Name-brand designer fashions at Goodwill?

That's the unlikely focus of a new "Boutique" store opening next week in a rehabbed storefront at 16th and L streets.

The idea is to feature used fashion items from Donna Karan, Anne Klein and the like, and target sales to state workers, says PR woman Jane Einhorn, who represents the job-training nonprofit better known for its lower-end thrift stores.

Also on sale: vintage duds for midtown hipsters.

Goodwill has tried the "GW Boutiques" concept elsewhere, including the Bay Area. This will be the first one in the Sacramento area and – at 5,000 square feet – it will be larger than the organization's other upscale shops, Einhorn says.

The midtown store, at 1621 L, has a suitable look for its projected upscale clientele.

"It's beautiful, with (exposed) brick inside," Einhorn says. "It looks like it's in Boston."

Buying a landmark

Speaking of Goodwill, the agency last week acquired the long-vacant Earl of Sandwich site a few blocks north of the new boutique store and plans to convert it into a donation center.

Goodwill will rehab and expand the quirky little building at 16th and G that was a popular lunch spot for three decades.

"The look will fit right in to the downtown scapes," says Julie Lawson, who represented Goodwill in the $225,000 purchase.

The 600-square-foot building site has been vacant since 2005. A remodel that will almost double the space begins in September.

Over the past few years, several restaurateurs looked at the building but opted not to open another eatery there, says David Herrera, the Colliers International broker who represented seller Tri Counties Bank.

Hollywood north

Loomis may not be a filmmaking hot spot.

But it's set to host an innovative expo in September on alternative movie production.

Event organizers have arranged to take over almost the entire downtown area for exhibits and workshops on audio and video technique, along with promotional tips to help people profitably make films for pay-per-view Internet channels offered by You Tube, Amazon Video and others.

Why Loomis? Well, film producer and event organizer Peter Oakes is a fourth-generation Loomis resident, which helped when it came to getting permits.

But Oakes says having the event in a rural locale helps make a point: that films now can be produced anywhere and distributed without the controlling influence of big L.A. studios.

Attendance is limited to 5,000. (Reservations can be made at www.ccdexpo.com.) But the event will be shown live, via streaming media, to a large online audience.

Says Oakes of the live feed: "We're literally creating and distributing content about how to create content and distribute it."

Back at work

Retirement didn't work out so well for Sacramento restaurant legend Peter Torza.

He stepped away from Harlow's restaurant and nightclub three years ago to enjoy a more leisurely life and, he says, "Boy, I really got tired of it really quickly."

He ended up traveling to Connecticut to help his brother find a restaurant operator for his golf driving range. Instead, Torza opened his own pizza place there and then expanded it into a nightclub.

"I feel like I'm (running) Harlow's all over again," the 62-year-old says of his current enterprise.

Torza tells us he loves the business. The East Coast weather, not so much.

In fact, he's looking to move back to Sacramento in September and resume work at Harlow's, which is still run by family members and in 2012 celebrates its 30th year in business.

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Reach Bob Shallit at (916) 321-1049.

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