The Hard Rock Cafe in downtown Sacramento is closing its doors after 12 years. The restaurant was an anchor of the troubled Westfield Downtown Plaza, and is the latest casualty of the poor economy, said Mayor Kevin Johnson. "The Hard Rock closing certainly reflects what is going on with this country and state. It's hitting us very hard," Johnson said at a press conference Friday. "We haven't hit bottom and we haven't come out of it yet, and that's very difficult for all of us." Michael Ault, executive director of the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, said he just heard about the closing Thursday. "We are disappointed," he said. "Hard Rock is an iconic property. The destination it repre

Denver's mayor was in town Tuesday to talk about downtown arenas and the need for strong mayors — two subjects close to Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson's heart. Building an arena downtown could help reinvigorate Sacramento's core, if the success of Colorado's capital city is an indication, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper said during the Downtown Sacramento Partnership's annual State of Downtown Breakfast. Last week, would-be Sacramento arena developers outlined seven proposals for a new "sports and entertainment center" in response to Johnson's request for such proposals. All but two were proposed to be built downtown. The same day, a Sacramento Superior Court judge issued a tentative ruli

The Firestone Building on downtown's eastern edge has taken the 2010 V.I.B.E. award, the Downtown Sacramento Partnership announced Thursday. The award will be presented Jan. 19 to developers Mark and Jim Cordano, Ken Fahn, and George and Betty Wurster during the partnership's 12th annual State of Downtown Breakfast at Memorial Auditorium, 1515 J St. The 80-year-old building — where Firestone operated a tire station and service center at the corner of 16th and L streets for more than 70 years — now is home to de Vere's Irish Pub, Mix Downtown, Sapporo Grill Japanese Steakhouse and California Pizza Kitchen. A Greek restaurant is reportedly in the works. The project won the award because t

The Downtown Sacramento Partnership on Wednesday identified its primary strategy to help drive downtown's economic development for 2010 and beyond. The business group's board also voted to accept a study of the J-K-L corridor prepared by Downtown Works, a Washington, D.C. retail consultancy firm. The full and final report was presented at the partnership's annual meeting, held Wednesday morning at the Citizen Hotel. Within the next month or so, the business group will identify the "core" three to five strategies out of nearly 30 that were approved for 2010 through 2012. "Probably the most important element that has come out of the study is to restate a concept that has long been consid

Sacramento retailers are still feeling the bitter sting of the recession this holiday season. Local merchants selling everything from kids' snowshoes to William Shatner's first album are mostly reporting decreased sales — although some say 2009 holiday sales haven't been as dire as predicted. "I think the holiday season will be a disappointment to most merchants," said Ed Castro, who owns Ed's Threads at 1125 21st St. "I'm not shooting for the moon, so I'm not going to be disappointed." With the country's economy in its third year of recession, retailers operating downtown and throughout the central city are struggling the same as retailers elsewhere. Industry-wide, holiday retail sale

If you build it, they will come. What's been said about baseball diamonds in Iowa is now being said for downtown Sacramento's future retail market, according to a retail consultancy firm that has just finished a study of the J-K-L corridor. In this case, "they" represent 72 percent of the greater Sacramento area's 1.65 million population: "urban chic" Sacramentans who own homes in the central city; young, child-free metrorenters; "in style" suburbanites who love the gritty city; long-time residents and new homeowners living just outside the core; and connoisseurs who want the best of everything, said Scott Schuler with Downtown Works of Washington, D.C. "You have got to draw people from

Mayor Kevin Johnson on Tuesday announced two community meetings to exchange ideas on reviving K Street Mall and Westfield Downtown Plaza, shortly before an independent analysis comes out. The mayor will meet with business and property owners next Monday, and then with the rest of the public on Oct. 19, as a way to involve the community in the ongoing effort to develop a new strategy for K Street and the rest of the J-K-L corridor, the core of downtown. "We want to create a new vision," Johnson said in his weekly press conference inside city hall. “We need to re-imagine what downtown looks like.” The issue has vexed other mayors and city councils. The meetings will be the first such comm

Locals with dismal views of K Street Mall might take heart in the optimistic views shared during a Wednesday night panel. Sacramento may not be a hard urban center like Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston or New York. But the answer to the problems plaguing K Street, from closed streets and empty storefronts to a struggling shopping mall and safety concerns, is not to try to replicate what large cities or the suburbs offer. Emphasizing Sacramento's distinct character is critical to revitalizing K Street and downtown, they said. "This community has a soft-shoe quality. It's very unique, very friendly, very green," said Ken Kay, an urban designer who runs KenKay Associates in San Francisco. "The

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 t

The California Capital Airshow will bring more than Thunderbirds, Raptors and historic warplanes to the Sacramento area. The show is expected to draw at least 70,000 spectators and an estimated $7.4 million to the local economy, which would be on par with last year. The fourth annual airshow will be held Sept. 12 and 13 at Mather Airport, the former U.S. Air Force base. Organizers decided to schedule the event in late summer after last year's show was held on a cold, blustery March weekend. This year, Air Force Week. will be held in various locations around Sacramento the week before the airshow. Pilots and airplane enthusiasts aren't the only movers and shakers behind the airshow. The

If you go to Sacramento’s Central Library, you’ll see that the I Street sidewalk looks empty. That’s because all the benches are gone. A library official said the benches were removed in part because they were obstructing the area for disabled patrons. But an advocate for the city’s homeless population disagrees, and thinks the benches were removed because homeless people used them for resting. All the benches -- there were more than 15 -- were taken away from the library’s sidewalk, according to Don Tucker, director of facilities for the Sacramento Public Library. The city’s Parks and Recreation Department will refinish the old benches and place them in various locations in Sacramento,

More than a century after the Grand Electric Carnival lit up the streets of downtown Sacramento, a new event called the Carnival of Lights will set downtown shimmering again for the 2009 holiday season. The light carnival being arranged by the Downtown Sacramento Partnership (DSP) will mark the grand re-opening of St. Rose of Lima Park and the 700 block of Seventh Street. Both are currently undergoing renovations that are expected to be finished one week before Thanksgiving. The Carnival of Lights will make the intersection of Seventh and K streets glow starting on the Friday after Thanksgiving. The event is timed to coincide with the Christmas Tree lighting held at the entrance to Westf

Before this spring, options for walking tours in Downtown Sacramento were very limited; there was only one. However, Downtown Sacramento Partnership has worked tirelessly to create alternative choices for educational strolls around the historically rich Downtown region. "We used to only have one two-hour walking tour, and we tried to squish everything into that," said marketing manager Jennifer Snyder. "But we have enough Downtown where we were able to separate it into all the different tours. And there's more to come, so there's definitely a lot in the works." There are currently six one-hour tours being offered, five of which were launched during May of this year. These tours cover a r

Still haven't seen your first show at the Esquire IMAX Theatre? You no longer have any excuse. The theater is inviting the public to free showings of the film "Adventures in Wild California" from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 11. The hour-long, large-format film will play every hour on a six-story screen. The theater at 1211 K St. seats 400. The shows are being offered on a first-come, first-served basis to celebrate the IMAX theater's 10-year anniversary July 8. On Monday, the IMAX theater's role in reviving K Street Mall and the downtown core was lauded during a press conference led by Esquire IMAX Theatre Director Doug Link, Mayor Kevin Johnson and others. "In just 10 years, th

Friday Night Concerts in the Park have filled Cesar Chavez Park on 10th and J Streets with jammin' bands since the beginning of May and will continue every Friday night from 5-9 p.m. until August 14. In this storyline, The Sacramento Press will preview the concerts and help provide additional information on the artists and their music. Friday, June 5 Bucho will headline the concert, with Righteous Movement and Happy Mayfield opening (click each band's name for a link to their MySpace page with music samples). Bucho consists of singer and guitar player Gerald Pease, bass player Josh Lippi, Ben Schweir on the Hammond B3 and Fender Rhodes keyboards and Derek Taylor on percussion, as well a

The first scheduled concert of Sacramento's 'Concerts in the Park' series may or may not occur tonight depending on the rain, according to concert organizer Jerry Perry.   The bands Sol Peligro, Retrograde Revolution and La Noche Oskura are scheduled tonight to play the first of 15 series lined up for this summer's concerts, held every Friday evening at Cesar Chavez Plaza. If it rains, Perry said the series will begin next Friday, and an extra concert will be scheduled Friday, August 14, to make up for tomorrow’s cancellation.   This is the 18th year that the Downtown Sacramento Partnership has hosted the concerts, which are free and open to all ages. The plaza is located at 10th and J

Though it seems like an Onion story at first glance, downtown Sacramento's first ever mermaid tank may soon be constructed. Developers now await $8.6 million in funds from the City of Sacramento for the proposed construction of a pizza joint ("Pizza Rock"), a nightclub ("Frisky Rhythm") and a bar with a live mermaid tank ("Dive Bar"). Tuesday, the City Council will hear arguments supporting and opposing the project, brought about when the City of Sacramento sold its interests in the Sheraton Hotel to local developer David Taylor, of David Taylor Interests Inc., promising to set aside some of the proceeds for future David Taylor Interests construction projects like this one. Taylor was app