A downtown restaurant, Sofia on 11th, is expected to close Saturday — another victim of the recession and Furlough Fridays, as well as a somewhat obscure location.

Jeremy and Vicki Bennett, both Mississippi natives, took over the restaurant four years ago with partner Martin Tejeda. Staff was reduced to a skeleton crew in June.

Jeremy Bennett shared news of the closing with employees and customers on Thursday.

"It just got to the point where I couldn't hold on anymore," he said.

Bennett helped seat people when Sofia filled during the lunch rush. Wearing a black T-shirt as he poured iced tea, the most visible sign that he was the owner was the strain on his face.

Dinner business dropped 60 percent since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's decision in June 2009 to furlough state workers for a third Friday each month to help deal with the state's annual budget crises. Happy hour sales dropped 30 to 40 percent since then, he said.

Attorneys and judges working at nearby courthouses always brought a big chunk of business to the restaurant, tucked inside a Best Western at 815 11th St. Sofia lost many regulars when at least 20 Sacramento County public defenders were laid off this summer.

But those aren't the only blows to hit Sofia. The restaurant's location at the corner of 11th and H streets has kept it largely hidden, Bennett said.

"It's been tough, because we're not part of the main strip," he said. "So getting people to come over here who weren't working nearby has been difficult."

The couple has been redecorating the restaurant gradually over the years, partly with money borrowed from his dad.

Operating independently within a hotel has been good and bad. There hasn't been money for marketing the restaurant the way there would be with a big chain. Many hotel customers eat there, yet some locals had reservations about going to a "hotel restaurant," said Bennett, who speaks with a slight Southern twang.

Hers is much more noticeable. Bennett's really comes out after a long day at work or a couple of cocktails.

They have been trying to sell the restaurant or bring in a major investor. A deal appeared imminent but fell through this week.

They also haven't been able to get state funding for a culinary program they were trying to develop for vocational high school students. The on-the-job-training portion would have started at Sofia in October with juniors and seniors at risk of dropping out of school.

"If either of those had come through for me, I would have been able to weather the storm," Bennett said. "It's just sad for the mom-and-pop shops getting squeezed out. The ones that need help the most can never get it."

An inclusive, progressive church called A Church for All will likely be able to continue meeting in the restaurant's upstairs banquet room on Sundays, he said.

Bennett will continue to pursue starting a culinary and hospitality program for at-risk youth. He'll now need to find a kitchen where he can teach.

When he first moved to Sacramento eight years ago and his drawl was thicker, Bennett used to get teased about being from Mississippi.

But lately, friends and family down South have been making fun of him for being from California, which has become notorious for its financial mess and the problems state leaders have balancing the budget every year. As the state capital, Sacramento and its economy seem to be hardest hit.

"Now we're like the new Mississippi in a way," he said.

Photo of Vicki and Jeremy Bennett by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Sofia restaurant photo by Brandon Darnell.