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 addit

New bike lanes could be added to 65th Street if the city receives enough cash from the state. The City Council is expected to approve the application for funding to install bicycle lanes on 65th Street between Fourth Avenue and Folsom Boulevard. The issue will be reviewed at Tuesday night’s council meeting. The city’s transportation department estimates the new bike lanes will cost $337,000 to install. California would pay most of the project’s costs if it selects the city’s application for the state’s Bicycle Transportation Account grant program. The city would pay 10 percent of the cost from revenues from Measure A, a local half-cent sales tax applied to street projects, according to E

A medical marijuana dispensary is swapping a controversial East Sacramento location for a new spot in an industrial zone following opposition from neighbors. The Healing Center or "THC" stopped operating at 3257 Folsom Blvd. on Friday, Feb. 11. A consultant for the dispensary, which has also done business as CC 101, notified the city it will be moving to 6435 Florin Perkins Road. City staff got the news an hour before a meeting between the East Sacramento Improvement Association and Sacramento City Councilman Steve Cohn, city Zoning Administrator Joy Patterson and city Revenue Division Manager Brad Wasson. At the meeting, the association's board members let city representatives know they

A controversy is growing over a medical marijuana dispensary that wants to do business in East Sacramento. There's mixed reaction, but not everyone is happy a medical pot shop may be operating out of a storefront and attached house at 3257 Folsom Blvd. There's disagreement over whether the dispensary has opened shop yet. Questions arose after representatives of the dispensary and the landlord notified some neighbors the building's lease had been taken over by the dispensary and the storefront's windows were tinted black in late December, then retinted darker in January. The space has been vacant since a charitable thrift store, This 'n' That Thrift & Gift, left in early September. Half

Sacramento developers Ken Fahn and Mark Cordano are searching for tenants after buying the shuttered Philipp's Bakery Monday. Fahn and Cordano are looking for one to three businesses to lease space at the historic East Sacramento building, which operated as a bakery-cafe for about 80 years. "Mark and I are both native Sacramentans and are very much into design and preservation," Fahn said. "We love older buildings. It's a beautiful building. It's a terrific location." The 3,256-square-foot building was last listed at $699,000. Fahn didn't want to comment on the purchase price. The building closed escrow Monday after being on the market for at least three years. The sale proved difficul

After seven years on Folsom Boulevard in East Sacramento, The French Hen will be shutting its doors. In an e-mail message sent to patrons, Owner Nicole Turner said that her lease is up at the end of the year, and she is moving out her wares. She also wrote that all items – with the exception of consignment items – will be priced at 25- to 50-percent off. The store is located at 3200 Folsom Blvd. Turner’s statement in full: I wanted to let everyone know that I have decided to close The French Hen. It has been an amazing seven years. I have enjoyed being able to explore my creative side and I hope I have been an inspiration. I am going to miss seeing all of the friends I have made but I

Promising authentic and affordable Asian street food, Star Ginger will be coming to Sacramento in November. The restaurant is owned by Mai Pham, who also owns Lemon Grass restaurant and noodle bars in Sacramento and several other Star Ginger locations in university campuses including Stanford and Berkeley. “It’s the street foods of Asia,” Pham said. “They’re inexpensive and affordable comfort foods – bowls of noodles, rice, ramen noodle soup and yakisobo, a Japanese chow mein.” The restaurant, to be located in the former Togo’s sandwich shop at the corner of Alhambra and Folsom boulevards, will also include pad Thai, salad rolls, pho soup and south Indian curries. “The majority of the

Adjusting to new realities, This 'n' That Thrift & Gift is trading East Sacramento's Folsom Boulevard for a Curtis Park location next month. Owner Lynda Tyler has operated the charitable thrift store at 3257 Folsom Blvd. for 10 years: first on behalf of California Hospice Foundation, then as the owner partnering with the community-based nonprofit People Reaching Out. Tyler knows she's giving up a busy commercial section of Folsom Boulevard by choosing to move. Café Capricho opened next door in April, Krazy Mary's boutique moved in across the street in June and a cafe, wine bar and market called Good Eats held a soft opening down the street this week. Fear can hold many small business ow

Good Eats — a cafe, wine bar and market by Raley's heir Michael Teel and partners — held its soft opening Monday. The gourmet takeout kitchen was a bit overwhelmed, serving 180 customers on the first day. Management asked prospective customers to be patient while any kinks are worked out at the market cafe, 3145 Folsom Blvd., throughout the rest of the week, said a manager. The official opening will be held in September. Hours are expected to be 6 a.m. - 8 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 6 a.m. - 9 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 7 a.m. - 9 p.m. Saturdays and 7 a.m. - 8 p.m. Sundays, said Julie Rollofson, Good Eats chief executive officer and Teel's wife. The first Good Eats specialty grocer

Raley's heir Michael Teel and partners will open a new cafe, wine bar and market called Good Eats in East Sacramento Monday. Similar to Selland's Market-Café and Corti Brothers, which operate on other end of East Sacramento, the kitchen will offer hot and cold takeout foods, wine and coffee. The specialty grocery will include wine, butchered meats, seafood, cheeses, bakery items and flowers. On Thursday, Good Eats official Julie Rollofson led food and wine tastings to prepare for a soft opening set for 6 a.m. Monday. The opening follows a lengthy renovation of what used to be Andiamo restaurant and the Rosemont Grill at 3145 Folsom Blvd., near Alhambra Boulevard. The establishment promi

Krazy Mary's owner Mary Kawano said the store is thriving after its return to her home turf in East Sacramento. The boutique moved out of Midtown earlier this summer to a store at 3230 Folsom Blvd. — almost right back to the same place where the business opened 10 years ago. The contemporary designer store opened at 3200 Folsom Blvd. in 2000. The store was the first to carry premium denim and other fashions in the area, she said. The East Sacramento resident said she moved her first store out of her neighborhood and over to 2527 J St. in 2005 after competitors including Dara Denim and Barby K opened in Midtown. "That's where our market was," Kawano said. "I've always missed East Sac, 'c