The first phase of the R Street beautification process was dedicated Thursday with a reception and lighting of the new arch at 10th and R streets in front of the Fox and Goose Public House. “It’s a renaissance of renaissances,” said Jerry Way, director of the city’s Transportation Department. “It means 150-plus years ago, this place got started, and today we’re celebrating the brand-new R Street in a way that everyone can celebrate, with artwork and features,” he added. Completion of the more than $6 million project from 10th to 13th streets on Thursday was celebrated with a lighting of the streetlights and the iconic arch at 10th and R streets. Way added that the draw to the new R St

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 i

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 mi

R Street's Top This Frozen Yogurt closed in mid-August, and while there may be plans for the space in the future, it currently serves as storage for next-door Burgers & Brew. “I think just from the beginning that wasn’t the right place for the frozen yogurt business,” owner Philippe Masoud said of the business at 1409 R St. Four employees worked there part-time, and Masoud said the two who wanted to continue working were given jobs at Midtown’s Crepeville, which he also owns. Crepeville and his other business, Burgers & Brew, are both doing well, he said. “We opened the yogurt shop in May of 2009, and it just wasn’t the right area,” Masoud said.

Construction on R Street downtown is on schedule for completion this fall, and local residents and businesses are largely supportive of the revamped streetscape that adds sidewalks, lighting and other amenities. “It’s progressing wonderfully,” said Dino R. Grassini, a manager at the Fox and Goose Pub and Restaurant, which sits on 10th and R streets. “Teichert (the contractor) is really helping minimize the impacts on business.” Construction has been taking place on R Street from 10th to 13th streets since last September, and the goals of the approximately $2.75 million project are to make continuous sidewalks, add street lighting and benches, and preserve some of the historic character,

The R Street improvements currently under construction from 10th to 13th streets are getting a few more amenities, as construction left extra funds in an approximately $1 million $1.5 million federal grant allocated to the project. The City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to approve 13 more pedestrian benches, 13 banners affixed to streetlights and a decorative arch that spans R Street at 10th Street and a pedestrian arch over the sidewalk on 12th Street and R Street, to be constructed by Teichert Construction, the main contractor for the project. “This will be the icing on the cake to R street and will make the area more pedestrian-friendly,” Sacramento Department of Transportation sp

The owners of downtown’s Shady Lady Saloon are set to open a new restaurant in Galt in two weeks featuring a blend of traditional American food mixed with lean California cuisine in a restored building from the Civil War era. Co-owner Alex Origoni said the restaurant – called Brewster’s in a nod to one of the early tenants – will feature food ranging from $8.50 entree salads to a $22 filet mignon, with sandwiches starting in the $9 range. “The history of (the building) is really what attracted us. Much like the building Shady Lady is in, it’s a registered historic landmark, and it just gives so much character to the project,” Origoni said. Origoni, who owns Shady Lady Saloon with Jason

Japanese couple Kathy and Yasushi Ueyama officially opened their second location of Shoki Ramen House on R and 12th streets May 3. The new location has an outdoor patio and enclosed parking and can hold roughly twice as many customers as the 24th Street location. The menu will remain the same at the new location providing a variety of made-from-scratch ramen, including shuyo, shio and tan tan men spicy ramen. Yasushi has 20 years of cooking and restaurant experience under his belt. Born and raised in Japan, he owned four restaurants during the time the couple lived in Kobe, Kathy Ueyama said. According to Kathy Ueyama, the couple moved back to Sacramento in 2001, and though Yasushi con

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

The city of Sacramento and Capitol Area Development Authority (CADA) are working on the R Street Corridor Project – an effort to turn a 27-block-long stretch of R Street into a vibrant mixed-use neighborhood. A two-block section of R Street from 16th to 18th streets will hold the project's centerpiece, the R Street Market Plaza. Elements of the historic rail corridor and industrial warehouse district have inspired its design, which is expected to be completed in early June. The public project is intended to spur private development — creating more businesses, housing, services and jobs along the corridor. California state agencies now occupy some of R Street. The project has been design

Sacramento’s Central City has received a lot of media attention for shootings and muggings in recent months. However, the area is also frequently in the spotlight because of large-scale development projects, such as the downtown Railyards or George Karpaty’s trio of businesses on K Street. The Sacramento Press recently interviewed three City Council members to learn about their plans for the Central City. Councilwoman Angelique Ashby and Councilmen Steve Cohn and Rob Fong shared their priorities for the different parts of the Central City they represent. Ashby’s portion of the area includes the downtown Railyards, K Street, Old Sacramento, Alkali Flat and the River District. Ashby mentio

For self-employed Sacramentans who want to keep work and home separate, the ThinkHouse Collective provides an office space without any of the drudgery of a cubicle forest. “We’re a co-working community,” said co-founder Janna Santoro. “It’s a membership community for Sacramento’s creative class.” Santoro said the ThinkHouse Collective, located at 1726 11th St., offers all the social aspects of a traditional office, where members can bounce ideas off each other, while freeing workers from the typical distractions of working from home such as pets, kids and chores. Co-founder Jeremy Maron said the collective is essentially a community of freelancers including writers, photographers and ot

The agenda for September's meeting of the Area 1 Neighborhood Advisory Group (NAG) follows. Lt. Mike Bray hopes to have some updates from the police department on the Second Saturday shootings. Food banks have become a survival resource in todays economic climate. Many city park swiming pools have closed or are slated for closing.  Some Area 1 neighborhoods have managed to keep their pools open. We will hear what their stragities were to achieve this.  Measure B is a controversial ballot measure that could have longterm consequences on how the city utilities department operates and the delivery of services to city residents. Each month's NAG agenda is put together by residents of the

The R Street improvement project  officially started today at a groundbreaking ceremony in front of the Fox and Goose Public House at 10th and R streets. “This is absolutely wonderful,” said Congresswoman Doris Matsui. “We have a history here – a thriving commercial history.” R Street is getting numerous upgrades from 10th Street to 13th Street as part of the more than $6 million project, including sidewalks, pedestrian-oriented traffic lights, designated parking spots and drainage, according to Sacramento Department of Transportation Director Jerry Way. In a nod to the R Street corridor’s history, rail lines will be preserved in the streetscape. “This project has been long and anxious

After months of delay, the project to improve R Street between 10th and 13th streets will move forward, pending City Council approval Tuesday. Currently, that section of R Street lacks any uniformity in regard to curbs, street lighting and parking, said Tim Mar, supervising engineer for the Sacramento Department of Transportation. The project will rebuild the curves, repave the streets and add defined parking spaces and street lighting. Another facet of the project will be restoring the historical character of the area – which is mixed-use with some industrial, business and residential buildings. The project was originally scheduled to start in spring, but since federal funding is fina

The city of Sacramento is back at the drawing board — literally — on its efforts to set up a streetcar connecting to West Sacramento. A new study to plan the streetcar route in Sacramento has received $310,000 in federal grant funds. An additional $90,000 from a local source will help pay for the study, according to a July 27 report from the city’s Transportation Department. The City Council signed off on the new funding Tuesday night. “What we’ll be doing now is looking now more broadly at the best routes for that system on the Sacramento side,” Councilman Steve Cohn said Wednesday. In the most recent plan, the streetcar would run from West Sacramento City Hall, across Tower Bridge an

On Saturday, July 10, D&S Development will host an event with information about the "Promenade on K," their proposed project for700 block of K Street. The event will take place at the Shady Lady, 1409 R Street, from 6 PM-8 PM. Complimentary food samplings from local retailers will be provided. The Shady Lady is one of several local businesses interested in joining the K Street project. They propose a mid-sized music venue to fill a much-needed niche in the local live entertainment scene, along with multiple restaurants and bars within the venue. This, along with other local businesses, will provide the retail component, while D&S provides mixed-income housing above and behind the retail st

Local agencies will host a community workshop Thursday on the R Street Market Plaza, whose construction is expected to be delayed. The $3.8 million plaza project is a bit behind, with construction not expected to start until at least 2012. No funding has been secured for the plaza's construction from 16th to 18th streets, said project manager Zuhair Amawi, an associate civil engineer with the city's transportation department. The two-block plaza is being designed as a centerpiece for the R Street Corridor Project, an effort to turn a 27-block stretch of historic R Street into a thriving mixed-use neighborhood. The public project is intended to spur private development — creating more bus

Sacramento usually sees large crowds on Second Saturday. But Wednesday, it looked more like Dublin as thousands of green-clad Sacramentans attended block parties, drank green beer and celebrated everything even remotely Irish. The following is a photo essay, depicting some of the Wednesday evening festivities. The first seven photos are from the de Vere's St. Patrick's Day Block Party. Outside the de Vere's St. Patrick's Day Block Party on L Street, this dog dressed for the occasion in a green sweater. The party drew thousands of people to the 1500s block of L Street. Kings mascot Slamson showed up to the block party on stilts and showed off his shamrock-covered blazer. He was a crowd p