A pastel sky welcomes the new day-after Thanksgiving. This was the scene from in front of Old Soul on Broadway at 7am this morning.              SacPress Photo |Kati Garner

Sacramento (Oak Park), CA | What do you get when mix great coffee, food and Rockabilly? Tess & Hip Trash at Old Soul 40 Acres. It was nearly standing room only, or dancing room only, when you entered Old Soul at 40 Acres Friday night. Now the new coffee house for the new international terminal at Sacramento International Airport, Old Soul hosted "Tess & Hip Trash" Friday night as customers and fans took in the Rockabilly tunes, fine coffee and great eats.  It wasn't long after the first set of music started that toes were tapp'en, heads were bobb'en and feet were danc'en to the tunes and elegant voice of Tessie Marie.  Per the band's web site, "Tessie Marie met her bandmates in prison.

Ignore the dust. Ignore the tractors. In a few more weeks, the alley won't be a complete disaster and soon the whole thing is going to be paved and beautiful. In the meantime, give some love to your favorite local coffee-shop in the warehouse. Old Soul at 1716 L Street is open from 6am to 9pm every day (except Sunday, until 4pm) but the crowd dwindles to a slow trickle after about 3:00, which is unfortunate. Sure, we stop serving lunch after two o'clock, but we still have pastries and quiche and some wicked banana breads. There's free wi-fi and air-conditioning. The coffee, served at all hours, is delectable. Try a french press of your favorite bean. Try a cappuccino. Did I mention the

Disclaimer: This article is my opinion, given as a central city resident and board member of the Sacramento Old City Association. I am not an employee of any of the firms involved, nor the city of Sacramento. I am enthusiastic about this project because it represents the best combination of historic preservation, new development, downtown infill, fiscal responsibility, and promotion of local business, culture, and heritage. In December 2009, the city of Sacramento asked local developers for plans to revitalize the 700 and 800 blocks of K Street. The project area occupies about one city block, around 2.5 acres, on two half-block lots. Four teams submitted proposals, and a five-member commi

Old Soul Co. is hosting the "Soul of the Soul" Food Donation Drive on Thanksgiving Day at it's newest location in Oak Park. The local coffee company is slated to open its doors to the neighborhood in early 2010 with it's third retail location.  Old Soul will replace the now closed Starbuck's that once anchored the 40 Acres Art Gallery complex when it was remodeled back in 2003. According to the company's website, One of the guiding principles of Old Soul from the beginning has always been "to be better tomorrow than we are today"; in our minds, this principle includes everything from our own individual self improvement to our overall product improvement. We recognize how these principles

The two Midtown alleys stand largely quiet and deserted, except for the occasional rumbling delivery truck and dumpsters crouched behind buildings. The alleys have a hidden, tranquil feel in contrast to busy streets they run between. A third alley holding the entrance to Old Soul coffee house gets more foot traffic and cars heading surreptitiously to and from a state parking garage. So many cars, in fact, that they rob the alley of that serene environment. One group has another vision for what these alleys could become. They see al fresco dining in an upscale restaurant row reminiscent of San Francisco's Belden Street. They see a small, affordable, alley-front condo building that doesn'

When Levi and Jessie Benkert from local development firm LJ Urban decided to leave their Midtown business and pack up their families to start an orphanage in Ethiopia, something had to be done with their workspace until 2010. When Brandon Weber, marketing consultant to LJ Urban, found out about the company's hiatus and downsizing, he wanted to make the warehouse building into a co-working space, and he posted the idea on his blog. Meanwhile, James Pierini and his friend Janna Santoro, who had been working on bringing co-working to Sacramento, were looking for other work-at-home professionals who would be interested in sharing a physical office space, when they came across Weber's blog. Ro