While many local businesses are shutting their doors, three ambitious Sacramentans are putting their heads and money together to open a new saloon in Sacramento, The Shady Lady.

Garrett Van Vleck, Jason Boggs and Alex Origoni first met working at various Paragary restaurants.

After months of searching for the right place, the three took to the old Wonderbread factory and named it after the nickname for the first bar that Origoni went to when he was in school.

"That's one of the things that hasn't changed through our entire two year process of doing this," Van Vleck said.

The trio has gone through countless menus and concepts, but the name Shady Lady has been one constant.

None of the owners of the Shady Lady have opened their own business, but that wasn't any reason to hesitate on going through with the idea.

"We don't have a lot of money," Boggs said. "We threw everything we owned into it."

"I sold my house to get money to do this. We're going for it," Origoni said.

The Shady Lady will be going back to the basics.

"The last thing Sacramento needs is another ultra lounge," Boggs said. "This isn't going to be a place to get your Tokyo Tea and your Black Superman or your Adios."

Instead, the new bar will focus on tried and true cocktails that for some reason have fallen out of favor." They may be forgotten classics, but they became classics because they're so good," Origoni said.

The drinks will often be made from scratch, featuring housemade syrups, aromatic bitters, ginger ale and tonic.

The menu won't be fancy either - soul food, according to Boggs. Think stew, pork shoulder and other cuts of meat and bar fare.

You can find soul food in every culture," he said. "It's what the poor people eat."

"We're not trying to wow people with expensive cuts of meat that cost $30 a plate," he continued. "We're going to wow the customer with the way that we handle the food that we can afford to use."

Lunch will concentrate on soups, salads, and sandwiches, with items priced to meet the realities of the recession affecting the state workers and other professionals in the area.

The recession has also been a factor in planning the restaurant decor. "We're not spending any excess money," said Boggs.

Whitney Johnson, of Monighan Design and the designer of the Shady Lady, explained, "I want it to look like it's been there for a while, that it's lived in, that nothing is new, and that things have collected over time."

She used flocked wall paper, dark and distressed wood, a tin ceiling, blown glass lighting with a Victorian feel, plus black and white hexagon tiles to create the ambience.

The U-shaped bar has a low center island, while the booths are horseshoe-shaped and face the center of the room, making it easy for old friends to bump into each other.

"From every seat in the house you can see every other seat in the house," Origoni explained.

A stage in the corner of the saloon will feature live jazz, reggae and down beat music, according to Boggs, himself a saxophonist who plans to play at the restaurant occasionally.

And, don't expect flat screen TVs in the Shady Lady, warned the saxophonist. The entertainment will be found in good conversation and live music.

"This is not a place to be seen, so we're going to be very nondescript, not flashy or anything," he said. "It's gonna be a place to come and relax."

The Shady Lady Saloon is located at 1409 R Street and is set to open in late March of 2009.