Business

Bows & Arrows moves, adds Fat Face cafe

2011-06-03T01:27:00Z

Sacramento shopkeepers Olivia Coelho and Trisha Rhomberg will open a new take on their vintage clothing store Bows & Arrows this Saturday. And this time, they will not be alone.

The new Bows & Arrows, opening across from Safeway on 19th Street, will also sell the gourmet popsicles, panini sandwiches and other fare made by Jaymes Luu of Davis-based Fat Face cafe.

The new store, located in a former recording studio, will continue to sell clothes from the 1960s through the early 1990s. Coelho and Rhomberg will also sell refashioned clothing under their own label, Miss Chief of California.

The new store will also contain an art gallery, the cafe, and a beer and wine bar run by Coelho and Rhomberg.

Luu operated the Fat Face popsicle and sandwich shop in Davis. She's also sold popsicles in flavors such as Kaffir Limeade, Thai Tea & Sweet Potato or Melon Horchata at local farmers markets and at the recent mobile food vendor festival, SactoMoFo. She'll now operate Fat Face cafe from within Bows & Arrows.

From the entrance toward the back, the new store moves from a retail shop to an art gallery with cafe tables and then to the cafe. A courtyard patio was added in back.

"It is a multi-use building," Coelho said. "We wanted the spaces to feel distinctly their own, but also have an open flow so you could move throughout the space."

They closed their first store at 1712 L St. on April 30 to focus on furnishing the new space, which had been gutted and completely rebuilt. A kitchen, dressing rooms and new bathrooms were added. More light was let in with new front windows and double glass doors in back.

The recycling ethic and aesthetic has been carried throughout the space. While new lights hang in the art gallery and over the redwood bar, the rest of the lighting is supplied by vintage swag lamps.

Friend Matt Hummel made tables from salvaged wood and various bases, including a pair of antique cast iron Singer sewing machine bases. Salvaged doors and windows add privacy to dressing rooms and partially block a view of the train tracks from the 875-square-foot back patio.

The idea was to recreate the feel of being in someone's home while also being friendly to the environment, Rhomberg said.

"Why put a larger demand on the earth when we can use what's already here?" she said.

Much of what's inside will be either vintage or handmade, such as new art from emerging and established artists. Mixed-media artist Hilary Pecis, recently featured in Juxtapoz Magazine, will show her work at Bows & Arrows' opening-day reception.

Bows & Arrows will be open from 6 - 9 p.m. Saturday. The cafe will serve lunch and dinner five days a week. Regular hours will be 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

They're working to get an entertainment permit so they can showcase local musicians, filmmakers and other artists.

"Sacramento and Midtown, especially, are really flooded with a ton of talent – visually and musically," Rhomberg said. "There's so much to show to people. I love having a space to do that in – to show people what we're growing here."

Building Sacramento’s art scene by spotlighting local artists and giving them space to collaborate and feed off each other’s energy will help the city's economy grow, she added.

"It's going to be what puts us on the map," Rhomberg said.

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

Chamber leader's legacy may be collaborative region

2011-05-18T00:41:20Z

Sacramento Metro Chamber President and CEO Matt Mahood leaves behind a more unified business community as he moves on to take over the helm of the San Jose chamber this summer, colleagues and associates said Tuesday.

Mahood, 45, has a reputation for being upbeat and optimistic, even as he's guided the chamber through the recession. He served as a dynamic leader for the organization and a spokesman for the region on local, state and national level s.

At 6 feet 7 inches, he towers over many of those he works with in business and politics. He's known for being thoughtful and having an even-handed way for approaching issues in the job he's held for nine years.

His most lasting legacy in Sacramento may be his work as a collaboration builder garnering support for crucial policy decisions and economic development efforts.

Mahood became a prominent leader in the effort to stop the Sacramento Kings from leaving and to rally regional support for a new arena. He led a push that gathered more than $10 million in financial support for the Kings from regional businesses if the team stayed another year.

"Matt was a force of nature," said PRIDE Industries President Mike Ziegler, who chaired the chamber's board when they hired Mahood in 2002. "He became a driving force to make this region a better place to live, work and play."

The San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce board voted Friday to hire Mahood as president and CEO of that organization. He will remain with the Sacramento Metro Chamber until at least the Fourth of July weekend.

An interim CEO will be chosen to guide the Sacramento Metro Chamber during the search for a new top executive.

As a 36-year-old hired by the chamber in 2002, Mahood didn't have any experience working at a chamber of commerce. But that was seen as an advantage by the chamber's search committee, Ziegler said.

Mahood had worked previously as vice president and general manager of grocery business Webvan.com and district manager at the shipping company BAX Global, as well as with UPS and FedEx.

He lived in Carmichael for four years as a child but mostly grew up in Pleasanton in the East Bay. Mahood is taking the job in San Jose partly so he can live closer to his mother, who just turned 80, and his three sisters. He said he'll miss taking his ski boat and wakeboard out on Folsom Lake with friends and family on hot summer days.

However, Mahood said he also wants to pursue fresh opportunities.

"Nine years is a long time to be in one place, especially at a chamber of commerce," he said. "I am ready for some new challenges in a new community."

Mahood was a champion for the region's economic development. He was instrumental in forging a good working relationship between the chamber, the Downtown Sacramento Partnership and the Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau, as well as area businesses and other business organizations, and then collaborating on mutually identified priorities, DSP Executive Director Michael Ault said.

"Matt did a tremendous job of not only managing and growing the chamber, but really building a coalition amongst area business organizations," Ault said.

Mahood will help launch the search process for his replacement. He said he's proud of the Metro Chamber's hard-working staff and volunteer leaders and their ability to reach the chamber's goals each year.

Although he'll be leaving, he said he'd like to see the Metro Chamber and its partners build a stronger, more positive "sense of self" and brand for the region after its image has been pummeled by being included on Forbes' list of "most miserable cities" and from stories about high foreclosure rates, unemployment and other government problems.

Mahood said he thinks cities and counties and some nonprofit organizations should collaborate more and even consider consolidating functions to become more efficient and bring taxpayers and other funders more return on investments. He said he'd also like to see the Metro Chamber and partners finalize and put out a regional economic development strategy based on good data, followed by an action plan that will create jobs.

"Housing and construction are not coming back anytime soon, and the state budget mess will continue to hit this region hard," he said.

Many people expressed sadness at Mahood's departure. Mayor Kevin Johnson described Mahood as a "champion" for the business community during the worst economy since the Depression.

"It's worth noting that his final achievement was playing a lead role in organizing the corporate and business community in the successful drive to keep the Kings and NBA in Sacramento," Johnson said in an emailed statement Tuesday. "Our community would not have been able to over-deliver on support and sponsorships without Matt's work, and we will surely miss his leadership."

The San Jose chamber is eagerly awaiting the new opportunities and direction a new president will bring, said the chamber's current president, Pat Dando.

"We also think Matt will bring strong leadership to the chamber – just looking at what his time with the Sacramento chamber produced," she said. "He seems to have a real knack for achieving a collaborative effort in the business community toward the common good."

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

Sacramentan marketing treehouses in Costa Rica

2011-04-26T01:26:17Z

Sacramentan Thomas Dodson can't chill out in an air-conditioned office when days get hot or pressure at his new job marketing treehouses in the Costa Rica rainforest heats up.

His bosses tell him to go jump in the river. And they're likely to join him.

One of the perks at Finca Bellavist a, which is billed as the world's first treehouse community, is living and working in a remote, pristine mountain setting fed by the Rio Bellavista. They can use "sky trails," a zipline network, to get around and cool off in the river anytime it gets too hot, Dodson said.

"We've got a great waterhole just down the hill," he said Monday via Skype.

The 37-year-old was working in marketing for the architecture firm Lionakis when a coworker sent him a link to Finca Bellavista. Impressed, he contacted the owners, Erica and Matt Hogan. The contact turned into a short-term job offer to handle marketing for the community. Dodson is the main point of contact for the media.

Dodson said he's using all the skills he's developed throughout his career to help publicize the new community, which is in the beginning building stages.

After attending Coastal Carolina University, Dodson started his career in TV news. He worked for 10 years as a photojournalist and producer at stations in South Carolina, Boise and Seattle before he and his then-wife moved to Sacramento in 2004 to be near her family.

Dodson worked at Fox40 news and then transitioned into print by working as an associate editor at Comstock's magazine for a year and a half. He then became the public relations manager for the residential architecture firm, BSB Design.

Dodson did marketing for Lionakis and another Sacramento architecture firm, ANOVA Architects. He worked on projects to promote the use of energy-efficient design, sustainable architecture and LEED certification for buildings. He also did social media work at ANOVA, where he set up and managed the firm's Facebook page.

At his new job, he may also put to use some modeling skills he's picked up in the last year or so.

In 2010, while working at ANOVA, Dodson was discovered by Chandra Bourne, the owner of Cast Images Talent Agency in Sacramento. He was actually attending a fashion show at the Mix Downtown at the time.

"Chandra walked up to me and asked me if I'd ever done any modeling before. I said, 'No.' I thought she was drunk," he said.

Dodson worked as a model in photo shoots for magazines, websites and catalogs. He was featured in a Kindle ad on Amazon.com. Sacramentans can still see him in TV ads currently running for Atlantis Casino Resort Spa.

Modeling has been just a side job. But Dodson appreciated the work because he said the construction industry has suffered in Northern California for several years.

"It's been an industry in transition because of the economy. A lot of ups and downs," he said.

Dodson traveled to Costa Rica about two weeks ago with East Sacramentans Cheri Davis and Ted Frink. They'd already bought a lot at Finca Bellavista and had traveled back and forth between the two countries five times.

Dodson described the 300-acre community as a "magical place" where treehouses are built as high as 90 feet in the air. There's no electricity, but there is running water. People buy lots and then build treehouses to match their needs.

One of the ideas behind Finca Bellavista was to simplify lifestyles that have grown far too complicated, Erica Hogan said.

"I think somewhere along the line, we've overcomplicated everything, from our drinking water to our electricity to our lifestyle choices," she said.

The community is centered around a basecamp built at an old rock quarry in Costa Rica's south Pacific coastal region. The basecamp now has an office, community center and other support buildings. Waterfalls and two whitewater rivers run through an area teeming with birds and other wildlife.

"Imagine the Ewok Village from ‘Return of the Jedi.’ It’s sort of like that," Dodson wrote in an email.

Davis and Frink, who live near McKinley Park, had been planning to build a home "off the ground" in another sustainable tropical community in Costa Rica. But they were captivated by Finca Bellavista's treehouse community concept when they read about it in Outside magazine three years ago.

"If nothing else, we thought, we should go check out the competition!" Davis emailed late Monday afternoon. "I stepped out of the car, I took one look at the fern-lined river canyon, and told my husband 'I want to be a part of this!' ”

Now they plan to build on a lot measuring about 1.25 acres.

"Lot size really isn't a big deal here, because it's all about the trees – and there are more than you can count on each lot!" Davis wrote.

She and her husband hope to build in phases as money permits. They'll start on a compact 600- to 700-square-foot central house with a large deck in the next few years. They'll then add bedrooms as satellites off the main house, she said.

"Until then, we will continue to come here every year to see the progress (and) enjoy the peaceful setting," she said.

Challenges involved with building and working there include the extra time it takes to buy construction materials like high-quality screws used to build wooden treehouses, get a telephone installed or get insurance, Finca Bellavista owner Erica Hogan said.

Most communication is done by email or via computer using Skype because it's so hard to get a strong, consistent phone signal. An antenna/amplifier can help strengthen signals for cell phones and Internet service at basecamp and treehouses. But sometimes when a call must be made, it can only be done by climbing up high into a treehouse to get a cell phone signal, she said.

Dodson is now working under a three-month contract and he said that may be extended. His two children live in Sacramento, the place he considers to be his permanent home in the United States.

"The sky’s the limit here, so I can see this carrying forward for a long, long time," he said.

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

Rowena & Takashi moves downtown

2011-02-15T00:49:05Z

An El Dorado Hills couple will bring a bit more glamor to the city by relocating their hair and makeup studio to the heart of downtown Sacramento.

Rowena and Takashi Hiraga – a hair stylist/instructor and her business-partner husband – are moving their namesake salon, Rowena & Takashi, from the El Dorado Hills location where they've operated for more than a decade to a new spot in the Cathedral Building at 12th and K streets. They expect to open March 8.

The relocation will put the business in a more centralized spot for clients, students, visiting stylists and business partners. The move will also be more convenient for all the Sacramento and San Francisco fashion shows and photo shoots Rowena Hiraga is hired for, the couple said.

In addition, they want to contribute to the culture and economy emerging in the central city.

"Sacramento will be more central," said 45-year-old Rowena Hiraga, who was an instructor at the Sassoon Academy in Santa Monica. "It's just growing. I want to be part of it."

She was born in Manila, then grew up in San Francisco. Takashi Hiraga lived in Nagoya, Japan, until age 18. They both trained as hair stylists at Sassoon. She was an instructor and he was a student when they met.

After her parents moved to Roseville, the couple traded Los Angeles for the Sierra foothills and opened Rowena & Takashi in 1999. He is a licensed stylist but prefers to work behind the scenes as the company's chief financial officer and director of operations.

Rowena Hiraga's cutting skills and avant-garde styling are in demand by fashion designers for photo shoots and runway shows, as well as some commercials and videos. ~~She styled Grammy award nominee Nadia Ali's hair for a 2001 video of her song, "Rapture."~~ She styled Grammy award nominee Nadia Ali's hair for a 2011 video of the remix of "Rapture," originally released in 2001.

Work is under way this week on an 1,850-square-foot, two-level salon with a minimalist look at 1020 12th St., next to Ella Dining Room and Bar. The second floor will feature a private suite with a $15,000 pneumatic "shampoo bed" that may be Sacramento's first, said Takashi Hiraga, 50.

The winner of Sacramento's Hair Wars: 2008, Rowena also offers on-site and off-site classes for styling professionals. Stylists can apprentice at the salon under two programs, Studio 99 and Associates. Through Studio 99, Rowena offers basic salon training for hair cutters and colorists. The Associates program is for more advanced stylists.

Full-day classes will be offered every fourth Monday for up to six students at a time. Rowena teaches stylists many skills, including how to produce the right cut and style for a person's face, features, bone structure, hair, personality and lifestyle. Full-day classes cost $300 for independent stylists but are provided for free as training to employee apprentices.

All stylists, including top-level "directors" such as Rowena who create the next looks in fashion, undergo ongoing training.

"For our salon, training never stops," Takashi Hiraga said.

At $187 for a cut and blow dry, Rowena will be one of the most expensive stylists in town. Some customers only see her for special occasions, but she has plenty of regular clients as well.

“She is very, very talented,” said Gail DeMarco, who owns XSiGHT Photography and Video nearby. “I’m happy they’re here.”

This summer, the couple said they hope to move to Land Park, where their children will attend a Waldorf school.

They chose downtown Sacramento to be within sight of the Capitol and close to downtown's historic architecture. K Street Mall, which was closed to cars decades ago, reminded them of Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica.

The Hiragas said they think K Street can become a hip destination like Third Street Promenade. They want to be there when it does and think moving their business just off K Street will help.

"So many times I have heard people say, 'It's a cow town.' But they don't know the people. They don't know the city," Rowena Hiraga said.

"Downtown is so, so beautiful," she said. "This is the capital of California. The capital is us."

Rowena & Takashi will be open 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter at The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

Editorial Note: A correction has been made to this story after it was published. The incorrect information has been struck out and the correct information has been added.

Antiquité opens 'private house'

2011-01-20T02:47:16Z

An intimate entertainment space called Antiquité Maison Privée has opened in Midtown.

Five doctors and nurses who met while working at UC Davis Medical Center have opened a fine antiques store by day and an event space by night in the historic Chatterton Building. Revolution Wines operated an urban winery in a back warehouse there until last summer.

The ground floor of the 1924 Mediterranean-style building at 2114 P St. is filled with antique furnishings, wool rugs, ceiling fans and tables set around a small stage.

The owners, who range in age from late 30s to 50s, hope to provide an intimate "private house" experience for special events ranging from music recitals and poetry readings to Second Saturday art shows and themed movie nights.

"We're trying to create an atmosphere in the evenings where we would like to go," said Dr. Sharon Wilson, who is a faculty member of the UC Davis Department of Emergency Medicine."We want it to be like coming into someone's house, really."

The next event will be held at 8 p.m. Jan. 28, with Sacramento guitarist Derek Keller, drummer Jonathan Raman and other performers providing an intimate concert as part of the avant-garde Guitar Expressions Music Series.

The building's owners are all friends and include Wilson, a Sacramento resident; Marci Hoze, a Sacramento resident and nurse manager at UC Davis; Donna Cova, a manager at Calstar air medical transport; and Highland General Hospital OB-GYN Dr. Linda Price and her husband, Highland General Hospital ER Dr. Dan Price.

Doing business as the Chatterton Group, the group bought the building in 2003 as an investment. The second floor holds artists' studios. They initially leased the ground-floor space to various tenants, but took the building back over in 2010, Wilson said.

Architect Charles Chatterton originally designed the building for a sheet metal manufacturing plant. Verl Lovell converted that into an antique store in the 1940s or 1950s. Antique and art collector Michael Forbes bought the building in the late 1990s, then sold it to this group.

A year ago, they began offering some of Forbes' high-end pieces for sale by appointment at the building. Antiquité is furnished with a 1920s wooden speakeasy bar, an Art Deco dining set of birdseye maple, Japanese tables, painted American library tables and a 19th century French Normandy armoire. Carved solid wood tigers from the 1950s guard the tiled foyer entryway.

The first concert in the guitar serie s was held in November. Another event was held in December. Antiquité's events are really just getting going this month, Wilson said.

"We've been low-key – just waiting for people to find us," she said.

The only other regular events scheduled there now are Second Saturday art shows. But the owners hope to start Thursday movie nights in February. In April, they plan to open Jason's Midtown Winery in the warehouse vacated by Revolution Wines. The winery will be run by Revolution Wines' first winemaker, Jason Fernandez, and Wilson's sister, Lisa Wilson, who is getting a wine-making degree.

For the next Second Saturday, Feb. 12, they're offering music from 17-year-old piano player Sky Manzanetti, romantic movies, red wine and chocolate in a candlelit setting. Wine is offered for donations, and food is gratis.

Antiquité is open on Second Saturdays from 5 - 10 p.m. Starting in April, they anticipate having regular hours from 11 a.m. - 3 or 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, with weekend hours as needed for events.

The 3,200-square-foot ground-floor space can be rented for $80 an hour. The space has been booked for bridal and fashion shows and mixers for groups like the Midtown Business Association. But Antiquité operates on a retail license and is not an events venue or a banquet hall, Wilson said.

They may consider turning the space into a restaurant if the economy improves and they find an interested chef. But for now, the owners have had fun entertaining friends, regulars and people who've just discovered the space.

"Some nights we're full. Some nights it's really empty. But it just really doesn't matter," Wilson said. "Our goal is to break even. We all have a day job."

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

LexisNexis acquires State Net

2010-12-02T01:23:59Z

LexisNexis, an international online database service, announced Wednesday the company has bought Sacramento-based State Net.

The deal came together after nearly a year of negotiations between the two companies. State Net is an online tracking system for information on U.S. federal and state legislation, agency regulations and other government affairs.

Legislative experts developed State Net more than 40 years ago in California's state capital. The company is headquartered at 2101 K St. and has offices in Washington, D.C., Boston and Springfield, Ill.

No jobs will be lost at State Net, which employs 117 people. Positions are expected to be added over time, and the company will continue to be based here, said Jeff Pfeifer, vice president of Primary Law Solutions for LexisNexis.

"We plan to maintain the headquarters that exist in Sacramento today," he said. "Our intent is to invest in this facility."

State Net's acquisition adds to the presence LexisNexis already has in the area. LexisNexis Examen, which helps businesses manage outside legal counsel, employs 108 people in North Natomas. Another 14 work for the division remotely.

LexisNexis officials aren't revealing what they paid for State Net.

"We have a policy to not disclose the financial details of these types of transactions," said LexisNexis Director of Communications Jorge Martinez.

LexisNexis is a subscription-only electronic archive for news stories, public records, legal and business information and more. LexisNexis has been licensed to supply State Net information to legal markets for 20 years.

Regulatory and legislative information has grown increasingly important to businesses, which need the information to weigh issues like compliance and risk assessment during decision making.

"The content State Net produces is critical," Pfeifer said. "There is a heightened focus on this kind of content."

LexisNexis bought State Net to provide its services to a broader base of customers and to develop more products for new markets, including government relations, lobbyists and corporations.

"Through the acquisition of State Net, LexisNexis has secured critical content and tools needed by legal and business professionals to rapidly monitor and analyze the policy decisions being made by federal and state governments and regulatory agencies across the U.S. on a daily basis," said Bob Romeo, senior vice president of research and litigation solutions at LexisNexis, in a prepared statement.

LexisNexis is headquartered in New York, but its data center is based in Ohio. LexisNexis is a division of Reed Elsevier, an international publisher with roots in Britain and Holland.

Fire ends store's saga

2010-08-17T03:51:30Z

One of Sacramento's oldest markets — a store that stood in the heart of Alkali Flat since 1868 — was ravaged by fire Sunday.

The little brick store had first been damaged by fire last December after a blaze at an adjacent apartment building spread. The market was shut down, then fenced and boarded up. A man had been squatting in the building recently.

Nearly 40 firefighters from nine companies responded Sunday after neighbors heard a boom and saw fire break out on the second floor of the building, 427 10th St., at about 7:30 a.m. A search dog found no one was inside.

Firefighters stopped the fire from spreading but weren’t able to save the building. A city crew later tore the rest of the unreinforced masonry building down, said Sacramento Fire Department spokesman John Burgess.

"It was already at the point of being a collapse hazard because the construction was in the 1860s," he said. "The concern was it would actually fall down with very little effort. So it was taken down."

A fire investigator is trying to determine the cause of the fire.

Neighbors were sorry to see the building demolished. But the market had become a run-down eyesore before the first fire, said Jennifer Caldwell, a neighborhood resident and member of the Alkali Flat Redevelopment Advisory Committee.

“We've been agonizing over that place,” she said. “It has been a blemish on this community.”

The structure had been built as a grocery or other type of mercantile store to serve the monied Alkali Flat neighborhood that sprang up in 1852. Living quarters were built on the second floor, and stables operated in back.

"There were a few (markets) in that neighborhood, even in 1868," said James Scott, who wrote "Sacramento's Alkali Flat" with Tom Tolley. Both are also reference librarians at the Sacramento Public Library's Sacramento Room.

"There was industry. Central Pacific was burgeoning at that time. You had schools being built. And you know you had the upper crust of Sacramento occupying that area as well,” he said. “It was one of those charming spots within a very dynamic neighborhood.”

The store changed ownership and names throughout the decades.

The growth of the nearby railyards led to changes in Alkali Flat as well. The ritzy neighborhood once defined by stately houses, large lawns and wrought iron fences began to change. Smaller, cheaper homes for railworkers began to be built in between the grand homes starting in the 1880s and 1890s.

The market was owned by the Dunphy family from the 1880s until owner Jim Dunphy sold it five years ago. The store had been operated by his grandfather and then his parents. Now 87, Dunphy remembers riding with his father in a horse-drawn wagon to deliver milk to customers, said Kathy Martin, office manager at the Distillery, which Dunphy owns.

Alkali Flat became a blue-collar, family neighborhood. But the area turned into "Sacramento's form of tenement living" when large homes such as the J. Neely Johnson House, a former governor's house, were divided up into multiple apartment units in the 1960s and '70s, Scott said. The buildings and neighborhood became magnets for crime and gangs.

Redevelopment pioneers withstood danger and threats to begin rehabbing homes in the 1970s and 1980s. At some point, the store began selling liquor — the only store to do so in the neighborhood. The building wasn't kept up well, and it got a bad reputation. That really struck at the heart of the neighborhood and the people trying to turn it around, Scott said.

"For a neighborhood that is inhabited by people who care a lot about where they live...the market was always kind of a thorn," he said. "I am amazed that it lasted this long."

Photos by Jennifer Caldwell. Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Financing topic of small business workshop

2010-08-12T02:01:11Z

Small business owners from the Sacramento area gathered Wednesday at the U.S. Small Business Administration office in Citrus Heights for a workshop organized by U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui's office.

For two hours, more than 30 business owners such as Michael Kyalwazi met with representatives from a dozen lenders and resource organizations. Entrepreneurs like him were drawn there for one thing: finding financing in this troubled economy.

"It's sad so much money is flying out there but it's not reaching small businesses, which are the engine that drives the economy," he said.

Kyalwazi worked his way up the ladder at La Bou Bakery & Cafe. He started as a floor sweeper and, over 20 years, became regional manager for 32 La Bou stores. Now he operates three coffee shops under the name Café Le Monde.

His businesses have been successful enough that he'd like to open more. But he's had trouble getting banks to lend him money — especially because his first three businesses all operate in contract locations at McClellan Park and two medical buildings in Sacramento and Natomas.

In contract locations, expenses are all up front, but payment is often very slow. Like others at the workshop, Kyalwazi was searching for lenders to extend credit for times when he's cash-poor, said Jim O'Neal, district director of the SBA's Sacramento district office.

"That is the biggest impediment to small businesses right now – lack of access to flexible lines of credit," O'Neal said. "That's what every small business is screaming about right now."

Kyalwazi and other business owners met with representatives from banks, credit unions and loan guarantee agencies to learn how to make their businesses competitive for financing. They also got information about services available through the SBA, Sacramento Works, SCORE and the Sierra Business Council's Sierra Economic Development Corp.

Some, like contractor Geoff McCain of GMC Contracting in Sacramento, said they were just trying to tread water while leading their businesses through transitions. McCain, who once made a living building new homes and remodeling others, is working his way into the solar industry.

"I'm in a dangerous situation," he said while talking to loan officers and business banking specialists from Wells Fargo. “If something doesn't turn, it's going to fall apart.”

Massage franchise seeks expansion

2010-08-06T23:30:58Z

A Shingle Springs couple is working to open 32 massage franchises in the Sacramento and Stockton areas over the next four years.

Terri and R.J. Cicchetti signed a deal to develop more Massage Heights locations less than two years after opening their first franchise in Roseville. They plan to open at least one more in the area themselves, but are primarily searching for other people to open the franchises, Terri Cicchetti said Friday.

Massage Heights offers a monthly membership program that enables a client to get a one-hour massage session from a licensed massage therapist for $50 and additional hour-long sessions for $40 that month. Membership requires clients to pay for six to 12 months in advance or to sign up for automatic electronic withdrawals from a bank account or credit card, she said.

The business was launched in Alamo Heights, Texas, in 2004 by another couple, Shane and Wayne Evans. The memberships were created to guarantee monthly income and clients, which allows the company to lower the cost of the massages.

The Roseville spa has 1,000 monthly members. Drop-in and one-time clients can also get massage services, Cicchetti said.

The corporation has 60 franchises operating currently. The Cicchetti's deal is part of the company's plan to open 1,560 more locations over the next five years.

The Cicchettis hope the first two new locations will open in the area within six months. Midtown and downtown may each see a Massage Heights open farther down the road, she said.

City marina faces challenges

2010-07-16T03:42:14Z

Boating season has hit full throttle in Sacramento, yet nearly a quarter of the slips at the city's public marina sit empty.

That's unusual for the 475-slip Sacramento Marina, which boasted a waiting list of 300 just three years ago. The problem may be about to get worse after rate increases took effect at the marina Thursday.

Slip occupancy levels change throughout the year, with the highest levels during boating season from Memorial Day to Labor Day. In fiscal year 2010/2011, the marina — the largest in the city — is expected to see an average annual occupancy rate of no more than 65 percent. The down economy is largely to blame, with an unfortunately timed renovation playing a role in the situation, said marina officials.

"Generally speaking, the marina industry is hurting along with the rest of the country," said Barbara Bonebrake, director of the city's Convention, Culture & Leisure Department, which oversees the marina. "It's very much the same as real estate. In fact, it is real estate — only for boats."

However, some boat owners say new rate increases are pushing them out.

With three out of four boaters earning less than $100,000 annually, the recession has hit hard for many. Reduced income and the cost of gas to fill a boat's tank were cited by nearly a third of boaters as the reasons they didn't boat more last year, according to figures compiled by the National Marine Manufacturers Association.

On a recent Friday afternoon, boats motored through the off-river marina, which sits in a quiet basin in Miller Park at the west end of Broadway. Couples, friends and families fueled vessels at the marina's gas pump before heading out onto the Sacramento River.

“I know a lot of people who are furious about the hike in the rates,” said one boater, who didn’t want to disclose her name.

Like its remote location, the marina operates largely independent of the city. The marina is an enterprise zone, a self-supporting business making money from slip rentals, gas and store sales, and rentals of its newly renovated Captain's Lounge. Slips range from 25 to 50 feet.

Its annual gross revenue is expected to be $1.5 million for fiscal year 2010. Ten percent of gross revenues are paid to the city each year as a franchise fee for payroll, accounting and attorney services provided by the city, said marina Manager Bud Camper, who had 20 years' experience managing private marinas in the Sacramento Delta before going to work at the Sacramento Marina.

The marina took shape about 50 years ago after the Miller family donated land to the city. The marina originally had only 200 floating slips. About half were uncovered. About 25 years ago, the city expanded the basin harbor and added new docks with about 275 more covered slips and a marina administration office, which sits on a hill overlooking the basin harbor.

In 2007, just as the economy began tanking, the marina underwent an $11 million renovation to replace the south basin's original, 50-year-old wooden docks and its 200 slips. Bellingham Marine Industries, the largest dock builder in the country, built floating concrete docks with steel roofs and a new floating fuel station with a tiny general store in the south basin.

The marina supported 370 boats during construction. Many had to be moved daily to make way for the work. But the marina lost about 100 boats before construction started. Most slips became vacant due to normal attrition. However, management had to ask a few owners to remove boats that were not seaworthy or had let insurance lapse, and asked a few of the less-senior boaters to find an alternative dock during construction, Camper said.

"We anticipated we'd fill the marina right back up again. But the economy kept getting in our way," said Camper, who was hired to oversee the renovation. He began one day before the work started.

"We noticed it at the same time we started calling boaters to come back after building the new docks. To our surprise, people were saying no," he said. "Turned out, that was the beginning of it. We never got the marina full again."

Recreational boating sales have fallen throughout the country. The industry generated $30.8 billion in sales and services in 2009, but that was a 9 percent decrease from 2008. Sales of new boats and motors fell by 24 percent, according to the NMMA.

Dealers selling new boats began pulling out of Sacramento in early 2009. Now, there are none selling boats over 25 feet, said Camper, wearing a black captain's cap, Hawaiian shirt and a tattoo with his wife's and son's names on his forearm.

Most marinas enjoyed high occupancy levels and waiting lists for years. Now, occupancy levels are down at many marinas throughout the region and the country.

"It's the economy," said boater Greg Hatfield, a former city employee. "You look on Craigslist or in the newspaper. It's just boat after boat after boat for sale."

Slips at urban marinas are more costly than those in the Delta, where rural land is cheaper. There, hundreds of mom-and-pop marinas are able to charge 30 to 40 percent lower than the city's public marina and other urban marinas like River View Marina and Sherwood Harbor Marina.

People are pulling boats out of the marina because they can't afford to boat or they've found a cheaper place to dock in the Delta. Some didn’t have a choice. About 24 boats were repossessed at the Sacramento Marina in the last year. When they go, few boaters explain the reason for leaving, Camper said.

"Most of the time, they just take out a boat and don't say anything," he said.

For years, the Sacramento Marina charged $10 a foot for any size slip. In 2006, following industry standards, the marina began calculating rates differently, charging $10 a foot for whichever was longest — the slip or the boat.

In 2008, the marina got City Council approval for five years' of increased rates to pay for the expansion and to bring their rates in line with other urban marinas, where larger slips cost more per foot because they cost more to build and operate. The increased fees also help pay for marina maintenance and keeping the basin waterway clean.

The most recent rate increases started in fiscal year 2009. Annual increases ranged from 5 to 17 percent, depending on slip size. For fiscal year 2010 only, the marina changed the rate increase to 8 percent across the board. Rates, which took effect Thursday, are now $300 a month for 25-foot covered slips, $406 for 30-foot slips and $770 for 50-foot slips.

The 120-slip Sacramento Yacht Club in West Sacramento is cheaper, charging just over $8 per foot per month for slips that are 30 to 50 feet. Members must volunteer or attend meetings monthly, which keeps costs down. They haven't had a vacancy in a decade, said Port Captain Chuck Lenert. The atmosphere is different as well, with a location right on the river and club members who know their slip mates.

Another boat owner said his fees have doubled in the last five years. He found another marina where he’ll pay $200 less per month for a slip and gave notice that he’s leaving the marina. Other boaters are about to do the same thing, he said.

“When times are tough, they continue to raise it on the people who are still able to boat, so they're going to run everybody off,” said the boat owner, who didn’t want to give his name for fear he’d be “blacklisted” in Sacramento.

The rate increase — coupled with the lower occupancies most marinas are facing — may have helped spawn a marina rate war. Nearby River View Marina on Garden Highway is now offering 10- to 20-percent discounts off published rates to boaters who relocate.

"Whatever Sacramento Marina is charging, we'll charge 20 percent less,” River View Marina co-owner John Maddex said Thursday. “It's a highly competitive market.”

The public Sacramento Marina can’t engage in a bidding war for customers. Its rates must stay the same for everyone, said Camper, who wasn’t surprised by the competition.

Marinas are like hotels — amenities and quality vary, and no two are alike. The Sacramento Marina may lose boaters because of the rate increase, but in the end, the renovation and rate changes will pay off with a long-term, successful marina, Camper said.

“We think we have a top-notch place to be,” Camper said. “We want to keep it that way.”

Photos by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Idea Factory shines on 'Crash Week'

2010-07-03T05:42:45Z

Next time you're watching a reality TV home-improvement show, pay attention to the house, the street, the neighborhood on your screen. You just might recognize it.

That's because the Idea Factory, an independent TV production company based in Sacramento, has three hit shows on the DIY Network. And it's about to add a fourth show to that lineup, when "Bath Crashers" begins airing Monday.

To debut the show, DIY Network has scheduled "Crash Week" — five nights of back-to-back shows from all four series, running from 8 p.m. to midnight, Monday through July 9. The other shows are "House Crashers," "Yard Crashers" and "Turf War."

With "Yard Crashers" launching the high-energy franchise only four seasons ago — the production company's first show for DIY — people might think the Idea Factory is an overnight success. That would be a mistake, say company founders Peter Holmes and Bill Swan.

"We've worked long and hard to get here," said Swan, Idea Factory's creative director.

The pair already had years of television experience when they started the Idea Factory in a small rental house at 30th and G streets in 1998. Swan started his career at San Francisco's KQED TV and traveled the world shooting sports and documentaries before relocating to Sacramento in the 1990s. The two met at KCRA, where Holmes was a senior producer known for his brilliant and innovative ideas, Swan said.

"He's quite the creative genius," Swan said. "He just snatches ideas out of thin air."

In fact, Holmes — Idea Factory's executive producer — came up with the idea for "Yard Crashers." The 30-minute show tails host Ahmed Hassan as he recruits do-it-yourselfers at home-improvement stores, then follows them home with camera and construction crews to make over their yards. Holmes molded the show to fit Hassan, a charismatic Bay Area landscape designer.

Hassan also hosts "Turf War," the digital cable network's only hourlong show. It pits two sets of neighboring homeowners and landscape experts against each other to see which team can come up with the best backyard transformation in two days. Hassan and the crew filmed this season's finale on Memorial Day weekend in Orangevale. The contractors were Fore Seasons Landscape of Roseville and Moss Landscaping Co.

Hassan is a licensed contractor as well. He said he likes doing the show because it puts a spotlight on contractors.

"We've spent our lives doing this. We're sort of self-made heroes," he said. "I have autograph cards, and I'm a frickin' gardener."

At one house, drills and electric saws whined in the driveway, and the smell of flying sawdust mixed with that of wet concrete rolling past in wheelbarrows to the back yard. The plan: to create an outdoor room featuring a giant, see-through fireplace and backyard kitchen with a wine bar. At the other house, crews set to work creating a partially underground wine cave and swinging bed. DIY provides $10,000 for each yard, but pro-bono labor and extra materials may leave yards worth up to $30,000 or $40,000.

Seventy to 80 landscapers and other contractors worked in front of cameras and microphones. Hassan managed the teams while field producers Nate Schemel and Jackie Taylor, and their technical crew — about 20, all from the Sacramento area — shot it all. The "Grape Escape" episode is set to air July 26.

"Our job is to try our best to capture chaos and attempt to control chaos," said Schemel, the show's producer, who grew up in Rancho Cordova. "It's kind of like the ocean: Never turn your back on it."

Working on the show for the "dirtiest network in television" is hard but fun, he said. That reflects the Idea Factory's culture and the process used to make all four of the shows. Some of the shows are shot in other cities. "Bath Crashers" is filmed in Sacramento and Minneapolis, home of the host. Freelance producers and technical crews who work with the Idea Factory on location in Los Angeles and elsewhere talk about how much fun it is to work on the shows, Swan said.

"At the end of the day, it's just a ball," he said. "You work your butt off, though."

Holmes and Swan have been working six- and seven-day weeks and many nights at home for more than a decade. The floor of Swan's office, sandwiched between two editing suites, holds a box that hasn't been unpacked since they moved their headquarters to a tree-shaded office park on American River Drive two years ago.

They say their skills and personalities have allowed them to collaborate well, from brainstorming to pitching their ideas to DIY Network and other TV executives.

"In the pitching process, it helps — because one of us is on," Holmes said.

Their first show was the low-budget "Sacramento Bee High School Sports Show." They had their first HGTV special within a year of starting the company. They later created on-line programming for Scripps Networks channels such as HGTV and the Food Network. But they did other work that wasn't as glamorous.

"We started the way all production companies start, which is essentially anything you can get your hands on," Swan said. "We were never in a position to tell anybody no."

The company has grown from just Holmes and Swan to 25 people and a core of 10 to 15 local freelancers.

"These people are warriors. They do whatever it takes," Swan said.

Now, nearly all of the company's shooting is done in the field, rather than in a TV studio. The company's headquarters doesn't even have a studio.

"The world is our studio," Swan said.

All four of the shows are based in Sacramento, which means they're all shot here at least some of the time. "Turf War" is shot here solely. Turns out, Sacramento is a good location. Homeowners aren't jaded about being on reality TV the way so many are in Los Angeles. The city's wide variety of architecture, trees and plants gives shows in which locations aren't revealed a diverse look without the high cost of travel.

"The nice thing about Sacramento is you can make it look like Anytown, USA," Swan said.

Downsides include limited opportunities in broadcast TV and a smaller pool of talent, Holmes said.

The last three months has been extremely busy preparing for Crash Week and the launch of "Bath Crashers." Twenty shows went out the door in June alone. All along the way, there have been "naysayers" who said an independent TV production company couldn't succeed in Sacramento, Swan said.

"The hard work pays off if you stick to it," Holmes said. "It's been a long haul — but a good one."

Crash Week
Premiere: Monday – Friday, July 5 – July 9, 8 p.m. – 11 p.m. ET
8 p.m. – 9 p.m. ET – Turf War
9p.m. – 10 p.m. ET – House Crashers (Two back-to-back episodes)
10 p.m. – 11 p.m. ET – Bath Crashers (Back-to-back episodes)
11 p.m. – 12 a.m. ET – Yard Crashers (Back-to-back episodes)

Photos of finished yards and Bath Crashers host Matt Muenster provided by the Idea Factory. All other photos by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter covering business and development for The Sacramento Press.

Broadway business walk

2010-06-11T02:56:02Z

The pros and cons of doing business on Broadway were brought into focus Thursday during the Greater Broadway Business Walk.

More than 100 businesses were polled to get a pulse on the area's current business environment, part of an effort to retain and expand business.

Vagrants and panhandling are regular headaches for Broadway business owners, civic and business leaders learned. At the same time, business owners said they appreciate edgy, urban Broadway's central location, freeway access, supportive neighborhoods, diversity and recent decrease in crime.

Nearly 40 people fanned out along the commercial corridor, visiting 117 businesses Thursday morning. Their goals were to find out how business is going, see what's working and learn about the problems facing business owners. The event was organized by the Sacramento Metro Chamber, Greater Broadway Partnership and the city's Economic Development Department.

"This really is about building and furthering a relationship with these businesses, because we're all in this together," said Matt Yancey, the chamber's director of business and economic development. He explained the process and goals during a breakfast at Beatnik Studios, 2421 17th St.

The group included Broadway business owners, Economic Development staff Lorrie Lowry and Dean Peckham, and City Councilman Rob Fong, who grew up in the neighborhood.

Ethnically and economically diverse Broadway supports a mix of businesses — most of them family-owned. Some, like Setzer Products, Ruhkala Monuments and Saccani Distributing Co., have been in families for generations, said Teresa Rocha, executive director of the Greater Broadway Partnership.

"Most of the businesses on Broadway are not small — they're micro," Rocha said. "A lot of them are working really hard to end up each day with a good living."

Sacramento's landmark Tower Theater, with its Art Deco architecture and historic neon sign, help define Broadway at its center.

The street contains a high concentration of ethnic restaurants, as well as banks, national chains like Target, auto-parts stores, gas stations, a bait and gun store, and a fish market. KXTV Channel 10, the Sacramento Historic City Cemetery and warehouses anchor the west end of Broadway, while state agencies and fast-food restaurants anchor the east, known as Upper Broadway. Liquor stores, money lenders and a porn shop also make their homes on the street.

Artsy endeavors such as Beatnik Studios, a photo studio and gallery, have opened more recently.

Most business owners seemed to say that business was down since last year, anywhere from 10 to 50 percent. But some reported business was about the same or even getting better.

Hands down, problems such as aggressive panhandling and people camping behind businesses seemed to plague proprietors from one end of Broadway to the other. On Thursday, people slept in the shade of bus stops while one panhandled on the sidewalk, yelling at those who did not give him money.

"We have issues with panhandling," Cherie Prasad, store manager of the Walgreens at 1401 Broadway, told Fong's group, which included Lowry, business owner Royce Ann Ruhkala Burks and Fong's staffer, Lisa Nava. "That's my biggest customer complaint: panhandlers."

There are also problems with people relieving themselves on the property — sometimes within view of customers and staff — or suffering from mental instability or drug and alcohol problems, several said.

"Most of them are harmless. They hang out and panhandle. So we go (to nearby businesses) in groups," said Bea Franchetto, business manager of the Sacramento Business Journal. "But once in awhile, we get someone who is ranting."

The problem with vagrancy is no different on Broadway than other parts of the city, Rocha said.

"We have a lot of people walking around in this district," she said. "We don't have the robberies, burglaries and violent crimes other places may be experiencing."

The Greater Broadway Partnership hired security guards for the corridor, but it was expensive and didn't solve the problem. Homeless people were just pushed from one area to another. The business improvement district will continue to work with the city to find a better solution, Ruhkala said.

Business owners were encouraged to report problems to 311, but vagrancy and panhandling should be reported to police non-emergency at 264-5471, according to city staff.

Speeding, lack of parking and reduced business due to furlough Fridays also were reported, especially on Broadway's eastern end. While proprietors up and down the corridor said crime had decreased, a few reported serious crimes including blatant drug dealing near the Broadway light-rail station, illegal businesses in backroom shops and a recent armed robbery inside a fast-food restaurant.

Business owners said they appreciated the five-day-a-week street cleaning, graffiti cleanup and the security guards paid for with their dues to the Greater Broadway Partnership. They said they would like to see the area become safer for pedestrians and cyclists, with the addition of bike lanes and 25 mph speed limit enforcement.

Others suggested promoting the street's unique and diverse businesses and creating a trolley system between downtown and Broadway.

The information gathered during the event will be used by the business community and the city to help Broadway's businesses.

Outside Chinatown Buffet — one of the many ethnic restaurants giving Broadway its identity today — Fong said he wants to help transform the one-time transportation corridor into a walkable main street, with businesses serving nearby neighborhoods, but without an attempt to copy successful Midtown.

"I think it'll sort of define its own way," he said.

Photo by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Swarming bees? Call these guys

2010-06-02T06:22:07Z

There are only a few people the city turns to in the thick of bee-swarming season.

Three guys are on a very short list of who to call when honeybee colonies seem to appear out of nowhere.

They're like the Ghost Busters of the local bee world. They get called to quickly go solve a problem that scares a lot of people. They may use strange-looking, jury-rigged tools. Some dress in the white jumpsuits worn by many beekeepers. One of them — bee catcher Brian Fishback — said they even roll out like New York's fictional spook collectors.

"It's like a fire call. We're off and rolling," he said.

These beekeepers are equipped to handle swarm calls and more. They're professionals who use an array of tools to remove and relocate live bees from a variety of locations in emergencies and more complex situations. Their mission is to save as many bees and intact colonies as possible. The swarm busters are Fishback, Paul Baumeister and Soltan Yangazov.

"When people call me about a swarm, I give them three names," said Fred Stewart, co-owner of Sacramento Beekeeping Supplies, 2110 X St.

Unlike the Ghost Busters, these guys usually work alone. Friday afternoon, Fishback answered a bee swarm call at an Elk Grove apartment complex. The bees had come to rest on the branch of a young tree. Resident Leonard Arms had reported the bees about an hour before after watching them swarm over one of the buildings.

"It looked like a grassball coming in," Arms said.

Fishback, who is president of the Sacramento Area Beekeepers Association, set up a cardboard swarm collection box containing wax comb and bee pheromones directly under the hanging colony. The bees had formed a protective heart-shaped ball around the queen by clinging to one another. He determined they were Italian honeybees — most likely descendents of bees imported for beekeeping — and numbered about 3,000. With one good shake from Fishback, most of the insects fell down into the box.

Fishback believes it's part of his job as a bee catcher to help people understand bees, which can die in the cold of winter and have been suffering what's called colony collapse disorder, whose cause is not completely known.

With a voice full of bee-inspired passion, he taught the apartment manager and residents who stopped by everything he could about honeybees. Bees are vital to the food supply, and the United States now consumes twice as much honey as it produces, he said.

"I rescue bees from people — that's what I do," Fishback said. "When people see swarms, they freak out. I'm tryin' to save bees from the people — not the people from the bees."

Few people are lucky enough to witness a colony of honeybees swarming in search of a new hive. Some even panic at the sight of thousands of bees flying en masse through the Sacramento sky or clinging to a tree branch in a ball of buzzing amber.

Since March, hundreds of people have called Sacramento Police at 9-1-1, the California Highway Patrol, Sacramento County Animal Control and Sacramento Beekeeping Supplies to find out what to do about unwanted bees. About 600 to 700 have called the store alone, said Stewart.

Baumeister runs a business called Master Pest Patrol. He removes other critters, such as bats and pigeons. He became a beekeeper 10 years ago after killing his first swarm on a tree at an elementary school.

"I felt horrible after I did it," he said. "They weren't trying to harm anybody. I thought they were.

"I don't kill swarms now," said Baumeister, who collected about 100 colonies last year. When he goes out on bee calls, he dresses somewhat like a Ghost Buster in a white, hooded beekeeping jacket and veil.

About a quarter of all swarming colonies in this area will still find a tree hole, fence post or another place where they can build a hive without someone calling an exterminator. But not everyone wants a hive on their property. And with increasing urbanization, a swarm can become a problem if bees build a hive in a chimney or the wall of a home.

Some people call extermination companies. Removing and relocating live bees takes more time than exterminating them, but it's best for the bees, nature and the planet, which is experiencing a bee shortage, according to Fishback and Baumeister.

That's why it's good to know who you gonna call.

Fishback and many other beekeepers will remove a swarm from a tree or another open space for free or at a low cost. He charges about $200 to remove bees from inside the wall of a home. Beekeepers benefit financially by collecting another hive, which will produce honey and can be hired out for pollination, at no cost. A colony of about 3,000 would cost $100 at a beekeeping store.

Baumeister will send other beekeepers, who charge $25 to $50, unless someone wants a swarm removed immediately. Then he charges $50 to $150, depending on distance from his Elk Grove home. A chimney removal costs $175 to $225. More complex wall removals cost $350 to $500, he said. Bees may be exterminated if they've occupied a wall for a day or so, but Baumeister recommends removing bees, along with wax and honey, that have been there longer.

Extermination companies usually charge a flat fee of $500 and up to remove bees from a house, Fishback said.

Fishback and his wife, Darla, operate a small apiary, or bee farm, at BD ("Brian Darla") Ranch in Wilton. Two years ago, they traded in city life for a "hobby farm" where they raise goats, chickens and bees, as well as teach beekeeping and farming skills. The name of their website nails their philosophy on honeybees: beesarelife.com.

Brian Fishback comes across more like a bee charmer than a Ghost Buster. He speaks to bees in a soft, friendly voice and can scoop them into his hand when they're in a docile mood. He can read their moods. At times, he has no choice but to work with them, even when they're buzzing mad. He dispenses with the protective garb, preferring instead to get to know "his" bees — even if that means a sting or two. Or 50.

"He could get stung a hundred times and he's still fine," said Angelo De Cesari, who has helped Fishback tend hives and collect swarms for the past year.

At the apartment complex, Fishback cordoned off the box and tree with yellow police tape. Everyone who walked over seemed to have the same question: Will they sting you?

"They don't want to hurt you," Fishback said. "Really, bees want nothing to do with you."

Fishback put a lid on the swarm box and left the bees until dark so scouts and foragers could return. They are able to find a captured colony after other bees fan pheromones outside the entrance to the temporary hive. He planned to inspect the bees and introduce them to a human-made box hive the next day.

Stewart later explained, "He prides himself with being the bee guru in Sacramento."

The bee swarm busters can get 20 to 30 calls a day during the peak of swarm season, which usually runs from the last week of March to the first week of June.

Bees mainly swarm when the colony outgrows its hive. Colonies contain female worker bees, male drones and a queen. When a colony outgrows its hive, half of the entire colony will leave, after new queens have hatched and the egg-laying queen is ready to fly. The queen usually comes to rest on a tree branch. Scouts are sent out to find a place for a new hive, while the rest of the bees form a protective ball around her.

Bees get agitated and won't swarm if it's cold and windy. They stay inside their hives until weather turns sunny and temperatures reach at least 70 degrees.

Inconsistent spring weather has interrupted and even postponed swarming this year. The season may last through June and even July, Baumeister said.

This year, many calls have come in at least four to seven days after a colony has swarmed. By that time, a colony has begun establishing a new hive, Baumeister said.

Most colonies swarm once a year, but some may swarm up to three times. In the swarm stage, bees are in danger from predators, weather and humans. Reporting a bee swarm as quickly as possible increases their chances of survival and decreases their chances of entering a home, Fishback said.

"They will die if they don't find a new location soon enough," he said.

Bees don't just supply honey, which beekeepers tout for its healing properties. They also help pollinate the trees and plants humans need to survive, Fishback said.

"Without these, do you know what would happen to our food supplies?" he asked. "That's why I do what I do."

Bee Swarm busters: Brian Fishback at 709-0686; Paul Baumeister at 747-3099; and Soltan Yangazov, who speaks fluent Russian, at 271-6673.

Photos by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter covering business and development for The Sacramento Press.

Hometown baristas compete at nationals

2010-04-15T03:02:33Z

Three young punk baristas from Sacramento are competing in their first national barista competition this week.

Ben Lance, the 25-year-old manager of Temple, and Chocolate Fish Coffee employees Kyle Baumann, 21, and Erik Annonson, 22, left Wednesday for the 2010 U.S. Barista Championship in Anaheim. The competition is being held Thursday through Sunday as part of the 22nd annual Specialty Coffee Association of America Exposition.

All three compete in preliminaries Friday to see if they'll go on to semifinals and finals at the coffee geek event of the year. More than 1,000 people may watch from the stands, and others from around the world will watch as the event streams live online.

Lance, Baumann and Annonson are among 58 baristas who have made it to the nationals. Sacramento is sending three for the first time. Only a few hundred compete each year in 10 regional competitions. By doing so, they gain respect for themselves and their coffeehouses — with some achieving near-celebrity status among their peers and coffee-drinking fans.

Lance has competed in two regionals. He was a regional judge last year. He can't go into a grocery store without at least one person recognizing him. And every time he visits another coffeehouse, the staff pull him shot after shot of espresso. Which he likes, unless it's 10 p.m.

"The top guys — they're kind of like rock stars in the industry," said Auckland native Andy Baker, who owns Chocolate Fish, a New Zealand-style coffeehouse at Q and Third streets, with his wife, Edie. The shop features an umbrella-shaded patio, beach photos from New Zealand and surf videos harking back to Baker's youth.

He and Temple owner Sean Kohmescher spent last Monday night at their shops, watching their baristas practice and giving them pointers. Kohmescher and Lance drove down together with coffee and equipment for the competition. Baumann and Annonson left with the Bakers right after their Wednesday morning shift.

The competitions are part of the third wave of coffee culture in this country.

The first wave is said to have begun after World War II, when freeze-dried, store-bought coffees from Folgers and Maxwell House made the beverage cheap and easily available. Peet's and Starbucks launched the second wave in the 1960s and '70s by importing Italian coffee culture with its espressos, cappuccinos and dark roasts.

A new wave began in the mid-1990s, when independent coffeehouses ventured beyond just dark roasts to celebrate the unique tastes of individual coffees and the growers who make them.

"People still wig out and do a double-take when I say, 'Yeah, this coffee is going to taste like marzipan and grapefruit,' " Lance said. "And hopefully it will, if I do my job right."

Competitors will be judged on the talent and artistry they show in preparing, serving and explaining espressos, cappuccinos and a signature beverage to four judges — 12 drinks in a 15-minute routine. By competing, baristas also improve their knowledge and skills.

"We wanted to step up our game and fine-tune our craft," said Baumann, an earnest guy who's worked as a barista for nearly five years. A T-shirt reading, "Make Coffee Not War" peeked out from under his flannel shirt. After competing in Western regionals in February, he's become more tidy, tightened up his routine and found it easier to educate customers.

While neither gave the impression they'd fight off a rock star image, right now, they're still mastering the art of making great coffee.

"It'd be nice. But for the most part, we just want to be better baristas," Annonson said. Bearded and contemplative, he said he's served coffee for four years but "coffee I'm proud of" for only two years, since joining Chocolate Fish.

Baristas thrive and learn through camaraderie, both in Sacramento and at competitions. Here, they visit each other's coffeehouses to sample coffee, talk about coffee and experiment in a collective effort to "push the art forward," Lance said. He added that every coffeehouse pulls its espressos differently, and that impacts the taste.

To prepare for this year's regionals, Annonson and Baumann practiced with Lance at Temple. Lance gave them tips on preparation, how to come up with a winning signature drink and what to do on-stage when serving judges. A roaster who supplies coffee to Chocolate Fish also gave advice to the pair, who will be among the youngest competitors at nationals.

And they practiced on their own. Four to five days a week, before or after work, as far back as two to three months before regionals.

"This is not something you can just practice two to three times and you're good to go," Lance said. "A good majority (of what's done during competition) is what I do every day, serving people and describing how things taste. But (it's done with) almost a sommelier type of presentation."

Baristas at this level also want to educate people about coffee, as well as about the farmers who grow and harvest the beans. Many farmers live in poverty in developing countries. They labor to produce the highest quality coffee they can, which affects everything in the chain, he said.

Monday night, all three ran through their routines — pulling espressos, pouring cappuccinos (with latté art on top) and going through many steps to perfect signature drinks.

Working as a barista is physically demanding. Baristas try to apply 50 pounds of arm pressure each time they tamp down espresso in a portafilter and must use all their strength to crank portafilters into espresso machines — up to 200 times on a busy six-hour shift, said Lance, dressed in black and pulling espresso with tatooed arms.

They dress up for competitions, so judges are unlikely to see one sign of Lance's devotion to the craft: a portafilter and hourglass shot timer tatooed on his calf.

But judges will see another sign of that devotion: the signature drinks he and the Chocolate Fish boys create from scratch, using culinary methods to put carefully selected ingredients together to make the coffee beans' flavors sing.

Baristas use coffee from their own shops to compete. Annonson is aiming for the taste of a chocolate malt milkshake — using fresh-squeezed pixie tangerine juice, barley malt extract, chocolate and whip cream — to play up his coffee's chocolate flavor. Baumann is using tangelo juice, vanilla-enhanced sugar, heavy cream and cacao shavings to create "chocolate-covered orange cream puffs" that call out the beans' citrus tones.

Lance put coffee and sassafrass together for regionals. After that didn't go over well, he's layering a French press coffee mousse over a chocolate ganache and blueberry syrup reduction shaken with espresso.

They will each take their best shot at becoming the U.S. Barista champ and going on to the world championship in London this summer. But there's one other thing that Lance, Annonson and Baumann are after.

"We're all under the same sun and we all want the same thing: to get the public to appreciate what they, unfortunately, take for granted — which is the quality of a cup," Lance said.

Photos by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter covering business and development for The Sacramento Press.

Businesses hope to hold steady in 2010

2010-01-22T05:24:09Z

Small business owners in Sacramento plan to hold on tight in 2010 for what appears to be another tough year.

Several said they're doing their best just to keep their businesses going as the recession continues to waterboard the local economy. The owners of a local chain of taquerias said they will do what it takes to keep their heads above water for the next year.

"That's been my theme since 2008: survival mode," said José Cortéz, who co-owns 10 La Fiesta Taqueria and La Favorita Taqueria restaurants in the Sacramento region. He and his family, including his mother and a brother who manages one La Fiesta, come from the Mexican state of Jalisco. The restaurants serve food of the Los Altos region of Jalisco, which is famous for tequila.

Customer numbers have remained the same at restaurants like La Fiesta at 1105 Alhambra Blvd. But operating costs for everything from produce and meat to equipment, health licenses and employment taxes have gone up about 7 percent, he said.

The chain is also trying to recover the rest of $90,000 in repairs after someone accidentally drove through the Alhambra restaurant's front doors last fall. No one was injured, but the restaurant was closed for 35 days as they replaced broken counters, doors, windows and equipment, including registers.

The owners don't want to raise prices or lay anyone off, he said.

"We have the business we have because we have good employees," Cortéz said. "The problem is with restaurants, you don't make much."

For now, they're just breaking even, he said.

The owners of Quickly, a family-run tapioca milk-tea franchise at 16th and U streets, will also do what it takes to stick it out over the next year. Michelle Yee and her husband, Doug Holdren, opened the place two years ago as a side business to their full-time jobs.

The couple, joined by their kids, work weeknights and mornings and weekends in a sunny storefront painted in Quickly's bright oranges and blues. They also employ three college students to help run the establishment.

"Basically, all our free time is here," she said. "We enjoy working together. We spend time together here, instead of at home. By working together, we make a few extra dollars."

Quickly sells frozen and hot drinks in a wild variety of flavors and styles, including slushes, snows and milk teas sometimes mistakenly called "bubble tea."

"Everybody calls this the 'bubble tea place.' It's 'boba' — tapioca," Yee laughed. "I don't know how it became 'bubble tea.' "

In 2010, they plan to add more variety to their food menu and try new things, such as fried sesame balls and an egg puff popular in Hong Kong, to attract new customers. They also provide friendly service to keep people coming back, she said.

"I'm waiting for the economy to get better," Yee said. "When we work so hard for our business, it really doesn't matter if it's a good economy or a bad economy. We are going to make this work."

Down 16th Street, neighbor Henry Rodriguez's Casillas Cigars has been selling cigars for more than three years. The small shop sells everything from robustos and double coronas to skinny "pencil" cigars and cognac cigarillos. Rodriguez will most likely not make any changes to his business in 2010.

"I'm going to maintain," he said.

State senators and other friends of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger have been known to stop in to buy a Nicaraguan cigar known as the torpedo rosado or "red torpedo" for the governor, Rodriguez said.

Sales are strong enough that he'd like to triple his stock if he can get a small-business loan to build a second humidor, install a new floor and update his website. He would also hire a couple people to help out when business gets hectic, he said.

In 2009, business at Sacramento Beekeeping Supplies remained about the same as years past, said owner Nancy Stewart.

"We stayed pretty steady, even with the economy what is has been," said Stewart, who runs the store at 2110 X St. with help from her family.

However, interest in protecting honeybees has grown so much in the last four years that she ordered an extra 1,000 bee boxes that she can pre-assemble as needed before spring, when the new season for raising bees starts. She also ordered early, placing her order with a supplier last fall, rather than waiting for spring.

"Last spring, I had people start telling me, 'I'm going to (start raising bees) now so I can help with the problems.' I'm kind of expecting the same thing to happen this year," she said. "So I'm semi-prepared for a good year."

Another business making a few additions in 2010 is Temple coffee and tea house at 2829 S St. An imported German roaster will soon begin operating and Temple will soon sell wholesale coffee, owner Sean Kohmescher said.

Temple Manager Ben Lance is also offering a new class, the Art of Home Brewing. Coffee lovers will work with a range of equipment and learn different ways to grind, brew and make coffee.

Kohmescher said he will focus on internal development of the staff and company, "as well as making great coffee."

"What are we hoping for this year? Growth and prosperity," he said.

Pawn shop celebrates 100 years

2010-01-05T05:14:57Z

Sacramento's oldest family-run pawn shop will celebrate 100 years in business with a jewelry raffle Tuesday.

California Loan & Jewelry Co., 916 J St., will raffle $30,000 in diamonds and gold at 3 p.m. About 5,000 people have entered the drawing, which ended Dec. 31.

"It's a way to thank our customers for keeping us in business for 100 years," said Warren Anapolsky. He who owns the store with his brother Larry.

The brothers' grandfather and great uncle opened the store in 1909.

The raffle is the culmination of a 13-month celebration of the store's longevity. Since December 2008, the family has given $100 to $300 gift cards to customers who won monthly raffles.

The gems have been reset in new findings. The store will raffle off a 1.33-carat diamond solitaire pendant, a 1.4-carat diamond ring, 2-carat (total weight) diamond stud earrings, a 3.5-carat diamond tennis bracelet and a one-ounce American eagle gold coin framed in 14-carat gold with a gold chain, Anapolsky said.

Wish-list businesses

2010-01-01T00:18:30Z

A new year starts. And local entrepreneurs are dreaming about businesses on their wish lists.

Whether it's a rooftop sushi bar or a celebrity look-alike chauffeur service, most business owners have at least one idea simmering close to their hearts. Several talked recently about other businesses they would love to open if the circumstances were right.

Sacramento's fright goddess Deborah Chaussé is really into Halloween. So much so that she would like to turn the home of Evangeline's Costume Mansion into a haunted house each October. That's not a total stretch, considering the fantasy shop is located in two of the city's oldest buildings: the Howard House, built in 1859, and the Lady Adams — at 156, the oldest building in Sacramento.

After inheriting the store from her mother Dorothea Evangeline, Chaussé has toyed with another Halloween idea: offering Sacramentans the opportunity to dress in fine clothes and pose for "corpse" photos in a store coffin.

On Wednesday, she led a tour of back rooms, secret doors and passageways. Behind the exteriors, the two buildings have been combined into one. The upper floors, which house the costume shop open each fall, are already outfitted with scary scenes and surprises.

Chaussé has dreamed of using all the floors and the dank basement for spooky hide-and-seek games, séances and haunted tours. Visitors would be given only "tiny, weak flashlights... flashlights that would flicker ... then go out," she said.

"It would be terrifying. There are so many places to become nervous. The basement is very scary, too. And when it's dark down there, it is pitch black," she said. "We have employees that get scared working here."

* * *

Paul Ringstrom and his sister, Conni Levis, own two successful restaurants in Midtown: Tapa the World, 2115 J St., and Kasbah Lounge next door. Ringstrom lived in Madrid and Paris for nearly a decade. His love of travel shows in the Spanish and Mediterranean food, settings and live music offered in both establishments.

"Restaurant people have these dreams of having a successful business, but people get consumed by it," he said while sitting in his office. "I have found that when I take regular breaks, I really appreciate more what I have."

He and his friend, former Tapa chef Glenn Weddell, have dreamed of operating an eatery in a sunny country with a slower pace for six months a year. While it's still just a dream, Ringstrom and his sister have worked hard to fill both restaurants with 50 employees they trust and rely on enough to be able to get away now that Tapa is 15 years old.

"Something I've actually thought of doing is opening a seasonal restaurant... somewhere in the Caribbean or down south in Mexico, in a small town or village somewhere," he said.

With Weddell doing all the cooking and Ringstrom waiting tables, the pair would offer "good, solid, creative food" that uses fresh, local ingredients, he said. They've had their eyes on a couple of surf towns north of Puerta Vallarta — Sayulita and San Pancho. A menu in a coastal village would feature plenty of seafood and ceviche.

"Down there, you can find some pretty good restaurants, but it's amazing how inefficient it is," he said. "There will be eight tables, three waiters and three cooks. And it takes forever."

* * *

Resale maven Corey De Roo has learned a lot in the five years she has operated French Cuff Consignment with her mom, Darcy McNie. Other small business owners now turn to her for advice. De Roo would like to put that experience to work as a consultant.

"A business I would like to do is mentoring other consignment store owners," she said while taking a break from assisting customers at the store, 24191/2 J St.

De Roo wants to travel nationwide to give support to thrift store owners and teach them things like which clothes are the biggest sellers. This summer, she'll teach proprietors how to use social media marketing as a guest speaker at a conference hosted by the National Association of Resale and Thrift Stores.

"There's so much we've learned, bad and good, what works and what hasn't," she said. "I want to help them be more successful."

Hit-and-run totals horse carriage

2009-12-31T01:22:42Z

In the kind of news that hasn't made headlines in years, three people and a draft horse are mending this week after a car totaled a horse-drawn carriage near Sacramento's waterfront.

Police are still searching for the silver Toyota sedan that rammed into the carriage on Third Street as it circled Crocker Park Sunday night, Sacramento Police spokesperson Norm Leong said.

One of Old Sacramento's horse-and-carriage businesses may be out an $8,500 replica French carriage unless the driver steps forward.

The car struck without warning near O Street. The carriage rolled, sending driver Rick Newborn and two passengers flying to the ground. The impact broke the carriage into pieces. The roughly 1,600-pound horse ran off, dragging what was left of the carriage behind him, said Newborn, who owns the commercial horse-carriage business Top Hand Ranch with his wife, Dianna.

"Never heard it coming. Never seen it leave," said Newborn, who is bruised and sore from the accident.

Fox — a 9-year-old cross between a Percheron draft and a paint horse — is on antibiotics after suffering cuts and minor lacerations in the back legs. Four stitches were needed for one cut.

A couple was enjoying a special holiday ride when the accident took place. Their minor injuries were treated at a nearby hospital.

Newborn was only 12 when he and his father started the commercial horse-and-carriage operation part-time in 1970. Top Hand Ranch is one of three carriage companies working regularly in Old Sacramento. Licensed to travel on streets throughout Sacramento, they also offer trips that start in Old Sacramento and travel out along the Sacramento River, around Crocker Park and up to the Capitol.

A car hasn't hit a Top Hand Ranch carriage in more than a decade, said Newborn, who lives in Rescue.

"It's a very rare occurence," Newborn said. "Normally, the cars are pretty respectful of the carriages."

The car driver fled the scene. Other cars pulled over and people got out, but Newborn was too busy attending to the couple and then finding the runaway horse to know whether passersby offered assistance. Fox ran all the way to T Street and headed west. Newborn found the horse between Third and Fourth streets.

"He was shaken up a little bit," Newborn said.

Percherons are known for both their strength in pulling loads and a grace fit for pulling carriages, according to the Percheron Horse Association of America. Fox was taken home and stabilized Sunday night, then transported to the vet Monday. The horse stands 16 hands tall and is spotted bay, white and black. He was eating well Tuesday.

"Right now, we expect him to come back to work with not much complications," Newborn said. "He'll recover physically. We just want to see how the mental part is."

Newborn doesn't know if he'll be able to replace the carriage. The company has liability insurance, but no insurance coverage for carriages. On Tuesday, the couple was shoeing another horse which will return from a work break and take over for Fox.

Top Hand Ranch is based in Elverta. The company, which became a full-time business in 1982, also offers hay rides, a horse-drawn hearse for funerals, and carriage services for weddings and other special occasions. Rick and Dianna Newborn do most of the driving. However, they also have two part-time drivers and Dianna's mother and sister also work in the family business.

The company owns four French replica carriages that carry up to six people and American wagons that carry 12 to 20. Horse-drawn carriage rides in Old Sacramento are $10. A 20- to 30-minute ride from there to Crocker Park is $30. A 45-minute ride to the Capitol is $50.

Top Hand Ranch also can pick up passengers at houses citywide for $100 an hour.

The company does history re-enactments at Sutter Fort and elsewhere. They once were hired by a couple who had a mock royal court wedding. The bride and her knight in armor rode off in the carriage. The Newborns travel "all over," and have been hired for events as far as Nevada, the Sierra Mountains and San Francisco. There's no real limit to how far they'll travel, Newborn said.

"It depends on how much they're willing to pay to get me there," he said.

In photo, Thunder pulls a Top Hand Ranch carriage in Old Sacramento Tuesday.

Business wish list?

2009-12-23T00:31:17Z

Are you a business owner with something on your wish list? Is there another business you dream about opening one day?

Every entrepreneur has another concept just dying to be tried out — whether it's a rooftop sushi bar, a cell phone accessory boutique or a celebrity look-alike chauffeur service specializing in Kal Penn and Zooey Deschanel impersonators. What's yours?

The Sacramento Press would like to hear from you for a story about those other projects. Email your wish-list item and contact information to suzanne@sacramentopress.com or call at 804-2856.

MARRS Building gets new tenants

2009-11-18T05:38:01Z

Midtown's MARRS Building has a full house again with three new tenants coming on board this month.

Two spaces have been vacant for several months after business owners left without a word and without paying all their bills — which really hurts after the effort the company made to help them be successful, said building owner Michael Heller of Heller Pacific.

"We help these tenants. We help them get their permits, we help with their construction, we market them," he said. "So when they don't honor their obligations, it's hurtful to us."

New tenants in the block-long building, whose renovation was completed in 2007, include a shop that sells jeans, a sandwich shop and a comedy club. All three show promise for the location on 20th Street between J and K streets, he said.

"They're all scrambling to get ready for the holiday season," Heller said.

The Denim Spot is expected to open this month after leasing the store vacated by DV8 Boutique and doing minor renovations, including painting.

"He's going to want to put his touch on it," Heller said.

The owner has "a strong base" of female clients interested in the jeans sold at a range of prices, Heller said. Landlord and tenant are trying out a short lease to see if the arrangement works, although Heller would not disclose the terms.

Many yogurt operators contacted Heller Pacific about leasing the former yogurt shop. The company was concerned about the over-saturation of yogurt shops in the central city, so they signed a traditional, longer-term lease with the popular Mr. Pickle's Sandwich Shop, which has franchises in Northern California and Nevada. Sacramento has at least nine others.

The owners are "really cool guys that we hit it off with," who want to give this shop an artistic vibe that should work well in the location, Heller said. The shop will include a mural or hanging art, plus a neighborhood board where businesses and residents can post things.

"They understand they're in Midtown now and Midtown has a culture," he said. "I think it's going to fit in really nice with the building and the neighborhood."

The Comedy Spot has already opened in the space formerly occupied by the Solomon Dubnick Gallery, after the gallery moved to its new Midtown home as planned.

"The art gallery was here from the beginning," Heller said. "They were gracious enough to come to MARRS and create the art vibe we wanted there."

Heller said he was excited to lease to the club, whose owner wants to incubate local comedians.

"MARRS is really an entertainment type of place now," he said. "Especially at night. It's a very simpatico type of use."

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Ice rink decision expected Wednesday

2009-09-15T04:52:55Z

The Midtown Business Association is expected to decide Wednesday whether to take on the financial risk to keep Sacramento's holiday ice-skating rink tradition alive this year.

The association is considering building an outdoor rink in Midtown this year to temporarily replace the seasonal rink at St. Rose of Lima Park at 7th and K Streets. That rink won't be built this year due to conflicts with a park renovation.

Neighborhood input is welcome as the MBA board is expected to vote on the matter during its Monthly Board and Community Meeting, which is always open to the public, said Rob Kerth, executive director of the Midtown Business Association. The meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. at the Sacramento Regional Transit District headquarters, 1400 29th St.

Four Midtown businesses have committed $10,000 total for the rink, which would cost about $250,000 to build, operate and promote from Thanksgiving through Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday.

"That's a lot of money," he said. "Times are tough. But we don't want the tradition to die, and we want to have fun in Midtown."

The MBA is contributing $30,000 and needs at least $20,000 more to make the rink viable. Several large corporations, including some in Midtown, are considering donating another $60,000. But that sponsorship may depend on where the rink is located, which would also be decided at the meeting, Kerth said.

The business association board is considering whether to take the risk on such an expensive event, whose success depends on factors including weather, attendance, ice quality and more. The board must decide whether to hire a contractor and agree to pay $191,000 to build and run the rink.

The rink must have 24,000 paying skaters to take in $190,000 in gate proceeds. Last year, the St. Rose of Lima park rink had only 18,000 skaters, Kerth said. Any money that's lost comes out of a budget for marketing and other events.

The Marshall School/New Era Park Neighborhood Association is considering sending at least one person to the meeting to represent residents' interests and concerns, said group co-chair Bill Burgua.

"We stand with other neighborhood associations to make sure that residential neighborhoods are not negatively impacted — in this case, by parking," he said. "No matter how much commercial is here, Midtown is still primarily residential. They have to be constantly mindful that this is not a central business district."

A renovation of St. Rose of Lima Park that is expected to be completed in November made a rink there impractical, according to the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, which will instead use the site in a Carnival of Lights event. The partnership decided that the time needed to build an ice rink and the potential for rain at that time could cause too many problems and limit operational time.

MBA and the Downtown Sacramento Partnership have been working together to possibly erect a rink in Midtown this year. One possible location would be on the street at 20th and J streets, between the Sacramento News & Review and a strip of new businesses in the Mars Building including Azul Mexican Food and Tequila Bar, Peet's Coffee & Tea, and Lounge on 20. Three other sites being considered include on the street at 18th and L streets, or vacant lots at 28th and J streets or 16th and J streets across from Memorial Auditorium.

During the MBA meeting, Kerth will also propose that the group "cobble together" $25,000 to match $25,000 in city funds that could help the business district take part in the Carnival of Lights currently scheduled for downtown and Old Sacramento.

The money would help the organization decorate more trees with lights for the event, which celebrates the Grand Electric Carnival held in Sacramento in 1895. Kerth will propose keeping Midtown trees lit all year.

The MBA will try to work with the city to change current regulations preventing trees from being lit year-round.

"It just would be too heartbreaking to have all those lights up in the trees and shut them off come Jan. 3," he said. "You'd be looking up there hoping they'd come back on next year."

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Metro EDGE launches tonight

2009-09-09T03:41:19Z

Metro EDGE kicks off with a Wednesday night launch party.

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, developer Mike Heller Jr. and KCRA anchor Adrienne Bankert will speak at the event, which will be held from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. at L Wine Lounge, 1801 L St.

The Sacramento Metro Chamber formed the group to promote Sacramento's vitality and growth by stemming an exodus of talented people leaving for major cities.

The goal is to hold onto young energy and ideas that help build cultural, social and business opportunities rivaling other major cities, said Metro EDGE's chairwoman, Autumn Heacox of Sierra View General Contractor.

Metro EDGE and the chamber intend to develop business and civic leaders among Generation X and Generation Y creatives, professionals, entrepreneurs and college grads.

The group will offer professional development, networking events and organized activities involving such issues as transportation, development, job growth, arts and culture, green technology and sustainable living. The program also will create a forum for these generations to discuss regional issues.

The group was initiated to complement the chamber's Leadership Sacramento program, started in 1985 to promote leaders who want to serve the community.

Spotlight shines on shoe shiner

2009-08-18T01:47:48Z

A Sacramento shoe shiner has gotten his first taste of Hollywood little more than a week after his story was told in The Sacramento Press.

The sidewalk entrepreneur named A. Gee has been featured on local TV news and interviewed live on Good Day Sacramento. But that's not all.

He also bagged his first TV show credits Friday, when he was recruited to play himself during local filming for the CBS prime time series, The Mentalist.

"I'm just having fun right now," Gee said Monday, his first day of work in a new location at 816 H. St.

For five years, he plied his trade in Roseville. Two months ago, he set up shop downtown at a black metal bench at I and 14th Streets. Now he shines shoes inside a building near the county courthouse.

Gee first appeared on the front page of The Sacramento Press Thursday, Aug. 6. He admitted shining shoes is a way to survive and he might pack up for Hollywood one day.

That Friday, a CBS13 KOVR news crew including anchor/reporter Kris Pickel filmed him at work. The piece aired on the 10 p.m. news, leaving Gee ecstatic.

A few days later, the articulate, photogenic Sacramentan got a call from CW31 KMAX asking him to appear live on Good Day Sacramento.

"I just went, 'Oh, wow,' " he said.

Gee pounded the pavement and gave out 500 business cards in three days last week to let people know he was moving. Meanwhile, he meditated and focused on having a confident mindset for the Sunday show, he said.

Arriving early, Gee checked in with security but U-turned back out to the parking lot to touch up his shoes. They'd picked up early morning dew and grass on his way inside.

"I told the security guard, 'I don't dare walk into the studio like this,' " he said. "I'm the shoe man. I'm not going in and represent like this."

On the set, Gee went with the flow during the fast-paced interview. Three cameras rolled while co-host Cody Stark knelt and gave Gee a shoeshine.

"I don't know if I want to bust Cody out: They (the shoes) were already done. But it's television -- so it's all good," he said. "The show was the bomb."

Gee was shining shoes late Friday morning when a parking ticket guy rolled up and said a camera crew was looking for him near the Capitol. Gee finished his customer and another who'd been waiting, then headed over in his black shoe-shining apron.

"I didn't know who they were or what they wanted," he said. "I wanted to see for myself that they weren't just blowing smoke at me.

"I was like, 'Is this the media, or is this the big one?' " he added.

The guy on the set who'd been looking for Gee said he wanted a shoeshine. Gee obliged. He was asked to wait with the crew behind barricades as a crowd grew. Friends who recognized Gee asked him if he was going to be in the show. He said he didn't know.

Gee was kept in suspense for hours after being told only that "a couple other guys" wanted to talk with him. Those guys turned out to be cinematographer Geary McLeod and director Eric Laneuville.

He was asked to set up his kit at a bench and give an actor a shine on camera. Gee was told he'd have one line. The actor would ask, "How much for a shoeshine?" and Gee was supposed to tell him how much. Gee -- a man known for his flaming shoeshine -- couldn't pass up the opportunity to put on a little show.

"When I was buffing the shoe with my brush, I gave my brush a twirl, let it spin and caught it in the air," he said. "I'm hoping they caught all that."

Gee was told he'd be paid several hundred dollars for his work and time. The segment is expected to air in September or October.

"It's all been crazy," said Gee, who shrugged off a new label as Sacramento's celebrity shoe shiner.

"I don't know about the celebrity stuff," he said. "I'm feeling a little wowed by the whole thing."

See the original story: www.sacramentopress.com/headline/11555/Shoe_guy_shines_as_bright_as_his_shoes

Photos by Jonathan Mendick and Suzanne Hurt, staff reporters for The Sacramento Press.

Tasha's closing after 16 years

2009-08-17T04:47:19Z

The gypsy of Sacramento is pulling up roots in Midtown.

A closing sign was set out last week to send word that Tasha Preston is closing her global bazaar known as "Tasha's." Since then, friends and customers have been dropping by to pay their respects to the nomadic spirit who brought back pieces of the world.

For the last 16 years, Tasha, who prefers to be known by her first name, filled the tiny shop at 1005 22nd St. with tales and treasures ranging from Tibetan jewelry and Central Asian camel tassels to carved wooden benches from Nooristan. Business has been so bad in the last year that she hasn't been able to pay rent for the last few months.

"There's nothing in my store you can't live without," she said. "It's beauty. And it's the heartbeat of other tribes, of other countries."

Now, she's selling those treasures at discounts to pay back rent and prepare to close the store by the end of the month. The situation is as sorrowful as the flamenco songs written about her love with a Spanish gypsy prince she had to leave. The songs are sung in Granada still.

Those who know say Tasha's has been much more than an import store. It's been an oasis for travelers, musicians, writers and artists; a resting spot for wandering souls who'd gotten lost until "Mama Tasha" helped them get back on track. The stars have been deciphered and astrological charts read.

Inside the store, colorful tribal carpets were spread across tables. Pointy Kutchi or Afghani gypsy shoes filled a basket. Textiles, dishes and countless other items hung from ceilings and filled every crevice. Friends have been collected along with all the other beautiful things.

Garden designer Deborah Rhea and artist Frannie Phillips were just two of the Midtown residents who stopped by to check on Tasha Thursday.

"This is the end of an era," said Rhea, who was Tasha's first customer the day the store opened. "Tasha's has been an icon in the city for 16 years. There aren't any other places like this."

Phillips added, "This bothers me so deeply, I can't tell you."

Tasha's is another business whose closing may be primarily due to the recession. Foot traffic on J Street has dwindled, she said. Customers just aren't buying the goods she's selling right now.

"Everybody's broke," she said.

Sales were strong until about a year ago. About the same time, a former employee is believed to have robbed the store. That set the closure in motion, because the store hasn't been able to recover from the substantial losses, said 40-year-old Katherine Kennedy, a friend helping Tasha out at the store.

"I want to get this woman's store saved," Kennedy said. "When you walk through those doors, the ambience is incredible. I've never heard anyone tell stories like her. Everybody who knows her loves her to death. She's not here to just sell things."

But Tasha is facing more than just losing her store. She's also in danger of losing her home. A true nomad, she's lived on a big pink barge on the Sacramento River Delta for the last eight years.

The California State Lands Commission came down on the dock owners for subletting dock space in violation of a contract, she said. Moving the 79-ton steel barge would cost about $10,000 -- money Tasha said she doesn't have.

"I have no place to take it," she said. "I have to leave or they will appropriate it. And it's my home. At the same time, I have to move my store. And I don't know how I'm going to do it," she added.

Saddened friends who describe Tasha as "enchanting" have been helping her with the sale. Tasha prays for a river boat pilot when she's not trying to figure out where and how she might move her import business if the sale doesn't bring in enough money.

The situation's a bit of a turnaround for someone who's helped many people, including homeless youth, over the years.

"I'm like the queen of the street urchins," she said.

Alfy Gonzales, 22, said Tasha gave him guidance that helped him get centered and make positive changes in his life.

"She's like a muse of some sort," he said.

Tasha's influence can also be seen in other parts of the grid. She used her flare and trade goods to decorate several romantic restaurants including Kasbah Lounge and Three Sisters.

She has been like "a big sister" offering restaurant and decorating guidance to Norma Saenz, the oldest of the three sisters who own the restaurant, Saenz said.

"I think she should be doing this," she said, pointing to her restaurant's interior. "She's very talented and she's knowledgeable."

Tasha's love of nomads and nomadic lifestyles is no wonder given her life experiences. She was born in Mexico to a Syrian pianist and an English pilot who'd served in Britain's Royal Air Force. Her mother's family ran stores in Mexico after joining a great Middle Eastern migration there in the 1940s.

As Tasha tells it, she grew up in a family that split its time between Mexico and the United States. She learned to dance the flamenco as a child. She quit high school and ran away. At 25, she got a cheap flight to Iceland and began a decade of traveling the world. She spent eight months crossing the Sahara with nomads.

She lived four years in Granada and married the son of a gypsy king. They lived in a cave in Sacromonte, the cave district still occupied by "gitanos." she opened a bar, La Cantina de Zapata, where she imported tequila.

Gypsies and flamenco performers -- musicians and dancers -- gathered there after work. She danced the flamenco. Gypsies wrote songs about her love affair with the gypsy prince. Tourists soon started coming to the jam sessions, and La Cantina became a hot spot.

Tasha fled after her husband turned violent. She later returned to the United States. Hardships stranded her in Northern California.

Addicted to travel and exploration, Tasha turned her love of nomads and their wares into a business. She opened ethnic import shops in Locke and Sutter Creek in 1984. She initially sold goods from Mexico and began adding goods from every country she traveled to.

She also opened a cafe, Ruby Tuesday, in Sutter Creek. Then, the wanderer put down roots in Sacramento near the corner of 22nd and J Streets. She helped spearhead the start of Second Saturday Art Walks and a push to define Midtown.

At some point, the myriad colors and cultures inside her store spilled outside to the sidewalk. Travelers from around the world have drummed outside her store. Fire dancers started performing there recently to help draw people back.

In the midst of the turmoil currently dominating her life, Tasha said she feels honored every time a friend returns. She's planning to have a big party the day she closes the doors on Tasha's.

"Everyone has their own path, and they end up crossing mine for a reason," she said. "It's been a blessing."

Photos by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Ballet school moves to 17th and I

2009-08-11T21:41:08Z

A ballet school run by the mother-daughter team of Pamela and Zara Hayes has relocated to a prominent Midtown building near Memorial Auditorium.

The British former prima ballerina and her daughter, who followed in her dancing footsteps, just moved "Pamela Hayes Classical Ballet Training" to a vacant building at 17th and I streets last week. The ballet school's move to the block is seen by the property owner, Aaron Zeff, as a good fit with a restaurant row he's proposing to develop on the alley.

The school left a temporary shared space at 1925 U St., on the outskirts of Midtown, for a place in the heart of the central city. The school had operated in Curtis Park for about 15 years before that. The pair also run a school in El Dorado Hills.

Zara Hayes, who teaches the Sacramento classes, said she'd wanted to move the school to such a visible spot for several years.

"The location is really prime," said Hayes, 35.

"We're on the grid," she said. "I Street is a good street to be on. We're close to downtown."

On Saturday, students from the school are scheduled to perform classical ballet at Design Downtown, a new Third Saturday event centered at 10th and K streets. The school also will hold classes and small performances at 6:30 p.m. on Second Saturdays.

Graffiti art was recently cleaned from the building's floor-to-ceiling windows, which make up the exterior walls and are framed in cherry red. Those windows allow the public and prospective students to watch classes and rehearsals held afternoons and evenings six days a week.

"It's such a visible building for us," she said. "The building itself is so beautiful."

Zeff said he worked out a "very good rate" so the ballet school and non-profit ballet theatre organization could rent the building. Once a car showroom, the building also shares the block with the Sacramento Convention & Visitor's Bureau.

In the current economy, he wanted to land a tenant that wouldn't require costly tenant or building improvements. He also sought a tenant that would fit his vision for developing two adjacent buildings and the alley into a restaurant row with outside seating. The ballet school may rent for the short-term or the long-term, Zeff said.

"We didn't want to put in something that wouldn't add to the creativity of Midtown and thought this would be a nice mixture of creativity and youth, and moms with disposable income," he said.

Currently, only one other ballet school -- the one operated by Sacramento Ballet -- is located in the central city.

Pamela Hayes may come into Sacramento to teach a couple times a week, said Zara Hayes. Mother and daughter run the schools and the nonprofit theatre company, which allows students from both schools to perform together at least twice a year.

Pamela Hayes left home at 14 on a full scholarship to study at the Royal Ballet School. She danced all over the world and worked primarily with ballet companies on the West Coast. She danced until age 41 and then retired.

Zara Hayes was born on one of her mother's dance tours. She took her first dance lessons at 2 with her mother's first teacher, "Miss" Dorothy Stevens. She trained wherever her mom danced and worked with the Oakland Ballet until about three years ago.

The new location features a balcony area that will work as a sewing space and as storage. Freestanding ballet bars were brought in over the weekend. A special shock-absorbing floor must still be put in, said Hayes, who's looking forward to coaching students in the new space.

"It's such a great location," she said. "I've been wanting to get us in that area for quite some time."

Ballet class and performance photos provided by Aaron Herman. Other photos provided by Suzanne Hurt, who is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. She can be reached at 916-804-2856 or suzanne@sacramentopress.com.

Shoe guy shines as bright as his shoes

2009-08-06T03:29:50Z

He arrives at 7:30 every weekday morning in a tie and crisp dress shirt, smart trousers and that big smile. The shine on his shoes has been decades in the making.

But he doesn't disappear into the upper reaches of some government building or law office. His workplace is a shaded black bench at the corner of 14th and I streets.

Gee -- just Gee -- is a shoeshine man. Yet he's no ordinary shoeshine man -- if there even is such a thing.

He's got far too much passion about his work and the importance of a well-shined shoe to be considered ordinary. And then there's that whole flaming shoeshine thing.

Gee sets up shop where he can find a steady stream of people who take their shoes as seriously as he does -- which is what led him to relocate his business from Roseville to downtown Sacramento six weeks ago.

"I don't want to have to convince somebody to take care of their shoes," he says. "I want people who dress sharp and wear nice shoes and get their shoes taken care of.

"If a guy's wearing a $200- to $400-pair of shoes -- I can't even afford shoes like that -- and he doesn't take care of them, to me, it's an insult to the shoe. And to me -- because I'm a shoeshine guy," he says.

Gee got a social science degree at San Joaquin Valley College some years back. Later, he ran a limo service in Sacramento for 11 years. He's managed people and worked as a car salesman and sales manager.

He also was a talented boxer who took a shot at going pro. His wife didn't like the idea; she didn't want him or his face getting beaten up. Then he got his ribs broken in a match and found he agreed with her.

Right now, he's a shoeshine man and a cobbler. He puts everything he's got into doing the best job he can -- at $7 per pair of shoes.

He learned the trade as a kid working alongside uncles. One ran a shoe repair shop out of his north Sacramento garage. The other ran a shoeshine stand in the Capitol for more than 15 years.

"It's just an old-school profession," he beams. Gee himself is not that old. But he remembers a time when there used to be a shoeshine man every four to five blocks downtown.

While veteran shoe repair and shoeshine men retire or close up shop, younger sidewalk entrepreneurs like Gee get their business licenses and roll out their shoeshine kits.

One morning, federal agency staffer and lobbyist Tim Boyd sits down for a shine. Wearing a black smock and knee pads, Gee kneels on the sidewalk in front of Boyd, deftly rolls up the man's pant legs and gets to work. His gloved hands spray and brush and daub and buff with the speed and precision of a machine car wash.

Gee times his work for consistency and quality, and to help busy clients get on their way quickly. He's developed a shining process that he said has a few extra steps more than most shoeshiners. He doesn't give those trade secrets away. Boyd says he's quickly become one of Gee's regular customers.

"This brother is brilliant," says Boyd, who grew up with Mayor Kevin Johnson. "I don't care how good the outfit is. If your shoes ain't happenin', it ain't happenin'."

Some day, Gee may cut loose for Hollywood. He'd like to see if he can get work as a comedian. He's already got some entertainment lined up: the flaming shoeshine he gives to customers he knows. He finishes Boyd's shoeshine by daubing wax polish on the top of each shoe, setting the polish on fire and then buffing it into the shoe leather.

Gee ran his shoe repair and shine service in Roseville for five years. He was stationed in the automall and did scheduled outcalls to banks. Business was lucrative at first; he took care of shoes for car salesmen, bankers and mortgage brokers.

"When business was thriving, people were more free with the money. The tips were generous and it was abundant. They just wanted to pamper themselves," Gee says.

Mortgage brokers noticed Gee's work ethic and his charismatic presence. They told him he'd make a good broker. But the way they got business from customers -- getting them on the hook and then yanking it -- didn't sound fair, Gee says.

"Some people had no couth or integrity," he says. "You've got to have ethics."

He saw the recession before a lot of others as their business began to suffer -- and so did his.

"When money started decreasing, people started conserving and cutting back," he says. "It was -- 'Hey, this is 10 bucks I can hang onto and put into the gas tank.' "

Gee rolled into Sacramento and tried a couple other locations before setting up outside the California Department of Justice building. From 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. weekdays, he shines even brighter than the shoes while making friends and marketing his services to people passing by.

Gee's pride in helping other people look good becomes quickly obvious. The secret to a long shoe life is to have them regularly maintained, rather than waiting until shoes are too beat up for even him to work with, he says.

"If you consider yourself a sharp-dressed man or you call yourself a gentleman -- look the part," he adds. "I can't stand to see a guy who's dressed in nice black pants and a good shirt, but his shoes are like crap."

Gee recalled learning the importance of taking care of his shoes not only from his uncles, but boys in the 'hood, after he bought his first pair of Stacy Adams shoes -- considered by many to be some of the sharpest, if not the most comfortable, men's shoes out there. He was just entering his teen years then.

"I grew up in the 'hood, the barrio. You don't take care of your shoes, and the homeboys would talk about you," he says. "You come around with a pair of Stacy Adamses and they don't look good -- that wasn't right."

After surviving some blistering days outside, Gee has been looking for an inside location. He plans to move inside a building at 816 H St. soon. But if he had another trade that could earn him more money, he'd do that instead.

"This isn't necessarily what I want to do. It's about survival right now," he says. "They tell me I'm damn good at it, so I'm going to do it."

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Biz workshop on stimulus funding

2009-08-04T01:11:13Z

U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui on Thursday will host a Sacramento workshop to help small business owners learn how to access federal stimulus funds and other resources.

Staff from the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Federal Technology Center will provide information about American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds and federal grants, and how both can help people who own small businesses or who are considering starting them, according to a press release put out by Matsui's office.

“Even in these challenging economic times, there are opportunities for entrepreneurs to start a new business here in Sacramento, or for existing business to help make ends meet, build off successful business models, and grow their business – all of which will help foster our economic recovery and create new jobs for Sacramentans,” Matsui said in a prepared statement.

The workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday at Sacramento City College, 3835 Freeport Blvd. Federal government employees will discuss federal government contracts and business counsel resources to help small businesses.

Panelists will discuss how to get financing, starting small businesses and business planning. Participants also will have an opportunity to network with people from government, banks and local businesses.

Space is limited. Those interested must RSVP with Matsui's Sacramento office at (916) 498-5600.

Metro EDGE rallies young leaders

2009-08-01T04:59:30Z

The Sacramento Metro Chamber has launched a new effort to put Sacramento on the map by channeling the energy and innovation of the city's emerging leaders.

Metro EDGE is a new program created to give Generation X and Generation Y professionals a vehicle to support Sacramento's growth as a major metropolis full of cultural, social and business opportunities. At the same time, the program is intended to draw more young energy to the city and help stem an exodus of people looking for opportunities in major cities.

The group's official debut is set for a Sept. 9 "official launch" at L Wine Lounge, 1801 L St. In July, more than 100 people gathered at a networking mixer at Lounge on 20, 1050 20th St., to learn more about the program.

The group's organizers want to harness the city's creative types, entrepreneurs, young professionals and college graduates into a force that can help Sacramento rival other major cities, said Metro EDGE's chairwoman, Autumn Heacox of Sierra View General Contractor.

"What's different about Metro EDGE is that we have a strong sense of community and a drive to make Sacramento a better place," she said. "We are a group of Generation X and Generation Y professionals that prides itself on uniting with one voice to offer a unique perspective on Sacramento's most pressing issues."

The group's volunteer leaders are noticing many people leave Sacramento for cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York after growing up or going to college here, said Ingrid Foster, the chamber's president of communications.

"We hope this group can help keep our talent local," she said.

Metro EDGE will engage in workforce development and promote the things that make Sacramento a good place for young professionals to come.

"It's an opportunity for our young professionals to share our community and significant regional attributes with their peers," said Linda Cutler, chamber board chair and vice president of corporate communications for GenCorp.

The program is expected to help promote a new generation of leaders via professional development, networking events and organized activities involving such issues as transportation, development, job growth, arts and culture, green technology and sustainable living. The program also will create a forum for these generations to discuss regional issues.

The group is meant to complement the chamber's Leadership Sacramento program, started in 1985 to promote leaders who want to serve the community.

The launch party at L Wine Lounge will celebrate Sacramento and its food, beer, wine, music and celebrities, Foster said.

"We're going to have a celebration of things that are local," said Foster.

MBA, businesses discuss holiday plans

2009-07-25T19:40:00Z

Midtown — and its businesses — may be in for more comfort and joy during this year's holiday season.

In fact, some areas may start to look more like the North Pole than California's state capital.

Santa Claus might set up shop in Sacramento's hippest neighborhood. A Festival of Trees might light up Marshall Park. A holiday ice skating rink might take over an empty lot. It might even snow.

Key word here: might.

Those ideas fill a wish list drawn up by the Midtown Business Association (MBA), which believes such festivities could attract up to 50,000 customers during what's shaping up to be another dismal holiday spending season nationwide.

With the continuing recession, businesses and the business associations set up to help them are trying to find new ways to draw shoppers and revelers.

"We need to do some extraordinary things to hang onto these great businesses in Midtown," said MBA Executive Director Rob Kerth. "Times are pretty tough, so folks are getting creative."

Retailers, restaurants and other businesses rely heavily on sales between Thanksgiving and year's end for profits. While he couldn't name any businesses on the brink of failure, Kerth said he's worried a lack of holiday shoppers could lead to Midtown businesses closing.

"It's pretty safe to say that if Midtown has a bad holiday season, we're going to have some places go dark — particularly boutiques and retailers," he said. "If we lose them, there's no guarantee that, when times turn around, they're going to come back. If we let too many folks slip away, we could end up with too many vacant storefronts for years."

From a business standpoint, the 2008 holiday shopping season was the worst in decades. Some stores subsequently closed in early 2009.

July may seem way too early to be thinking about winter holidays. But MBA and many Sacramento businesses learned the hard way last year when an October start on planning was too late. This month, the association's tiny staff held meetings to start getting business owners and others on board.

Just how much of the wish list turns into reality depends on how much money and other support materializes. MBA estimates $50,000 is needed to finance the entire plan.

At the very least, MBA will deck out J Street with lights and holiday decorations used last year. From roughly 20th to 26th streets, they'll put lights on street lampposts or on trees on those blocks without lampposts. This year, they hope to light up three trees per block rather than two.

"It won't be the continuous coverage we want some day. But we'll keep adding to it every year," said Kerth.

MBA must also find business and property owners in those blocks willing to "host" a set of lights by supplying a power outlet from Thanksgiving to early January.

"The city doesn't have electrical power on the street. So we're always trying to find a place to plug these things in," he said. "Once we start to get a lot of lights out there, you get a pretty nice streetscape."

City crews make the old lampposts' electrical wiring ready for holiday lights. Much of the wiring dates back to the dawn of electricity and can be easily broken, said Kerth.

MBA is also proposing a tree festival for Dec. 5 and 6 to help turn Midtown into a regional holiday shopping destination. The staff is searching for Midtown businesses to decorate trees that MBA places in Marshall Park. Tree sponsorships range from $250 for a 6-foot potted cedar to $1,000 for an 18-foot sequoia.

If the idea gets enough business support, Santa would arrive at the park in a horse-drawn sleigh. Due to the Camellia City's lack of snow, the sleigh would glide down J Street on wheels rather than sled runners. But Santa Claus might make it snow — just in the park, and just for two days.

"He's putting in his orders with the weatherman," Kerth said, adding MBA has discussed the use of the park for this possible special event with some nearby residents. "This is in line with the what I understand their hopes for the park would be: family events that people from within the community and from without can come to enjoy."

After Santa finishes his duties in the park, he may then set up a workshop in a vacant Midtown building. Santa would read stories to kids while "elves" build wooden toys in the workshop. The toys would be given to charities, Kerth said.

A hardware store has offered to organize the toy workshop. Four building owners with currently vacant property in Midtown's core have offered space for the event.

"We want every one of them to be rented out to businesses. Hopefully all four of them will go away and we'll be looking for space again," he said.

The biggest event — and the one that'd require the most financing — is to build a holiday ice-skating rink in Midtown this year.

The downtown rink operated every Christmas for 18 years at St. Rose of Lima Park, which sits near the Westfield Downtown Plaza entrance at Seventh Street, won't be created this year due to park and streetscape renovations.

That outdoor holiday rink is a tradition Kerth would like to see continue. His grandfather built Iceland Skating Rink, which his mother and an aunt still own. The ice rink in the downtown park is named for his dad, William John Kerth, who is believed to have invented the ice resurfacer more than a year before Frank Zamboni developed his.

William Kerth also came up with the idea for the holiday rink. He suggested building a rink one day to his neighbor, Bob Thomas, then the director of the city's parks department.

MBA is working with the Downtown Sacramento Partnership to possibly erect the same size rink in Midtown this year. One possible location would be at 16th and J streets across from Memorial Auditorium. The rink would open around Thanksgiving and run through Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday.

But that all depends on whether businesses have money to invest in the strategy. MBA expects to hold another holiday planning meeting next month. The deadline for business sponsorship is Sept. 1.

"We're getting a big jump on it this year, so it gives us the ability to be creative," said Rob Kerth. "If we can raise enough money, I think we can make it, even though times are tough."

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. She can be reached at 916-804-2856 or suzanne@sacramentopress.com.

Sweet side of summer

2009-06-29T04:21:36Z

They call him the Ice Cream Dude.

And when people stop 24-year-old Cody Hale on the street, it's just as much because of his car as it is to buy a Watermelon Bomb Pop, Cry Baby Italian Ice or a Bubble Gum Snow Cone.

That's just what the former construction worker from Rio Linda hoped for when he took a gamble with his last $500 and built a rad ice cream wagon that'd be at home at any California beach. Lucky for him, he had an 1965 Volkswagen Beetle sitting in the garage and a dad who helped him restore and modify the car.

Just two weeks into his new profession, he thinks he's found a recession-proof job he can still do despite a recent injury.

"I make more money driving an ice cream truck than in my old construction job," he said as the Beach Boys blared from a loudspeaker attached to the hood. "The job isn't even like a job, 'cause I just drive around and have fun all day."

Unfortunately for Sacramento residents, "Cody's Ice Cream" won't be sold in the city until at least next year. Being so new to the business, he can't afford the insurance coverage needed to be permitted to operate in the city. He can, however, afford to operate in unincorporated Sacramento County and Rancho Cordova.

Last week, he drove into Rancho Cordova and Sacramento to get a county health permit, a background check by the sheriff's office, a county business license and and specialty mobile business license totaling about $275.

Driving the wagon around downtown Sacramento, Hale explained how he and two other family members modified the car. He and his dad, Lyn Hale Sr., cut the top off the Bug and cut the doors down low. His brother, Lyn Hale Jr., painted the body pale green-blue with paint left over in the garage.

They added wood paneling and trim to the sides and replaced the windshield with a low racecar windshield they had. They also removed the back seat and built a back deck for an ice cream freezer.

The cost of his ice cream wagon: $100 for parts, $100 worth of Bondo and $200 for a small freezer from Home Depot. He estimated buying a vintage Bug and having the work done would have cost $8,500.

Hale broke his left wrist in two places six months ago while riding a friend's horse. With his wrist in a cast, he was unable to work as a construction laborer, and the doctor told him the wrist would need to keep healing for many months. His wrist is still so weak he can't do much except drive.

He considered going to truck driving school but decided to become the Ice Cream Dude so he could stay near his family.

Hale designed his ice cream wagon to draw business. Music and an outgoing personality help, too, he said.

In his short time at the job, he's discovered a few other secrets. He does a lot of community public relations at Little League games and cheerleader car washes in the Rio Linda and Elverta areas. He also drives only about three miles an hour -- while most ice cream trucks drive about six, he said.

"I'm going about half that to give the older people time to come out of their house," Hale said. "I have a lot of older clientele. They appreciate the car. They always buy the ice cream sandwiches and Big Dippers, which are the higher-priced items."

He's also figured out where the most people will be outside in highly populated neighborhoods after dinnertime, the magic hour for ice cream vendors.

"Now I have a route and I run the same pattern once a day," said Hale, who estimates gas costs him $7 a day.

He plays mostly 1950s music and the Beach Boys on the loudspeaker and built an open wagon, rather than an enclosed car or truck, to make it easy to have friendly conversations with all his customers.

"I'm trying to bring back the whole '50s era of ice cream trucks and take them back to a happier time of life," he said.

He'll even wear a dog costume when he takes the ice cream wagon to children's birthday parties. He spends $60 to $90 a day on ice cream and $10 a day on dry ice.

He considers it all a fair price to pay.

"It's fun and I make real good money. I don't have any boss over my shoulder. I get to be friendly and talk to people all day long," Hale said. "I'm having the time of my life."

One Temple not enough

2009-06-23T04:23:49Z

Sean Kohmescher discovered the coffee culture as a beach barista in San Diego.

The 23-year-old wanted a job on the beach, and he liked coffee. He became a barista at an outdoor café on Pacific Beach, and then what started out as just a fun job turned into a passion.

"I kind of fell in love with the culture," he said.

Kohmescher dreamed of opening his own coffeehouse someday. It wasn't until he began developing his palate while working in San Francisco's fine-dining scene that he really became passionate about coffee and tea.

After moving to Sacramento, he opened Temple, a coffee and tea house, in 2005 in a storefront at 1014 10th St., once home to Levinson's Books.

Now this 35-year-old entrepreneur is putting the finishing touches on a second Temple location, opening Monday, June 29, at 2829 S St. A grand opening party will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday, July 18.

Sitting in his cavernous new warehouse, Kohmescher made it clear that he couldn't settle for just opening a branch of a big coffee chain, or, as he describes it, "the coffee equivalent of McDonald's." His fine-dining experience inspired him to create sanctuaries where people could enjoy a hand-picked selection of teas and coffees from around the world.

He chose the name "Temple" after traveling extensively in Southeast Asia and discovering the role Buddhist temples play in Asian culture.

"I had this connection with the temple being a community spot, or a meeting and gathering place for all the villages," he said.

What sets the newest Temple apart from other coffeehouses is that it will soon operate as a roastery. Sacramento has only a handful of coffee shops that roast their own beans in-house, including Coffee Works and Old Soul. A German roaster is expected to arrive by boat from Europe the day before the grand opening.

Another difference is the space itself. Kohmescher looked at 50 buildings before finding what he wanted: a place with character, a workable facade, front retail space and reasonable rent.

He chose a nearly century-old, small brick building with an attached warehouse and space for a front garden in the Newton Booth neighborhood. He saw past the building's caved-in roof, broken windows and chicken wire covering part of the warehouse that was open to the sky.

"It was definitely dilapidated and my staff said I was crazy," he said. "But they never saw [the first] Temple before we opened that space, so they didn't know what that looked like, either."

Landlord Chris Brocchini handled rehabbing, which involved cleaning the space, building a new roof, replacing windows and supporting the roof and walls with exposed steel framing.

Kohmescher's passion for everything about his business also makes him stand out from other coffee retailers. He and his staff built nearly everything inside the 1,000-square-foot retail space from the ground up. Last week, they finished building the front counters, espresso bar, banquette seating and display case out of birch stained in a warm walnut. They built the tables and designed and installed the garden.

His goal was to create a warm yet urban space with an international feel. He used lots of wood to soften brick walls and the exposed orange framework and mechanical duct. Buddha statues and other art create a global vibe.

Described by staff members as a "determined perfectionist," Kohmescher is also hands-on with the entire process to make sure customers get expertly made coffee and tea.

"I have a philosophy: I don't eat out at places that don't make food better than I make at home," he said. "I think we (Temple) should strive to make coffee better than people can make at home."

He turns people like 26-year-old Jessica Woods into some of California's Top 10 baristas. Woods had never made coffee before working at Temple, but under Kohmescher's training, she and other employees have competed in the Western Regional Barista Competition and won.

Last week, he tested several wannabe baristas at the new Temple. New employees must go through eight hours of training and score 100 percent on a written test before touching the register. The exam tests people on such things as steeping times for particular teas, coffee flavor terms and decaffeination processes.

After new employees have worked at Temple three to six months, they must go through four weeks of on-the-job instruction before they can work as a barista.

Last week, coffee lover and poet Stuart Canton took the test in the new Temple. He said Kohmescher's business sophistication and fine dining perspective got him interested in the job.

"To him, it's come in and have a fine dining experience, but it's with coffee," said the 21-year-old Natomas resident. "Temple has a quality product and a degree of seriousness I don't find at a lot of other coffee houses, which I'm attracted to as a person who's passionate about coffee beyond a blended white mocha with lots of whipped cream."

Back in the warehouse, Kohmescher dug through shelves stocked with black bags of tea. The new space will have a more extensive list of French-press coffees and expensive teas than the first, and will stock seven to 15 coffees and 28 teas, he said.

He opened bags and sampled aromas of loose-leaf blueberry rooibos, lychee red and pricey osthmanthus silver needle ($50 for 16 ounces by volume).

He explained that he works with several importers or "green bean buyers" to get fine coffees from small coffee farms — so small that big coffee chains can't use their beans because there just aren't enough. A Kenyan coffee will arrive next week for the store's opening.

Monday afternoon, manager Ben Lance led a tea tasting so new staff could learn about the look, smell and taste of the teas.

Kohmescher now describes his passion for coffee and tea as "somewhere in the borderline of insanity." He teaches staff to seek perfection in a cup of coffee or tea and educate customers so they'll develop a higher appreciation for what they're drinking.

"The fun in life is actually knowing about things," he said.

Midtown building to be repaired

2009-06-10T03:20:23Z

A wrecking ball won't finish off a historic Midtown building damaged in a recent accident.

Instead, the accident is helping to bring new life to the long-vacant, 80-year-old building at 16th and U streets.

The building's current owners, identified as Stratton Investments of Reno, want to rebuild the front section that caved in when a large Icee truck rammed into the unreinforced masonry structure last month. Then they'll proceed with stalled efforts to sell the building, said Dave Herrera, a commercial real estate broker with Colliers International - Sacramento.

"It's a beautiful brick building," he said. "They're going to try to bring it back."

The owners are working closely on the new design with one or two potential buyers who had been considering purchasing the building before the accident. The contractor is expected to be chosen Thursday. Next week, Herrera will lead negotiations between the seller and a buyer to see if they can determine what condition the building needs to be in and the new price.

The previous asking price was $610,000 for 2,889 square feet. The building, which has a skylight, was being marketed as retail or office space. Repairing the building could take at least 90 days from the date they get approval to move forward, he said.

The accident destroyed the brick building's front end, which had been hidden under a modern stucco facade. The accident also revealed the wood truss holding up the slightly pitched roof. The truss had been covered by sheet rock and a drop ceiling below.

"When they rebuild it, it'll allow them to bring the historical character back to the building," Herrera said. "I think it would add a tremendous amount of value to the building."

Ironically, one of the two most interested buyers toured the building with Herrera on the morning of May 19, shortly before the accident that afternoon.

More potential buyers came out of the woodwork after the accident. Contractors said they would like to buy the building at a distressed price, then repair and resell or lease it. Stratton Investments chose to make the repairs and sell at a higher price.

The building is located in a neighborhood that the city has marked as a preservation area, so the city will also have a say in what happens to the building.

The building has played a prominent role in the neighborhood for decades. Built in 1929 to house an early Safeway grocery store, the structure later housed a hardware store, cigar shop, Chinese grocery and massage parlor.

Before his election, Mayor Kevin Johnson chose the building for his campaign headquarters due to its location on busy 16th Street.

Potential buyers have not discussed their plans for the building, including whether they would lease the building or occupy it themselves.

Locals want light at 16th & U

2009-05-27T04:19:03Z

One week after a truck wrecked the front of a historic midtown building, some residents and business owners are saying they'd like a traffic signal for what they say is a dangerous intersection.

Several people sitting at Harry's Cafe, a popular sidewalk cafe next door to the damaged building, narrowly escaped serious injury when an Icee truck and an SUV collided at 16th and U Streets and ran up onto the sidewalk. Locals say last Tuesday's accident was one of many that have threatened people visiting businesses or on foot on the busy one-way street.

"It's dangerous. I really want to see the city put a stoplight right there," said the cafe's owner, Harry Luong, 53.

However, police accident reports indicate the intersection hasn't had more than an average number of accidents, said Sacramento Police Sergeant Norm Leong.

Police report numbers don't indicate the total number, because reports aren't filed for many.

The truck rammed the corner of a vacant brick building at 2030 16th St., where one of Sacramento's earliest Safeway stores originally stood. The building’s front collapsed and only three quarters remained intact.

The SUV swerved right, crushing a sidewalk table and chairs outside the cafe at 2026 16th St. before stopping just short of the restaurant's front wall.

Harry's Cafe was able to reopen the following day after a crew from the Housing & Dangerous Building Division of the city’s Code Enforcement Department removed damaged sections and stabilized the remaining walls of the unreinforced masonry building.

Luong's business has been slow since the accident, despite a loyal following. But he and his wife, Lynn Luong, who owns Lynn's Beauty Salon next door, are worried about people's safety. Their son and his friends had to run from an outside table when the SUV rushed at them. They escaped with cuts and bruises. Another patron was injured by flying glass.

Standing outside his cafe, Harry Luong pointed skyward and said "someone up there" must have been watching to prevent worse injury.

"My son is very lucky he didn't get killed," Luong said. "That's the main thing I'm concerned [with] right now."

Just then, North Sacramento resident Jim Young stopped his car in front of Luong and yelled out, "I'm really glad your son's okay."

The surrounding neighborhood is home to many elderly people and families with children. High school students and senior citizens often cross three-lane 16th Street at U Street. They may be visiting one of the intersection's three businesses -- the cafe, a 24-hour taco place called La Garnacha, or Quickly, an Asian fusion cafe/drink shop.

The posted speed limit is 35 mph, but the street can be dangerous when drivers on 16th rev up to catch a green light at T Street, people said.

Quickly's co-owner Doug Holdren, also a newscast director at KCRA, said the intersection is "absolutely" dangerous.

"People can't drive. They're talking on the phone, they're texting, not paying attention. And they're trying to go through an intersection that possibly needs a light," he said.

Even drivers living in the neighborhood have a hard time crossing 16th when cars are parked illegally right to the corners.

"If cars park on 16th Street, I can't see anything," said retiree Betty Fong, adding there’ve been many accidents in her 35 years at U and 19th Streets. "We need a signal here."

Holdren agreed.

"You get 20 feet [of curb] that says 'No parking here to the corner.' When people park there, the people who [drive] up on U Street can't see up 16th. So when they pull out -- boom! There you go," he said. "There's a lot of old Chinese ladies who walk around down here. I feel sorry for 'em because nobody wants to stop for 'em."

A previous accident sent a car flying onto the front porch of the intersection's only house, at 2031 16th St. The car destroyed the front steps and part of the porch and could have killed someone if they'd been on the porch at the time, said 92-year-old Lucille Forrester, who's lived on that corner for 39 years.

"I was taking my nap on the davenport and my kitty was with me. All of a sudden, we heard a noise and my kitty jumped up," she said.

Sacramento Police accident records for the last five years indicate no fatal accidents or pedestrian injuries at the intersection in that time, said Leong.

From January 1, 2004, to May 1, 2009, the intersection has seen four injury accidents and four non-injury accidents, said Leong. However, police reports for non-injury accidents are limited. Accidents must meet certain criteria for reports to be filed, he added.

"Based on the number of accidents, I wouldn't say it's any higher than any other intersection for a five-year period," said Leong.

Only drivers were injured -- including a mountain bike rider who rode into a parked car. Parked cars often suffered in accidents. Last Tuesday, the SUV hit a car parked in front of the café. Some believe that that helped prevent more injury.

Business owners and residents believe they're not likely to get a signal because one exists at T Street. At least one person suggested making 16th two-way. Holdren questioned whether a remedy would come through for this intersection when a lot of one-way-street intersections are dangerous.

"Yeah, I think it's bad. Is there anything the city can do? Who knows. You can't put that kind of money into every blind corner we have," he said.

The damaged building -- and the street -- have played major roles in the neighborhood's life for decades. Three years after the Safeway grocery store chain began operation in 1926, a Safeway opened at the spot, said Pat Johnson, a senior Sacramento Archives and Museum Collection Center archivist who tracked down the original building permit card.

Traffic has grown considerably on 16th Street. People now say they're worried another accident could take someone's life.

"Right now, the main thing is we need to do something to stop the accidents," said Luong.

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.