New happy hour spot named after the ‘Smartest Man In California’ opens near Capitol

SMIC’s Sip + Quip is a hop, skip and a jump from the state Capitol. Whenever the coronavirus pandemic subsides and politicos return to downtown Sacramento, it’ll be ready to open for real.

The refined happy hour spot will host its third soft opening Thursday at 1200 K St., Suite 600 following two others last week. That’ll be the trend for the foreseeable future. Owner Paula Thompson plans to only open SMIC’s from 4-9 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays until indoor dining is once again allowed, she said.

“SMIC’s is meant to be shared. You should expect to come in and have drinks with friends, and it’s almost like a happy hour menu where you want everything on it,” Thompson said. “When I go out with friends, I want things to be simple. I want to have a bite of their food. I always want to share and eat a couple of different things. I mean, obviously COVID makes things different, but that’s the idea of what we’re going for.”

Those limited hours mean fewer opportunities for customers to try rotating menu items like cheese and charcuterie boards, a seasonal panna cotta and tater tots loaded with creme fraiche, pickled onions and tobiko. SMIC’s will cycle through its full grand opening menu throughout the soft openings to get a sense of what people like, Thompson said, and turn it over seasonally as locally-sourced produce becomes available.

Customers can enjoy drinks from Sacramento-area breweries (Urban Roots, Bike Dog, Crooked Lane, Big Stump) and wineries (Matchbook, Elevation Ten) at the dog-friendly, plant-filled outdoor patio’s six to eight tables while SMIC’s liquor license is up for approval.

The golden velvet chairs, wood floors and toile-print wallpaper behind SMIC’s large front windows are part of a thorough redesign by Thompson’s twin, Natalie Thompson. The sisters will run SMIC’s without staff throughout the soft openings, allowing them to keep costs down and limit potential coronavirus transfer.

“(The pandemic) is going to mean a lot less business happening, without a doubt, and restaurants will have to be at a lower capacity. But it doesn’t mean zero business. It doesn’t mean we all close our doors and shutter, because that’s not the answer either,” Thompson said. “There are always hurdles ... instead of focusing on all the challenges of COVID, I’m looking at COVID as just another challenge in opening and running a business.”

The restaurant and bar’s name is a tribute to Thompson’s late father-in-law, influential health care lobbyist Steven M. Thompson, who was known as “the Health SMIC” (short for “Smartest Man In California”) prior to his death at age 62 in 2004. SMIC’s Sip + Quip lies on the car-free path leading up to the Capitol dubbed the Steven M. Thompson Memorial Walkway in 2005.

Paula Thompson co-owned sausage-slinging beer hall Hogwash in San Francisco before buying Downtown & Vine in December. She had planned to reopen Downtown & Vine as SMIC’s in March before the pandemic, she said.

Thompson’s career in hospitality began as a 15-year-old pool attendant at the Laguna Niguel Ritz Carlton. She bartended through college and went on to work at several San Francisco eateries including Fog City and Aqua, where celebrity chef Michael Mina earned his reputation and later opened his eponymous Michelin-starred restaurant, before she moved to Sacramento three years ago.