The opening of a commuter/touring bike shop and cafe next to the downtown train station has stalled. Brothers Tim and Mike Fallis originally had expected to open Depot Bikes & Cafe at the Railway Express Agency Building, 431 I St., Suite 102, in mid-May. They planned to sell, rent and service bikes and offer ready-to-go food and beverages. The opening was pushed back to July or August when they took over the lease for the space next door, after 5th and H Café closed Memorial Day Weekend. No work appears to have been done on either retail space since then, and temporary signs announcing the coming of Depot Bikes have been taken down. Tim Fallis could not be reached for comment.   Pho

Less than seven months after opening, 5th and H Café has closed. Owners Anthony and Tracy Palombo have been struggling to turn a profit on the bistro, which sat in a back corner of the Railway Express Agency Building next to the downtown train station. The Palombos closed the bistro for Memorial Day and never reopened. "We tried," Anthony Palombo said. "It was a hard decision, but the opportunity came to sell. It was a good time for me to get out." Brothers Tim and Mike Fallis are taking over the space for Depot Bikes & Cafe Sacramento. A sign went up on the cafe door Friday to announce the transition. The pair had been working to open their commuter/touring bike shop and cafe/lounge c

Around twenty-five eager writers gathered at 5th and H Cafe Wednesday night for Sacramento Press' Interviewing Techniques Workshop. The audience included Sacramento Press community contributors and interns as well as career writers looking to strengthen their interviewing skills. Pizza and pasta salad were provided as well as an array of beverages. The event was taught by Sacramento City College English and journalism professor Doug Herndon. Herndon used a metaphor to emphasize the role of a good interview in the process of writing a story: "(Writing a story) is like cooking a meal. It's all in the ingredients." The workshop began with the audience jotting down a few questions which the

Downtown Sacramento's newest restaurant, 5th and H Café opened Monday. Chef and owner Anthony Palombo and a small staff are servi,ng pastries and beverages on the first day of business. The full menu will be offered Tuesday, he said. Palombo said he owes much thanks to his whole family for all their help with opening the café. Brother-in-law Brian Donnaley and father-in-law Bob Donnaley helped extensively with painting and installing kitchen equipment, he said. His mother and grandmother taught him how to cook growing up. His mother-in-law Phyllis Donnaley, who once owned a deli, has provided a lot of help with the new business. She gave the café its first dollar Monday. Tucked into a

Anthony and Tracy Palombo say the place they're opening in two weeks will be more than just a restaurant. Husband and wife want 5th and H Café to be a place for friends and family to gather around good food and a glass of wine — a space like his uncle's café in Italy, where Anthony first started out in the restaurant business one summer when he was 24. His uncle's trattoria sits in Montepertuso, a small town hidden in the cliffs above Positano on the Amalfi Coast. The name of his uncle's restaurant: Il Ritrovo. "That means in Italian, 'Where Friends Meet,' " Anthony Palombo said. "It's the most beautiful place on earth." Palombo worked at the restaurant for a year and a half. He did ev