Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "businesses"

Hundreds gather to celebrate cars returning to K Street

2011-11-14T06:54:21Z

On Saturday afternoon, hundreds of people came to support and honor the decision for cars to return to K Street after 42 years. People rallied behind the development and celebrated the change at the Cars on K opening event. Guests seemed to be in consensus that cars returning to K Street was cause for celebration.

“K Street is the spine of downtown,” Mayor Kevin Johnson said. “By opening it up, we start to get connected again.”

It was all smiles as the first inaugural drive down K Street took place.Over 40 old and new cars paraded down the street while bystanders clapped and cheered as red, white and blue confetti rained down from the tops of surrounding buildings.

“I can remember when cars were on K when I was a little girl. I am happy that they are back,” said Virginia Steele. “After the cars weren’t allowed on K Street, less and less people came and visited. I am glad that we are moving forward again.”

James Brown’s “I Feel Good” blasted through the streets while old and new Chevrolet trucks, Mustangs, Lamborghinis, Camaros and other show cars revved their engines and drove down K Street for the first time.

Johnson rode passenger in a red Ferrari resembling the one from “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” Families strolled down the street as music and applause filled the surrounding blocks with celebratory noise.

“The vision is to reconnect K Street to the rest of the grid,” said Lisa Martinez, Downtown Sacramento Partnership marketing and outreach director. “This is forward momentum and is a positive step in the right direction for both businesses and the city.”

Families, business owners, politicians and visitors of all ages surrounded the stage at 12th and K streets while Johnson and other local dignitaries spoke about the importance of cars returning to K Street.

With throwback prices, restaurant specials and retail deals at nearly every business on K Street, people flowed in and out of the buildings as if discovering them again for the first time.

“Ideally, I hope that the whole block can be a vibrant walk for someone that wants to experience Sacramento,” said Ernesto Delgado de Tequila, owner of Tequila Museo Mayahuel at 1200 K St. “It connects Old Sacramento to the Convention Center to the Capitol, and we are working to bring some positive energy to this section of town.”

Street performances by a mariachi group, the Sizzling Sirens Burlesque Experience dance troupe, DJ 7evin and many others kept the energy high and the excitement flowing throughout the evening.

“By reopening K Street to cars, there will be a surge of energy in regards to safety and economic growth,” said Maurice Chaney, Economic Development Department’s media and communications specialist.

Performers walked on stilts along K Street as cars continued to circulate. A skate park between Capitol and K streets attracted crowds as skaters of all ages took turns showing off their tricks.

Many guests walked with smart phones in-hand as they participated in a K Street scavenger hunt with prizes that included $100 gift card to Chops, tickets to events like Marilyn’s on K New Year’s Eve Party and a hotel night at the Residence Inn at Capitol Park, Citizen Hotel and the Hyatt Regency .

The Cars on K event was a celebration that honored and marked cars returning to K Street as an important day in the history of Sacramento. K Street is now open to vehicles. Enjoy the ride.

Editorial Note: A spelling correction has been made to this story after it was published.

Council: All 39 medical pot dispensaries can stay in town

2010-07-28T05:15:45Z

The 39 medical marijuana shops in Sacramento are on their way to becoming legal.

The Sacramento City Council voted 8-0 to draft regulations for current pot dispensaries to legally operate with city permits.

Councilman Ray Tretheway was absent from the meeting. Notably, Councilman Robbie Waters, who formerly served as a Sacramento County sheriff and city police officer, voted in favor of a path toward legal and regulated medical marijuana shops. Waters noted that he had originally approached the issue from a “cop view.”

Michelle Heppner, a special projects manager for the city, explained after the meeting that the City Council intends to allow 39 medical marijuana dispensaries in Sacramento to apply for city permits.

However, the notion of cap on the number of dispensaries is still hazy.

Heppner said the council agreed that the number of dispensaries is not capped at 39. However, the council is not saying that there should be an unlimited number of dispensaries in Sacramento, she said.

Heppner told the City Council she plans to present draft language for a medical marijuana ordinance in late September.

Photo by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Let Them Eat Cake! - Davis' new cupcake shop

2010-03-04T20:56:29Z

Paulette Coffman and her daughters Chelsea and Brittany are crazy about cupcakes.

They’re so obsessed with baking cupcakes of every conceivable flavor that they opened their own business in downtown Davis called Let Them Eat Cake!

The Parisian-themed shop features three daily flavors. Let Them Eat Cake’s menu describes their red velvet cupcake, Scarlett, as a “scrumptious red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting,” while their chocolate cupcake, the Dubliner, is hailed as a “Guinness Stout chocolate cake with chocolate butter-cream frosting.” Their third daily flavor, called Illegally Blonde, is described as a “fluffy, vanilla cake with vanilla frosting.”

In addition to the three staple flavors, the Coffmans rotate 21 other flavors throughout the week to keep the selection lively and fresh for customers. On Mondays, patrons can find a flavor called Happy Camper, which the menu describes as a “dark chocolate cake, marshmallow frosting and graham cracker crumbs.”

On Saturdays, the most popular cupcake of the week, Cookie Monster, is available. And on Wednesdays, in addition to Aggie Pride, Mini’s PB&J and Pineapple Express, customers can sample the flavor of the month.

“We’re really kind of geared towards childhood favorites,” Paulette said. “We have those in the case every single day. That’s why we keep our three daily flavors. But we’re also a little bit more innovative, a little bit more cutting-edge. You can find your standard red velvet here, but you can also find a margarita cupcake here. And we’re always trying to push the envelope a little bit on those flavors, so we kind of like to show our creativity that way.”

Every Saturday, Let Them Eat Cake! also features a Saturday Surprise cupcake, which is a cupcake flavor that is as inventive and imaginative as Paulette, Chelsea and Brittany.

Regarding the Saturday Surprise flavor, Paulette said, “We like to keep our creativity flowing. [The Saturday Surprise flavor] just lets us play. It’s baker’s discretion. We usually post that on Facebook the night before for our fans … No flavor is out of reach.”

Let Them Eat Cake! also gives back to the community through its custom cakes, available in any of the cupcake flavors.

“I think my all-time favorite was the cake we made for one of the local businesses,” Paulette said. “Their niece was diagnosed with sarcoma right before her 16th birthday, and so her aunt came in and wanted to order a cake for her birthday, and I said, ‘You know what? We’ll handle it.’ So we made this over-the-top, girly, sweet 16 cake that was just draped in fondant and hot pink and pearls and you name it. It was really just a knockout cake. And it was so sweet. That was a fun cake to do. It was a little sad to do but it was really fun also.”
Even the Food Network has noticed the Coffmans and their creative cupcakes.

“We got a call from someone at the Food Network,” Paulette explained. “They wanted us to come down to L.A. for an audition the very next day and bring cupcakes. I was floored. The guy said that normally they would ask for a tape, but they really wanted to see us in person so would it be possible for us to come to L.A.? So I told him the soonest we could make it would be Thursday, [a few days later], and he said that’s perfect.

“He asked us to bring some cupcakes, and then we had to choose which flavors. That was really tough. I think we took maybe six flavors and went down there and had the audition, and now we’re waiting for our call back. So now the suspense is killing us.”

Let Them Eat Cake! might have the largest selection of cupcake flavors in Northern California, but it also possesses something that most other bakeries don’t – personality.

Everything from the shop’s Tiffany-blue walls to the free WIFI makes it feel less like a business and more like a neighborhood café. Guests and students alike are encouraged to stay for a while and enjoy their sweets.

“It’s personal,” Chelsea said. “You come here and we’re family to a lot of the community, and it’s great.”

“Yes, a lot of customers have become not just friends but almost family,” Paulette elaborated. “It’s fabulous … We wanted this place to feel like home for people and to get to know our customers.”

Learn more about Let Them Eat Cake! by visiting their website or dropping by the shop, located at 423 L St. in Davis.

Students help harvest fruit from neighbors to supply area food banks

2010-02-20T05:36:15Z

Students help harvest fruit from neighbors to supply area food banks
Gleaning effort facing possible shut down

By Maria L. Lopez & Randy Stannard
Saturday, Feb. 20, 2010 at 9:30 a.m.

More than 50 students from Theodore Judah Elementary School and community volunteers will walk from their McKinley Park area campus to harvest fruit from their neighbors’ yards for local food banks on Saturday, Feb.20. Volunteers will receive an orientation at 9 a.m. and expect to begin walking to residences by 9:30. Judah is located at 3919 McKinley Blvd.

Last weekend, volunteers walked to neighbors’ homes to ask for permission to gather the fruit. Randy Stannard of Harvest Sacramento, and a coordinator for the project, said the young harvesters will gather the fresh fruit, mostly citrus, from 70 homes. Stannard said the effort will slow down in March as the citrus season ends, but future efforts could be jeopardy due to funding.

Stannard said the project has been a victim of its own success in that the overwhelming response from volunteers and residents with fruit has diverted time from other responsibilities. “We are trying to raise money so we can hire a staff person to help continue this effort,” Stannard said. “We want to keep this going, but we need some help.”

Harvest Sacramento is a collaborative effort of Soil Born Farms, Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services, area residents, community groups and businesses. It organizes volunteers to harvest fruits and vegetables from backyards and small orchards that might go unused. The harvests are then donated to local food agencies.

Weather permitting, the students and adults will work until 1 p.m.
Reporters may call Randy Stannard at (530) 204-8082 if they want to report or film the gleaners after the 9:30 a.m. start time.

Visit the Sacramento City Unified School District Web Site.

Visit the Theodore Judah Elementary School Web Site.

Changes in Old Sac

2009-08-31T02:11:58Z

Locals who hit Gold Rush Days over Labor Day Weekend will notice some changes in Old Sacramento.

New business activity including historic building reconstruction is underway. While the addition of new ventures hasn't totally offset the loss of others, tourism revenue for 2009 seems to be holding steady with 2007 and 2006, said Melissa Martinez, executive director of the Old Sacramento Business Association, a business improvement district.

"We're staying steady in tourism," said Martinez. "That’s a really good sign."

In 2007, retail businesses brought in $2.25 million in sales tax revenue, about the same as 2006. Tax receipts dipped by $129,000 in 2008 — primarily due to the I-5 renovation, she said. Roughly 2 million to 3 million people are believed to visit Old Sacramento each year.

In the last 18 months, 12 businesses have opened and 19 have closed in the historic district.

A new restaurant is set to open this fall, and significant construction has just begun to replace the buildings which contained the Ebner Hotel and Empire House, which had stood on K Street since at least 1856. The construction will add retail and office space behind a facade that replicates the two original buildings as closely as possible. The new building will not house a hotel.

Some businesses are getting creative to draw in more customers now. On Thursday, Renaissance Faire veteran Chris Reyes started her first day walking the wooden sidewalks in a black fairy outfit and handing out fliers for the 23-year-old Garden of Enchantment. Half of the sidewalk leading to the tiny shop at 126 K St. is closed as part of the Ebner/Empire construction site.

The long-awaited reconstruction of the side-by-side historic hotels and the start of other new ventures are “promising signs” for the area, said Natalie Birk, manager of the city's Old Sacramento Historic District.

"We've got a lot going on," she said.

The most notable loss was California Fat's Asian Grill & Steakhouse, which closed in May 2008 after 35 years as a restaurant location. The 1015 Front St. site, which the Fat family operated under several names, is still available for special events. Another big loss was Discover California, which had operated for 17 years. The store had sold mainly souvenirs and fudge. The owners added a wine bar in the store a year or two ago, but that wasn’t enough to save the shop, Birk said.

Fulton's Prime Rib & Grill closed in sub-level Pioneer Square previously. In addition, Vanity Salon closed on the ground floor of D & S Development’s iLofts at 120 I St. One of the partners, Brenda Overbo, reopened as Brenda’s Hair Studio above Pioneer Square. D & S is now talking with prospective retail tenants to fill the open space.

Second Street holds a lot of vacancies. A knickknack and gift store run by a woman and her son for 20 years closed there just last week, after being unable to hang on until Gold Rush Days, said Hassan Shaikh, a store clerk at a nearby purse and sunglass shop called 17.

Shaikh said he's sad neighbors have had to close during the recession.

"In Old Sacramento, we all feel like one community. We're all pretty much trying to help each other," he said. "We're all trying to make it and stay out of the red. It's a struggle for all of us right now."

Many businesses along the train tracks were closed because that area is going to be ripped out, Martinez said. Other vacancies, including sub-level and alley locations, are sprinkled throughout Old Sacramento.

However, there's been significant new activity as well.

Across from the California State Railroad Museum, the spaces surrounding Pioneer Square were remodeled and have been available since June for shops, a restaurant and wine bar.

D & S has sold eight of the nine live-work iLofts, which were completed in the old Mechanics’ Exchange building in 2007. The company expects to learn next week whether a buyer will purchase the $396,000 third-floor penthouse, or a different tenant will rent the space, said company representative Bay Miry.

The 1,000-square-foot unit comes furnished and features a contemporary look with marble floors and red granite in the kitchen. Views include Old Sacramento, downtown high-rises, the Sacramento River and Tower Bridge.

Last spring, Brickside restaurant opened at 106 J St., where Cantina Del Rio had served Mexican food since August 2005, and River City Saloon opened at 916 Second St. in the former home of the Earl Gray Manor, a tea salon that closed in August 2007 after only two years.

Hornblower Cruise ships now sit docked on the Sacramento River. The company has been offering history, dinner and Sunday brunch cruises since July. Also that month, Old Sacramento got clean, new restrooms built by the city next to the grassy area in front of Rio City Café.

In October, Old Sacramento Properties, a division of Harvego Enterprises, expects to open a restaurant, Ten22, on the ground floor of its new building, the Orleans. The mixed-use construction featuring 24 rental lofts was completed last September. Harvego has owned The Firehouse nearby for 10 years.

Crews are currently working on the restaurant's interior, which will create a light, vibrant atmosphere. The 6,900-square-foot space will seat 190, while a 2,400-square-foot courtyard will seat 100, said Harvego Enterprises Director Terry Harvego. American food "with a twist" will be served.

The Hall, Luhrs & Co. building, which long ago housed a wholesale grocer, is being renovated. Owner Mike Stafford of Stafford Architects Associates recently had a wall added to divide a front office space from the rest of the cavernous old building at 914 Second St. Once the renovation has "progressed sufficiently," Stafford plans to move his firm from a penthouse at 1107 Ninth St. to the Old Sacramento location and rent out the rest of the building, according to marketing materials in the windows. Neither Stafford nor his staff returned phone calls.

A few weeks ago, the owner of the original 17 on Second St. opened a second shop by that name at 127 J St.

Many of the closings happened when businesses relocated to buildings or areas where rent was lower, Martinez said.

"From a retailer's perspective, it’s a lot easier to go to a strip mall and pay a third less, maybe, and have all those current amenities that you won’t have in a historic building," she said.

To do business in Old Sacramento, owners must be willing to locate in an area with limited street entrances, smaller shops and windows, and fewer modern amenities. In exchange, their businesses get an "exclusive feel" from being in a historic district and they become part of a tight-knit community of unique little shops filling the "nooks and crannies" of Old Sacramento, said Martinez.

"They’re little treasures," she added.

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

Do You Have a Business?

2008-11-29T19:42:26Z

Do you have a business?

As the sales manager of The Sacramento Press, I have been meeting with a lot of small business owners in the area who I would have never heard of if it weren’t for a few good leads. And, it’s pretty likely that a lot of other Sacramentans haven’t heard about these quaint little businesses either. We are talking about businesses that could offer up some great goods and services to you and those you know.

With the economy in a downward spiral, it’s becoming more and more difficult for these businesses to brand themselves and market their offerings. As a result, they aren’t in a position to buy internet advertising like they used to.

So when faced with these oppositions I often find myself telling the client, “I understand your dilemma, and eventually I want to be your online ad manager.” “If you can’t place an ad with us today, then we will follow-up with you in the coming weeks with the hope that things have gotten better.”

We all know times are hard, financially, for everyone; however, businesses must advertise in order to keep sales up. Internet advertising can be a key driver to getting more people in the doors of so many local retail and service shops. More people go online now, than ever before, to find nearby restaurants, specialty shops, doctors, dentists, etc.

So the question is, “Do you have a business?”

If you do, send me and email or give me a call. If you don’t, then chances are you know someone who does and you too can drop me a line. You’ll not only be helping The Sacramento Press, you will be helping our community and those small business owners who are in dire need of patrons.

Thanks again,

Angela Jackson
Sales Manager
The Sacramento Press