Long vacant North Highlands medical office building sells to security company expanding from Southern California

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The Highlander Medical Office Building, located at 6137 Watt Ave, faithfully served the community of North Highlands for almost 50 years before succumbing to the pressures of the great recession. Operations for the medical clinic and supportive services endured through the 2001 closure of nearby McClellan Air Force Base (now McClellan Park) and continued facilitating patients until around 2010. 

Highlander Building – Former Sacramento Family Medical Clinic (North Highlands, CA)

The +/- 10,300 square foot, single story building offered excellent visibility at the three-way intersection of Watt Ave & Don Julio, but even with traffic counts of 40,000 vehicles per day, prospective buyers/users/tenants eluded the various owners/sellers/landlords for many years.  

Click here for related story from the Sacramento Business Journal.

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A Christmas Miracle – JR’s Texas Bar-B-Que Style

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Floyd Rothenberger, better known as JR, has been serving up some of THE BEST Bar-B-Que west of the Mississippi for the past 29 years. Having started his career at a young age working with his father in the family roofing business (ROOF General Roofing), JR progressed to become the preferred roofer of choice for all of Sacramento’s most prominent commercial real estate developers and even roofed the personal homes of the late Buzz Oates and Joe Benvenuti.

Click here for related article in the Sacramento Business Journal.

JR’s Texas Bar-B-Que – 29 years @ 180 Otto Circle (South Sacramento)

In 1986, following over 30 years in roofing, JR met a Bar-B-Que man from Texas. After watching the process, JR noticed it looked pretty similar to his roofing tar pot and figured that cooking tar and bar-b-que couldn’t be much different. So, JR applied his best-in-class roofing skills to a best-in-class bar-b-que process and put his new smoking techiques to the test with the toughest clientele he knew… roofers (who don’t agree on anything), contractors (who always think they’re the best) and car salesman (looking for a good deal). All agreed that JR’s Texas Bar-B-Que was by far the best. As a result, JR opened JR’s Texas Bar-B-Que in November 1987 at 180 Otto Circle, near the former Campbell’s Soup Factory in South Sacramento. 

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Historic Eastern Star Hall in Midtown Sacramento scheduled for Auction.com sale

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Historic Eastern Star Hall (2719 K Street – Midtown Sacramento) – Auction Sale July 15, 2015

It was a sad day in May (2013) when the Eastern Star Hall Association officially closed its doors at 2719 K Street (Midtown Sacramento) for the very last time. Following a series of organizational challenges, the building was put up for sale and later acquired by a local Mason, who had visions of leasing the +/- 31,500 square foot iconic structure for commercial purposes. Even with the new landlord’s depth of commercial real estate knowledge and experience, it proved difficult to attract a tenant who would lease the entire building.  

Click here for related story by the Sacramento Business Journal.

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Sacramento’s first tabletop and video gaming tavern to open near 65th & Folsom in East Sacramento

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Save Point Tavern – Sacramento’s first tabletop and gaming tavern to open in East Sac

For years, self-proclaimed gamers, geeks and nerds have been gathering at watering holes in some of Midtown Sacramento’s most popular establishments to play tabletop games and drink beer. Two regulars with an entrepreneurial spirit, Dariush Gheyssarieh and Anthony Barajas, decided to take their quest to the next level by raising funds to launch their own fantasy medieval style tavern.

Click here for related stories by the Sacramento Business Journal (3/4/15 & 3/13/15) and NOW 100.5 FM.

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Local BBQ and soul food operator expands from Oak Park with second location in Midtown Sacramento

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T & R Taste of Texas Barbeque (Broadway & 4th Ave)

Not far from Midtown Sacramento, along Broadway in Oak Park, is a little known secret called T & R Taste of Texas Barbeque. Native born Texan pitmaster Rodney Ray opened T & R in August 2011 to a bevy of discriminating local patrons.  After operating for three successful years out of bright yellow and red free-standing building at the corner of Broadway and 4th Ave, Ray’s dedicated following has accumulated 144 Yelp reviews with average 4 star rating and he sells out every day.

See related press by Good Day Sacramento, Sac Town Magazine, Sacramento Business Journal and Sacramento Bee.

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Ralph Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu opening first Sacramento affiliate in North Natomas

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Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) has a certain following in Sacramento with approximately ten separate facilities spread throughout the area; yet North Sacramento has been under served… until now.  This month, another BJJ operator will open its doors in North Natomas, but with one significant distinction.  It will sport the Gracie family name.  

Those familiar with BJJ will immediately recognize the value of this franchise, which started in 1914 when “a Japanese Jiu-Jitsu champion Esai Maeda migrated to Brazil, where he was instrumental in establishing a Japanese immigrant community.  His efforts were aided by Gastão Gracie, a Brazilian scholar and politician of Scottish descent.  As an expression of his gratitude for Gracie’s assistance, Maeda taught the Brazilian’s oldest son Carlos the essential secrets of the ancient martial arts technique.  Carlos taught Maeda’s techniques to his four brothers, and in 1925 they opened the first Gracie Jiu-Jitsu academy in Brazil.”

Click here for related story by the Sacramento Business Journal.

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Veteran chef expands Korean style ramen restaurant from Sacramento to University Mall in Davis

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Chuck Kim, owner of Ramen Hook @ University Mall (Davis)

Korean style ramen dishes have gained significant popularity in recent years.  According to articles by food critics in both the Sacramento Bee and Sacramento News & Review, Chuck Kim has created quite the stir.  Restaurant critic, Blair Anthony Robertson, writes “this isn’t their first attempt at nailing the vital elements of blue-collar, elbows-on-the-table Korean cuisine.  Nor is Korean-born chef and owner Chuck Kim a rookie with the Japanese side of his menu.  He owned ramen and sushi restaurants in Berkeley for several years and, now that he’s in Sacramento, he has already carved out a mini-empire in a Howe Avenue strip mall (Sushi Hook in the same center is also his).”

Click here to read story about Ramen Hook expansion to University Mall in Davis by the Sacramento Business Journal.

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Commercial property lease expirations sneak up on Sacramento area business owners

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It’s still a tenant’s market out there… and its been that way for quite some time here in the Sacramento area.  Commercial property owners know all to well that savvy tenant’s have the upper hand when it comes to negotiating new or renewal leases.  However, not being armed with the right information (and trying to go it alone) can lead to less than stellar results.  

Photo by the Sacramento Business Journal

The Sacramento Business Journal discussed in a recent article how Rob Fauble, owner of The Beat (a record store in Midtown Sacramento), lost his commercial property lease after 19 years in business at 1700 J Street.  Although Rob make the right decision to hire a local Sacramento commercial real estate broker, he was still unsuccessful in cutting a deal with the landlord to let him stay.  Occasionally, a commercial property owner has the opportunity to upgrade a tenant with a national company, who can pay more rent and create value for the property… such as the case with The Beat’s former location.  

More often that not, however, in this current market, tenant’s hold the necessary leverage to negotiate highly favorable lease terms for commercial property throughout the greater Sacramento area.  Continue reading below for a list of do’s and dont’s to learn how tenants can best prepare for this important task.

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Sacramento area Curves franchisees consider best commercial properties for new growth

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The global leader in women’s fitness

Curves was launched in 1992 and quickly grew to become the largest fitness franchise in the world, with over 10,000 locations in 90 countries.  In recent years, the great recession took hold and weeded out many under-performing clubs, resulting in a reduction of more than 30% (now 6,800 locations worldwide).  For many reasons, it became necessary for the original Curves founders to identify a suitable equity partner to acquire the majority stake in the business and take Curves to its next level.  One year ago, Curves was sold to North Castle Partners, a hands-on, value-added investor of high-growth, middle market companies in the beauty & personal care, consumer health, fitness, recreation & sports, home & leisure and nutrition sectors, among others.  It is anticipated that North Castle Partners will capitalize on this investment by infusing Curves with well funded resources and pertinent expertise to regain and increase market share once more.

Click here for related story in the Sacramento Business Journal.

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4th Annual Legislative Summit hosted by California Asian Chamber of Commerce at State Capitol

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Living in Sacramento, its easy to take for granted that we actually reside in the State Capitol of California, which represents the 9th largest economy in the entire world.  At times, a healthy reminder is in order to draw attention to this remarkable privilege that we all share.  Important matters are considered and decided every day inside the venerable halls of the State Capitol.  We are certainly fortunate to now have our very own local correspondent, Christopher Arns (Sacramento Business Journal), who has already written over 40 stories covering legislative activities surrounding the State Capitol since January.  

It is incumbent upon citizens to communicate with legislators to ensure their voices are heard.  It is within this context I participated last week in the 4th Annual Legislative Summit at the State Capitol, hosted by the California Asian Chamber of Commerce.  Pat Fong Kushida (President & CEO of the CalAsian Chamber) led four teams who met with over 40 legislative offices to discuss pro-business issues including workforce development, taxation, economic development, and regulatory reform.  It was a terrific day with open dialogue and a distinct willingness to come together.

California State Senator Jim Nielsen (third from left) with CalAsian Chamber lobby team

One such meeting took place with Senator Jim Nielsen (see picture above), where team representatives connected on a personal level, sharing concerns and ideas for improvement in various areas.  This scene repeated itself many times throughout the day as we walked the halls, transitioning from one meeting to the next.  In a fitting culmination of events, the CalAsian Chamber lobby teams capped off the evening with a tasteful reception with dozens of legislators and staffers, along with community and business leaders.

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