Vegas lights meet dark academia at downtown’s newest club
The upcoming Archive Nightclub in downtown Sacramento is a perfect example of “business in the front, party in the back.”
Moody ambient lighting, dark walnut wood and an enormous bookcase adorn the sleek, sexy cocktail lounge in the front half of the 1022 K St. unit, while marble-topped tables, leather booths and a DJ stage surrounded by walls of mirror tiles line the back half, a nightclub.
Owner Danny Shafazand found inspiration in the California State Archives less than a mile away from the K Street corridor, theming the lounge section after a library. The lounge’s bar section will include specialty drinks referencing the state archives, with literary names like Plot Twist and Cliffhanger.
“The archive theme is kind of a play on the city of Sacramento,” he said. “There’s literally an archive right behind us.”
On the other side of a partition separating Archive’s dual personalities, the club area will be bathed in rainbow hues of dancing lights, while music from DJ sets will pulse through the building. According to Shafazand, the price of the sound and light system alone was in the six figures.
Shafazand said he developed the hybrid upscale-cocktail-lounge-slash-Vegas-style-club to fill a gap he noticed in Sacramento nightlife: a true nightclub.
Although there are a number of clubs in the city, many operate like a classic restaurant or bar, having a food menu alongside a large alcohol selection. In contrast, Archive will not have a kitchen, instead focusing on its classy cocktail offerings and a central dance floor area.
Shafazand operates a number of establishments in the South Bay cities, including NOVA Nightclub, Wild Rose Eatery & Bar and Second Story Cocktail Lounge. While he said many of his other nightlife businesses have a cohesive atmosphere, Archive is the most elaborately themed of the lot.
Archive will be his first foray into the capital region, and he thinks it’s the right time to step into the burgeoning nightlife scene on The Kay. Shafazand acknowledged that launching his first Sacramento venture on the embattled K Street is a bold move, which he said his team is excited about.
“When we started this project last year, it did not even look like this outside — there were no human beings, there was nothing,” he said. “We want more (businesses) to come in and we really think K Street can get back to pre-COVID times, we just gotta make it happen.”
Archive is located in the former location of District 30, a nightclub that quietly closed up shop last year. According to Shafazand, the club’s former owner sold him the business at the end of 2023, and he began refitting the space for Archive early the following year.
Roughly nine months later, the lounge and club is almost ready to open, waiting for some final fixtures and details to be installed, Shafazand said. On Thursday, the large wooden bookcase spanning the side wall in the cocktail lounge area was relatively sparse, but Shafazand said he is planning on collecting trinkets to fill the square spaces up over time, even after the club opens.
While there are no set plans for opening yet, Shafazand hopes to be ready to launch Archive in the middle of this month, aiming for Sept. 12 or 19. He said he is planning on having Archive open daily, starting cocktail happy hour around 5 p.m. on weekdays, while focusing on the nightclub during the weekend.
As for whether Archive will feature hidden memorabilia and references to California’s history in line with its namesake — which celebrates its 175th birthday on Tuesday — Shafazand said guests will have to keep a keen eye out when they visit.
What I’m Eating
As an Argentinian person, I have a fierce loyalty to our cultural staples. Dec. 18, 2022, is a day I will never forget (if you know, you know) and summer isn’t truly complete without hosting a handful of weekend backyard asados.
However, despite the strong patriotism I feel for la Albiceleste, I can admit when one of our fútbol rivals — I mean neighbors — cooks something worth the same amount of praise as our famous barbecue. At Fogão Gaúcho Brazilian Steakhouse in Elk Grove, the traditional Brazilian churrasco takes the spotlight with an interactive eating experience.
For a fixed price of $59.95 per person, the restaurant’s “gaucho chefs” bring around large skewers with a rotation of 15 different meat cuts and two non-meat items, skillfully carving slices of the freshly grilled delicacies tableside at the diners’ request. The upscale buffet-style rodizio experience includes an extensive “Market Table” with an unexpectedly broad range of side dishes. Lobster bisque, charcuterie classics, ceviche and even sushi rolls were laid out when I visited.
The best game plan is to say “yes” to every cut offered, but there are a handful of standouts. Picanha, or top sirloin cap, is a classic flavorful Brazilian churrasco offering, and garlic beef is one of the few tender cuts that adds ingredients for an extra hit of flavor. Che, even Argentina is represented with a seared bife ancho ribeye. Grilled pineapple, one of the two vegetarian options, provides a brief respite from the rich bites of meat with sweet and smoky fruit flavors.
Each meal comes with a bread basket of pão de queijo, fluffy Brazilian cheese bread made with tapioca flour, and fried cinnamon sugar bananas — designed as a palate cleanser between meat plates, though it can also double as a delicious warm dessert when you inevitably fill up on beef, pork and lamb cuts.
Fogão Gaúcho Brazilian Steakhouse
Address: 8698 Elk Grove Blvd., Elk Grove
Hours: 5 p.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday; closed Monday
Phone: 916-647-3963
Website: fogaogaucho.com
Drinks: Wines, Brazilian-inspired cocktails, coffee, soft drinks
Vegetarian options: There are vegetarian options, but I recommend skipping this one if you don’t eat meat.
Noise level: Loud
Outdoor seating: No
Openings & Closings
• The owners of East Sacramento’s Brickland are tapping into their Afghan roots with a sister coffee shop inside the restaurant. The Amiri family’s Brick Cafe opened Sunday at 3311 Folsom Blvd., serving fusion specialty beverages such as the anjir matcha — a fig and vanilla iced matcha drink — and traditional coffee drinks using Temple Coffee beans.
• The Porch Restaurant & Bar, 1815 K St. in midtown, reopened Friday about six weeks after its back storage areas was damaged by a fire that sparked behind the restaurant. According to the restaurant’s Instagram, it held a reopening celebration Saturday, with food and drink specials and live music.
• Sacramento’s first fully vegan fast food chain, Burger Patch, closed its doors on Labor Day after eight years of providing plant-based burgers, sandwiches and milkshakes to the region. Following the midtown restaurant’s Friday announcement, the community came out to 2301 K St., Suite 101, in droves for one last Patch burger and spuds meal.
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