Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "starbucks"

Man on the street: Where did you receive the best or worst service in Sacramento?

2011-06-24T19:13:27Z

Everyone has had encounters with either really great or really awful service no matter where they live, and the people of Sacramento are no exception. The Sacramento Press hit the streets recently and asked people where they had received the best or worst service in the area.

Quoc Nguyen, 27, a store manager living in downtown Sacramento, gave examples of two places he'd received the worst and best service.

“The best service I've had was at a coffee shop called Chocolate Fish, because they are very knowledgeable about their products and I like the 'Great White',” Nguyen said.

“I'm Vietnamese, so I can say this: I receive the worst service at Vietnamese restaurants. I don't usually tip well after.”

Mohammed Omer, a 50-year-old from Elk Grove who serves in the military, said he gets really good service in the Sacramento area but that Starbucks is his favorite hangout.

“We come in day and night, twice a day,” Omer said. “They are always nice.”

Zaki Aziz, 48, regularly comes to Starbucks with Omer. Aziz, who is currently unemployed and is also from Elk Grove, agreed.

“Good service and fun people, that's why we are here,” Aziz said.

Hillary Martinez, a 31-year-old from Elk Grove who is currently studying to be a teacher, had a story to tell about the worst service she has received in the area.

“The worst place I ever had service was at Mimi's Cafe. It was me, my mom and my 17-month-old. It was about 1 p.m., we went in, (and) it took about 15 minutes to get seated, which was fine. But when we got to our table it took the waitress like 20 minutes just to greet us.

“She got water for me and my mom, and then my mom asked for some crackers for my baby, which we never got. The waitress kept looking at us but never came by, and finally someone else came and helped us. So yeah, it took about an hour to get our food. Not cool.”

Caleb Jue, a 24-year-old cashier living in Wilton, was not impressed by the service he'd received in Sacramento, though only one negative experience came to mind.

“The worst service I ever had was at Walmart. Nobody was helpful, at all. They acted very unpleasant, like they hated their jobs,” Jue said.

Jonathan Barros, a 19-year-old student living in Elk Grove, said the worst service he received was at a shoe store.

“I couldn't find a particular shoe, and no one asked me if I needed help,” Barros said. “I usually get really good service in Sac, though.”

How would you answer the question, “Where did you receive the best or worst service in Sacramento”? Let us know in the conversation below.

VIBE hosts Cake Craze Contest for local cake decorating artists and bakeries

2011-03-10T05:10:08Z

Saturday, VIBE organization will be organizing and hosting a cake-decorating contest where local bakeries will showcase their designs in Midtown for the Second Saturday Art Walk.

Cake Craze is a fundraiser and all proceeds will benefit the VIBE Foundation and the new teen center that is being built.

VIBE is a youth organization which was founded in 2007 and officially became a nonprofit organization about a year ago.

“The VIBE Youth Board was brainstorming ideas and came up with the Cake Craze contest,” said VIBE spokeswoman Mylesha Ramey.

Julia Hildago, chairwoman of VIBE, said this is the first time we’ve done an event like this and we’re very excited.

The youth organization is made up of a group of teens, including Hildago, who seek to emphasize youth leadership throughout the Sacramento community.

Several local bakeries and cake artists will be participating in the Cake Craze contest.

Participants include New Roma Bakery, Posh Couture Cakes, Crazy Cake Company, Olivia’s Custom Cakes, the Nugget Market on Florin, Cake Castle Bakery, That’s a Cake, and freelance cake artists Stacy Smith, Sierra Rizing and Rosalie Sarron.

The youth board will be judging the contest.

All contestants will be judged in four visual categories: best in presentation, most creative, most outrageous, and best depiction of theme.

“There are no guidelines or requirements,” Ramey said. “Each bakery must come up with their own cake and it has to relate to the theme Generation Y.”

The winner will be featured in The Sacramento Bee with a photo of the winning cake, said Christina Demoss, executive director of VIBE.

In addition to being promoted through the Bee, the winner and the other contestants will be promoting their businesses at the actual event.

“I plan to hand out some business cards and hopefully get more business,” said Rosalie Sarron a contestant of Cake Craze. Sarron is a freelance cake decorator who lives in Natomas.

“We’ll probably end up having at least 1,000 people coming to the event,” Demoss said.

VIBE leaders said they would like for all contestants to be creative and diverse in the presentation of their cake art.

“I am really excited about the theme because I am a part of Generation Y, and I love designing cakes, so I this will be a really good first experience,” Sarron, 25, said.

Hildago explained that all proceeds will be going to the VIBE Foundation and that the organization is currently in the process of opening a teen lounge in Midtown.

The Cake Craze contest will be from 4:30 – 9:00 p.m. at 1725 K St. In addition to the cake art contest, there will be vendors such as Starbucks and Vic’s Ice Cream.

All participants will be bringing their decorated cakes between 3:45 -4:30 p.m.

The cakes are only being used for decorating, not eating, but there will be live entertainment.

“For the entertainment, we have John King. He’s from San Francisco, and he plays the drums off of like trash cans and pans. It’s really interesting and very cool,” Hildago said.

Demoss encouraged anyone who is interested in attending this event to come and support the local bakeries and youth of Sacramento.

For more information, visit the VIBE Foundation website. www.thevibefoundation.org

For Ben Food Crawl

2010-02-15T23:14:49Z

Eat from 20 of Sacramento's downtown restaurants with the purchase of one ticket supporting a 10-year-old boy fighting secondary cancer. The For Ben Food Crawl is from 2 to 5 p.m. on Feb. 28.

Each restaurant will have drink specials, a taste of their food, and tons of great people exploring the grid of Sacramento while supporting Ben and his family.

Beating levels while playing Nintendo DS, building cities with Legos, and making people smile are just a few of Ben's talents. But, that is not all he does. Ben has survived a brain tumor two years ago and now is battling secondary cancer in his spine. Intense treatments, intelligent doctors, unlimited prayers, and his close family and friends are pushing and pulling him through this tough battle.

Now, we have the opportunity to be part of the pushing and pulling.

It is our chance to purchase a ticket in support of Ben's challenge and have the opportunity to explore over 20 of Sacramento's restaurants wearing a "For Ben" T-shirt while believing, hoping, praying, and loving Ben.

Participants will meet at a given location, which will be posted online on Feb. 26 at forbenfoundation.com . On Feb. 28 participants will check-in and receive a map. The map will guide participants through midtown sampling food from the following restaurants:

Aioli Bodega
Brew it up!
Burgers and Brews
Cosmo Cafe
De Veres Irish Pub
The Grange Resaurant
Hot Italian
Jacks Urban Eats
Kru Restaurant
L Wine Bar
Lucca Restaurant
Luigi's Pizza Midtown
Magpie Cafe and Catering
Mochii Yogurt
R15 and Cafe Bernardo
Rubicon Brewing Co.
Sapporo Grill
Shady Lady
Yogurt a Go-Go
Zocalo

Tickets are $35 and if they are purchased before Friday Feb. 19th t-shirts are promised on the day of the event!

To purchase tickets visit:

Asha yoga on 20th between J st. and K st. (map)

Horizon Community Church in Galt, Calif. (map)

Bikram Yoga Elk Grove between Bond and Elk Grove Blvd. on Elk Grove Florin Rd. (map)

Starbucks at I-5 and Laguna Blvd. Near the Gold's Gym (map)

If the following locations are not convenient for you but you are interested in tickets please call Kevin at 209.712.8649

Old Soul Co. Opens New Location in Oak Park

2010-02-05T01:35:05Z

Old Soul Co opened their third Sacramento location Thursday morning in Oak Park.

An old familiar spot has a new face in Oak Park and the community is well pleased. Starbucks shut down its 35th and Broadway location last year, much to the disapointment of many. The location was a community hub where many gathered daily to socialize, conduct business or just relax with a good book and a cup of coffee. Despite many letters from patrons voicing their conerns to Starbucks corporate office of the closure, the doors were finally closed in September of 2009.

Knowing the community cenergy the coffee house brought regular goers better known there as "The Usual Suspects" were confident something good would come of it…the prime location couldn't sit quiet for long.

Thursday morning, with no fanfare, advertisement or forewarning, Old Soul Co opened their doors for business. Location manager Tim Jordan stated they were suprsingly very busy this morning, "you would have thought it was our official grand opening".

While all the furniture is not moved in yet, what furniture and décor that is there shows the location is going to be a wonderful and comfortable spot for "The Usual Suspects" and those who patron the new friend in Oak Park. College students were already enjoying the coffee and space as they cracked their books open to study. One stated, "I've been walking by here every day waiting for them to open".

Owner of "Underground Books", Mayor Kevin Johnson's Mother (known to locals as Mother Rose), said "Thank God this coffee house is open. It's what this community needs."

Not only does Old Soul roast and brew their own smooth coffee, they have a breakfast and sandwich menu as well.

The official open house will be the evening of this month's 2nd Saturday, February 13th from 6 to 9:30 P.M. The management is planning a wonderful event, and even obtaining a special event permit for the evening.

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Saving the Oak Park Starbucks

2009-04-22T17:41:53Z

When the Seattle-based Starbucks Corporation decided to shutter its Oak Park store on Stockton Boulevard, it sent shock waves throughout the neighborhood.

The Oak Park coffee shop is more than just a place to grab a cup of Joe; it's a community hang out. Civic groups meet there, art lovers visiting the 40 Acres gallery next door linger during Second Saturday, and it's one of the few places in North Oak Park where neighbors can get together.

Vice Mayor Lauren Hammond, Mayor Johnson, and community activists have been in touch with Starbucks to ask the company to reverse its decision. So far, the corporation isn't budging, saying it needed to close the store (along with more than 400 nationwide) to help its bottom line.

But neighbors aren't giving up. A new effort is being launched today to convince Starbucks to change its mind. Neighbors are hoping to gather 1,000 signatures in the next 24 hours.

Here's the link: http://www.inmycommunity.com/imc_joomla/.