Up Lounge owner pursues second-floor patio

2011-10-12T01:02:48Z

A Midtown business owner is looking to add a second-floor patio area to her combination restaurant and lounge, but as the plans go to the Planning Commission for review Thursday, some neighbors say it will present a noise problem.

Suleka Sun-Lindley owns Thai Basil and Level Up Lounge at 2431 J St., and with the lounge – which opened in 2007 – not making money, she said she hopes the addition of an open-air balcony will help it become profitable.

“Thai Basil is doing well, but Level Up has been costing us money,” she said Tuesday afternoon. “I’m hoping that adding an area where people can go outside and smoke will make more people want to come.”

The Thai restaurant, which opened in May 2002, is a successful branch of a family business begun by Sun-Lindley, her mother and sister in Roseville in 1996. Sun-Lindley, who moved from Thailand in 1989, was an architect before going into the restaurant business.

After being granted a liquor license in a lottery in 2006, the upstairs portion of the building was turned into Level Up Lounge.

Building an upper deck or patio was the logical solution to two problems, Sun-Lindley said.

“We like to have our outdoor seating at Thai Basil, but the awning leaks in the rain, and I wanted to build a permanent covering over it,” she said. “I thought it would be perfect to make it a deck for Level Up so people could use it to go outside and smoke, instead of going downstairs to the street.”

The design involves extending the front and rear walls of the building 8 feet and putting a floor and new awning in place to allow lower-level seating in all weather as well as upper-level open space.

In all, 300 square feet will be added to the 4,000 square feet the building already occupies, but the capacity of Level Up Lounge – 50 people – will not increase.

Some neighbors, however, are concerned about added noise from the business, which stays open until midnight on weeknights and 2 a.m. Thursday through Sunday.

“My worries are that if that went in, then I might not be able to sleep,” said nearby resident Joe Diaz. “The DJs already play loud music, and I hear it. It goes right through my double-pane windows and insulated walls.”

He added that he is concerned people will step outside and have loud conversations on the balcony that will keep him awake, and parking will be more scarce.

Another nearby building owner, Brent Johnson, said he has four residential tenants for whom noise is a problem, though he acknowledged noise as a reality in a mixed-use area such as Midtown.

“It’s mostly just the noise,” he said. “I’m all for local businesses succeeding, but the noise went up when the bar came in, and I think instead of it being an open-air patio, it could be closed to keep in the sound.”

He added that he sees a benefit to the patio as well.

Currently, smokers on the street level toss cigarette butts onto his property, he said, adding that he thinks having an upstairs area where they can smoke will cut down on the problem.

Sun-Lindley held an informal meeting at the lounge Monday night, with staff passing out about 40 fliers inviting neighbors to give input. Modifications were made to the design to completely enclose the rearward wall – which faces homes – after the comments of the four people who came, with two supporting and two opposing. It was originally designed as a half-wall.

Others familiar with the space said the addition will make the lounge more attractive.

“I love the expansion idea just to get people out to have some fresh air,” said local artist John Krempel, who has had about 20 art shows in the lounge.

“During my art shows, people want to get outside and get some fresh air, but they have to go downstairs, and a lot of the time, they just leave,” he said. “It would be such a better experience if you had (the patio) up there.”

Sun-Lindley said she enjoys having art shows in Level Up as a way of staying involved in the community.

“The nearby neighbors are the ones we want to have coming in,” she said. “We want to run a business, but we also want to be good neighbors.”

Fully enclosing the outdoor space, she said, “would kill the ambiance.”

Adding to the building has been a continual process since the restaurant’s opening, with a permanent storage area, new flooring, new paint, revised lighting, courtyard seating and the building of the lounge all being done over the years as money was available.

“We want to put the money we make back into the business,” she said.

Planning the patio cost about $19,000, with a $9,000 non-refundable permit fee added to $10,000 in planning and architectural renderings. If approved, the estimated cost of the addition, as designed, is about $150,000.

“I really want it for a better outdoor dining experience, but it’s also something we want to see at Level Up, since having an outdoor area is so Sacramento,” she said.

The design will be reviewed by the Planning Commission at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in the City Council Chambers at 915 I St.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Costume shop continues to see strong sales

2011-10-11T01:15:09Z

As about 40 customers browsed Halloween costumes on the second floor of Old Sacramento’s Evangeline’s Costume Mansion Monday, Manager Jen Kossmann remarked that business was slow, as the rain kept people at home.

Costumes for adults have grown in popularity over the past five years, and Kossmann said this year was no exception, with the store expanding its costume mansion opening hours from as early as February. Traditionally, the costume mansion opens around August.

“We’ve just been really busy, and we normally only open (the costume shop) to escort people up in the off season,” Kossmann said. “This year, we had so many people going up there, it just made sense to open it all the time.”

The staff does not track exactly how many costumes are sold – a daunting prospect given that some people piece costumes together, some buy complete sets and others might just buy an accessory – but Kossmann said a rough guess is that the number is “in the tens of thousands.”

The ground floor of the store contains gifts, games and toys, while the second and third floors house the costume mansion and are accessed by an elevator or stairs.

October is the shop’s busiest month, and approximately 75 temporary employees were hired to augment the regular staff of 30 to 40. Extended hours mean the store is now open from 10 a.m. - 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 a.m. - 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Selling well this year are costumes related to TV shows and movies, as well as a few older ones that have surged for other reasons.

“Stewardess uniforms are really popular this year,” Kossmann said, noting that the TV show “Pan Am,” which features flight attendants, is doing well.

Other favorite costumes this year include zombies, medieval-themed costumes and even a mask modeled after the mobile game “Angry Birds.”

“Gypsy costumes are also really popular this year,” Kossmann said. “I don’t know any real reason for it other than that we have a lot of really cute gypsy costumes this year.”

Despite what might be popular, Kossmann advised those seeking costumes to come in without a set idea of what they want to be and let something in the store inspire them.

“You can get a lab coat for $15 or $20 and maybe add a stethoscope to it for a good costume that’s really cheap, or you can go all out and really customize something,” she said.

She added that people can make zombie costumes as easily as tearing up clothes they already have and then applying makeup.

“Makeup really is what makes a zombie costume,” she said. “There are lots of great videos on YouTube that show you how to do the makeup.”

Lauren Gregory, a 20-year-old Sacramentan, browsed the store Monday trying to decide what she will be for Halloween.

“I have no idea yet,” she said. “I wanted to come here because I read online that it’s haunted and used to be a brothel, and I like that kind of creepy history.”

Kossmann said the upper floors of the Gold Rush-era building were used as a boarding house for a long time and did serve as a brothel-type business at one point.

As far as hauntings, she said she has not personally seen any evidence, but some employees have.

“It’s things like stuff falling or lights going on or off that shouldn’t, or hearing something upstairs when you know you’re the only one there,” she said.

Gregory’s friend, 20-year-old Lisa Jones of Sacramento, said she plans to dress up as a biker.

“I don’t like to do the really girly things for a costume,” she said. “They have a really great selection here.”

Brothers Robert and Max Hernandez, 27 and 30, came up from Stockton to visit the shop because of the selection and the setting – Old Sacramento.

“They’ve got a lot more stuff for the ladies, but it’s a really good shop,” Robert Hernandez said as he perused a wall of pirate costumes.

Max Hernandez added that he comes to Evangeline’s every year.

“The selection is a lot better here than in Stockton,” he said, adding that he will be dressing up as Joker from “Batman.”

Kossmann said shipments are still coming in, and if shoppers don’t see what they want, they should ask.

“We have two floors of inventory, and there’s a lot packed into it,” she said.

Evangeline’s Costume Mansion is located at 113 K St.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

New restaurant to embrace Southern fare

2011-10-06T00:55:22Z

The owners of Midtown’s Capitol Garage are bringing Southern-style cooking to the spot recently vacated by Celestin’s Island Eats and Cajun Cuisine, with a projected opening in mid- to late November.

The Porch, located at 1815 K St., will feature items such as fried green tomatoes, catfish and corn hushpuppies, a soft shell crab po’ boy and other Southern favorites, said Chef and co-owner Jon Clemons.

He added that he wants to keep entrées priced below $20.

“We’ve been trying to do a second place for about a year and a half,” said co-owner John Lopez, adding that The Porch will be a dedicated restaurant, unlike Capitol Garage, which mixes a bar, restaurant and entertainment venue.

After looking at a variety of locations around Sacramento, Lopez said, he, Clemons and co-owner Jerry Mitchell began working with the owners of Celestin’s at the end of June to figure out a leasing agreement.

“It was really attractive because it was a turnkey operation,” Lopez said. “The only real changes we need to make are cosmetic.”

The two businesses will be about three blocks apart, with Capitol Garage located at 1500 K St.

The interior décor of The Porch will give customers the feeling of a home, and the exterior will be changed to embody the restaurant’s name, with the back patio opened up for seating, augmenting existing front patio seating.

The idea for the restaurant came on a trip to Portland, where the owners dined at a Southern restaurant, Lopez said.

“We thought that type of cuisine is really missing from Sacramento, and we wanted to bring that here,” he said.

Next up was a trip to Charleston, S.C., to get more ideas and inspiration for the menu.

“Charleston is such a great city for food,” Clemons said. “We’re going to focus on the coastal Southern food, with a lot of seafood. We’re also going to branch out into Creole and Cajun food.”

But for those wondering if some of the menu items from Celestin’s will return to the new restaurant, it’s unlikely.

“We might do a gumbo (soup) or something,” Clemons said, “but it would be our own recipe.”

The food will not be a copy of the fare at Capitol Garage, but some of the future menu items from The Porch are currently being offered on the specials menu at Capitol Garage.

“It’s kind of a way people can come in and preview the menu,” Clemons said.

The Porch will have a full liquor license, with wine pairings for some of the meals as well as bourbon drinks and cocktails that the owners are working with a bartender from Charleston to create.

They are also working to stock some beers common in the South but hard to find on the West Coast, such as Yuengling.

Open for lunch and dinner, Lopez said he wants to add Saturday and Sunday brunch around the beginning of the year.

Lopez said the prospect of a deeper recession is worrisome, but he thinks the proximity of the Convention Center and the foot traffic in the area will let the new restaurant thrive.

About 25 people will staff the restaurant, and Lopez said about half of the Celestin’s staff will be retained, with several already working shifts at Capitol Garage.

Celestin’s owners Patrick and Phoebe Celestin previously told The Sacramento Press that the new owners’ agreeing to interview the existing staff was a good gesture as they took over the location, which the Celestins had built in 2001.

The building has yet to be altered, but Lopez said passers-by should see changes starting in the next week or two as construction gets under way.

“Just keep driving by,” he said. “You’ll be surprised at the difference.”

The Porch’s website is under construction and will be reachable via the Capitol Garage website.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

New ownership at longtime coffee bar near Broadway

2011-09-19T07:23:15Z

Lifelong Sacramento resident Matt Crummy, 21, recently purchased Off Broadway Bean coffee bar and renamed it Crum’s Place, fulfilling his dream of owning his own business.

“It was just sort of perfect timing,” he said. “I was looking to get into business, and I saw an ad on Craigslist, and it all just worked out.”

Crummy took ownership on June 17, and he said the business has been going well.

Before Off Broadway Bean, the 1,400-square-foot space was tha home of Java Lounge.

“My dad owns a hot dog cart at 14th and I (streets), and I always wanted to run a business, too,” Crummy said. “I don’t want to have a boss. I want it to be my own.”

Many of the facets of the former coffee bar have remained the same, as Crummy purchased the business complete with furniture and fixtures.

“The challenges have been finding the right employees and keeping everything stocked,” he added.

The coffee bar offers free wireless Internet and use of several computers. A library at the front counter is open to all, with a “take a book and leave one” policy.

His only employee is one who previously worked at Off Broadway Bean, who Crummy said has been helpful with her knowledge of the day-to-day operations of the shop.

Not having much experience making coffee, Crummy said he was trained by the previous owners in how to make all the different drinks and food items. Now, he said, he is bringing even more food and hoping to make it a place for numerous nearby workers and residents to stop by for breakfast and lunches.

Hot and cold sandwiches are made to order, and paninis are available. Grilled burritos were added to the mix, and he said they have been popular.

“I’m trying to give people an affordable place to come by,” he said, noting that sandwiches are $6, and grilled burritos are $4.

Also being added to the menu are more baked goods, including house-made banana bread and cookies.

“We’re really going to be making more of that,” he said. “We’ll be bringing in pear bread pretty soon.”

He said he wanted to incorporate hot dogs, but those require having an expensive range hood, which isn’t in the budget at the moment.

Isabel Gallus, 22, said she has visited the coffee bar several times since the change in ownership, and she was a patron of Off Broadway Bean beforehand.

“I like that it’s right off Broadway,” she said. “It’s easy for a lot of people to get to, especially by bike.”

She added that she’d like to see it become more lively, with evening music shows on weekend nights.

“It’s good to see a business staying in here,” she said. “I’d like to come down for some live music.”

Live music is something Crummy said he is actively working on, with an acoustic show featuring Brian Hanover and Brian McPherson Saturday and another show scheduled for the following weekend.

Saturday’s show will be $7 in advance and $10 at the door, with those ages 17 and under getting in for free.

Music Promoter Sean Hills is working with Crummy and said he used to book shows at the location when it was Java Lounge and 16th Street Cafe.

“It’s a good all-ages spot, which is attractive for doing shows since we don’t have many of them in the city,” Hills said. “I’m excited that it’s open, and I hope it stays open a long time.”

Currently, only acoustic music can be played, but Hills said he is working with Crummy to get permits for amplified music.

“He’s really interested in opening his doors to local musicians and artists,” Hills said.

A mural by a Sacramento artist known as Skinner on the exterior wall in the alley, which was thought to be at risk in the past, will remain, Crummy said.

The business, located at 2416 16th St., is open daily from 6 a.m. - 5 p.m., but Crummy said he is still working with the hours and will stay open later on Fridays and Saturdays if business levels warrant it.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Co-op lawsuit dismissed

2011-09-09T23:35:50Z

A lawsuit against the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op has been dismissed at the request of those who filed it, members of the co-op who earlier this year sought to ban the sale of Israeli-made products at the grocery store.

“We, the petitioners, chose to dismiss this case,” said Sharon Adams, Berkeley-based attorney for Maggie Coulter and Robin Kristufek.

The lawsuit, filed June 30, alleged that the co-op’s board was violating its bylaws by not allowing a ballot initiative to ban Israeli-made products to go to a vote by the full membership.

The Sacramento County Superior Court denied a request to expedite the case on July 28, which could have brought a resolution in advance of ballots going out in August.

Adams said Friday that the purpose of the lawsuit was to get the measure put on the ballot, and there is no purpose now that the ballots have been mailed and will be counted over the weekend.

“We chose to dismiss the case,” she said. “It was just strategic.”

The case, however, was dismissed “with prejudice,” meaning the same lawsuit cannot be filed again at a later date.

“When you dismiss with prejudice, it is just this particular narrow issue.” Adams said, “I think the strategy is to go forward politically rather than (with) litigation.”

Two people supportive of the boycott on Israeli products ran for election to the co-op board, voicing their intentions at a candidates forum Aug. 2.

Co-op Board President Steven Maviglio said in an email Friday that he is pleased with the dismissal.

“While the Board is pleased to have this burdensome litigation behind it, certain members of the Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions (BDS) group continue to threaten continued litigation,” he wrote. “The Board will continue to oppose these and other efforts that violate the Cooperative Principles, our Bylaws, and the law.”

One of Maviglio’s earlier concerns with the lawsuit was spending co-op funds in a costly legal battle, but he wrote in the email Friday that the co-op received pro-bono legal services from the Pillsbury law firm in Sacramento.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Owners of Celestin's reflect on 28 years in business

2011-09-09T01:11:23Z

When it opened at 25th and J streets on a December morning almost 28 years ago, Celestin’s Island Eats & Cajun Cuisine was an instant success in the area, long before it was widely known as Midtown.

The restaurant, now located at 1815 K St., will close for the final time Sept. 30 as the Celestin family looks to relax and take a vacation.

“It’s the right time,” co-owner Phoebe Celestin said. She and her husband are looking to get out of the business, and they will now rent the space to a Southern-themed restaurant called The Porch.

She added that the closure is not financial. They handed it off to their son and his wife in 2006, but took it back in June, as the younger couple wanted to spend evenings together with their child. From that point on, they were looking to lease the space.

Selling Celestin’s wasn’t really an option, she said, since it had always been a family business and wouldn’t be the same otherwise.

Celestin said she and her husband are happy to see that Midtown has grown and prospered, getting to the point they dreamed of it becoming almost three decades ago.

“It’s bittersweet to leave it now, since the area is what we wanted it to be all that time,” Celestin said. “We were popular from day one, and we’ve been really fortunate. We had a strong beginning, middle and end. Every story should have that.”

Celestin added that several things were memorable over the years. She said customers always commented on how the windows on the original J Street location constantly steamed over, and she also remembers high-profile politicians stopping in for lunch.

But there’s one aspect of running the business that she said she will especially miss.

“My favorite was always being in a rush and working really hard and then pulling it off,” she said. “That was always a great feeling of satisfaction.”

With news of the restaurant’s impending closure coming out on Wednesday, Thursday’s lunch was very busy, and when the rush was past, co-owner Patrick Celestin, Phoebe Celestin’s husband, was wiping down patio tables.

“It’s what I do,” he said. “It’s important to have a good work ethic. I really like serving the folks and cooking the food. I’m going to miss the people and the hustle and bustle.”

Born in Port au Prince, Haiti, Patrick Celestin was in Sacramento visiting a friend from the Peace Corps when he met Phoebe, who had moved to the city from Seattle, and the two were later married.

Opening a restaurant seemed the natural thing to do for Patrick Celestin, who came from a family of chefs, caterers and restaurateurs.

“It’s in my blood,” he said Thursday. “What pleased me the most about owning this restaurant is that we maintained the quality of our food the whole time.”

The move from J Street to K Street came in 2001, after a fire burned a beauty salon on the space, and the Celestins were able to have a building constructed to their specifications.

At that time, they upgraded from a beer and wine license to a full liquor license and added mojitos and sangria to the menu, which have been some of the restaurant’s best-selling items since.

When it comes to food, the gumbo soup has remained a staple, as well as Haitian dishes.

“I have my favorite dishes,” Phoebe Celestin said. “I never tired of the gumbo, and I always loved the poulet blanchi, which is chicken in cream sauce with peas and onions.”

She added that another popular item is Haiti’s national dish, grio, which is twice-cooked pork with a sauce called Ti-Malice made of shallots, lime juice, chilies and thyme.

On Sept. 30, an auction of Haitian voodoo flags that grace the establishment’s walls will be held, with 15 percent of the proceeds donated to a charity the restaurant has partnered with for years, the Haitian Education and Leadership Program.

Customers packed the restaurant Thursday, and one of them was Nebrisa Novello, who came to celebrate her 28th birthday.

“I’ve come here on and off for the past 10 years,” she said. “It’s one of those Sacramento institutions. I like to keep going to them and help keep them around.”

She said she is happy that Celestin’s isn’t the victim of the economy and that The Porch will open in November to keep it from becoming an empty space.

Phoebe Celestin said the owners of The Porch, who also own nearby Capitol Garage, agreed to interview the entire staff of Celestin’s.

“That was very important to us,” she said.

Terry Sidie, who owns the Faces nightclub at 20th and K streets, ate at Celestin’s Thursday and said he is sad to see it go.

“They’re absolutely great,” he said. “There’s nothing else like it in town. There’s nothing I can say about Patrick and Phoebe that isn’t good.”

With the restaurant’s final three weeks approaching, the Celestins are making plans for what to do in the future.

Phoebe Celestin said she wants to return to Paris on a European vacation that might also include Spain and Switzerland to visit friends and family.

Patrick Celestin said he wants to relax, work around the house and clean out the garage.

Down the line, the couple might start a small product line of some of the restaurant’s favorites, including the gumbo soup and Ti-Malice Haitian hot sauce. They would then look to sell it at local markets.

But that’s in the more distant future. On Thursday, Patrick Celestin said he was focusing on the last weeks, where he hopes to see a lot of familiar faces so he can thank them for coming in over the years.

“Thank you. Thank you, Sacramento,” he said. “I am so grateful for the 28 years of support. I can’t emphasize my gratitude enough.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Celestin's to close this month

2011-09-08T00:45:30Z

After 28 years, Celestin’s Island Eats and Cajun Cuisine is closing its doors Sept. 30, according to owner Phoebe Celestin.

The Midtown restaurant will be replaced by a new venture from the owners of Capitol Garage, called The Porch Restaurant & Bar, which will feature Southern-style cuisine, according to a Wednesday press release.

The business was handed down to Celestin's son and his wife several years ago, she said, but once they had a child, they wanted to spend evenings together – something not conducive to running a restaurant.

"My husband and I came back and were considering offers that have been made," Celestin said. "We talked to several people and have a really good connection with the guys from Capitol Garage."

She added that there are currently no plans for her and her husband to open another restaurant, but that might be a possibility down the line.

"My husband loves to cook for people and will probably do it until he is no longer able to," she said. "He may look for something similar as a labor of love, but it's not in the plans at this moment."

Celestin’s, currently located at 1815 K St., originally opened on J Street in 1983 before moving to the current space in 2001, according to the restaurant’s website.

The Celestin family, originally from Port au Prince, Haiti, will auction off the Haitian Voodoo flags that hang on the walls of the restaurant on the last night of business, Sept. 30.

Celestin’s is known for its Caribbean- and Cajun-inspired food, including hamburgers with jerk seasoning, chicken curry and the popular gumbo soup.

The Sacramento Press will provide a more detailed article on Thursday.

To read a previous review of the restaurant by a Sacramento Press contributor, click here.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Planning Commission to decide on tap room liquor permit

2011-09-07T23:06:08Z

The city’s planning commission will decide whether to OK a permit for alcohol to a proposed bottle shop and tap room planned for a shopping center near the intersection of Howe Avenue and Fair Oaks Boulevard Thursday night.

Capitol Beer and Tap Room is a potential business set to take an empty space at 2222 Fair Oaks Blvd. put together by business partners Ken Hotchkiss and Patti Aguierre.

“It’s going to be kind of a high-end craft beer tasting room and bottle shop,” Hotchkiss said Wednesday.

If given the go-ahead by the Planning Commission, the business could open as early as December, and Aguierre said she plans to participate in Beer Week, in late February.

About 20 beers will be on tap at all times, though the beer selections will rotate, and a website will let customers know which brews are currently being poured. In addition, hundreds of different beers will be available in the bottle shop, according to Hotchkiss.

Hotchkiss said he’d like to carry a large selection of local brews as well as other craft beers.

Some of the breweries whose beers he said he hopes to include are Rubicon, Allagash, Chimay, Sierra Nevada and Russian River.

Food won’t be prepared on-site, but Aguierre said they plan to carry snacks that go with beer as well as some premade deli sandwiches.

According to a city staff report, the state’s Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control noted that the area is overconcentrated with liquor licenses based on population statistics.

The ABC required the owners to get a letter of convenience or necessity from the Sacramento Police Department, which they did.

Nearby business owners said they are happy to see the proposed business and hope it gets approval from the Planning Commission.

“I want it, because it creates synergy,” said Jeff Davis, also known as “Fro,” who owns adjacent Tokyo Fro’s. “If you put a McDonald’s next to a Burger King, both get busy.”

Davis said the only drawback he can see is with parking in the shopping center, which is already busy, but he characterized it as a minor hurdle that is the result of having businesses that draw lots of people.

“I’m rooting for them,” Davis said. “I want to help them, maybe cook food for them. This is a great spot for them, with Ruth’s Chris, Roxy and Banderas all nearby.”

Tony Galuzzo, who owns nearby Atlantic Bay Insurance, agreed with Davis.

“I think anytime in this economy that a new business is opening, it’s good for everyone,” he said. “Being a merchant in the neighborhood, anytime something can go into a space that’s uninhabited, that’s a good thing.”

Hotchkiss and Aguierre said the toughest part of the yearlong quest to open the business was choosing the location.

“We originally looked in downtown and Midtown, but we decided on this,” Hotchkiss said.

Being a mile and a half from Sacramento State wasn’t one of the reasons, but he said it might prove beneficial.

If approved, the 1,500-square-foot space will be composed of two rooms: a tasting room with a bar, and a bottle shop. About 40 people will be able to be seated in the area, including 12 to 14 on a patio.

Live music and entertainment are not planned to be included in the business, but TVs might be added. Details haven’t been decided, pending the outcome of Thursday’s Planning Commission meeting.

Hours are planned to be 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Sunday.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Temple Coffee reopens in new location

2011-09-07T07:02:05Z

Temple Coffee, a fixture on 10th Street since 2005, moved a block on Wednesday to Ninth Street, where it will have a more open, modern feel, but little else will change.

The move from 1014 10th St. to 1010 Ninth St. was something owner Sean Kohmescher said he had been looking to do for some time, saying the old space didn’t fit the needs of the coffee bar.

“The design of the (new) space is set up much more for conversations and engagement,” Kohmescher said, adding that the old space felt cramped.

Also bigger, at about 2,000 square feet compared to the old location’s 1,450 square feet, the newer one gives a more open feel. Both seat about 60 people, but the feeling in the new building is more spacious.

“It’s a lot cleaner feeling,” he said. “It’s more modern and fits in more with what Temple is about.”

The old coffee bar shut down on Saturday, and the move was done on Sunday and Monday, with final inspections on Tuesday.

A grand reopening ceremony will be held Saturday, with free coffee and tea, and art shown by painter Ilah Rose Cookston.

Trees felled more than five years ago just a few blocks away were made into tables, which now dominate the interior. Concrete flooring and clean lines, as well as spaces to hang artwork, are the major differences customers will notice from the previous address.

“It has a real community feel,” said Manager Shannon Loudon. “There’s a lot more foot traffic here, and a lot of our regulars live in the lofts upstairs, so they’re happy to see us in the new building.”

She added that a larger patio seating area that will be built in the next week will be railed off and give customers the option to sit inside or outside.

Electrical outlets are provided for the six seats fronting the Ninth Street floor-to-ceiling windows, and wireless Internet will be free once it is installed Thursday.

Regular customer Chester Randle, 61, said Tuesday that he often comes to Temple Coffee on his breaks from his state job.

“The service is fantastic, and the coffee tastes better than Starbucks,” he said, adding that he is glad the coffee bar moved to a location that is still close to walk, and that he will continue to go there.

Another customer, 52-year-old Henry Tavalaro, said he lives next door to the old location and frequented it, but he will still patronize the new location.

“I hope it’s a good move,” he said. “I know they’ve been wanting a bigger place.”

The new space had lain empty before Temple Coffee moved in, and Building Manager Anthony Reda said he thinks the coffee bar will be a good fit.

“Temple is a very well-known coffee and tea shop here in downtown Sacramento,” he said. “Our building is in an area that is about bringing the old and the new together and bringing Sacramento forward with revitalization.”

Temple is now located at 1010 Ninth St. Its hours are 6 a.m. - 11 p.m. every day.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Local catering business keeps it in the family

2011-09-03T01:31:13Z

After working in the restaurant industry for more than 20 years, Mark Mitchell decided it was time to stop working for other people – so he opened a catering business last summer.

Mitchell and Sons Mobile Eatery came to life after friends who own Kasbah Lounge at 22nd and J streets offered to rent their kitchen to him. He has been building his business since then, catering events and regularly supplying food to Midtown and downtown businesses.

“The idea was essentially that I really like cooking food, but I didn’t want to work for anyone else,” he said Friday. “I like the creative side of cooking. I like to play music and experiment with it.”

Whether he’s listening to The Clash, Tom Petty or whatever else strikes his mood, he said he likes to cook and takes pride in knowing that his food will be a central part of a family or group of friends sitting down together for a good time.

He sells goods regularly to a food cart called Le Petite Pedlar on the 500 block of Capitol Mall and to Devine Gelateria in Midtown, but he also caters for lunches and events such as bridal showers, baby showers and weddings.

A menu is available, but he said he will make custom meals as well.

His favorite dish to prepare is anything having to do with pork, but a growing trend in party dishes is something else he said he loves to prepare – Timpano.

“It’s like a huge Italian pastry in a 12-quart bowl,” he said. “Mine has pasta, meatballs, sausage, salami, peppers, herbs, marinara and hard-boiled eggs. It’s all layered, and it looks really cool when you bring it out.”

Much of his business revolves around making lunches, whether it be for a single person or an entire office.

Lunch sandwiches run $6-$7, and salads with meats are available in the same range. Soups are popular in the colder weather as well, he said.

One of Mitchell’s repeat clients is Resources Law Group near Fifth Street and Capitol Avenue downtown.

“We have lunch meetings all the time,” said Executive Assistant Carolyn Fisher. “We see a lot of people, and I always like trying new vendors.”

Earlier this year, she said she called Mitchell and asked him to tweak his menu to offer vegetarian options for the law firm, and she asked him to make a few things that weren’t on the menu.

“It’s definitely not what you would get from your standard deli,” she said. “He cooks with some flair, and he’s a really fun young guy. I imagine he really likes what he does, and he’s nimble and not afraid to go rogue from his menu.”

The shaky economy is something of a concern with starting the new business, Mitchell said, but he added that he feels confident with the year-old enterprise.

“The one solid (thing) I have is that people still want to eat, to have someone else cook for them,” he said. “I learned long ago that the most important part of the business is service. I know my food’s good, and I want to do everything I can to make sure the service is, too.”

Early in his career he helped start the East Sacramento Italian restaurant called Cafe Milazza, where he spent 10 years as a chef. The restaurant has since closed, and the space is now the home of OneSpeed Pizza.

“After that, I spent five years at Nugget Market, and then I worked at Sampino’s (Towne Foods) on 16th Street,” he said.
Though he now works on his own, he said he gets a lot of help from his four sons, ages 8, 10, 12 and 15.

“They all help me in some way,” he said. “To varying degrees, they’re all into it.”

His 12-year-old son, Micah, has become something of an understudy, and Mitchell said his goal is to one day become a professional soccer player or a chef.

“I’d be happy if he did either one,” Mitchell said with a laugh.

Mitchell and Sons Mobile Eatery can be reached by phone at 267-3261 or online by clicking here once the site is updated.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Gelateria opens at 19th and Capitol

2011-09-01T07:31:33Z

For weeks, a sign saying “so close you can almost taste it” hung in the window of the storefront vacated by Le Petit Paris last year, and on Tuesday, Sacramentans got their chance to go in and sample authentic Italian gelato in Midtown when Devine Gelateria & Cafe opened.

“The opening went really well,” owner Elizabeth McCleary said Wednesday morning as she prepared to make gelato and sorbetto from scratch for the upcoming day.

Originally planning to close at 8 p.m. on the opening day, there was a line of people as late as 7:45 p.m., and McCleary said she might adjust her hours to stay open another hour if the trend continues.

Flavors include roasted almond, pistachio, dulce de leche, biscotti, stracciatella (chocolate chip), dark rich chocolate, hazelnut and marscapone.

Other flavors are being created as well, including blackberry sorbet and chocolate peanut butter.

“There’ll be more as time goes on and things start to run a little more smoothly,” she said. “I’ll even be doing some flavors from wine around the holidays, a champagne gelato or something.”

Sorbetto flavors include blueberry, lemon, Bartlett pear, cantaloupe, kiwi banana and caramelized pineapple.

Prices are $2.50 for a 2.7-oz mini, $3.50 for a 4.5-oz small, $4.25 for a 5.75-oz medium and $5 for a 7.1-oz large.

After working in advertising for more than 15 years, McCleary jetted off to Italy to learn the art of making gelato from scratch.

Unlike ice cream, gelato is denser and creamier, and McCleary said it is lower in fat as well.

“People have been blown away (by the gelato), which is the reaction I was hoping for,” McCleary said.

One of the people who was blown away by the taste and authenticity of the gelato was Curtis Park resident Patricia Moses, 53.

“It’s the real thing,” she said. “I don’t need to buy a plane ticket (to Italy).”

Eating a roasted hazelnut and chocolate-flavored scoop Wednesday afternoon, Moses said she’s glad the shop opened.

A longtime lover of authentic gelato, Moses said gelato is differentiated from ice cream by the intensity and precision of its flavoring.

“She’s making it the way you’re supposed to,” Moses said.

McCleary said she had to get a pasteurization license to be able to work with the materials in the way she learned when she studied the process in Italy.

“The Milk and Dairy board was here for five hours on Friday,” McCleary said, adding that she had to pass a written test as well as a practical test and show that she knew how to properly use the machinery.

That certification allows McCleary to make her own gelato base from scratch, so she is not relying on anyone else and can work with the flavors to make it consistent every time.

Once the business hits its stride, McCleary said, she plans on rolling out a mobile cart to sell gelato at farmers markets and also wants to find restaurant customers.

Also on offer at the gelateria and cafe are paninis for $6.99, which are prepared by local caterer Mark Mitchell, owner of Mitchell and Sons Mobile Eatery.

McCleary said she knew Mitchell from a restaurant he worked at, and it was during a chance meeting at Mulvaney’s B&L when she learned he was catering and could provide her with paninis.

Panini options include chicken, turkey, roast beef, prosciutto and a vegetable option. Different combinations of cheese and vegetables are available on each sandwich.

“They’re made on a couple of different types of focaccia bread,” Mitchell said. “They’re fresh every day. We’re not wrapping them holding them in the fridge for several days.”

He added that he enjoys gelato, and he is happy to have Devine Gelateria & Cafe as a place to eat as well as a client.

McCleary said she buys local products, from her dairy products to the Temple Coffee she uses to make lattes, Americanos and espressos.

Roz Nice, a 57-year-old Auburn resident, said the opening of the gelateria and cafe is part of a trend she is seeing in Sacramento.

“Sacramento is really coming of age with its gourmet restaurants and cafes,” she said Wednesday.

A fan of Italian gelato as well as traditional ice cream, Nice said she feels satisfied by a smaller amount of gelato than ice cream.

“It’s delicious here,” she said. “It’s just like the gelato I had in Italy.”

Devine Gelateria & Cafe is located at 1221 19th St. Hours are 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and noon - 6 p.m. on Sunday. The business is closed on Mondays.

To read more about McCleary and the differences between gelato, sorbetto and ice cream, click here.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Photo tour of K Street's 700 block

2011-08-31T05:02:25Z

The massive redevelopment project on the 700 block of K Street will be submitted to the city’s building department for approval in October, and if approved, work could begin as early as the end of this year.

“We’re looking to break ground in (February or March) of 2012, but it might be sooner,” said Ali Youssefi of CFY Development.

The approximately $47.7 million project is a collaboration between D&S Development, Inc., and CFY Development. It will be a mixed-use project with apartments, retail spaces, restaurant/bar spaces and an approximately 15,000-square-foot live music venue.

“We really want this to be a catalyst for the rest of the area,” said Bay Miry of D&S Development.

For more information on the project, its funding and how it got to where it is, click here.

Both Youssefi and Miry said they don’t want to think of the project in terms of what it compares to in other cities.

“This isn’t Polk Street in San Francisco, or some place in Portland, or the gaslight district in San Diego” Youssefi said. “Sacramento is sort of creating its own identity. We want this to be a place people use as an example.”

Miry agreed, adding, “We want this to be K Street.”

The project area stretches all along K street and 180 feet back along Seventh and Eighth streets to the alley. The 90 feet fronting K Street will maintain a similar footprint, but the rearward 90 feet will be demolished, and mid-rise apartment buildings with two levels of parking will be built.

“There’s going to be a courtyard between the new construction and the historic buildings,” Youssefi said, adding that the courtyard will be landscaped and serve as a space where people living in both the all-new buildings and the apartments incorporated into the original buildings will be able to go.

Part of the project involves thinking beyond the ground-to-ceiling spaces and making creative use of rooftops and basements.

Outdoor seating will be a big part of the restaurants on the block, with one slated to make use of a patio that extends 10 to 15 feet into the sidewalk.

The city plans to bring cars back to K Street by November, but the 700 block will still remain free of vehicular traffic.

“We’re going to get a lot of visibility when cars come back,” Youssefi said. “K Street was a big business district until they closed it off to cars, and that was really a failed experiment.”

Miry said other projects in the area are contributing to its return from being a blighted area.

“The project over on the 1000 block (composed of Dive Bar, Pizza Rock and District 30) is one aspect, and the moving of the Greyhound station (from nearby L Street to Richards Boulevard) has really helped, too,” Miry said.

“We’re down here every day, so we really notice the difference,” Youssefi agreed.

The estimated build time for the project is just under two years, he said.

The project is receiving redevelopment funds from the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency, which is currently a controversial subject. On the statewide level, redevelopment agencies are fighting for their existence, but Youssefi said the 700 block of K Street has already secured the funding and will be built.

“This project could be one of the last of its kind,” he said.

The end goal, according to Miry and Youssefi, is to return K Street to its former status as one of the vibrant sectors downtown and bring mixed-use retail, restaurant, entertainment and residential entities to downtown.

Sixty percent of the project is dedicated as affordable housing. The other 40 percent will be market-rate housing.

“It’s going to bring a good mix of workforce housing as well as apartments that are as nice as any downtown,” Miry said.

Youssefi said there is one overarching reason the project excites him.

“I grew up in Sacramento,” he said. “To be a part of this project, which will be a catalyst for revitalizing downtown, that’s exciting”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Editorial Note: A correction has been made to this story after it was published.

Hot Italian temporarily a car showroom?

2011-08-27T00:43:06Z

People headed to Midtown’s Hot Italian for a pizza or gelato might be surprised to see two new additions to restaurant – a pair of cars from Italian manufacturer Fiat, which returned to the United States this year after a 27-year hiatus.

“We’ve been looking for new pop-up concepts, and they’re stylish, they’re Italian, and they’re a great fit,” said Andrea Lepore, managing partner of Hot Italian, located at 16th and Q streets.

A “pop-up,” she explained, is a temporary display that sometimes has retail components to it.

“It kind of pops up, and you have to catch it while it’s here,” she said. “It will be up for at least three months.”

The two cars, a Fiat 500 and a Fiat 500C Cabriolet – with a retractable roof – can’t be purchased at the restaurant, but they fit the restaurant, in more ways than one.

“The most common thing people ask us is how we got them in here,” Lepore said. “It was a little tight, and on one, we had to back it up and then fold the mirrors in. We had about an inch of clearance on either side.”

FIAT Pop-Up Shop Launch from HOT ITALIAN on Vimeo.

Joey Gonzalez, general manager of Fiat of Sacramento, 2329 B Fulton Ave., said he thinks the cars will appeal to Hot Italian’s clientele.

“We found that a lot of Italian-Americans have a fond memory of or feel comfortable with the Fiat brand,” he said. “Also, the lifestyle that Hot Italian promotes is very similar to what our buyers are looking for.”

He said the Fiat vehicles fit an urban lifestyle that emphasizes compactness and fuel economy over larger sedans or SUVs. With Hot Italian being a destination for bicyclists and being located in Midtown, he said he thinks the vehicles will be exposed to people who might not otherwise know about the Fulton Avenue dealership.

Perry Harris, a Fair Oaks resident, went into the restaurant Friday with his family and said he was surprised to see the cars in the space.

“They look great. They kind of look fun to drive,” he said. “It looks like I need a coast highway, to tell you the truth. It looks like a reason to get out and drive.”

Perry said having them there brings attention to them.

“You don’t really see Fiats too often,” he said. “I wish more cars looked like this.”

Another diner at Hot Italian Friday, Valeria Morrow, is originally from Argentina and spent time living in Italy, with her Italian husband.

“I think it’s cool,” she said. “It adds a nice vibe to the place.”

She added that in Italy and Argentina, she saw some restaurants with vehicles in them like the Fiats in Hot Italian, but it wasn’t common.

“For us, this is a great brand to associate with,” Lepore said. “The convertible is really fun to drive.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Maydestone building nears completion

2011-08-24T00:39:08Z

With three weeks until the historic Maydestone apartment building opens for an art show downtown, the fences have come down, the façade has been painted and several units have been staged as residences even as final work is completed.

The $7 million affordable housing project at the corner of 15th and J streets received $6.1 million in loans from the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency.

Presentation Development, LLC – set up by D&S Development, Inc. – contributed $900,000, according to Bay Miry of D&S Development.

“We’re trying to design it more like a European residential unit,” Miry said. “(Europeans) like to live where there’s a lot of interaction with people, and they don’t need cars to get around.”

The historic building was built in 1910, and Miry said a lot of the redevelopment funding was made possible by its restoration with a mind to preserving the historical characteristics of it – features such as the detailed exterior, mostly original floorplan and preservation of historical elements throughout the project.

Original built-in storage units and beds that slide into walls were left intact, and the staged rooms give an impression of how tenants might live in the space, Miry said.

In addition to historical aspects being left intact, Miry said numerous modern features were added, including a camera system for the front door with screens in each room for security when buzzing people in, energy-efficient heating and air conditioning units, energy-efficient solar water heating equipment and an elevator that uses energy from its movements to pump power back into the building’s electrical system.

Solar panels on the roof also shade air conditioning equipment and help provide electricity for the common area lighting.

“This isn’t your standard affordable housing project,” Miry said.

The 32 units range in size from 300 to 700 square feet, and rents will be between $700 and $1,500, Miry said.

The target income range for tenants is $30,000 to $60,000, Miry said.

“It’s perfect for workforce housing, artists, empty nesters and other people who want to live downtown.”

The building will be ready by mid-September, and leases are projected to start on Oct. 1.

Part of the reason redevelopment funding was spent on the project, Miry said, was due to the fact that the city has funded a lot of low-income housing through the SHRA over the past decade, and moderate-income-level housing is being added to create more of a balance in the area.

Miry said about 120 construction jobs were created for the project, and supplies were bought locally whenever possible.

There is no off-street parking for the building, but Miry said the project is designed to be walkable, and permit parking is available on the street.

A property manager will be on-site all day every day, and a basement area gives residents access to a common area, pool table, furniture, storage units that can be rented and a small fitness center that will have a few treadmills and free weights setups.

An art show is scheduled for Sept. 10, which will feature local artists and will take up the first two floors of the building.

“We’ve been working on this for about a year,” Miry said. “We’re happy with the way it’s turning out.”

A worker on another project nearby walking by the building on Tuesday afternoon said he is impressed with the work that has been done.

“I like it a lot,” said Lance Linville of Sacramento. “They’ve done a really good job, and it’s good for Sac.”

To see how the building looked when it began, click here.

To see how it looked at the midpoint of the project, click here.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

BarWest opens on J Street

2011-08-23T03:58:37Z

BarWest Burgers & Wings on J Street opened Thursday after a soft opening the previous weekend, filling a space that previously housed Aura ~~and G.V. Hurley’s~~ .

“We were really busy (on Thursday),” said co-owner Trevor Shults. “You can tell people in this area were really looking for something like this.”

The restaurant and bar located at 2724 J St. features a menu heavy on burgers and wings, with some salads and other items, such as deep-fried Ding-Dongs and buffalo fries as well.

Burgers include a variety of types, with the Capitol Classic (a step up from the BarWest burger with the addition of the “secret sauce”) and the J Street Bleu (a burger with bleu cheese).

Shults said the main focus for him at the moment is working with the staff to improve customer service in response to Yelp! reviews that complained of slow service.

“It’s like any new restaurant,” he said. “We need to work the kinks out before we really hit our stride.”

One change coming this week that’s a direct result of customer feedback is including French fries with every burger purchase.

Shults said that, originally, burgers by themselves started at $3.95, and fries were added separately. Customers, however, were upset that the burgers didn’t come with fries, so the menu is being adjusted so all burgers come with fries and start at about $5.

Drinks are another main feature of the restaurant and bar, with 16 beers on tap and about 40 craft beers available in bottles, Shults said.

“We also have drinks in fishbowls,” he said. “In fact, they’ve been so popular that I’ve got to order some more fishbowls.”

He said serving the 64-ounce fishbowl drinks allows people to share, and the popularity caused him to order another 50 of them to augment the 25 bowls he started with.

The mixed drinks served in fishbowls have four straws in them, and cost about $27.

The ground-floor restaurant area, including a patio, seats 102. The décor uses the brick walls of the buildings as well as padded wall coverings and beach hut-style grass over the bar area. A few surf boards serve as accents in the space.

An upstairs area is available for private gatherings, holding 48 people seated and 70 standing.

Shults said the idea is that it can be used for anything from corporate events to fantasy football drafts and birthday parties.

Some of the amenities upstairs include a private bar, four flatscreen TVs and a 15-foot projector.

“If people want to have corporate events, it’s $20 a head, and we have a $500 minimum,” Shults said.

Flatscreen TVs dominate the area above the bar and are also in other parts of the restaurant and the patio with 20 in all.

“We will have NFL Sunday Ticket from DirecTV, and we’ll be showing all the important games,” Shults said.

There won’t be any live music at BarWest, as one of the agreements with local neighbors included not filing for an entertainment permit. To read more about the restaurant and its workings with neighbors – who stood firm against the previous operators – click here.

Midtown resident George Raya, who has been involved with local neighborhood groups, said Monday that the restaurant and bar is not turning out to have the same types of problems that previous restaurants had.

“The crowd here seems to be social drinkers,” he said. “They aren’t drinking to get drunk. I’ve talked to a lot of the neighbors, and they all say it’s not a problem.”

He said there is noise associated with the restaurant and bar, but it’s the noise of a party, not the louder noise of a nightclub.

And Raya said he has been to BarWest every day it’s been open, and that it’s a convenient spot to get a drink near his home.

Tara Dodson, 37, lives in East Sacramento and likened BarWest to a Sacramento version of “Cheers.”

“The food is really good,” she said. “This is definitely a great local neighborhood bar.”

Johnny Davis, 33, said he’s tried most of the menu items and likes them all, but one stands above the rest.

“The deep-fried Ding Dong is amazing,” he said. “I’ve had one every day.”

He also said he tried the wings with the “death sauce.”

“If you were here, you would have seen a grown man crying,” he said with a laugh.

A touch-screen jukebox sits in the back of the restaurant, and music videos will be shown weekend nights.

BarWest Burgers & Wings serves food from 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, with the bar open until 2 a.m. Food service starts at 9 a.m. with brunch on weekends, and food service continues until 10 p.m., with the bar open until 2 a.m.

The BarWest menu can be found online by clicking here.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Editorial Note: A correction has been made after this story was published. The incorrect information has been struck out.

Dad's Sandwiches owners buy J's Cafe

2011-08-18T00:59:05Z

The owners of Dad’s Sandwiches recently bought a longtime downtown eatery and plan to add some of their signature sandwiches and rename it Dad’s on J by the beginning of next year.

Mick Stevenson, co-owner of Dad’s Sandwiches at 13th and S streets, said he and his business partner, DJ Rogers, have been looking for a second location for several months. When J’s Cafe, 1004 J St., went up on Craigslist about four weeks ago, they had the keys within a few days.

“We bought Dad’s two years ago, and we made money on the first day we were open,” Stevenson said in J’s Cafe Wednesday morning. “It’s the same with this place. Those turnkey businesses are great in this economy.”

The J’s Cafe menu will remain intact with the same prices. Stevenson said he brought in a higher-quality meat for the cheeseburgers and a higher-quality fish for the fish and chips, but he kept the same two-person staff, so customers should notice little difference.

The cafe features breakfast and lunch, including egg, hash brown and sausage platters as well as several types of burgers and sandwiches. Fish and chips are another popular option.

Around Jan. 1, Stevenson said some of the more popular items from Dad’s Sandwiches – between seven and 10 sandwiches and probably a couple of salads – will be added to the menu.

Customer Brittan Jones said Wednesday that the vegetable burger tastes slightly different, but it’s good.

“Having some salads will be nice,” said Jones, who goes to the cafe about once a week and added that healthier options would be welcomed. “I know I shouldn’t eat fried food as much as I do.”

Stevenson, who worked at the Fourth Street Grill for four years, said he bought Dad’s Sandwiches two years ago so he could follow his passion for food without working to make someone else rich.

“I’m living my dream right now,” he said.

Despite Fog Mountain Cafe – a block away – closing earlier this year, Stevenson said the economy didn’t discourage him.

“This is 10th and J,” he said. “This place looks like New York City at lunchtime. There’s tons of people, and they’ve always gotta eat. I ain’t scared.”

He said Thursdays and Fridays are the busiest days, but he averages about 75 customers through the restaurant from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. on weekdays.

When the cafe re-brands as Dad’s on J, along with new paint and added menu options, he will open earlier, around 7 or 8 a.m., to bring in more customers for breakfast.

It is closed on weekends.

“At Dad’s (Sandwiches), we have our regulars who come in for early coffee at 7 a.m.,” he said.

He added that having a full grill at J’s Cafe will allow him to cater more than he currently can with the electric-only equipment at Dad’s Sandwiches.

“We can really add some hot items,” he said. “Right now, we only do meat-and-cheese trays.”

Deena Smith said she has been patronizing J’s Cafe for five or six years, and she picked up some food to go Wednesday morning.

“I was concerned it wasn’t going to be the same,” she said. “The food is really good and reasonably priced, and the people were really nice.”

She added that she enjoys the food under the new ownership.

“He seems like a really nice guy,” she said. “I hope he does well.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Pangaea opens bottle shop

2011-08-17T01:00:55Z

Local watering hole Pangaea Two Brews Cafe recently expanded its operations to include a bottle shop with about 200 beer selections. The bottle shop opened earlier this month, and owner Rob Archie said he has plans to add a delivery service in the Curtis Park neighborhood in September.

“We had our grand opening Aug. 6, and it was full in here all day,” Archie said. “The response has been really positive.”

Pangaea, located at 2743 Franklin Blvd., is marked by its selection of Belgian beers on tap, and Archie told The Sacramento Press in a previous article that he has long wanted to bring a bottle shop to offer those beers at to-go prices.

Beers are stored in a refrigerator spanning much of one wall of the bottle shop, which can be entered by the street or through an arched doorway from the adjacent cafe.

Another new feature that came with the bottle shop was a wine and cheese selection.

“We have some people who come in here, and as much as they might love beer, they sometimes want a glass of wine,” Archie said.

Wine selection includes chilled whites as well as reds in a rack along one wall, and he said the bottle selection is varied, with wines from the United States, France, Chile and other areas.

Coming sometime next month is a bicycle delivery service for the Curtis Park neighborhood.

“It’s a convenience for the area,” Archie said. “We will keep our website updated with what we have in stock, and people can order and have it delivered to them.”

To make it worthwhile, Archie said he will either have a minimum purchase requirement or a small charge for deliveries. For more information as it becomes available, check the website or Facebook page.

While bottles are priced for take out, patrons dining in the adjacent cafe can have bottles at their tables for a small corkage fee, depending on the size of the bottle.

“What’s cool about our system is (customers) don’t have to go over and buy it there and then come back to their table,” Archie said. “It’s all the same business, and it’s all connected, so they can just have it brought to their table and added onto the bill.”

Dave Morrow, craft beer manager for DBI Beverage, Inc., of Sacramento, a beer distributor, said the opening of the bottle shop is indicative of a growing trend in craft beers taking hold in Sacramento over the past couple of years.

“It’s really blown up,” he said, adding that the beer scene has become more sophisticated, and beer drinkers are increasingly treating the beverage with the respect and reverence often associated with wines.

Morrow said that even though there may be some expensive beers, the high-priced ones coming in bottles that hold about two pints are still much more affordable than their counterparts in the wine industry.

“You can come in here and literally have your pick of the best beers in the world,” Morrow said Tuesday as he perused the bottles in the shop. “And what’s great is anybody can afford it. You can get some of the best beers in the world for $10-$15 here.”

Archie said he has long wanted to have a bottle shop, and Morrow said he “nailed it.”

“If I won the lottery, this is exactly the bar I would build in my house,” Morrow said.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

New digital magazine features creative nonfiction

2011-08-16T00:56:40Z

“Telling stories without shame” is the goal of a new digital magazine published by Sacramento writer and editor Janna Marlies Santoro.

The premiere issue of Under the Gum Tree was released this month, and Santoro said she asked contributors to write creative nonfiction that showcases important moments in people’s lives, as told by them.

One writer, Sarah Heffron, wrote about her own unplanned pregnancy.

“It’s a snapshot of the days just before and the moments after finding out I was pregnant,” she said.

While the “creative nonfiction” genre leaves some question as to how much is true, Santoro said all of the stories are true, but sometimes dialogue is written from memory and timelines are compressed to make the stories more compelling and readable.

The first issue includes the work of 11 contributors in more than 80 pages, and the writers come from places including Sacramento, Oakland, Seattle and Ohio. Some are professional writers while others are people with a story to tell.

“These are stories people often try to hide because they are embarrassing or uncomfortable, and they’re hard parts of life,” Santoro said.

“But those stories are compelling. They make us who we are,” she added.

The reason for the magazine’s title is apparent after reading her own article in the issue, she said, adding that the title works as a metaphor that becomes evident after reading the story.

Another story is from Santoro’s fiancé, Jeremy Maron, who works with her to run the ThinkHouse Collective co-working space on 11th and Q streets.

Maron said he wrote about film, which is something that has always resonated with him.

“Even as a young kid, I looked at movies really differently,” he said, adding that he was raised by a single mother who took him to films from an early age.

In his article, he discusses the impacts the films “Being There” and “Top Gun” had on him, explaining that the individual scenes in “Top Gun” are well-done, but the movie doesn’t connect and flow well for him.

“Moviegoing is a communal experience,” he said. “(When I saw ‘Top Gun’), I really separated myself from the audience experience, and I found myself watching them watch it. It just didn’t work for me.”

Under the Gum Tree will be published quarterly, and it is free to view online, Santoro said. Those who want a hard copy can have it printed on demand through a link from the magazine’s website for about $24.

“The printing costs cover the costs of producing the magazine,” she said.

Santoro has two editors who help select articles for the magazine and work with the writers during the editing process. Design work is handled by an intern.

The contributors are not paid for their work, but that is something Santoro said she wants to change as the magazine goes forward.

“I’m going to be introducing a subscription service for 2012, which will be something like $40 for a year, including both printed and online copies,” she said, adding that the subscription rate works out to less than half the cost of the “newsstand” rate.

Santoro has worked in the publishing industry for both a small community newspaper in El Dorado Hills, The Village Life, and the Folsom-Based Style Media Group, but having her own magazine is more satisfying, she said.

“When I got the first issue, it really exceeded my expectations,” she said. “Just the look and feel of it is gorgeous. I was completely speechless.”

Heffron, who used to teach elementary school in the Natomas Unified School District but is now a full-time stay-at-home mom, said she had a similar reaction to seeing her article in print for the first time.

Santoro said she wants the readers to be able to be drawn into deeply personal stories through Under the Gum Tree, and she also wants to hear the stories of others.

While she does seek out writers she knows who have engaging personal stories, submissions are accepted through the website for a fee of a little more than $6.

Maron said he is also happy with the finished product.

“I think it’s compelling journalism to examine those parts of our lives,” he said. “Telling stories without shame is a great tagline. We, as writers, go back in time to find those moments that are the foundations of who we are.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Longtime pastry shop continues to please

2011-08-13T00:47:31Z

Snow cones are a seasonal favorite of the Osaka-Ya pastry shop and market, but it’s taken more than snow cones to keep the shop in business for almost 100 years.

A vestige of Sacramento’s former Japantown, which sat in the area around L, N, Third and Fourth streets, Osaka-Ya still provides traditional Japanese sweets, hot food and other edibles near the corner of 10th and V streets downtown.

“My mom and dad took over this business in 1963,” said owner Linda Nakatani. “A friend gave them the recipe for the snow cone syrup, and they used a hand-crank snow cone machine to shave the ice.”

Her father installed a motor, and the snow cones have been a summer favorite at the business ever since.

On sale from April 1 until whenever the weather gets too cold, there is a line most days at the walk-up window at 2215 V St.

Twelve traditional shaved ice flavors are offered, including cherry, strawberry, orange and vanilla, and a Japanese version is offered as well, which includes azuki beans layered in the shaved ice. If customers want, they can have azuki beans and syrup flavors.

Another popular variation is to have the shaved ice atop a scoop of ice cream.

“We make all of our own syrups here,” Nakatani said. “We have lots of sizes. Some people say our large is as big as a baby’s head.”

Prices range from $2 to $4.25, with four sizes available.

Daryl Leisey, 30, said he has been eating shaved ice from Osaka-Ya since he was about 8 years old.

“I’ve probably been eating those for 20 years, but last year, I really started venturing out into the other things,” he said, standing in line Friday holding a pair of watermelons.

“I get the raspberry mochi for my niece and nephew, too,” he added. “They love the fruit-flavored ones.”

Mochi is a rice cake pastry made from pounded sticky rice and filled with either azuki beans, lima beans or the more-popular peanut butter.

“We mainly specialize in those types of pastries,” Nakatani said. “I enjoy the art of making it and doing it in different styles.”

Special mochi pastries are made for traditional Japanese celebrations, including the Lunar New Year.

Other specialized pastries, such as omanju – a type of cake – are made on Girls’ Day (March 3) and Boys’ Day (May 5), Nakatani said.

Hot foods are served on Fridays and Saturdays, and they consist of Japanese favorites such as spare ribs, Teriyaki rice bowls and oden, a complicated-to-make fish cake.

“We make oden for a lot of the elderly single people who live around here,” Nakatani said. “And we have sushi every day except Sunday and Monday, and we make it here from scratch.”

Betty Nagano, 94, said she has been frequenting the shop for decades, since before Nakatani’s family took over the business.

The omanju drew her and her daughter in on Friday.

“I used to come here before the war, when it was in Japantown,” Nagano said.

Originally from Wyoming, Nagano grew up in Sacramento and kept going to the business through its various moves, including the current spot, where it has been for 14 years.

Japantown was in an upheaval during World War II, when it was illegal for people of Japanese descent to own businesses in many parts of California, said William Burg, president of the Sacramento County Historical Society.

“They were kicked out,” he said. “Essentially, the properties came up for sale during World War II, and they were fire sale prices. At the same time as the Japanese were sent to internment camps, African Americans working in waterfront industries bought the properties.”

After the war, the area around 10th and V streets became a sort of substitute for the old Japantown.

In the mid-1950s, the West End was the densest part of the city, but the residents had to move when the Capitol Mall area was reconstructed. The building of Interstate 5 wiped out the remains of the area in the 1960s.

“The Latinos went to Alkali Flat, the African Americans went to Oak Park and the rest of the Japanese went to Southside,” Burg said.

Over the years, Osaka-Ya has managed to stay in business under the same name.

Nakatani said the recession has made business tough, but she hopes to be able to keep going and possibly hand it over to her sons one day.

Her boys, ages 9 and 11, come into the pastry shop and help out from time to time, but after about 10 minutes, they get bored, she said with a laugh.

Leisey, who still buys snow cones at the street-front window after 22 years, said there’s a reason he keeps coming back.

“They’re always friendly,” he said. “It’s a great place to come, and they’ve got a lot of things for a small place.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Old Ironsides has sound system, continues live music

2011-08-12T00:56:53Z

Quashing persistent rumors that Old Ironsides would stop playing live music, staff told The Sacramento Press Thursday that the bar now has its own sound system, and concerts are booked into November.

“For the record, we were never without a sound system,” said Mark “Gonzo” Gonzales, a manager for the establishment and also the man handling most of the booking for shows.

In late June, there were rumors that the iconic establishment at 10th and S streets would no longer be hosting live music, which has been a mainstay of the business for 21 years.

Gonzales said the old sound system, which had been leased, was taken out June 19, and a new sound system was being looked at, but in the meantime, a different sound system was being rented.

The new sound system went on line June 29, Gonzales said.

Bartender Art Rodriguez said having the sound system is an important aspect of the business.

“It means a lot to me to have a new one, because the owners don’t have to pay the rent on the old one,” he said. “When I found out how much money they were paying for the lease (on the old sound system), it was incredible.”

Rodriguez declined to give an exact amount, but characterized the lease as “quite a bit.”

He said the sound system, which consists of a Yamaha sound board, two bass speakers and several powered speakers, is smaller than the one that was leased, but anything more in the small space would be overkill.

“All the people who have come into the venue really like it,” he said.

Only one live band show had been held with the new sound system by Thursday afternoon, Gonzales said, though there had been a few open mic nights as well.

Local alternative/R&B/rock band Red Velvet Kiss played at the venue with the new sound system in place, playing on July 22.

“It was decent,” said Vincent Scola, lead guitarist for Red Velvet Kiss. “It’s not as good as the last sound system, but it still did the job. I was happy with it.”

Scola added that he would play at Old Ironsides again, and he said it’s valuable to have as a live music venue.

“You cant have too many live venues,” he said.

Mick Stevenson, owner of Dad’s Sandwiches at 13th and S streets, said he is glad Old Ironsides has a new sound system and will continue to provide live music.

“It’s crucial in this town,” he said. “It’s not always my neighborhood watering hole, but all three of my bands have played there a lot.”

Stevenson has played in the bands Nevada Backwards, Sam Sobriety and BLVD Park.

“(Old Ironsides is) definitely our competition as far as restaurants go,” he added. “But I know everyone in there, and having them here is a benefit to everyone. The Old Ironsides guys talk about us, and we let people know about them.”

Stevenson added that he thinks having Gonzales book bands for the venue is a good move as well.

“Bartenders know what bands bring in the money,” he said. “It should be good. I’m glad they’re up and running.”

Rodriguez said the live music has helped the restaurant and bar succeed in the current economy.

“It’s very important,” he said. “I’ve been here for 28 years, and I’ve seen Old Ironsides grow from not having any entertainment ... As far as nightlife, (the music) has really helped.”

Gonzales said that no one should worry about Old Ironsides going anywhere.

“We’ve been around a long time,” he said. “Come in and hear the new sound system and support the local bands.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Friday to be known as 'Greg Bunker Day'

2011-08-11T00:07:48Z

A longtime friend of the homeless and down-and-out, the late Greg Bunker will be officially recognized for his service to the Sacramento area at a benefit concert Friday.

A city resolution honoring Bunker for his 21 years with Francis House will be delivered Friday night.

“Greg was a generous man who left a lasting impact on our community,” Mayor Kevin Johnson said Wednesday. “He was a tireless advocate for the homeless and (worked) hard to serve those less fortunate.”

Bunker died from a heart attack last December.

“His contributions to Sacramento will surely be missed,” Johnson said.

The resolution, which denotes Friday as “Greg Bunker Day,” comes as Francis House doubles its operating hours to 35 hours per week, staying open from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, and prepares to host a Tower of Power benefit concert on Friday.

“The need now is greater than ever before,” said Faith Whitmore, Francis House executive director. “We see more and more people every day.”

She added that expanding the hours beyond what was previously offered will give more service to those in need, and it was made possible in part by a good turnout to April’s Feast for the Streets.

“It means the world to us to have Mayor Johnson speak about us publicly,” said Sandy Acevedo, Francis House’s manager of direct services. “He knew Greg, and he wants (Bunker’s) work to continue.”

Acevedo said Bunker was always passionate about helping people.

“He returned from Vietnam – he was a vet – and he immediately went to helping people,” she said. “He managed a food bank for a while, and then he took over Francis House.”

When Francis House burned down about 20 years ago, Acevedo said, Bunker was instrumental in rebuilding it.

City Councilman Steve Cohn said he thinks there are few people in Sacramento who were more dedicated to trying to help the homeless and down-and-out people than Bunker and Francis House.

“I always found him to be a very gentle and peaceful person,” Cohn said Wednesday. “Even when you were talking about difficult subjects, he had an inner peace to him that really came through.”

Cohn said that though the resolution only sets aside this year’s Aug. 12 as Greg Bunker Day, Sacramentans should not count it out for future years as well.

“He helped I don’t know how many hundreds and thousands of people through tough times,” Cohn said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if there isn’t some effort to continue to use his memory to continue his work.”

Whitmore said the nonprofit organization is inextricably linked to Bunker, and his work will go on.

“He had a lot of joy about him,” she said. “He instilled passion, compassion and joy in other people. His was a life of unending service.”

The expansion in hours at Francis House means those in need can receive new services, including life coaching, tutoring for the GED test and a childcare center people can use as they receive career counseling on-site.

Late-afternoon classes will also be provided, centering on topics involving parenting, literacy and anger management, among others.

The center will continue to provide the services it has historically, including help with obtaining California identification and settling families into apartments.

The new hours and services will go into effect Sept. 1.

According to the resolution, which can be viewed by clicking here, Francis House helped 30,000 people last year with resources and counseling, placed 1,900 people in hotel rooms and helped clients find 140 jobs.

Friday’s Tower of Power concert at the Radisson Hotel will donate all of its proceeds to the nonprofit organization, Acevedo said.

Michael Fahn of Fahn & Co., Inc., was a friend of Bunker’s, and this will be the first time Francis House has had such a large benefit concert, she added.

Tickets will be $34 and are available at Francis House, 1422 C St., until 3 p.m. Friday and at Dimple Records stores. They can also be purchased through Ticketmaster or at the door.

The concert will be at 7:30 p.m. and will include a raffle for items such as art and 14-karat gold jewelry.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

The Golden Bear expands its territory

2011-08-10T00:59:19Z

The space that formerly housed Hangar 17 in Midtown has been taken over by owners of The Golden Bear, who plan to bring a “grown-up” version of their neighborhood bar and restaurant to the area.

“We’ve been looking for a second location for quite a while,” said The Golden Bear co-owner Kimio Bazett. “It was preferably in Midtown and preferably a space that was built-out or established or had some unique architecture.”

Hangar 17 closed in March, and the space still had all of its restaurant equipment intact, which saved a huge expense, he said.

The approximately 4,000-square-foot building at 1630 S St. has about half of its space dedicated to the kitchen, an aspect Bazett said was important.

“A bar is what we know, but food will be an integral part of it,” he said. “One thing we were not really able to do (at The Golden Bear) is stretch our legs and show what we can do with the food.”

Bazett and his business partner, Jon Modrow, showed off their love of food with The Golden Bear’s inclusion on the Food Network show “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” last fall.

Some crossover with the food at The Golden Bear can be expected, but no menus have been set for the new space, which does not yet have a name.

“It will be a fairly different business, but it’s nice to pay homage,” he said, referring to The Golden Bear, which opened about seven years ago.

The targeted opening date is sometime in February, and Bazett said there is still a lot of work that needs to be done.

“Aesthetically, we want to lighten up the space and really make it unique,” he said. “Nothing against Hangar 17, but it’s really important for us to differentiate ourselves for our own tastes.”

Designing the interior will be Whitney Johnson and Tina Ross, who are in the process of forming a design firm.

Johnson designed the interior of Shady Lady Saloon and said her experience lies mostly in restaurants.

“I think one of the biggest challenges is going to be differentiating (the building) from the street,” she said. “That space is pretty much tagged as Hangar 17. We need to change that.”

Though details and designs are still being worked out, large windows will front the street, opening up the space and bringing in more natural light. The patio area will become an indoor-outdoor space and will feature plants and a gardening aspect, Johnson said.

“We need a changed exterior look so people really notice it when they drive by,” she said.

In keeping with the theme of making the restaurant and bar a more mature “big brother” to The Golden Bear, Johnson said natural materials and history will be incorporated into the design.

While using wood accents is becoming more popular, she said the trend has been with refining the wood, and she wants to do something different, possibly using railroad ties and other rougher materials, but including more refined fabrics to “find the balance between femininity and masculinity.”

“Since Sacramento has so much railroad history, we want to use the railroad ties to show that off,” she said. “We don’t want to be Portland or San Francisco. We want to be Sacramento, and we want people drawn here for that.”

Bazett said the economy, though nagging, does not give him too many worries.

“Nothing’s foolproof, but we’ve put a lot of effort (at The Golden Bear), and we’ve never wanted to jump at the quick buck or claw over others,” he said. “We’ve been looking at this for several years, and maybe that’s why it’s taken so long. We’ve found what we want now.”

The timing is good, he said, as The Golden Bear gets a revamped kitchen, including a new hood and some other upgrades.

“This place can pretty much run itself, so we’ll have time to focus on the new place,” he said, adding that he won’t let The Golden Bear fall by the wayside.

Hours have not yet been set, Bazett said.

“That depends on whatever accord we can reach with the neighbors,” he said. “We are entirely different owners than the owners of Hangar 17.”

He added that he views The Golden Bear – and the new place – as a complement to the community.

“If we’re able to offer public space to meet people, socialize and offer high-quality food and drink and have minimal impact to the neighborhood, then that’s what we want,” he said. “It’s gotta be a win-win.”

Daniel Mueller, senior associate with Foursquare Commercial Inc. and broker on the Hangar 17 space deal, said he expects Bazett and Modrow will succeed.

“They’re young guys who have a good vision, and it’s not stagnant,” Mueller said. “I’m a restaurant broker, and I run into owners who have no vision for the future. That’s not what we need in this economy.”

He said he thinks The Golden Bear’s owners will provide a unique experience to the area.

“I think that when people walk in there, they’re going to be very impressed,” he said.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

New microbrewery coming to Broadway

2011-08-06T00:35:00Z

Sacramento’s brewing history will be spotlighted in a new microbrewery set to open in a historic building on Broadway early next year.

Dave Gull, 37, said he saw the building at 1730 Broadway and thought it would be the perfect place for his New Helvetia Brewing Company idea with its proximity to Land Park in an area that’s a diverse mix of ethnic restaurants.

Though his professional experience is as a real estate broker and developer, the Sacramento native said his exposure to craft brews when he went to college at the University of Oregon planted the seed to open his own brewery.

“I think that a craft beer brewery is a great use for the space,” Gull said Friday. “It’s a need that is lacking on Broadway.”

The approximately 5,000-square-foot building was constructed in 1925 and was most recently a tile manufacturing plant. Before that, it was the Casa Grande Tortilla Factory, and it has been vacant for about two years. Multiple rooms stem off a courtyard, and each will be used for a different aspect of the business.

Opening a new business in the current economy can be risky, and Gull said last week’s closure of Brew it Up! was a shock.

“It obviously made me think, with them folding and seemingly always busy,” he said. “My approach will be to keep overhead low.”

Much of the building will remain intact, with upgrades being made for comfort and some energy efficiency, such as installing air conditioning and insulation.

The bare brick walls will be cleaned up and decorated with archival photographs showcasing Sacramento’s brewing history. The New Helvetia name itself is a nod to Sacramento’s history going back to the days of John Sutter.

Beers will be brewed in very small batches and aged in wooden barrels. Gull said he will have an IPA, since it’s become the standby for West Coast brewing, but he said he also wants to focus on brewing lagers, which take more time to age, but which provide a nice, refreshing taste.

He said he plans to carry about six to eight different types of beers shortly after opening, and he also plans to rotate seasonal brews.

While his own brewing experience is limited to some home brewing – and to brewing his own beer at Brew it Up! – he is working with a professional brewer, who will be a part of the brewery and tasting room when it opens.

“I hope to be operating by the first of the year, and I want to open to the public by Beer Week, which is the last week in February,” Gull said.

Initially, beers will only be served on draught from taps in the building. Kegs will be sold to local bars and restaurants, but not to the public. Bottling will come later, as the business expands, Gull said.

A 2,000-square-foot space in the front of the business next to large windows that face Broadway will have tables for tastings, and in about two years, Gull said he plans to add a restaurant that will serve California fare and some traditional brewpub items.

“It all comes down to when we can get the kitchen built out,” he said. “I don’t want to do it right away and carry that much overhead.”

The kitchen will be built in a room off the building’s courtyard, which will have secluded outdoor seating. Another room off the courtyard will hold the brewing equipment, which Gull said patrons will be able to take a look at and learn about the process.

Though some associate Midtown and downtown more with beer and eating than Broadway, Gull said about 3,000 people work on Broadway at buildings such as the DMV office, and he expects the residents of nearby Land Park to come in.

“I had an open house a few days ago to show the space, and about 80 neighbors showed up,” he said. “The response was really positive.”

Next door to New Helvetia Brewing Company is Kathmandu Kitchen, an Indian and Nepalese restaurant, and Manager Bhupinder Saini said she thinks the brewpub will make a good addition to the street.

“It will definitely bring more people to the area,” she said. “A lot of times, when people go to one place, they come back later and go to the place next door, so I think it will be good for our business, too.”

She added that she thinks New Helvetia Brewing Company will draw new people to Broadway and show that the area is a vibrant district.

Teresa Rocha, executive director of the greater broadway partnership, agreed.

“It’s always exciting when we see historic buildings reused in an attractive way,” she said. “It’s not a chain. It’s an independent business. We like to see both national businesses as well as local independents.”

She added that having the brewery will add even more variety to Broadway’s already-eclectic mix of ethnic restaurants.

“We have over 30 restaurants on Broadway between Third and 28th (streets), and we enjoy continually expanding the breadth of what we’re offering,” she said.

For now, the building is mostly empty, with a few beer kegs and some brewing equipment the only things other than bare walls and exposed beams serving as the flooring for the second floor, which will not be used, initially.

Beer labels and the building’s aesthetics have yet to be determined, since the business is still in its infancy. Gull said he looks forward to the time when he can sit down and play with label options and the building itself.

“If my mother came in here, she’d be appalled,” Gull said. “But I look at it, and I see how I can be creative. That’s the developer in me.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Arena opinion poll released, showing support

2011-08-05T06:00:08Z

A public opinion poll delivered to the City Council Thursday shows support for both the downtown arena and several public funding options.

That poll came in with 33 days remaining in the Think Big Sacramento committee’s 100-day timeline to come up with a “menu of options” for financing an entertainment and sports complex, said Kunal Merchant, chief of staff to Mayor Kevin Johnson.

Paul Maslin, of the public opinion research and strategy organization Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates, said his company did more than 700 phone interviews with residents of Sacramento, Sacramento County, El Dorado County, Placer County and Yuba County. The polls were completed two weeks ago.

The findings, he said, showed that about two thirds of those interviewed support the downtown Sacramento arena proposal, with most citing job creation and economic development as reasons.

The margin of error for the poll was about 3.5 percent.

“Almost 90 percent of voters had some knowledge of the proposal before the survey,” he said, adding that that number is very high for a local issue.

The poll also found that 75 percent of respondents said they preferred having a public/private partnership to fund the arena rather than not having a downtown arena at all.

“Economic concerns are front-and-center,” he said during his report to the council, adding that political party affiliation had no bearing on the issue, with Republicans, Democrats and those who decline to state their affiliation all supporting the proposal by a two-thirds majority.

Numerous funding options showed approval from levels of more than 70 percent to just over 50 percent.

“We rarely find any funding source for any major project that gets a majority (positive) response,” Maslin said.

Maslin added after his presentation to the council that the level of support is some of the highest he’s seen, noting that his firm has previously worked with a football stadium and a baseball stadium in Detroit, which required ballot measures to pass, and a regional effort for an airport in Denver in which several suburban areas agreed to give up land for a regional airport.

Funding sources that got widespread support included digital billboards, mounting a cell tower on top of the building and selling naming rights.

Other funding methods, though still showing support, were not as enthusiastically supported: Those included parking revenue from existing city parking garages that would otherwise be less-than-full during events, sales tax applied to goods sold within the arena and a $2 fee to all tickets to events in the arena.

A tax on hotels to fund the arena showed a 51 percent approval.

“We have about a dozen or more of these funding devices that have a majority of support,” Maslin said, noting that any specific taxes are “tougher to sell.”

The idea of charging a toll on drivers passing though the region received very little support.

“I think there is some momentum building,” he said. “There’s a lot of support for a lot of different ways to build it.”

Merchant told the City Council that a lot of progress has been made since July 2, noting the four-county bus tour and the approval of the arena by multiple local chambers of commerce.

“We have all (funding) options on the table at this point,” he said. “By the 100th day (just after Labor Day), we want to have a menu of options to present to the mayor and council.”

Merchant said that no funding decisions have been made at this point.

Councilman Kevin McCarty said he is concerned that the approval to use city land might have been overrode by people living outside Sacramento, but Maslin said there was no significant difference between the groups surveyed.

McCarty also said he was surprised to see approval of a hotel tax and ticket fees because, typically, voters prefer for others – such as the National Basketball Association or basketball players – to pay for arenas.

Cellphone and billboard ideas are innovative, McCarty added, but he said he sees logistical issues with both, since cell tower revenues – about $20,000 per tower per year – currently go into the city’s general fund or council discretionary funds, and there are already contracts on the books for digital billboards that might preclude their revenues going to the arena.

Another issue he brought up was with one of the other funding sources that has been talked about over the past few months – selling city land. He said he is not sure that putting any revenues from selling city property toward an arena is the best idea, when those funds could also go to the general fund, of which a large part is spent on public safety and parks.

Johnson said after the meeting in a press conference that McCarty asked some good questions that need to be considered, but he is happy to see the high level of support from the community.

“Overall, it just showed there is such strong support in the city and county and region if we approach it the right way,” he said. “We still have a long way to go, but I think that was a good first down for us.”

Two town hall meetings will be held next week for arena-related issues. The first will be held at 6 p.m. Monday night at the Amtrak station at Fourth and I streets and will include a site overview and address how the arena and intermodal transit facility will work together.

The second town hall meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Natomas Charter School, 4600 Blackrock Drive, and will focus on the future of Natomas when the downtown arena is finished.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Spotlight Cakes offers cakes, Caribbean food

2011-08-04T00:54:21Z

A native of Trinidad and Tobago is bringing gourmet cakes and the taste of the Caribbean to Sacramento with the newly opened Spotlight Cakes on Stockton Boulevard.

Donna George, 54, learned the art of Caribbean cooking and cake baking at an early age from her family, and at 16, they moved to New York City, where she later began a career in nursing.

“I’ve always dreamed of opening my own restaurant and bakery,” she said Wednesday, adding that it opened July 21.

Her move to California from New York was prompted by the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

“I witnessed the first plane fly into the first tower on my way to work,” she said. “I have seven kids, and one of them was in college near the towers. I had no idea what was going on, and it took me seven hours to get home to Brooklyn.”

After that, she said she couldn’t live in New York City anymore, and she packed the kids and her belongings and drove to Sacramento, where she had previously traveled visiting friends.

Working as a nurse for Sutter, she got to know the community around Stockton Boulevard and Oak Park, and when an injury a few months ago kept her from being able to work, she decided it was time to fulfill her lifelong dream.

The cakes she makes can be anything from a standard New York-style cheesecake with a spongecake base to elaborate cakes with fondant and designs painted on them.

Other cakes include red velvet, buttery chocolate, tiramisu, lemon and fancier ones such as a nine-layer cake – yellow cake with vanilla buttercream frosting – and the bakery’s White Chocolate Cherry Bliss: yellow or chocolate cake with white chocolate moose filling.

And for those looking to have their own royal wedding, George said she can make British wedding cake.

“It’s basically a moist fruitcake with rum,” she said.

“Those crazy cakes are kind of the craze right now, like you see on the Food Network,” George said. “Last week, we made a birthday cake shaped like a race car.”

Cakes range from $60 to several hundred, depending on how “crazy” the client wants to make it, she said, adding that she also does wedding cakes, and any combination of cake flavors and fillings can be cooked up by her staff.

Pies will be carried in the fall, but can be made to order right now.

Rounding out the dessert menu is a variety of cookies and cupcakes, which George said have been popular with customers.

Victor Paz is one of George’s customers, and for his 49th birthday on Tuesday, he said he had to order one of George’s cheesecakes for the occasion.

“It’s delicious,” he said. “They’ve got a lot of really good things here.”

A designer cake business needs a fitting name, and it came naturally to George.

“I love Broadway, so the idea of calling it Spotlight Cakes just seemed right,” she said.

While the cakes take center stage at the establishment, George said she is also looking to bring more authentic Caribbean fare to Sacramento by selling Caribbean food for lunch, and it’s already developing a following.

“We had one woman come in (for lunch) Thursday, and she came back Friday, and then she came again on Saturday,” George said, adding that the Caribbean food won her over.

The food includes jerk chicken and jerk pork, curry chicken, and flatbread wraps called roti.

“Caribbean food is really spicy, but we put the spicy on the side,” George said, adding that the spiciness is in the sauces, and serving it on the side is a good way to keep it from overpowering those who aren’t familiar with the dishes.

The sauces include flavors like mango, chutney, oregano, thyme and rosemary, George said.

“There’s lots of curry, too, since we have an East Indian influence in the Caribbean,” she added. “We want to include more than just Trinidad and Tobago, so we have Cuban sandwiches and other dishes, too.”

Spotlight Cakes Executive Chef Todd Kingsbury, 26, is a graduate of the Le Cordon Bleu cooking school and lived in Barbados for a couple of years.

“Caribbean food gives you artistic freedom,” he said. “I’m a real creative kind of guy, and it’s always something different, depending on what you put into it and how you work with it.”

He said Caribbean food is very palatable, and most people who have tried it really enjoy it.

“We’re keeping it mostly authentic and putting a little bit of an Americanized twist on it,” he said.

The price of the roti wraps is about $7, and plates of jerk chicken with rice, beans and plantains can be had for $7.50. A smaller plate of the latter goes for $5, George said.

Caribbean food is not really expensive, and it’s healthy,” she said. “We don’t do a lot of fried stuff.”

Lauren Wakefield, George’s 21-year-old daughter, said she was surprised there weren’t many Caribbean places in Sacramento.

“We had them on every corner in Brooklyn,” Wakefield said. “I think it’s mostly because people here haven’t had it before. I don’t know how to explain the taste, but everyone who tastes it likes it.”

George’s mother, 83-year-old Mavis George, said she is proud of her daughter and excited for the business.

“I did some baking,” Mavis George said at the restaurant on Wednesday. “She learned a little from me and then did her own thing.”

Mavis George added that the Caribbean food in the restaurant reminds her of the food from her home in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

Spotlight Cakes is open from 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. for the after-church crowd on Sundays. It is located at 3751 Stockton Blvd.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Co-op candidate forum focuses on boycott

2011-08-03T07:23:21Z

Though the financial stability and the future expansion of the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op factored into a board of directors candidates’ forum Tuesday night, it was dominated by another issue that has recently divided the co-op members.

The recent efforts to ban Israeli products from co-op shelves has led to discussion over whether a grocery store is the appropriate venue for a political boycott and the power the board of directors has over proposed boycotts. It has even spawned a lawsui t.

Five candidates are running for two open spots on the co-op board, and those elected will serve three-year terms.

Incumbent board members Alicia Dienst and Ann Richardson are up against Phyllis Ehlert, Cody Potter and Susan Bush. To read background on the candidates, click here.

Moderator Marcia Tennyson asked the candidates prepared questions that ranged from what they think are the values of the co-op to specific ones about the recent efforts to boycott Israel.

Candidates were asked what the most important responsibility of a co-op board member is, and they differed in their responses, with Ehlert saying the biggest responsibility is fiduciary.

She added that board members “should be above reproach and create trust among members.”

Richardson agreed that financial responsibility is priority No. 1.

“We clearly are a very successfully run business,” she said.

The co-op sells about $25 million worth of products annually, according to General Manager Paul Cultrera.

Bush focused on the need to represent the membership in its entirety.

“Except for one small part of the bylaws, this is not a direct democracy,” she said. “I am prepared to defend that part of the bylaws that says members have the right to petition and have that petition put on the ballot.”

Potter said he agreed with Bush, adding that it’s necessary to involve the members in the decision-making process.

“You’re representing them, and you have to put out surveys and ask them (questions), otherwise you’re only representing a fraction of the membership,” he said.

Dienst said she thinks the board is charged with developing a vision for the co-op to follow 10, 20 and 30 years down the road.

“In developing that vision, obviously board members have a substantial responsibility to connect to the membership,” she said.

The future of the co-op was hinted at, with mention of the lease on the current store expiring in two years. All candidates agreed that if the membership decides to relocate, it’s an issue that will need a lot of thought put into it.

The focus turned to the Israeli boycott issue on one of the questions about halfway through, and that topic dominated the rest of the debate.

Potter, bringing up the apartheid regime in South Africa, said boycotts are proven to have an effect, and he thinks the co-op should boycott Israeli goods to bring about change in what he thinks is an inhumane occupation in Palestine.

“I don’t think there’s anywhere in the bylaws that says we can’t boycott products (for political reasons),” he said.

Dienst and Richardson avoided commenting on the boycott directly, saying that their attorneys have advised them not to speak about it since the co-op is currently involved in a lawsuit on the issue.

Ehlert said she is opposed to the boycott.

“Our world is too complex for simple decisions,” she said, adding that any boycott should be done at the grassroots level, where members make their own purchasing decisions.

“Years ago, there was a grape boycott,” she said. “If you didn’t support them, you didn’t buy them.”

Bush disagreed, saying her view on the bylaws is that allowing members to petition the board to have a measure put on the annual ballot to the full membership is the only way members themselves have a direct representation in the store.

Throughout the debate, the approximately 45 people in the audience applauded, and some held up signs saying “No BDS,” referencing the group wishing to boycott, divest and sanction Israel. They were later told to only react when they agreed with something, with a silent thumbs-up, because the applause and noise was disruptive and took too much time away from the debate.

Ehlert said she thinks it is the role of the board of directors to filter some of the issues, since no set of bylaws can be written to anticipate every controversy that might come up.

Bush said the board should have a role in reviewing initiatives but anything over reviewing them is “usurping rights of the membership as they are enshrined in the bylaws.”

Questions from the audience also focused on the issues surrounding the boycott initiative, and Potter said he would support boycotting goods from other countries, such as China and Syria, that have human rights violation records.

He added that proposed boycotts of products from nations guilty of human rights violations “deserve serious discussion.”

Dienst said bringing the politics of foreign nations is “inside-out” from what the co-op is about.

“The co-op’s mission has been to provide natural food and sustainably produced food,” she said, adding that 80-90 percent of the products are locally produced.

Bush said the reason the focus has been on Israel is because the U.S. government supports the occupation of Palestine. She said that stance silences the voice of opposition in the United States.

Dienst disagreed, saying that their voices were being heard at the forum.

Richardson added to Dienst’s comments: “If we hadn’t been sued, you’d be hearing more about this issue tonight from us.”

Dienst urged co-op members to vote.

“Your involvement is critical,” she said. “It absolutely is.”

A video of the forum was recorded, and it will be available on YouTube through the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op website later this week, according to Board Member Michelle Reynolds.

Ballots must be postmarked by Sept. 3, and votes will be counted by Sept. 10, with new board members taking office Oct. 4.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Downtown brewpub closes for final time

2011-08-02T00:33:44Z

Brew it Up! closed for the final time Sunday, and owner Mike Costello said it underscores a concept that is too often overlooked: If you like a business, patronize it.

Sales at the brewpub took a substantial hit in late 2008, Costello said, and the restaurant – that also offered individual brewing – never recovered.

“If we stayed flat at our 2008 sales, we’d be surviving,” he said. “If you find a business you like, you’ve got to support it.”

The business announced Friday on its website that it would be closing, attributing the shutdown to the economy.

“I’m not blaming anybody,” Costello said Saturday afternoon at one of the tables near the bar as customers came in to grab their last brews and meal at the restaurant. It operated in Davis for seven years before moving to 14th and H streets in Sacramento eight years ago.

“We made good decisions, and we made some bad decisions,” he said. “Couple that with some very substantial hits in sales that came right around the time of state worker furloughs. It was impossible to catch up.”

Costello said he saw the need to close coming, and added, “The decision to close was made for me earlier this week,” declining to go into detail.

For the 55-60 employees who worked for the company, the news came as a surprise.

“It’s not something I expected,” said Head Brewer Raul Munoz, 34. “Most employees don’t pay attention to the behind-the-scenes stuff. We just look out here (in the restaurant), and we’re busy.”

Munoz said the workers will now probably just go their separate ways.

“It’s a state of surrealness,” he said. “I’ve got a cloudy head. It was a really great job, and I was well-compensated. I don’t know if I’ll find anything better.”

Munoz, who worked at Brew it Up! for six years, said the customer reaction was mixed, with longtime customers coming in for the last time seeming depressed, while others – who bought a recent Groupon for brewing their own beer – were upset to find out the the business would not honor the coupon.

“We’re catching a lot of flak,” Costello said. “They’re upset, and rightly so.”

He added that the only reason he kept the restaurant open through the weekend was in an effort to make payroll.

“That was my pledge to the crew,” he said. “Every single employee showed up. Not a single one bailed out.”

He added that several of his serving staff – which receives tips – approached him and asked that the kitchen staff – which does not receive tips – be given first priority when it came to paying wages.

Kristen Weingart, a 23-year-old bartender, said the final three days the business was open allowed her to say goodbye to her coworkers as well as the regular customers she has gotten to know over the past three and a half years.

“So much of this job is a part of me,” she said. “Mike was a great boss. He was really kind, and he may have lost his business, but he gained a family. I’m going to miss that.”

Weingart said she knew the business wasn’t doing very well, but she was still surprised when the announcement came Friday morning.

Customers leaving Brew it Up! Saturday said they were sad to see the business go.

“I used to come down here a lot,” said Sheri Adam, 48. “I started working farther away and didn’t make it in as much. I’m really going to miss their sandwiches and beer, and the people are really nice.”

Ron Liles, a 65-year-old Woodland resident, said he came down one last time to meet his son for lunch.

“This is just this silly economy we’re in,” he said. “Storefronts everywhere are closed up.”

He said he will miss the atmosphere and the people the most, and he enjoyed brewing his own beer with his son in the past.

Costello said he doesn’t have any immediate plans to open another business at the moment, but it’s not something he is ruling out.

If he does go into business again, he said he will work in a partnership with others.

“There are a lot of things about the concept that work,” he said. “There are some things I would change, and I’m just sad to see it didn’t work out.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Entrepreneurs drop 'fight bar,' look to expand restaurant

2011-07-30T00:11:40Z

The owners of a contested bar with a mixed martial arts fighting concept withdrew their application earlier this month, but neighboring residents are still concerned that new plans for the Midtown space will be the same operation by another name.

The MMA Fight Bar concept was planned by the owners of Luck’s BBQ, which at 2502 J St. is next door to the vacant space the fight bar would have taken.

The application for an alcohol license for Fight Bar was withdrawn by owners in mid-July, and the Alcoholic Beverage Control office confirmed Friday that no new application has been filed yet.

“They’ve decided to change their format there,” said Midtown Business Association Executive Director Rob Kerth. “They’ve decided to expand Luck’s BBQ.”

Kerth said trying to shoehorn another restaurant into the space is difficult, and the new idea should allow the space to be put into use much sooner.

As a restaurant, Kerth said he thinks it’s great to see new investment and improvement in the Midtown area.

“The more we have to offer, the more we expect people will enjoy coming here and living here,” he said.

Kerth added that the fight bar theme wasn’t likely to appeal to nearby residents.

“If something shows up with the name ‘Fight Bar,’ it’s not starting out setting a great impression with neighborhood leaders,” he said. “They’ve decided to rethink that concept.”

City Councilman Steve Cohn said the owners did some outreach efforts in the community that weren’t well-received.

“It seemed this concept was going to be pretty problematic right across from a senior housing complex, so they decided to hold back on that idea,” he said.

A manager at Luck’s BBQ confirmed Wednesday that the owners would be expanding Luck’s BBQ in lieu of building the fight bar, but he did not return phone calls later in the week.

Nearby residents said Friday that they are still waiting to see what the expansion will bring.

In the past, the same group of neighbors has been influential with other nearby establishements, including G.V. Hurley’s and BarWest Burgers & Wings.

Dale Kooyman, a local resident, said that he is waiting to see which type of liquor license – if any – the business applies for.

Restaurant alcohol licenses are easier to get, but bar/nightclub licenses are more expensive and must be justified, he said, adding that he doesn’t want to see the owners apply for a restaurant license only to stay open until 1:30 or 2 a.m. and operate as a bar.

“We’ll see if it’s a better outcome,” he said. “We’ll see if they’re just changing the name or changing the operation. If you’ve got 15 or 20 screens showing fights, then it’s still a fight bar, even if you call it a restaurant.”

Kooyman added that the name is immaterial.

“We don’t want a business operation that fosters MMA/martial arts,” he said. “They’re in Chicago and various places, and the bouncers can’t control the fights.”

Karen Jacques, another area resident, said she is concerned that alcohol mixed with a fight-themed bar will cause spillover troubles in the nearby residential areas, where many patrons would likely park their vehicles.

“It seems like the more we become a regional destination that is known primarily for bars, the more there is spillover,” she said.

She added that bouncers and security at bars cannot control problems that might occur on nearby streets, and with reduced police and code enforcement staff, she is concerned.

“I’m still concerned about what may go in there,” she said.

Cohn acknowledged that there may still be concerns among local residents as the restaurant expansion goes forward, but he expects they can be worked through.

“I think certainly if all parties are willing to talk to each other, there’ll be ways to work out the restaurant expansion,” he said.

He added that he doesn’t know any timeline for the expansion permit to be filed, but he expects it to be sooner than later.

“I did get the impression it was not going to be a long time,” he said. “Probably in the next couple of weeks.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Co-op lawsuit won't be heard until after election

2011-07-29T01:48:45Z

A request for an expedited hearing by two shoppers suing the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op was denied Thursday, according to court documents, meaning that the case will not be heard before board elections this fall.

The lawsuit was brought against the co-op earlier this month and claims that the co-op is not following its bylaws as board members refuse to ban Israeli-made products from the store’s shelves.

According to the documents released Thursday, the plaintiffs, Maggie Coulter and Robin Kristufek, “will not suffer irreparable injury if the hearing is heard according to the Court’s normal procedures.”

It was unclear Thursday evening when the case will be heard.

Had the expedited hearing been granted, it would have occurred at 11 a.m. Friday at Sacramento County Superior Court.

“It won’t be heard until after the (co-op board) election,” Coulter said Thursday evening, calling the decision “a disappointment.”

Steven Maviglio, the co-op board’s president, said he is pleased with the court’s decision, but is not happy that Coulter plans to go forward with the lawsuit.

“It’s a real tragedy that she doesn’t understand what a damage this is to the store,” he said. “We will continue to educate our members about the dangers of the politicization of the co-op and the efforts of (the Boycott, Divest, Sanction [BDS] group).”

He added that the co-op will continue to fight the lawsuit.

To read more about the issues behind the lawsuit, click here.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Sub-Q Piercing and Tattoo to shut down Sunday

2011-07-28T00:53:38Z

One of Sacramento’s original piercing shops is closing down Sunday after almost two decades in business.

Sub-Q Piercing and Tattoo owner Scot Rogers said the economy and the shrinking customer base led to the business’ downfall.

“Since 2001, we’ve been in steady decline,” he said Wednesday at the shop at 1715 I St., the most recent storefront since opening in 1994 at 2022 N St.

At its peak a little more than 10 years ago, the business drew 600 customers per month and had 11 employees. Today, Rogers said he is lucky if he can get 100 customers through the door, and he is the only employee.

Unable to pay rent on the building, Rogers said the last day he will have access to the space is Sunday, when he and a group of friends will be moving the last of the merchandise and equipment from the store.

“If anyone else can come by and help, it will be greatly appreciated,” he said.

After that, Rogers said he will still do piercings and sell jewelry, but on an appointment-only basis. He will still be reachable at the same phone number, 446-9777.

But he won’t be working weekends.

“I haven’t had weekends off in 22 years,” said the 43-year-old Rogers.

The other longtime piercing shop in Sacramento, Exotic Body, opened 21 years ago, preceding Sub-Q by a small margin. Owner Michael Hare said he is disappointed to see Sub-Q go.

“It’s one of the only other studios in Sacramento that took good care of their clients and used proper jewelry,” Hare said, adding that the safe jewelry is internally threaded, as explained on the Exotic Body website.

“The economic downturn has definitely hurt the industry as a whole, but what’s hurt the industry more as a whole is a tremendous amount of new lowball studios,” he said. “They’re doing very cheap piercings with inferior products from overseas.”

Hare praised Rogers, saying he is very knowledgeable when it comes to jewelry and only offered the finest quality to his customers.

“It’s sad to see Scot close, but it’s a sign of the times,” Hare said. “People want cheap instead of quality.”

Rogers said a lot of his customers are students and young people who are looking to save money where they can, and that helped contribute to the business’ closure.

One customer, 23-year-old nursing student Christine Ogata, said she is sorry to see Sub-Q closing.

“I’m bummed about it,” she said. “I got my nose pierced here, and I like it here. It’s the first place I think of for piercings. It’s just a really good place.”

Brandon Wilcox, who is a legally blind Yo-yo maker, said he met Rogers in 2000, and Rogers helped him by providing a place within walking distance from his house where he could set up machinery and build Yo-yos.

“That’s his nature,” Wilcox said. “He’s a really nice guy. One of his sayings is ‘It’s your body,’ and he never tries to sell you something you don’t want. And he always gives you quality.”

Wilcox added that it’s unfortunate to see a local entrepreneur go out of business and become a victim of the economy.

“I don’t think Scot failed,” Wilcox said. “I don’t think it’s his fault. The recession is part of it, and if we don’t support our local businesses, this is what happens.”

Rogers said he isn’t sure what is next for him. He is working toward getting another storefront, but he’s not sure if that will happen or if he will do something else, which could range from carpentry to writing.

“I haven’t had a chance to grieve yet,” he said. “And maybe I won’t grieve. I’m seeing this as an opportunity.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Arena effort gets regional business support

2011-07-22T01:10:32Z

In what Mayor Kevin Johnson called an unprecedented event, 14 chambers of commerce from the Sacramento region announced Thursday that they support an entertainment and sports complex in downtown Sacramento.

Johnson said the backing of the regional business community, which came after a four-county bus trip for Think Big Sacramento, is a commitment to the promise he made to the National Basketball Association earlier this year in New York City that Sacramento is an NBA city and can build a new arena.

“I did not sell Sacramento, I sold our region,” he said, adding that a common commitment to a downtown sports and entertainment complex will provide a more vibrant community.

The major obstacle facing the Think Big Sacramento coalition is developing a financing plan for the $386 million arena, something that was expected from the ICON-Taylor arena development team but was not a part of the report released after a nearly four-month feasibility study.

Johnson said he is confident that a workable public/private partnership will be in place before the end of this year, in time to meet the March 1, 2012 deadline to make serious efforts to build a new arena.

“We don’t want to be in the same situation year after year, and we know that March deadline is coming up. It’ll be here before we know it,” Johnson said, adding that he is confident the self-imposed deadline of having financing options in place by mid-September will be met.

“Then, in subsequent months, the rest of September, October and November, we believe we will have a critical path of a public/private partnership ... all before the end of the year. That’s our goal,” he said.

He alluded to creative funding models and “outside-the-box” thinking on the financing, but he did not give any specifics on funding options, except to address the question of a sales tax.

“No one here wants to do a sales tax,” he said. “We didn’t take it off the table, but we knew that would not fly. We learned that in 2006.”

Martha Lofgren, interim CEO of the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce, said the Metro Chamber has supported the idea of a downtown arena since at least 2004, and she said regional funding is the only method that makes sense.

“One agency, one local agency can’t do this alone,” she said. “There has to be a regional effort to fund a regional sports and entertainment center.”

She added that a downtown arena will benefit the whole region, not just Sacramento.

“If there’s one thing I think we as a region need right now, it’s an economic catalyst,” she said. “We need to move forward, get the financial picture in place and get the momentum going.”

The independent report released late last month claims that the region will benefit from $7 billion in economic activity over 30 years and create 4,000 jobs.

Some in the community have been skeptical of those numbers and the actual economic effect from an arena, but Lofgren said she believes the numbers are accurate.

“You need to know this is a very thoughtful process that has led up to the announcement today of the support from all of the regional chambers,” she said, adding that the business community has had since the beginning of June to check out and verify the numbers.

Willie Pelote, assistant director for the Political Action Department of the California chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME International), said that as a representative of labor, he also believes the numbers are accurate.

“I think the mayor and his team have been very thorough in making sure that they do the research that’s necessary so when they say something to the public, the public can go and check it out,” he said. “That’s why I think the region’s going to buy into this concept ... we’re looking at job creation.”

He added that he is “very comfortable” with what the finance committee – headed by former Sacramento Treasurer Tom Friery – is doing to make sure it is not being built on the backs of taxpayers.

Other chambers of commerce supporting the downtown arena are the Rancho Cordova Chamber of Commerce, the Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Sacramento Black Chamber of Commerce, the Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce, Citrus Heights Regional Chamber of Commerce, Folsom Chamber of Commerce, Lincoln Area Chamber of Commerce, Rainbow Chamber of Commerce, Rocklin Area Chamber of Commerce, Roseville Chamber of Commerce, Slavic-American Chamber of Commerce and the Yuba-Sutter Chamber of Commerce.

Pelote said he expects a similar showing of support from labor organizations in the coming weeks.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Downtown 24 Hour Fitness partially reopens

2011-07-20T06:41:45Z

The downtown 24 Hour Fitness location reopened Friday after a remodel that added approximately 31,000 square feet of floor space, a basketball court and new exercise machines.

“(We have) brand-new cardio (machines), strength training machines and free weights,” said downtown Club Manager Ben Ragsac.

He added that full-size basketball court and expanded kids’ club have been added, and a raquetball court is coming, which will be open by October.

The gym was closed from 8 p.m., June 17 until Friday at 6 a.m., when the second floor reopened. The full gym, including a lap pool, steam room, sauna, cycle room and other amenities will reopen around October, and more than 200 strength training and cardio machines will be available.

Ragasac said he is most excited about the increased square footage in the facility, located at 1020 Seventh St.

Samantha King, 25, works as a trainer at the club and said the equipment additions give a lot more space and opportunity to work out.

“We added a lot. (With) some of my favorite cardio equipment, we only had five (machines), and now we have 20,” she said, referring to a specific type of elliptical cardio machine.

Another addition was incline training machines, which she said are like treadmills, but mimick walking or running uphill.

“The Hoist (Fitness Systems) equipment is a big addition too,” she said. “On their Roc-It series, you’re moving your body weight and the weight you put on the machine. It’s really nice stuff.”

She added that the workout from that type of equipment is a better workout than more conventional equipment.

Response from members and staff has been positive, Ragasac said.

“Word was spread about the opening,” he said. “Existing members love it. The staff really loves it. It’s been overall pretty amazing.”

Frank Mecca, 46, said he is impressed with the expansion.

“It’s really nice,” he said. “The cardio and weight machines roughly doubled, and the facility itself is brighter and cleaner overall.”

Ruben Lopez, 24, said he is happy there is a basketball court on-site now, since it is more convenient to play at the gym than at a park in West Sacramento where he previously played.

“It’s brand-new, and it’s one of my best workouts,” he said. “There’s more space (at the gym), and now you can come anytime. Before, I used to have to wait until like 7 (p.m.) if I wanted to be able to work out, but now there’s space for everyone.”

The club expanded from an existing location and includes part of what used to be Hard Rock Café.

The intersection has seen a lot of activity lately, as the City Council approved plans by D & S Development, Inc., t o redevelop the 700 block of K Street into mixed-use housing and entertainment.

A new coffee bar and cafe scheduled to open next month on the corner of Seventh and K streets fronting Saint Rose of Lima Park will benefit from the opening of the club, according to its owners.

“With the (24 Hour Fitness) club open, we’re going to see a lot of people in the area,” Plaza Cafe Lounge co-owner Zack Alemi told The Sacramento Press last week.

The fitness club’s expansion was a benefit to the Westfield Downtown Plaza space, which has been plagued by lackluster tenancy and repeated talks of selling over the past few years.

“We at Westfield Downtown Plaza along with local health and fitness buffs look forward to the opening of the brand new expanded 24 Hour Fitness featuring state-of-the art facilities and amenities,” Downtown Plaza Marketing Director Raelene Trumm said in a prepared statement.

24 Hour Fitness officials declined to comment on the cost of the expansion, but Ragasac said he is happy to see it.

“I was born and raised in Sacramento,” he said. “I take a lot of pride in the city of Sacramento. I’m glad I’m part of an organization that during these times is able to invest in downtown Sacramento.”

The club is open 24 Hours per day, seven days per week. A free visitor pass can be downloaded from the company website.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Bike share program stumbles and evolves

2011-07-19T00:18:35Z

Sacramento’s Ride Your Own Way bike share program suffered a setback when three bicycles were stolen earlier this month, but organizers said they are going forward with an updated system, and new bicycles will soon be ordered.

“Someone stole a credit card and used that to check out the bikes,” said Midtown Business Association Executive Director Rob Kerth. “We’ve made some changes to how people have to validate the credit card, so we’ll be able to tell if it’s the right person.”

The program, which launched June 11, allows bicycles to be rented from one of two kiosks in Midtown – one at the Priority Parking lot at 16th and I streets and one at the Priority Parking lot at 27th and J streets. Renting a bicycle is free for the first 30 minutes, and a $2 per half hour charge is applied after that, and bicycles must be returned to their original spots once the riders are done with them.

“It’s great for people who want to use bikes to go shopping or go to lunch or things like that,” said Adrian Moore, owner of Ikon Cycles and purchaser of the original 12 Bianchi Milano eight-speed bicycles.

Click here to read a previous in-depth story on the bicycle sharing program.

The program was set up as a six-month pilot to determine the feasibility of doing it on a larger scale, similar to programs in Montreal, Paris and Washington, D.C.

“My first impression of it is that it seems to be working pretty well,” Kerth said. “It’s maybe (getting) a little less (use) than what I’d thought, but we’ve yet to hit our stride.”

Kerth said there have been 43 bicycle rentals, and several of those have been from return users. Saturdays are the most popular days for the rentals, but he said people use them every day.

The average checkout time is about two hours, and Kerth said feedback has been positive, with people saying the system is easy to use and affordable.

“We’re looking forward to when we start having more kiosks, assuming it goes well and people like it,” Kerth said.

Moore said he is happy with the amount of usage and said there would have been more rentals had the service not been shut down for a couple of weeks following the theft. The shutdown was so better theft countermeasures could be put in place.

One of the countermeasures is to only allow two bicycles to be checked out on one credit card at a time.

Currently, the bicycles at the J Street location are back and available for checkout, while the I Street station’s bicycles are still in storage until the three stolen ones can be replaced.

“We’re just waiting on the check from the insurance company,” Moore said.

Moore added that he thinks the theft was not a trend, but more of an isolated incident.

“We went three weeks without a single theft, and we had no vandalizing of the bikes or parts stolen off them,” he said. “It’s just one (person) that sort of ruined it.”

If theft continues to be a problem as it has been with personal bicycles in Midtown, Moore said there are other options to counter the threat.

One option is to set up a subscription-based service, which would cause lag time from when people initially sign up to when they can check out a bicycle for the first time.

Another option, he said, is to partner with the city and install kiosks in parking garages where a guard is on-site 24 hours per day.

“They already have someone paid to be there, and they will probably be willing to give up one parking spot for the bikes,” Moore said. “That’s a route that would be easy to do and would prevent vandalism and theft.”

And that’s why Ride Your Own Way is still in its pilot phase, Moore said.

“That’s the whole point in doing this,” he said. “We might lose a little bit, but we learn tons.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

New coffee bar coming to Seventh and K

2011-07-15T00:47:51Z

An empty former Starbucks at Seventh and K streets will soon be serving coffee and food as Plaza Cafe Lounge opens next month with an emphasis on bringing a San Francisco-style coffee bar to downtown Sacramento.

“We want to make it a lounge place where you can sit on a comfortable couch or out on the patio and meet with friends,” said co-owner Zack Alemi.

The 1,800 square-foot space will be outfitted with $10,000 worth of leather lounge chairs and couches as well as free wi-fi. A 1,500-square-foot patio fronting St. Rose of Lima Park will add seating, and Alemi said the coffee lounge will connect to the Antigua night club next door.

Six big-screen plasma TVs will be in the space as well, tuned to various news channels or whatever customers want to watch, Alemi said.

A mixture of hot sandwiches, ciabatta paninis and pizza by the slice will be available, as well as bagels, other breakfast foods and desserts.

“We’re going to have pies, probably six types of cheesecake, and smoothies and shakes,” Alemi said. “I don’t know of many places where you can just go and get a piece of pie and some ice cream, and we want to offer that.”

The shop will stay open until 11 p.m. on weeknights and 2 a.m. on weekends, and Alemi said hookah pipes will be available as well.

“We’re really bringing a new-age cafe like you see in San Francisco, L.A. and San Diego,” he said. “I think there’s a lot of potential here for a coffee cafe with the mall and the Capitol so close.”

The coffee will come from Vaneli’s Handcrafted Coffee of Rocklin.

“(The owner) goes all over the world and goes straight to the farmers for the coffee,” Alemi said. “He’s got the best Italian roast – it’s smooth and you don’t even need to add sugar or cream.”

Much of the plumbing and other infrastructure was already in place from Starbucks, and Alemi said that enabled him to save money on the building, though he estimated the cost redo the space and add equipment – such as a $5,000 machine to squeeze fresh orange juice – to be about $175,000.

The 24-year-old Alemi and his 22-year old co-owner Omar Tarin said they are excited about recent developments to that section of the K Street Mall.

The City Council’s June 21 approval of the redevelopment plan for the 700 Block of K Street along with the move to bring cars back to K Street will both benefit their business, they said.

“When we get those apartment buildings right across the street, it’s going to be really good for us,” Alemi said. “And the cars will be good, too. Light rail comes by every 30 minutes, but cars come by all the time, so they’ll see us.”

If the possibility of Temple Coffee’s move from the Levinson’s Book Store space pans out, Alemi said his coffee cafe will be the only coffee bar in the area.

Tarin said he sees the potential for the corner of K Street and Seventh Street as a beautiful area, adding that he likes being next to St. Rose of Lima Park.

Alemi said he anticipates coffee and hot chocolate sales being good during the winter when the park has its ice-skating rink.

Next door to the coffee cafe, Antigua owner Felipe Olvera, 32, said he thinks the coffee cafe will be a good addition to the corner.

“They’re going to add to the potential of K Street,” he said. “We’re some of the first businesses to be here, and we hope to be here for a long time as the area really develops.”

He said opening up a walkway between his night club and the coffee cafe will be a way to give his customers a place to hang out and have a conversation when they want to take a break from dancing or drinking.

“We want to promote each other and be able to survive in this hard economy,” he said. “We need to all come together.”

Alemi said his biggest concern with opening the business is the fate of the nearby Westfield Downtown Plaza, which has been the subject of sale talks.

“I’d love to see someone come in and buy it and bring some high-end stores in,” Alemi said.

He added that he anticipates the completion of the 24 Hour Fitness remodel will bring a steady flow of traffic to Seventh Street.

Neither Alemi or Tarin have formal business degrees, but both own or have owned businesses in the past, and Alemi said he thinks it’s more important to know how to connect with the community and offer a product than have formal schooling.

“There are people with business degrees looking for jobs at Target,” he said. “You’ve got to know how to bring people what they want.”

Alemi owns Frontier Limo Service in Elk Grove, and Tarin owned the World Class Motors car dealership in Roseville, as well as two Paradise cafe locations in Rancho Cordova, which he sold.

Two employees have been hired, and Alemi said hours will be from 8 a.m. - 11 p.m. on weekdays, and the business will stay open late – until 2 a.m. – on Fridays and Saturdays.

“It’ll be a cool place for people to lounge and get coffee,” Barista Jasmine Mojadidi, 20, said.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.