Business

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.

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.