Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "old sacramento business association"

Windstorm destroys tree, not spirit

2011-12-08T01:06:38Z

A windstorm that destroyed the Christmas tree in Old Sacramento didn’t get the last laugh, as the company that provided the tree worked over several days to replace it out of pocket.

“There is really not a good explanation for what happened to the tree,” said Chris McSwain, district manager for the Old Sacramento Business Association. “The immediate cause is wind damage. I’d say two-thirds to three-fourths of the needles blew off.”

Last weekend’s windstorm might have turned a once-full tree to a skeleton, but that’s when the tree provider, Carlton Christmas Trees from the Redding area, stepped up to replace it.

“They’ve never seen anything like this happen in 40 or 50 years,” McSwain said. “They insisted on replacing it at no additional cost. They even brought people down here to undecorate the old tree and redecorate the new one.”

James Carlton of Carlton Christmas Trees said Wednesday that there was no question of replacing the tree, which sits at 100 K St.

“This is an unprecedented event that was caused because of the storm, and the last thing we wanted to do was see one of our customers deal with something beyond their control and ability to rectify,” he said. “We took it upon ourselves to do everything we could in our power and in a tight time constraint to try to restore it.”

The company, which also supplies trees to Union Square in San Francisco, Jack London Square in Oakland and the Bellagio in Las Vegas, harvests its trees from the area around Mount Shasta.

The first tree was a 60-foot white fir that weighed 7,500 pounds when it was delivered. It cost $13,000 and was paid for by sponsorships from businesses and residents. The new tree, though shorter at 54 feet, still weighs more than 3 tons and is fuller near the top, appearing taller to some, McSwain said.

“It’s bigger than the one at the Capitol, which is around 40 feet, but it’s smaller than the one at the U.S. Capitol, which is about 65 feet,” he added.

Replacing the tree was no small task, Carlton said, adding that all the tree-cutting and hauling equipment had been removed from the mountain, as it was late in the year to be getting large trees in place – something typically done by mid-November.

“We had to first locate a tree, and once we located it, mobilize our equipment to get it up on the mountain, and then we applied a preservative to the tree, and we cut 24 hours after that,” he said. “There’s a lot of logistics that had to occur over a short period of time.”

Workers from Carlton Christmas Trees began removing decorations from the old tree Monday morning, and the new tree arrived on Tuesday morning. They spent Tuesday taking down the old tree and putting up the new one, and Wednesday was spent redecorating the new tree.

“Our goal is to be done by noon (Thursday),” Carlton said Wednesday afternoon.

Video by Chris McSwain

Nick Marks, a 50-year-old Sacramentan who works in fugitive recovery for bail bonds companies, said he thinks the tree company is doing a good job.

“I was here after the storm, and the old tree just looked like it was bent,” he said. “This one’s a lot fuller, and it’s nice that they’re taking care of it for free. It looks really nice.”

The tree is part of the Theatre of Lights show, and Kelsey Leaird, a 23-year-old supervisor at the Steamers bakery and cafe at 101 K St., said it’s important to business.

“It brings in a ton of crowds,” she said, adding that the tree is an important part of the draw.

“The old tree was pretty scraggly after the storm,” she said. “Before, it was a beautiful tree. Unfortunately, we had the huge windstorm, and it fell apart.”

She said the new tree is something to once again be proud of.

“Some people had some ideas to fix the old one, like taking greenery from tree farms and wire-tying it on, but this is a lot better,” she said. “Once the company came out and saw it, they brought a new one in right away.”

McSwain said the unfortunate incident showcased the holiday spirit.

“Carlton is a family-owned business,” he said. “It’s really one of those good business stories about the way businesses really look out for their customers. Some people were calling the old one a ‘Charlie Brown Christmas tree,’ but it’s really about the spirit of Christmas, not the tree. And now we have both.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Dancers help city kick up its heels at St. Pat's Parade

2011-03-11T03:07:34Z

A local dance troupe hopes to help turn Sacramento's St. Patrick's Day Parade into a céilí – and for all you non-Gaelic speakers out there, that means one big party.

While a little beer is known to flow on St. Patrick's Day, the kind of party we're talking about is more of a cultural celebration.

The céilí – or céilidh in Scottish Gaelic – developed in Ireland and Scotland as an entertaining get-together where stories were told, poems recited and songs sung. Modern céilís (KAY lees) often include dancing.

The céilí is what St. Patrick's Day is all about, said Helen Healy, one of the grand dames of the city's Irish-American community.

"It's a Celtic word for a gathering of music, song and dance," she said.

In 1994, Healy started an Irish folk dance group to help preserve cultural heritage by teaching the traditional dances of her native Ireland to Irish-Americans in Sacramento.

Her group, the Sacramento Irish American Céili Dancers, will show Sacramentans how to kick up their heels in the city's 15th annual St. Patrick's Day Parade, set for 1 p.m. Saturday in Old Sacramento, and at six other events held throughout the region to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, which is March 17.

They'll join more than 50 groups with at least 1,000 marchers who are taking part in the parade, which is organized by the Old Sacramento Business Association.

A group of about 14 women and men gathers twice a month for dance classes and practice. They perform throughout the community on request. The class meets from 7 - 9 p.m. every first and third Monday at Sierra 2 Center for the Arts and Community, 2791 24th St., in Curtis Park. Each class costs $5 and is open to all. You don’t have to be Irish-American or have a partner to take part.

Healy, a red-haired and freckled Celt, has been busy in recent weeks preparing for upcoming holiday celebrations. The dates are penciled into a spiral calendar kept near the phone, which has been ringing off the hook.

The dancers range in age from their 20s to 70s. One dancer, Liam Irish, is also a musician who plays several instruments at performances. The teacher, Colleen Pulskamp, grew up taking Irish and Celtic dance classes in Southern California.

On Monday, Healy met with the other dancers to determine who'd march and dance in the parade and who'd perform at other spots over the next week. The dancing they do isn't the high-stepping Irish stepdancing made famous by the Riverdance show.

The group practices the kind of set and céilí dances Healy learned in school and at home growing up in County Kerry, Ireland. The dances were done in great halls at weddings and festivals as well as in pubs and people's homes.

"Whenever people in the old days had a party in their house, everybody did some céilí dancing. They called it 'dancing in the kitchen,' " said Healy, a soft Irish lilt like sunshine in her voice. "If visitors were coming, you might be asked to entertain them – to sing and dance."

She decided to start the group after discovering how few Irish-Americans in the area knew how to do traditional folk dances.

"Everybody was aware of the stepdancing, but there was nobody doing the céilí dancing," Healy said. "I wanted to introduce another part of our culture to Sacramento."

During the parade, the Sacramento Irish American Céili Dancers will be dressed in white shirts, black skirts, green vests and scarves with Celtic designs that Healy brought back from Ireland. They'll stop and perform before the reviewing stand at Front and K streets, in front of the Delta King.

The parade's grand marshals – St. Rose Parish's Monsignor Edward Kavanaugh, who started the St. Patrick's Home orphanage, and Father Dan Madigan, who founded Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services – are being honored for their decades of contributions to the Irish-American community, said Chris Brown, president of the Sacramento Shamrock Club.

The parade has grown to embrace all Celtic culture and has been made possible through the unity of local Celtic groups and individuals, he said.

"We're all a bunch of Yanks trying to keep our Celtic heritage alive," Brown said.

Suzanne Hurt is an Irish-American staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

Hip hop music not the problem, panelists say

2010-11-10T02:25:15Z

The key to successful and safe hip hop events in Sacramento is to focus on the music, an expert panel said Tuesday.

Sacramento needs club owners and promoters to give hip hop artists doing good music a chance – working together rationally to overcome stereotypes or solve problems. What the city doesn't need is people who bring turf wars or personal drama into clubs, said hip hop artists, promoters and a historian gathered at the Crest Theatre.

One panelist, rapper B-Smoove, acknowledged that problems can arise if gang enemies who normally don't cross paths suddenly wind up at the same club. He’s established a reputation for hosting problem-free hip hop nights by reminding his audiences that everyone was there for the music, not drugs or violence.

"When it's all about the music, all the B.S. goes by the wayside," said hip hop DJ and promoter Mic Jordan at an event organized by the Midtown Business Association, Downtown Sacramento Partnership and Old Sacramento Business Association.

The panel was part of a series of workshops on nightclub safety and state laws and city regulations for bars and nightclubs. On Nov. 16, the business organizations are hosting the third Pubs, Clubs and Bars Security Training workshop on bar security and operations from 2 - 5 p.m. at the California Military Museum, 1119 Second St.

The free workshops are open to businesses, DJs and club promoters in Old Sacramento, downtown and Midtown.

Hip hop started largely because New York gang lords wanted to create places for their kids to have positive experiences. There may have been war in the streets, but that wasn't allowed at such events, Jordan said.

"They used their muscle to enforce these hip hop events as safe zones," Jordan said. "As artists, that's part of our responsibility. That's what we can do at the clubs."

Panelists discouraged marketing efforts that exploit violence, such as promotional fliers with gunshot holes used recently here by one promoter. Sacramento's hip hop scene has remained largely unrecognized, and artists aren't given opportunities because of problems with violence that have been blamed on the music, they said.

"Our underground music scene is as good as anybody across the board," said Jordan, adding that the city doesn’t have enough club owners who trust artists or have established clientele.

Hip hop educator Michael Benjamin II recommended clubs play more diverse hip hop and use diverse DJs and musicians. The crowds will come for events featuring hip hop’s golden era in the 1980s and 1990s, he said.

"I've never understood a club owner complaining about violence at their club and they're playing all violent music," he said.

Some but not all panelists say troublemakers might be weeded out with dress codes, which could add a more sophisticated vibe inside clubs and prevent gang colors from being worn. Problems might also be prevented by no longer making people line up outside and wait to be chosen to get in, B-Smoove said.

The practice may work in cities like Los Angeles and New York. But here, customers are likely to become unhappy if someone else is allowed in when they’re not, he said.

“In Sacramento, that tactic don't necessarily work,” B-Smoove said.

Some clubs are only concerned about filling up with customers, so they aren't weeding out bad people, said DJ Katz, an underground electronic DJ who joined about 25 other people in the audience. The crowd included bar owners, DJs, promoters, police and security personnel.

"It's desperation time right now. There's crickets," he said.

But Swiff, a musician who does hip hop, rock and R&B, said rules that force people to wear expensive clothing may start more fights because a guy who gets a drink spilled on his expensive shirt will be more angry than if he was just wearing a T-shirt.

The panelists suggested Sacramento clubs hire more security for events. Bouncers should be trained professionals – polite and well-dressed, yet tough when needed, so they themselves don't initiate violence with disrespectful behavior. They should also work at the same clubs repeatedly so they recognize people who've caused problems in the past, panelists said.

Swiff said he's OK with having police officers sitting outside clubs to keep troublemakers or "outside scum" away. What he doesn't want is people leaving one of his events vowing never to return because they're afraid for their lives.

"That's what’s wrong in Sacramento: We're letting the scum beat us," he said.

Workshops tackle safe bar operations

2010-11-05T00:53:02Z

Nightclub safety will be discussed at upcoming workshops offered by local business organizations.

The Downtown Sacramento Partnership, Midtown Business Association and Old Sacramento Business Association are hosting two sessions this month.They are part of a series aimed at educating bar and restaurant owners and staff about their responsibilities, as well as state laws and city regulations.

The free workshops are open to businesses, DJs and club promoters in Old Sacramento, downtown and Midtown.

Rapper B-Smoove and other experts in Sacramento's hip hop scene recently agreed to lead a panel on managing hip hop nights so that they stay free from the violence that shut down clubs like Elements. Other discussions will tackle many "gray areas" involved with bar operation, entertainment permits and special events, said DSP Director of Community Services Ryan Loofbourrow.

"We plan on doing this on a regular basis, so as trends happen or new regulations take effect, we can include those," he said Thursday. "We want to make sure all of our establishments are up to date on all the procedures."

On Nov. 9, a hip hop panel will talk about how business owners can build successful clubs and reputations by enforcing tight security at the door, banning bad behavior inside clubs and offering "true" hip hop – rather than gangsta rap or other music with violent lyrics, MBA Operations Manager Aja Uranga-Foster said.

B-Smoove will be joined by Michael W. Benjamin II of Low End Theory Collaborative, hip hop club promoter Mike Jordan and Brian "Abs" Washington, a musician, promoter, personal trainer and bouncer. The panel will be held from 1 - 2 p.m. at the Crest Theatre, 1013 K St.

Some bars have stopped offering hip hop events, while others have developed bad reputations and even lost permits or licenses for repeated violence. The panel will discuss how music lyrics and beats can influence mood and behavior inside a club, she said.

Two people were shot and killed outside Elements, 805 15th St., in 2004. Robert Zarco was gunned down in revenge after he shot and killed 26-year-old Elias Sanchez in front of his wife. The club stopped holding hip hop nights after the shooting. Its permit was later revoked. The club was sold and the place reopened as Avalon.

"They're going to talk about how to maintain a high standard and play good hip hop that doesn't just appeal to a 'low-end crowd,' " Foster said. "They themselves (the panelists) don't go out to clubs because they want to hear true hip hop, but they don't like the behavior that is allowed at some clubs."

That panel will be followed by a workshop on responsible beverage service from 2 - 5 p.m. Jerry Jolly, the former director of the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, will explain state regulations involving alcohol sales and promotions, how to turn away intoxicated customers and how to communicate with ABC agents.

Another Pubs, Clubs and Bars Security Training workshop will be held on bar security and operations from 2 - 5 p.m. Nov. 16 at the California Military Museum, 1119 Second St. Sacramento Police Sgt. Monty "Max" Maxwell, with the department's entertainment team, will cover city entertainment permits, requirements for security operations, how to recognize people too intoxicated to buy more liquor, fire safety and other issues, Loofbourrow said.

"Bars are responsible for the behavior of customers," he said. "This will help bar operators and security know what to look for."

Photo by Brandon Darnell.

Managing 'hospitality zones'

2010-10-02T05:08:42Z

Sacramento’s “hospitality zones” became classrooms Thursday night.

Nearly two dozen people visiting Sacramento for the California Downtown Association’s 2010 annual conference took a walking “Nighttime Economy Tour” through parts of Old Sacramento, downtown and Midtown. Most in the group help manage downtown business districts.

Stopping in bars from Vega’s at Old Sacramento’s historic waterfront to de Vere’s Irish Pub near 15th and L streets, people learned best practices, as well as what to avoid, to successfully set up and manage hospitality districts – concentrations of bars, restaurants, café-lounges and other entertainment businesses.

Officials with cities and business improvement districts have many more tools at their disposal than they realize, said Allison Harnden, vice president of Santa Cruz-based Responsible Hospitality Institute. She led discussions on the tour.

One is to make sure visitors have plenty of convenient transportation options, such as “safe ride” programs, taxi stands, pedicabs, late-night public transportation and safe neighborhoods to walk in, so they can leave bars safely and quickly.

“This is your biggest bang for the buck,” said Harnden, whose group was established to help communities plan and manage entertainment zones. “If you can clear the hospitality district at closing time, you won’t have noise, you won’t have fights, you won’t have bottle throwing.”

Melissa Martinez, executive director of the Old Sacramento Business Association, and Aja Uranga-Foster, programs manager with the Midtown Business Association, led a four-hour tour to 11 establishments. Several were located at 20th and K streets.

Public urination after closing is a common problem because many cities don’t have enough public restrooms near these areas.

The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control doesn’t like to give out liquor licenses for businesses close together. But concentrations of bars are easier for police to manage, she said.

The institute encourages cities to establish staggered closing times so police aren’t overwhelmed trying to manage crowds at closing, she said outside de Vere’s, where a crowd of patrons waited to enter at 11 p.m.

Another way to prevent many problems in such districts and to create more financially successful zones is to recruit a mix of businesses meeting needs and schedules of all four adult demographic groups, rather than just single 20-somethings, she said.

That group tends to drink too much because they’re insecure about socializing. Guys that age are most likely to fight. They may not spend much money at businesses, preferring to spend time “displaying and promenading” in groups, she said.

“You really want to start filling in some of these things to attract other people,” Harnden said.

Scarecrows to haunt Old Sac

2009-09-19T14:36:23Z

Old Sacramento in the fall would be a little more lifeless without its scarecrows.

Every year for at least a decade, the scarecrows have turned up on balconies, wooden sidewalks and a spooky-looking park to enchant visitors.

But the scarecrows fell apart as they grew older. Business owners have become reluctant to adopt them for storefronts in recent years.

So six Sacramento artists -- most who live in the grid -- were recruited to breathe new life (death?) into more than two dozen scarecrows in time for Halloween. Melissa Martinez, the Old Sacramento Business Association's new leader, is playing up Halloween in the business district this year to draw more visitors and shoppers.

"This year, I want to take it to the next level," she said. "It's going to be awesome."

Visitors can make scarecrows Sept. 26 and trick-or-treat on Halloween. The eerie below-ground-level space known as Atlantis Park will be turned into Scarecrow Park, complete with spooky nocturnal scenes, dramatic lighting and the creepiest scarecrows. "Skeleton" crews will conduct train rides on the Spookomotive. Public ghost tours will take place on weekend nights. And a local paranormal investigative group will do its best to determine whether departed spirits linger in Old Sacramento.

Scarecrow restoration began two weeks ago when illustrator span style="text-decoration:line-through;">Jackie Jacquelyn Bond, clothing designer Leendah Munoz and engineer Eric Vierria pulled 26 scarecrows from a dark storage container on the edge of Old Sacramento. They and three others, including Ariana Gillespie, volunteered to redo the scarecrows on a $200 budget.

"We have some of the most notorious artists in Sacramento participating in this — people who are known by their art, but not by their faces," said Munoz, standing before scarecrows set out beneath the underbelly of I-5.

They quickly got to work disemboweling the life-size figures, whose bodies, clothes and heads were falling apart. The scarecrow miners, dance hall girls, gamblers, settlers and "corpses" with nooses around their necks were built around metal skeletons wrapped in insulation, raffia and newspaper— some that had been rotting and molding.

"As soon as we saw them, we said, 'Oh, yes. They need us. They called to us,' " Munoz said.

The artists said some of the faces, created with a mix of styles and materials, were even more chilling. They said styrofoam heads, cartoon visages and others made from faux vegetables and flowers seemed to have lost their original purpose at the tops of decrepit bodies.

"There's a few of 'em that are pretty creepy; extra 'Children of the Corn' y," Vierria said, referring to a movie.

Over the past two weeks, the artists re-formed and restuffed the bodies, using raffia on the appendages to create an authentic scarecrow look. Bond hunted through thrift stores for some replacement clothing and vacuumed the clothing that still covered scarecrow bodies. Hair was fixed and hats placed on heads.

After getting permission to be "a little edgier," the artists made plaster masks of themselves and their friends, then painted on tortured faces for frightening finishing touches.

"They just needed some love," Bond said.

For more information about Halloween in Old Sacramento, go to http://www.oldsacramento.com/events-and-activities.php.

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

Electric carnival parade to be revived

2009-09-09T03:52:25Z

A night parade is in the works to be revived in Sacramento, more than 115 years after the spectacle lit up city streets to celebrate what was said to be the world's first long-distance electric power transmission.

The parade was first held Sept. 9, 1895, during a Grand Electric Carnival that heralded the arrival of electric power in Sacramento. Sacramento's electric carnival parade was so beautiful that Walt Disney Co. later used it as a model for its Electric Light Parade.

The Old Sacramento Business Association is working to revive the night parade during winter holiday festivities in 2011. The plan is to recreate the parade to expand the seasonal celebration and to play up the city's history as the birthplace of many innovations, said Melissa Martinez, executive director of the business association, a business improvement district.

"We were so innovative and we were so at the forefront," she said. "Somehow we've become sleepy. We're not looked at as the city that's dynamic and innovative — and yet everything we are was based on that."

The Grand Electric Carnival was held two months after electricity had first come to the capital 22 miles away from Folsom, where Folsom Dam had been completed in 1893. Until then, electricity hadn't been transmitted more than five miles.

The Sacramento Bee ran a story about the feat, and later, the electric carnival. "The Lightning Blazed," ran the headline, "And Flooded Sacramento's Streets With Lakes of Liquid Fire. A Glorious Dawning, Then Glowed the Sunlight of an Aurora of Progress and Prosperity."

The electric carnival was held for two days during the 1895 state fair to ensure the entire state knew. So many light bulbs outlined the state Capitol and filled Capitol Park trees that the light could be seen for 50 miles.

The highlight was a parade of sparkling floats on streetcars that glided on luminous downtown streets.

"They realized that the best way to celebrate it was during the state fair, because they could bring as many visitors as possible to witness this first transmission of electricity," said Martinez. "The Grand Electric Carnival was one big party. It was 48 hours of just craziness."

So many people came, that residents rented out beds in their homes, she added.

The Grand Electric Carnival has inspired a Carnival of Lights being held this year in two places: Old Sacramento, which will host a Theatre of Lights, and downtown, primarily at St. Rose of Lima Park at Seventh and K Streets. www.sacramentopress.com/headline/11032 The event will be expanded each year. The night parade is expected to be added in two years.

Floats in the original parade were sponsored by local companies. The modern-day electric night parade is expected to include sparkling horse-drawn carriages, business-sponsored floats and community residents.

"Anything's a possibility," Martinez said. "I think it's something everybody could get involved with."

Artifacts courtesy of the Sacramento Public Library's Sacramento Room. Photos by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

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.