A chilly morning brought out three dozen civic-minded business people Tuesday, Dec. 1, to West Sacramento for the annual Business Walk to gauge local business conditions, and early visits are finding folks upbeat and generally pleased with doing business in the city.
   “West Sacramento is getting better,” said Discount Cigarette store owner Suni Malhi. “It’s way better than the last five years. There’s more police patrols.”
   Malhi was visited by the Business Walk team of Juliet Romanishin of NorCal Wealth Management & Insurance Services, and Andy Wallace of Wallace Kuhl & Associates, who asked the three big questions of the day: How’s business, what do you like about doing business in West Sacramento and what can be done to improve conditions.
   The Business Walks are part of a regional “best practices” strategy for business retention and expansion, according to Michael Faust, senior vice president for public policy and advocacy at the Sacramento Metro Chamber, one of the hosts of Business Walk, along with the West Sacramento Chamber and the city of West Sacramento. Over the last two years, the strategy called Metro Pulse, has logged visitations of more than 2,100 businesses.
   The Business Walks help initiate contacts with businesses in the region and is the start of “an ongoing conversation” to help get businesses the resources they need to succeed, Faust added.
   Malhi, who had previously managed the store, purchased the business last year. He likes the location on West Capitol Avenue because of the surrounding industrial businesses, which provide a good customer base. He does report business “a little bit slower” than last year, as some people who used to buy in bulk are now just purchasing single packs of cigarettes. But he’s riding out the storm, happy with the “friendly people” of West Sacramento and improving conditions in the city.
   Next door, Koren Foxx of Labor Ready, a temporary employment agency, said though winter time is a bit slower, she still placed 20 clients that morning in jobs.
   Labor Ready provides temporary employees to businesses in Sacramento and Yolo counties. Placements currently include in hotels, retail, housekeeping—and surprisingly—construction. Foxx (center in photo) regularly gets calls from contractors who are building nearby hotels.
   “We don’t believe in a bad economy,” Foxx said. “There is always somebody doing business. We remain positive.”
   One truly upbeat crew is at the newly opened The Sandwich Spot restaurant, 3021 West Capitol Ave., in the Country West Shopping Center. It’s located in the former Mr. Pickles location and is one of six cafes part of a new franchise launched by founder Tom Heally. Other locations are San Francisco and Santa Monica.
   The Sandwich Spot is co-owned by Aaron Ellis. “We just opened three weeks ago,” he said. “And we already got repeat customers!”
   Ellis and Heally were most excited about their newest feature to debut on Wednesdays: barbecue tri-tip sandwiches, with the barbecue happening right in front of the shop.
   They see the down economy as a plus, since lease rates are less and this allows them to get established. “It’s a good opportunity,” Heally said.
   The West Sacramento Business Walk was also sponsored by Hampton Inn & Suites and Ramda Plaza Harbor Conference Center. A report on findings and results of the West Sacramento Business Walk will be made available after it’s compiled. Previous Business Walk reports are available online here.