Almost twenty years ago, Dr. Anthony Wallace founded New Direction Christian Center, which grew into a large church with Christian school and many programs.  For a period of time, the church occupied a 22,000 square foot building at 6524 44th Street in South Sacramento, which is now occupied by Bayside of South Sacramento.

Dr. Anthony Wallace

Dr. Anthony Wallace

Unfortunately, due to financial hardships, New Direction couldn’t hang on to the building it once owned due to the crushing recession.  In the years since, New Direction has rented different facilities for church services, including a long-term shared arrangement with a Seventh-Day Adventist church and for the past two years through Sunday-only rentals of the historic Guild Theater in the Oak Park neighborhood of Sacramento.  New Direction has always been blessed with a place to meet, but its members have longed for the day when they can once again utilize their own building throughout the entire week.

Continue Reading…

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.

Continue Reading…

Small business expansion in Sacramento area

Only days apart, Sacramento Elite Patrol and Bottles & More both closed on separate warehouse deals to expand their businesses in the midst of a struggling economic recovery. One business acquired its very own office/warehouse building in South Sacramento totaling 9,266 sq.ft. with SBA loan financing, while the other jumped from a home based business operation into a 10,872 sq.ft. leased warehouse space in West Sacramento. Clearly, there are some bright spots in the market if you know where to look. 

Click here for related story by the Sacramento Business Journal.

Continue Reading…

Locally owned Armstrong Plumbing has faithfully served Sacramento commercial and residential customers for 50 years.  What better way to celebrate its golden anniversary than by acquiring its very own commercial building.  The new facility, at 2551 Albatross Way, is only 1/3 mile away (as the crow files) from the company’s former location, just on the other side of Capital City Freeway (off El Camino Ave). 

Click here for related articles by Ben van der Meer of the Sacramento Business Journal dated  5/28/14  5/30/14  6/6/14

Continue Reading…

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.

Continue Reading…

East West Commercial Real Estate is a boutique brokerage firm based in Orange County with over twenty agents in five states.  After leaving a long commercial real estate lending career with Wells Fargo, Brian Jacks (Northern California Regional Vice President of East West Commercial) launched the company’s Sacramento office in November 2011.  Considering the local economy is still weak, there has been sufficient activity to keep busy with several high profile commercial and non-profit lease transactions, such as Drewski’s Hot Rod Kitchen, Hacker Lab, Jackson Sports Academy, Fitness System, Curves, Streamline Church and Cornerstone Christian School.  

East West Commercial Real Estate – Sacramento area lease transactions

Continue Reading…

On Sutterville Road in Land Park is a two story office building located right in between the Sacramento Zoo, La Bou Café and Sprouts Market.  Until recently, this 40,000 square foot building had become almost entirely devoid of tenants and business activity due to the severe recession.  However, it’s not the first time this particular property has succumbed to the pressures of a deteriorating local economy.  

Land Park office building becomes focal point of community once again

Click here for related article in Sacramento Business Journal.

Continue Reading…

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.

Continue Reading…

China’s growing appetite for foreign goods is staggering and California is racing to meet the challenge.  Fueled by Governor Brown’s whirlwind trip to six Chinese cities last April, a follow up trip took place in May by the California Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce (CalAsian Chamber) and officials within the City of Sacramento.  Click here for video.

Having the privilege of participating with the CalAsian Chamber delegation, I joined Pat Fong Kushida (President of CalAsian Chamber) and Margaret Wong (President of McWong International), along with elected officials and many other business leaders on our first stop in Shanghai.  Here, we visited the brand new California-China Office of Trade and Investment, which is operated by the Bay Area Council. It is the first foreign trade office California has re-opened since all were shut down in 2003.

Shanghai Tower (left) – second tallest building in the world, 2073 feet tall, 121 stories, 4 million sf

Continue Reading…