California Fat’s Asian Grill in Old Sacramento closes

After 35 years, a landmark restaurant site in Old Sacramento is dark, the victim of a sagging economy and intensified competition for the dining dollar.

California Fat's Asian Grill & Steakhouse, the latest in a series of historic-theme restaurants that Sacramento's Fat family has owned at 1015 Front St., is history.

Jerry Fat, chief financial officer for his family's group of restaurants, blamed what he called "the recession" and the proliferation of dining options in the Sacramento area for the closure.

"California Fat's had been on a marginal basis the past year and a half or so," Fat said. "It seemed the prudent thing to do."

Fat said the restaurant was shut at the end of March. Originally called China Camp when the Fats first opened a restaurant on the site in 1973, the location is being used now for special events.

Its long-term role is uncertain, but Fat indicated one option is to convert it into offices.

The Fat family's restaurant group began with the opening of the eponymous restaurant Frank Fat's in downtown Sacramento in 1939. A legendary hangout for legislators and lobbyists from the nearby Capitol, it laid the groundwork for nine dining operations stretching from Sacramento to San Diego today.

The family also operates Fat's Asia Bistro & Dim Sum Bar in Roseville and Folsom, and Fat City Bar & Cafe next to California Fat's in Old Sacramento, all of which remain open.

The slowing economy and rising food costs have hit restaurants particularly hard. Many restaurateurs say their business has declined as diners have cut back on eating out

In Old Sacramento, Lloyd Harvego, owner of The Firehouse, the district's most enduring restaurant, said that while revenue has leveled off he remains confident in the long-term prospects of both his establishment and the city's historic area.

"We're fortunate. We're a specialty restaurant with longtime loyal clients, so we avoid some of the hits other restaurants are taking," Harvego said.

He's nearing completion of a 24-unit rental-condominium project in Old Sacramento, the Orleans, which will include 7,400 square feet of retail space and a patio on the ground floor. Undaunted by the sluggish economy, Harvego said he's negotiating with a prospective tenant to put a restaurant in the space.

At Rio City Cafe, perched above the Sacramento River, manager Bill Diaz said business during the first quarter had dipped 10 percent from the same period last year. But it was down only 3 percent in April.

Diaz has calculated that as many as 3,800 restaurant seats have been added to downtown and midtown Sacramento over the past three years. He believes his restaurant's proximity to the river is a key selling point.

"Being on the river in a weather-driven location saves us," said Diaz.

Bert Williamson has owned O'Mally's Pub and Eats along Second Street for 12 years. His sales are up, he said.

"People drink when they're happy, people drink when they're sad," he said, sipping a glass of orange juice at a table in the back of the pub.

Others have been hit harder. At Annabelle's Pizza-Pasta Restaurant, owner Ram Gopal said his sales are down 10 percent to 20 percent from last year. He's seen the worst drop on weekdays, though on Tuesday just before 2 p.m. he still had a small line of customers waiting to dig into his all-you-can-eat buffet.

Some Old Sacramento business people said they saw the economic challenges coming and adapted accordingly.

"You kind of knew this was coming, so you have to look at your business and make some changes," said Dennis Larson, who owns Turtles, an ice cream, gifts and candy store along Second Street.

Larson, a former marketing executive who has run Turtles for eight years, said instead of scaling back in anticipation of hard times, he got more aggressive, offering more types of fudge, a wider variety of Betty Boop merchandise, more stuffed-animal backpacks.

Sales are up this year, Larson said – as he knocked on a wooden shelf – and that momentum should see Turtles through the upcoming repairs that will close Interstate 5.

"You really just have to have the right attitude," he said.

Michael Ault, executive director of the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, which includes the Old Sacramento Business Association, said the district's restaurants will need to be proactive in alerting diners about complications from the freeway project.

"They're going to have to tell customers how to get there, not just direct them to a Web site," said Ault.

Nevertheless, he's confident Old Sacramento will remain a vital commercial community during the I-5 project, noting that it recently weathered a construction-related closure of Tower Bridge and is coping with disruptive traffic patterns because of an expansion project at the nearby Crocker Art Museum.

At Fat City, meanwhile, business is up about 20 percent since California Fat's closed, said Jerry Fat.

Fat City eluded California Fat's fate, he speculated, because of its corner location, its bigger windows and its lighter decor. Passers-by had a better view of the interior, the menu was more traditionally American and prices were lower, he said.

About the writer:

• Call Bee writer Mike Dunne, (916) 321-1143.