Mermaids on K Street? Believe it.

Sea nymphs swimming in an aquarium behind a bar is one element of an audacious – and very serious – proposal for a new entertainment complex in downtown Sacramento.

The proposal from acclaimed San Francisco nightspot owner George Karpaty also calls for a dance club targeting the "30s-and-over" set and a pizzeria known for its "dough acrobatics."

The complex would go into three storefronts from 1016 to 1022 K St. and could open by year's end, says Sacramento developer David Taylor, whose company is negotiating to acquire the project site from the city's redevelopment agency.

The entire project is contingent on the city investing $5.4 million in redevelopment funds previously earmarked for Taylor projects. The matter will go to the City Council next month.

Karpaty, who owns Ruby Skye and several other Bay Area nightclubs, says he's been looking in Sacramento for two years and learned about the K street site last summer. "It all just sort of fit together," he says of his plans for three novel venues on the long-struggling pedestrian mall.

His proposed sites include:

• Frisky Rhythm, a nightclub with celebrity DJs and music that, Karpaty says, "gets 30-year-olds tapping their feet."

• Dive Bar, a "rustic" drinking spot, with a back bar aquarium occupied at random times by women in mermaid costumes.

"We're going to create a buzz. People will be saying, 'Have you seen the mermaid?'" Karpaty says.

Instead of a jukebox, the place would have an oversized "flawless replica of an iPod." Guests could plug in their hand-held devices and play their own tunes, he says.

• Pizza Rock, an eatery run by the Castro Valley owners of Pyzano's Pizzeria, known for the dough-spinning antics of co-owner Tony Gemignani, who promises the same kind of show here.

"Think of what the Harlem Globetrotters do with a basketball. We do it with pizza," Gemignani says.

Backers of the Karpaty proposal have kept a lid on the project – until now. But some local club owners have gotten wind of it and fear it could cannibalize a shrinking market.

Mason Wong, owner of Mason's Restaurant and the Park Ultra Lounge, says downtown and midtown already have "too many restaurants, too many bars and too many nightclubs."

But Taylor, whose company is developing the project with CIM Group of Los Angeles, says Karpaty has the creativity and promotional chops to bring many more people to downtown, benefiting all.

"He adds a whole new level of energy and marketing expertise," Taylor says. "That can only help."

Her secret's out

Sacramento exec Becky Johnson Sabin isn't a new millionaire after all.

But she's $16,000 richer, the result of her recent appearance on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?"

As we reported Tuesday, Sabin – communications director for a division of Siemens AG – was one of the game show's contestants last September but was sworn to secrecy about the outcome until her segment aired this week.

Those who tuned in saw her answer the first nine questions correctly. But she got stumped on a $25,000 query: Which of four listed Canadian cities is north of Seattle?

Instead of guessing, Sabin opted to walk away with her 16 grand intact. "Not too shabby," she says.

The entire experience was fun, except the requirement that she not reveal the show's ending for four months.

That part wasn't so easy.

But Sabin says she kept her word: "I didn't even tell my mom."

Reach Bob Shallit at (916) 321-1049. Back columns: www.sacbee.com/shallit.