Will RTO change downtown Sacramento? Businesses assess Day One
On the first day of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s return-to-office order, some downtown businesses reported heavier foot traffic than usual, while others said it was roughly on par with typical weekdays. State workers, meanwhile, said in interviews that they battled traffic and congested parking garages during their commutes to Sacramento’s downtown.
Wednesday marked the official beginning of the four-day-a-week return-to-office order, a turning point in the yearslong battle over California’s in-person work requirements. Still, the order took effect midweek, leading into a holiday weekend. It will likely take weeks or months to fully assess the order’s effects for commute traffic and Sacramento’s central business district, where foot traffic has remained depressed compared to 2019 and vacancy rates are high for office real estate.
On Wednesday, local businesses and downtown workers offered some early indications.
Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters on 12th Street saw about the same rush as any weekday, said employee Jaidyn Bourassa. But around 9 a.m., about a quarter of the tables were full at Sana’a Cafe on K Street — more than usual, said employee Basem Alaffas.
“Business has been picking back up,” Alaffas said.
Around 9:30 a.m., almost every table was full at the Starbucks on L Street. Around noon, most tables were full at the Crest Cafe on K Street, with 14 people waiting in line, many in business-casual attire — a busier lunch rush than a typical Wednesday, an employee said.
Still, while there were signs of the return-to-office order, even more obvious was the discontent it had stoked among many in California’s workforce.
Almost a dozen people, over the course of the morning, filtered through the K and L street area wearing purple SEIU shirts, in the hours leading up to a rally organized by the chapter that represents 96,000 state workers. SEIU Local 1000 has fought the return-to-office order, and is in the midst of contract negotiations.
At around 11:30 a.m., between 40 and 50 people marched down K Street, chanting: “Gavin Newsom, you’re no good. Treat your workers like you should.” Later, thousands gathered near the Capitol to protest the order and rally support for the contract fight.
Some new faces
In recent months, elected officials and heads of the city’s downtown property owners’ group, the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, have acknowledged that the neighborhood had likely become overreliant on office buildings, and was therefore especially economically vulnerable when the pandemic hit.
Foot traffic downtown in April, based on anonymized cell phone data, was at 85% of the level seen in April 2019, per the Partnership. And the vacancy rate for office space climbed to 24% in early 2025, compared to 16% in early 2022.
Still, the Partnership has maintained that state workers are key to downtown’s identity.
Elected officials have called for a diversification of downtown, with more housing and a greater presence of academic institutions, like Sacramento State’s planned conversion of three excess government buildings on Capitol Mall into a downtown campus.
Small business owners, meanwhile, have taken steps to adapt, but several said in recent interviews that they believed a greater presence of state workers downtown would aid struggling restaurants and retailers.
Gabriel Morningstar, a Rancho Cordova resident and employee at the nonprofit Mercy Housing, watched businesses struggle during the pandemic, and said more foot traffic would help the area.
“I think it’s great to bring folks back downtown,” Morningstar said.
Morningstar acknowledged that parking is “on everybody’s mind,” and parks in Old Sacramento for lower rates, before walking 15 minutes to work downtown.
“I’m not sure what the solution is. I know the city needs the money, too,” Morningstar said. Still, “I love working downtown. That’s for sure. And I’m excited to see it get more full, and see the businesses thrive.”
But after years of debate, and a false start last year, some business owners downtown expressed uncertainty, in recent weeks, over whether they should expect a dramatic influx of state workers in the district.
On Wednesday, early accounts were mixed.
“I haven’t noticed anything different,” said Chris French, owner of Bistro Bravado at the corner of 11th and L streets. “We’re always pretty busy. I’ve seen some new faces.”
Summer is typically a slower month for Capital Books, said Natalie Pedemont, a two-year employee. So it was difficult to judge Wednesday’s turnout. As of early afternoon, she said, it seemed like “nothing out of the usual.”
Maria Solorio, a 26-year-old who works in the Assembly, said the Starbucks — and her commute — were noticeably more crowded Wednesday morning.
“Traffic has been really bad today,” Solorio said as she sat at the coffee shop. “But other than that, (we’ll) see how they go. Hopefully the transition isn’t too bad for people.”
Hopes and costs
Riz A said he moved his food truck, The Habibi’s Grill, downtown from a location on Broadway about a week ago, in search of more foot traffic.
“You’ve got the arena, the lawyers,” he said, between serving customers at 7th and Merchant streets. “It’s like our Times Square.”
Still, state workers are keenly concerned with the financial and environmental costs of returning to offices four days a week, and the effect on work-life balance. Some workers are caregivers for children or other relatives. On Wednesday, state workers reported long commute times, scarce parking and elevated transportation costs.
Dennis Tonel, a fiscal analyst for the Department of Public Health, said he was “not too thrilled” about the order. Tonel has a son with special needs, and he doesn’t believe the state offers reasonable accommodations for parents in his situation.
“I have got to learn how to get all this extra care,” Tonel said. “I’m in the middle of that, working that out.”
Still, he added, “it’s nice to support the businesses.”
But for Chris Williams, an 18-year employee of the California Department of Education, the contentious return-to-office process may have teed up a strained relationship with downtown.
Williams, who has lived in Sacramento since 1991, said he believed state workers were treated as a pawn in efforts to stimulate downtown, and he didn’t plan to patronize businesses in the area.
“I would intentionally not,” Williams said. “We’ve proven it: Work can be effective remotely.”
This story was originally published July 1, 2026 at 3:57 PM.
