As downtown’s Shady Lady Saloon undergoes a voluntary 10-day suspension of its alcohol license, owners are helping their 32 employees find work until the bar can reopen May 20. When the establishment opened two years ago, a liquor license was obtained under the names of the three owners, Jason Boggs, Garrett Van Vleck and Alex Origoni. When the business was renamed Shady Lady Inc., the owners didn’t clear it with the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, Boggs said. “Unbeknownst to us, you can’t do that,” he said Friday, three days after the bar’s closure for the license suspension. Lori Ajax, district administrator for ABC’s Sacramento and Yuba district offices, said the

Ace of Spades music club recently got its liquor license under limited hours following area residents' concerns about possible problems. On March 3, the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) transferred a liquor license to the club, which opened in early February at 1417 R St. The license was transferred from Empire Events, a nightclub operated there by the building's owner, Randy Paragary, and partners from 2004 until February 2010. Ace of Spades' owners, Eric Rushing and Brett Bair, had hoped to serve alcohol at the club until 2 a.m. every night. Under the conditions of the liquor license, the music club must stop serving alcohol at 11 p.m. Sundays through Thursday

Nightclub safety will be discussed at upcoming workshops offered by local business organizations. The Downtown Sacramento Partnership, Midtown Business Association and Old Sacramento Business Association are hosting two sessions this month.They are part of a series aimed at educating bar and restaurant owners and staff about their responsibilities, as well as state laws and city regulations. The free workshops are open to businesses, DJs and club promoters in Old Sacramento, downtown and Midtown. Rapper B-Smoove and other experts in Sacramento's hip hop scene recently agreed to lead a panel on managing hip hop nights so that they stay free from the violence that shut down clubs like Ele

You may have wanted to get a margarita at Brickside or Novo in Old Sacramento recently and found you couldn't. Here's what we found: Liquor licenses for both were suspended by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Novo's was suspended March 2 for not serving food, a condition of the license, said Lori Ajax, administrator of the Sacramento ABC office. Novo, 926 2nd St., had been rebranded from Tunel 21, which had been operated by Vlade Divac, his wife Ana and her sister, Jelica Orbovic. Orbovic took over operations when the Divacs left Sacramento. Novo's license suspension was lifted last week after Orbovic got the restaurant up and running, Ajax said. The establishmen

Midtown diners and residents who have been awaiting a new Asian-fusion restaurant will have to wait a bit longer. Red Lotus Kitchen & Bar — the newest addition to the 2700 block of J Street — isn't likely to open until January, said chef Buu "Billy" Ngo, who is partnering again with Peter Kwong after their Japanese restaurant Kru has become a success just a few blocks down the street. Kru opened in 2005. They plan to open their new restaurant at 2718 J St., where G.V. Hurley's closed its doors in September. Ngo and Kwong bought the business from Hurley's owners, who had conflicts with neighboring residents. The liquor license transfer is holding up the opening of Red Lotus, Ngo said Tues

Some people are still scratching their heads over Whiskey Wild Saloon. As recently as two weeks ago, regulars posting on yelp.com wrote to ask what had happened to the tavern, where for two years, people danced on the bar and drank $2 "train shots" whenever trains rolled by. "Did this place officially close?" wrote someone who stopped by, only to find the place dark and the front doors chained and bolted. The bar at 1910 Q St. closed over the summer for reasons that aren't clear. The owners surrendered the bar's liquor license to the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control on Sept. 9. The bar closed at least a month earlier, according to its MySpace page, where someone post

Three protests have been filed recently against a controversial establishment's attempt to transfer a liquor license to a new restaurant operator. The protests have been filed with the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control within the last two weeks as owners of the now-closed G.V. Hurley's try to transfer the liquor license for 2718 J St. to Red Lotus Enterprise, said ABC spokesman John Carr. At least one person filed a protest in an effort to get the conditions of Hurley's liquor license continued to the next establishment by ABC. "The current protest is based on the fact that the past owners of that site have ignored its commitment to ABC," said nearby resident Vito Sgro