A gun store’s arrival n Midtown has local business owners talking, but the conversation isn’t falling along ideological lines as much as it is on one's views as to whether the space is a good fit for that type of business. The store will occupy the vacant Cornerstone space at 2330 J St., which is one block away from the area’s previous gun shop, Old Sacramento Armory. “I first heard the rumor three weeks ago and started asking around,” said Jim Wagner, co-owner of Peradice, a giftshop located a block away from the gun shop. “How did it go from a rumor that no one knew anything about to being done, just like that? That’s not right. At least the community should have know they were applyin

A new central city hop-on/hop-off bus route begins June 22, and it aims to provide a low-cost shuttle service between restaurants and bars on the weekends, according to owner Laura Allen. Called the Lil' Hopper, the 27-seat bus will make 30-minute loops throughout downtown and Midtown. It will likely start at 7:15 p.m. and end at 1 a.m. The scheduled route will begin at 12th and J streets and make stops along J, K and L streets and Capitol Avenue on its loop. Stops include 15th and J, 18th and J, 23rd and J, 24th and K, and 18th and Capitol Avenue.   The Lil' Hopper will run Friday and Saturday nights. Tickets are $10 for the night, and they can be purchased from the bus driver. “Peo

IHOP’s scheduled July 2 opening at 30th and N streets is the most recent case in a trend over the past month that saw chain restaurants taking over the spaces of their competition. The well-known restaurant will take the space that previously housed Eppie’s once a minor remodel is complete, District Manager Wade Hampton said Monday. Also scheduled to open across the central city July 2 is Perko’s Café, which is now located in the old Denny’s spot at 925 Third St. On May 22, Mel’s Diner opened in the former Lyon’s restaurant at 30th and J streets. IHOP is not deterred by the recent turnover, Hampton said. “We felt that this location needed a breakfast house, definitely needed IHOP’s pr

A downtown restaurant opening July 1 will feature not only sit-down and takeout service, but a market with Mediterranean-style food that will take up about 30 percent of the space, adding unique grocery items to an area devoid of grocery stores. Gönül Blum is putting the final touches on Trio Restaurant, Bakery and Market – a garden-to-table Mediterranean establishment that will take over the 3,600-square-foot space at 826 J St. that formerly housed Table 260. “The concept is healthy, organic, locally grown food – a garden-to-table concept that is fresh and healthy,” Blum said. “It’s going to be a lot like Dean and Deluca.” Blum also own’s Vanilla Bean Bistro, which switched spaces with

Thai dancers, boxers and, probably most importantly, street food, will take over the corner of 25th and J streets Saturday as Midtown restaurant Thai Basil celebrates its 10-year anniversary. Owner Suleka Sun-Lindley said the event will kick off at 9 a.m. as five Buddhist monks make their rounds, collecting food in a time-honored Thai tradition. “Whenever they have a new business open or an anniversary or something else significant like that, they have the monks come out of the temple – always an odd number – and they take food offerings and give blessings,” Sun-Lindley said. People visiting the festival will be able to take food from a table and hand it to the monks as they walk around

The downtown Denny’s location closed about two weeks ago, and now the local owners of several Perkos Cafés are refurbishing the space. They plan to open July 2. Ryan Federico, 27, and his brother, David, 28, were contacted by the property owner when the space became available, Ryan Federico said. The family owns three others, the one off Bradshaw, one in Antelope and a third in Yuba City. Perkos Cafe sells diner-style fare for breakfast, lunch and dinner, including items such as steak and eggs, burgers and pork chops. The business has more than 35 locations throughout the state, according to the corporate website. “It’s a great location,” Ryan Federico said Wednesday of the space at 92

Downtown Sacramento’s busiest streets should have bike lanes by August or September, according to city officials. The work will begin in June or July and should take a month to complete, according to Ed Williams, Associate Engineer with the city’s Department of Transportation. The intent of the project is to create bicycle lanes on the most-traveled downtown streets, including J, I, Fifth, Ninth and 10th streets and Capitol Mall, city officials previously told The Sacramento Press. On some streets, the plan is to take out one lane of vehicular traffic as is common in Midtown. Cyclists interviewed Tuesday applauded the city’s upcoming road work, which they said will add safety to street

The primarily yoga-focused Lululemon Athletica clothing company opened a showroom  Friday in the MARRS Building at 20th and J streets, a space vacated by Newsbeat last year. Showroom Manager Victoria Tanforan, 24, said that the showroom is designed to be a temporary space with a retail area to introduce Lululemon’s attire to the local market. If it garners enough interest, she said, a full retail store could be forthcoming. “We’re a company that specializes in high-quality yoga and running wear,” Tanforan said. “We are all about becoming a part of the community we’re in, and we have free classes every week.” The Lululemon showroom will work with 10 athletic ambassadors, which range from

Midtown’s Très Chic Boutique announced this week that it will close its doors for good after 18 years in business. Owner Susan Tiesing, 53, said she decided to shutter the business by the end of May due to the impact of the economy as well as her need to be in Oroville to be with a family member in poor health. “I left my shop with my worthy store manager, and I think in this tough economy you can’t expect your business to continue on without you there,” Tiesing said. “Although I think she did a good job, I wasn’t there to manage it myself.” The shop, located at 2228 J St., specialized in prom dresses and clothing for special occasions. Tiesing said this is the first year she has seen

Midtown’s MAIYA Gallery, located at 2220 J St., closed its doors for the final time Saturday. Owner Kelly Truscott, 52, said the decision to shutter the business was twofold – she wants to move closer to family in southern California, and the gallery was not profitable. “If it was profitable, it would have made the decision a little more difficult,” Truscott said Monday. “Maybe I could have found someone to buy it.” MAIYA – which stands for “my art is your art” – opened in August 2009 and was Truscott’s realization of a longtime dream. “I was a stay-at-home mom and worked part time in customer service and retail,” she said. “Once the children grew up, I wanted to launch a business, and

A pair of Sacramento restaurants entered the local brunch scene in February, adding to what owners said is a strong market for weekend eats. Both the newly opened Red Rabbit Kitchen & Bar and Restaurant Thir13en are working to finalize their brunch menus. Restaurant Thir13en, located at 1300 H St. downtown, opened eight months ago, and Sunday will mark its third week of doing brunch, Chef and co-owner Adam Pechal said Friday. Pechal is also the chef and co-owner of Tuli Bistro. “It was something that we always planned to do,” he said. “It’s proven at Tuli to be one of our best shifts, and I always heard that Chanterelle, our predecessor, had a really successful brunch.” Currently, the

A specialty grilled cheese sandwich shop called Cheese Louise is slated to come to Ninth Street between J and K streets downtown as early as the beginning of April. Ron Berger, a local veteran of the hotel industry, will be running the shop, and he said the idea is similar to a shop called The Melt in San Francisco, but will be expanded with the addition of soups and a salad bar. “We’ll have various types of grilled cheese, with Spanish, French, Italian and American cheeses,” he said. “We’ll also have soups every day, and we might do specials with a lasagna or something.” Opening at 7 a.m. and closing by 6 p.m., the store, located at 1009 Ninth St., will serve a breakfast selection of h

The Red Rabbit Kitchen & Bar is now open in the space that used to hold Red Lotus in Midtown, and a grand opening is scheduled for Friday. The restaurant and bar aims to bring affordable food and drinks with an international flair to the block and see the same successes that other businesses – Harlow’s, BarWest Burgers & Wings and Centro Cocina Mexicana – have seen, said co-owners Matt Nurge and John Bays. “We’re going with the globally inspired concept,” said Bays, who is the restaurant’s chef. “We’ve got a little Vietnamese, a little American – a lot of braising going on, and we’ve got some Hawaiian.” An assortment of cheeses – including Spanish Manchego – will be on the menu, and whi

Replacement of a gas line is postponing the opening of the downtown seafood restaurant Blackbird Kitchen & Bar from Valentine’s Day to Feb. 21, but the restaurateurs are still able to work inside, and the iconic graphic on the front is complete. “The buildout is being done right now, and the menu will be available in a couple of weeks,” said General Manager Shayne “7evin” Iles. “We’re going to open when PG&E finishes the work, so hopefully it’s sooner, or at least on time,” he said. Officials from Pacific Gas and Electric did not return messages left on Friday. Blackbird Kitchen & Bar is located at 1013-1015 Ninth St.

Mikuni Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar will celebrate a quarter century in business May 15, and co-owner Taro Arai said that after the touch-and-go nature of the first five years, the business has come a long way. “The first five years, the more we worked, the more money we lost,” he said. “I still cannot believe it’s been 25 years. We’re so lucky to have all the support we’ve had.” Now with nine restaurants in the greater Sacramento area, Arai said the business will be expanding in 2012, and while more brick-and-mortar restaurants are likely in store, the next thing people will see is a food truck. There is no set timeline for rolling out the food truck yet, but Arai said he and his

After less than a year on Sacramento’s streets, local food truck Drewski’s Hot Rod Kitchen is adding a brick-and-mortar establishment at 908 15th St. that blurs the line between sports bar and food truck. The Republic Featuring Drewski’s is set to open the week before the Super Bowl (Feb. 5), and Drewski’s owner Andrew “Drewski” Blaskovich said he’s excited to be part of the growth in downtown Sacramento and to offer a late-night food and entertainment spot, closing around 3-4 a.m. on the weekends. “It’s going to be a sports bar,” Blaskovich said. “We’re going to have 12-15 TVs, pool tables, video games and – we’re hoping – skee ball.” The four pool tables will complement old-school vid

The Yummy Yogurt Cafe at 19th and J streets closed Dec. 1, and though it was expected to reopen by the end of the year, owner Jason Yee said it will remain in hiatus for a while longer. “Right now, we’re working on a new plan, and we just really haven’t gotten to the point to expose the plan yet,” Yee said Thursday, adding that he is still looking for ideas or anyone who wants to partner with him for a new concept. The idea is to have the space up and running again in a couple of months. Yee said he didn’t shut down the space because of lack of sales, but because he wants to revamp the store itself to provide something more than frozen yogurt. “It’s a great location, and that’s part of

Mongo Mongo Mongolian BBQ restaurant at 19th and J streets opened Saturday, and owner Jonathan Ng said he is pleased with the customer turnout. “It’s been good, we’re really excited to be open,” Ng said Monday. Much of the interior design still needs to be finished, Ng said, but getting the restaurant open and focusing on the food was the top priority. “It’s kind of barren, but we’re working on it,” Ng said, adding that interior décor details are being worked out. In order to keep the garage doors installed when the business was Garlic Shack – which shut down after only three months – Ng said a unique setup had to be made to meet health department regulations that stipulate the kitchen

The past year saw quite a bit of businesses come, go and expand in the central city area, and The Sacramento Press covered many of those happenings. Below are some of the major expansions and changes as well as some of the most-viewed stories on businesses closing. A favorite Sacramento lunch spot changed hands this year as Chef Daniel Pont handed over ownership of La Bonne Soupe Café in late April. The 72-year-old chef said he still enjoys cooking, but running the one-man shop by himself was too much. He has since opened another restaurant, this time in Folsom, where he has a staff to help run it. New owners Ed Stoddard and Leah Brown reopened the restaurant in the same location in May.

The 3-year-old Ikon Cycles bicycle shop recently relocated from its 18th Street location to a new spot on J Street, finishing construction last week. Owner Adrian Moore, originally from Portland, came to Sacramento in 2004 and shortly thereafter decided to open a shop similar to the ones in his hometown. “In Portland, there’s a lot of fiercely independent local stores,” he said. “I think of this shop as being like some of the locally owned ski and snowboard shops.” The original location, 1126 18th St., was a 500-square-foot space, and Moore said some were skeptical that he could fit a bike shop inside, but it worked well. Deciding to move to the new location, at 2318 J St., took the sh