Fresca Deli, located in the CalPERS building at 400 Q St., closed its doors earlier this month. The restaurant, which re-branded from Freshii last November, was intended to serve as an alternative to the CalPERS cafeteria for the many state workers in the area as well as local residents. A March 12 Facebook post gave the reason for the closure as costs outweighing revenues. “In the end, there just weren’t enough folks eating to offset the cost to feed you all,” according to the post. The post hinted at a host of other problems – ranging from faulty register systems to issues with contractors. “We also deeply regret the abrupt manner in which we departed, but sometimes survival gets ug

Freshii, a health-conscious walk-up eatery located at 400 Q St., morphed into Fresca Deli over the holiday weekend in a move the owner said is meant to appeal more to the people who dine in the area. “Ultimately, that concept didn’t suit the demographic of this area,” said co-owner Eric Heffel, explaining that the adjacent cafeteria in the CalPERS building is always full. “What we’ve started doing is more sandwiches and hearty soups, but we still have healthy options here,” he added. The interior looks similar, although Freshii signage has been removed. At Freshii, customers filled out menu cards to make custom food items, or they could choose from a list. Fresca Deli uses a more stand

People headed to Midtown’s Hot Italian for a pizza or gelato might be surprised to see two new additions to restaurant – a pair of cars from Italian manufacturer Fiat, which returned to the United States this year after a 27-year hiatus. “We’ve been looking for new pop-up concepts, and they’re stylish, they’re Italian, and they’re a great fit,” said Andrea Lepore, managing partner of Hot Italian, located at 16th and Q streets. A “pop-up,” she explained, is a temporary display that sometimes has retail components to it. “It kind of pops up, and you have to catch it while it’s here,” she said. “It will be up for at least three months.” The two cars, a Fiat 500 and a Fiat 500C Cabriolet –

Freshii opened a new location in downtown Sacramento on April 11, and owner Eric Heffel said they are happy to be in the area. According to Heffel, there are about 12,000 daytime office workers and 3,000 residents in the surrounding area and only one restaurant within walking distance to choose from. “Freshii can now provide all of those people another choice,” Heffel said. Located at 400 Q St., on the corner of 3rd and Q streets at the CalPERS building, the newest Freshii location is providing a variety of items to patrons in the area including, but not limited to, frozen yogurt, freshly made wraps, soups and salads, and a variety of snacks and drinks. Menu prices range from $1.

Local foodies are hoping to overturn a city ordinance not by petitioning, but by eating – gathering mobile food vendors in Fremont Park for a food festival called SactoMoFo. The April 30 event in Fremont Park will have 21 food vendors – including 15 gourmet food trucks – and run from noon - 6 p.m., said Catherine Enfield, one of the event’s organizers and writer of the Munchie Musings food blog. Other organizers include Joshua Lurie-Terrell of YumTacos.com, Paul Somerhausen of the Sacramento Epicureans and Costa Apostolos of the Friends of Fremont Park. “I’m looking forward to good food,” Enfield said. “I personally was in charge of getting the Bay Area trucks, and I selected the best –

For self-employed Sacramentans who want to keep work and home separate, the ThinkHouse Collective provides an office space without any of the drudgery of a cubicle forest. “We’re a co-working community,” said co-founder Janna Santoro. “It’s a membership community for Sacramento’s creative class.” Santoro said the ThinkHouse Collective, located at 1726 11th St., offers all the social aspects of a traditional office, where members can bounce ideas off each other, while freeing workers from the typical distractions of working from home such as pets, kids and chores. Co-founder Jeremy Maron said the collective is essentially a community of freelancers including writers, photographers and ot

In 1900s Sacramento, the 2500 block of Q Street was a new middle-class neighborhood of railroad workers, pipe fitters and small business owners whose dreams of home ownership were largely made possible by the extension of the nearby streetcar route. Their homes were the example of early suburban living, and three of them on the historic Bungalow Row – as well as four other historic buildings – will be open as part of the 35th annual Sacramento Old City Association home tour from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Sept. 19. In addition to the bungalows are several other homes – with the oldest being an 1889 Victorian – and a Winn Park oddity: an emergency relay station built in 1937 that served as a 24-hou

Here are some photos of the effects of the storm from community members who were out witnessing the damage.   This was taken at Q and 16th streets by Michael Gelber. These two photos were taken on I Street and 30th. Ed Fogle of Maverick Photography took these as part of a live stream. More photos can be seen at sacmav.com The next photos are from Southbound I-5 near the J Street exit in the boat section. These photos were also taken by Ed Fogle of Maverick Photography. If you have photos of the storm, we'd love to see you post them on our site. If you have any questions on how to upload your photos, contact journalism@sacramentopress.com. Stay safe and dry!