Before opening in Midtown in summer 2011, BarWest's owners told neighbors and the press that they wouldn't seek an entertainment permit from the city. Not quite two years later, the bar/restaurant that took the place of Aura on J Street is doing exactly that, inciting the wrath of neighbors who say BarWest isn't holding to its original agreement. "Needless to say, I'm incredibly disappointed that they have gone back on their word," said Julie Murphy, co-chair of the Marshall School/New Era Park Neighborhood Association. "And we have grave concerns about how an entertainment permit will affect the ecosystem on that block." In a letter dated Feb. 22, 2013, the City of Sacramento's communi

Those of us Midtowners, used to trekking all the way to the Sunday farmers’ market beneath the freeway, will soon have a more convenient location to pick up fresh produce. Announced Thursday via the Facebook page, the news of a Midtown farmers' market spread quickly through the social media world. And the people behind the movement – at the Midtown Business Association – couldn't be more pleased. "Sometimes with things like this you have to rip off the band aid to get it started," said MBA Executive Director Elizabeth Studebaker. The foundation of the market is strong enough as far as its design, support from neighbors and businesses, and having a secure location, to spread the word, she

Gun rights advocates have been on the defensive after the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn. last week, but that didn't stop one group in Sacramento from demonstrating their opposition to gun control in a way that was sure to get attention.  Sacramento police questioned and then released a group of men who walked down one of the city's busiest streets with shotguns over their shoulders Sunday evening. Two of the men in the group were carrying shotguns when police stopped them at 10th and J streets around 9:20 p.m., according to officer Michelle Gigante. They were found to be in compliance with current open carry laws as the guns were not loaded, Gigante said. One of the suspects told offic

Someone apparantly emptied a newspaper stand of its contents, which ended up strewn about J and 9th Streets early Thursday morning, creating quite the scene and mess.  A passerby stopped briefly to pick up one of the Sacramento News & Review copies, blew his nose in it, and put it back down on the street. Sacramento Police Department officers arrived, and indicated that city workers would clean up the newsprint.  A nearby businesses owner indicated that the papers had been there for at least an hour. The mess was cleaned up shortly after 9 a.m.

Carolee Neronde opened the doors of her children’s clothing boutique, The Moppet Shoppe, Oct. 27 in Midtown, moving to the central city after spending 21 years in Elk Grove. “I had to leave, because the shopping center I was in was dead,” she said. “It was just me and a scrapbooking place for retail, and I stared out at a parking lot full of cars all day.” In her new spot at 2524 J St., she has what she’s been looking for – the constant hustle and bustle of foot traffic. The space previously housed the Upper Playground clothing store, and Neronde said that the first time she saw the place, she knew she had to have it. A month later, her doors were open. Moppet is Old English for child,

A new camera store is coming to Midtown in the same space recently vacated when Ritz Camera closed its doors. Colorado-based Mikes Camera has been around since 1967 and is expanding into California with a new corporation. Sacramento is one of five locations the business will open in the state. The other four are all in the Bay Area. “Sacramento’s a great city,” Vice President of Operations Alex Christianian said Thursday. “Since Ritz was closing their location, and we had been looking at expanding, the timing seemed like a good opportunity for us.” The store is set to open at 2200 J St. sometime during the week of Nov. 12, and he said he expects that many of the Ritz Camera employees wi

Cornerstone – the popular restaurant that left the corner of 24th and J streets two years ago – is coming home. The restaurant will reopen Thursday next door to its former location – now a gun store – in a spot recently vacated when River Rock Tap House shut its doors for good. “We’re excited to come back to the old neighborhood and see all of the old customers,” said owner Danny Leung. For the past two years, Cornerstone has been operating out of Headhunters, a bar and nightclub on 20th and K streets. When the business was unable to extend its lease at the former location at 2330 J St. after 14 years being open, the owners looked into moving into an old church. The church, however, di

Jamaican food from a longtime Sacramento restaurateur is now available in Midtown, at a new spot that is replacing Luck’s BBQ on the corner of 25th and J streets. Negril, owned by Cleve Geddes, is named after a resort in Jamaica, and Geddes said his goal is to serve Jamaican food – but not quite as spicy as it’s done in the islands. “I do jerk chicken, and I named it after Negril because that’s where they have the jerk chicken festival,” Geddes said Tuesday. The restaurant opened Oct. 14, and Geddes said it fit the bill for what he was looking: a small space with a fully functional kitchen that would allow him to smoke meats and fish, serving food for dine-in or takeaway. Meats are smo

Does Midtown have an overconcentration of bars? It’s an issue that has divided readers on The Sacramento Press since we launched four years ago. Sacramento Bee Associate Editor Foon Rhee wrote about the issue on Sunday, and we’ll have him and Midtown resident George Raya on Sac Press Live Wednesday to discuss it. The video chat window will be live streamed here on Wednesday at noon:   Some longtime residents say the Midtown area is overrun with drinking establishments, and it’s destroying their quality of life. Others cite the walkability of the district – and the amount of bars and restaurants – as reasons to live nearby. When new restaurants apply for alcohol licenses, they ofte

The pictured mural is in the process of going up on the University Arts building on the corner of 26th and J streets. Local artist Joshua Silveira is currently painting on the wall on most days. He also worked with Gabriel Romo to do the mural across 26th Street on the Bon Air Market & Deli. Sacramento has a variety of murals, and most of the ones in the central city can be viewed here. To learn more about Silveira, read a Q and A he did with Curiculum Magazine in 2009. What do you think of the progress so far?  

Old Sacramento will be invaded by a horde of undead on Saturday – but these zombies will be seeking fun and drinks, not victims. The Invasion Old Sacramento zombie walk meets at 7 p.m. Saturday at Shenanigans, 705 J St. At 8 p.m., the zombies will head through Downtown Plaza to Old Sacramento for a pub crawl and musical entertainment provided by local band Alive & Burning performing “Zombie Apocalypse.” All participants The pre-party at Shenanigans is open to all ages, and there will be activities such as Tarot card reading. After the pub crawl and the Old Sacramento invasion, the zombies will return to Shenanigans for the “horror, sex & zombies” after-party – an homage to 1980s horror

The 15th annual Sacramento Reptile Show is set to bring more than 4,000 reptiles, including venomous snakes such as the king cobra and black mamba, to the Sacramento Convention Center Saturday and Sunday. Snakes not big enough for you? One of the show’s highlights is Izod, an 8-foot-long alligator. The show was founded by Jeremy and Angel Epsein of Upscale Reptiles and Pets to Go in 1998. At that time, it was only 10 vendors, and it was in a hotel. The show grew in popularity, and about 13,000 people visited last year. "We really do our best to reach out to the families," Epstein previously told The Sacramento Press. "That is our future. We are very excited about the industry. We want t

Sacramento's food, beer and wine will be on display Friday night for the 14th annual A Taste of Sacramento event. Approximately 100 vendors, including catering companies, local coffee roasters, restaurants and bars, will bring their best for the event, held from 5:30 - 9 p.m. at the Sacramento Convention Center, 1400 J St. Tickets cost $40 per person and include unlimited samples from all the vendors. There will also be a raffle and silent auction. Previous event-goers have reported being able to get to nearly ll the vendors, saying the event is well-organized. THe event is for the 21-and-older crowd, and no babies or children will be admitted. Proceeds benefit Easter Seals Disability

Every morning, Sacramento resident Brian Lambert bikes through the trio of intersections in front of Sacramento State, and it’s one of the most stressful parts of his commute from Tahoe Park to North Highlands. “The area is pretty complicated and not something you want to cross,” Lambert said. “Right there at H Street and Carlson, if you have to turn and there’s another lane coming from the other direction, it’s pretty scary.” The route, called the Carlson Corridor, connects Sacramento State, the American River Parkway Bike Trail, River Park and East Sacramento, and saw two cyclists deaths in the last two years alone. Those accidents and continued complaints from bicyclists drew the atte

Traditional American breakfasts are served alongside authentic Chinese cuisine at Lei’s Kitchen, a new downtown restaurant on the corner of Seventh and J streets. Chef and Manager Joshua Sprowls said the restaurant aims to serve affordable food quickly, catering to the downtown breakfast, lunch and dinner crowds. “We’re gearing a lot toward state workers,” he said, adding that the restaurant is open from 6 a.m. - 9 p.m. every day, and some of the quicker ticket times are as little as five minutes during the daytime. “They can come in here and get something to grab and go, sit at the counter, or maybe take a little longer and have a cup of coffee,” Sprowls said. In the morning, American

The busy streets of downtown Sacramento were promised new bicycle lanes by mid-summer – a promise that has yet to be fulfilled. Bicycle lanes planned for several downtown streets have not yet been painted, but officials said that cyclists can expect to see them by the end of September or early October. The $629,000 bike lane project expenditure was approved by the City Council in April 2011. The project is said to create bicycle lanes on the most frequently traveled streets in downtown to create a safer cycling environment. As city officials previously told The Sacramento Press, J, I, Fifth, Ninth and 10th Streets along with Capitol Mall are included in the project. The project was sch

When Mark Twain advised, “Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company,” he could have been talking about the newest hotspot coming to J Street in Midtown: Purgatory. The restaurant-by-day, dance-club-by night venue is nearing completion, according to operations manager Mark Garcia, and, when it opens its doors at the end of August, Garcia promises it will have a lot to offer. “Purgatory is the place between Heaven and Hell and that’s where people will enter our place,” Garcia said. “Once they’re here, they can choose what to experience.” The concept behind Purgatory, Garcia said, is to combine two contrasting themes – heaven, hell, sinners, saints – into one venue. There are two

Trio Restaurant, Bakery and Market opened July 1, bringing a Dean and Delucca-style restaurant to downtown Sacramento with a mix of farm-to-table and imported foods. Chef and owner Gönül Blum said Thursday that details are still being finalized – with a liquor license effective Friday and glass coverings for the fresh meats section coming soon. “So much of the food comes from my garden and is served in the restaurant,” Blum said. “And I have certificates from the farmers to show that the food is farm-to-table.” Blum said she likes to focus on local ingredients to create Mediterranean-themed dishes, including some from her homeland of Turkey. A small retail space in the front of the res

A new law governing gun shops will be proposed at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, and while proponents say it will give the city a chance to vet gun shops before they open, opponents say it undermines the Second Amendment. City Councilman Kevin McCarty said he and City Councilman Rob Fong will ask staff to look into an ordinance that would require a conditional use permit for any new gun store within city limits. The law would not likely affect the incoming gun store at 24th and J streets, but would govern future ones. “We want reasonable regulations,” McCarty said. “This doesn’t even regulate them. It just regulates where they’re located.” But Gene Hoffman, chairman of the Calguns Fou

On Tuesday morning’s Capital Public Radio “Insight” program, I discussed a new gun store, a controversy about a McDonald’s drive-thru and other issues with host Beth Ruyak. The first story we discussed was the opening of a pool in Southside Park. The Southside Park Pool only opened because of a grassroots effort led by the Southside Park Neighborhood Association, which saw a partnership with the city and the YMCA of Superior California. A joint campaign between the city and Save Mart supermarkets raised $1 million to keep other pools open, but Southside Park Pool was not a part of that effort. On a more controversial topic, a new gun store is slated to take the spot of the old Corners