5 new businesses, including a sports bar and candy store, coming to downtown Sacramento

Five new businesses — a sports bar, a coffee cafe, a candy store, a streetwear and sneaker store and a pretzel bakery — will open in Downtown Commons by mid-2023, part of efforts to inject new life into the entertainment and shopping complex by the Golden One Center.

Two of the new businesses will fill vacant spaces in the complex’s main plaza, Tom’s Watch Bar will occupy more than 6,300 square feet while World Traveler Coffee Roasters will occupy 1,365 square feet.

Three other stores are replacing tenants that closed, part of a string of downtown businesses that didn’t survive the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’Sugar Candy Store will fill a 3,176-square-foot store that had been occupied by several separate stores, including Andy’s Candy Apothecary, which closed in 2020, and Impound Comics, which moved last month to a location on the second floor of the DoCo complex.

Impound Comics is occupying a space previously occupied by a closed beauty saloon.

Streetwear and sneaker store Phenom will occupy a 2,300-square-foot store in the West Plaza that had been occupied by Getta Clue that had a similar retail concept. Phenom is now located in Elk Park.

Getta Clue closed its DoCo clothing store this summer ahead of moving to The Arden Fair mall.

The fifth new tenant, Wetzel’s Pretzel, will occupy a 2,000-square-foot outdoor space next to Macy’s on the mall’s second floor, replacing Taste Bar, which closed in the earlier stages of the pandemic.

A DoCo news release said Wetzel’s Pretzel will serve a variety of foods, including crepes, soups, salads and sandwiches.

Several vacant storefronts remain at DoCo, including the space previously occupied by The Pizza Press, which closed in August.

Turnover aside, Sacramento Kings President of Business Operations John Rinehart celebrated the new stores.

“We are excited about the considerable momentum in DoCo as a variety of new retail shops, eateries, beverage hot spots and more are coming to the plaza and joining the amazing mix of existing businesses,” he said in a statement to The Bee. “Plus, we look forward to even more new tenant announcements as we enter the new year.”

A spokesperson said Rinehart was not available for additional comments.

Post-COVID pent up demand

Sacramento commercial real estate broker Steve Edwards said the new leases announced by DoCo are part of a national trend of new retail and restaurants in downtowns across America and at suburban malls.

“There has been so little new retail construction over the last several years that there is pent up demand obviously coming out of COVID,” he said. ”The sky was falling in the retail sector in the beginning, middle and even towards the end of COVID.”

Edwards said downtown Sacramento still has its challenges. Crime and homelessness, he noted, remain problems the community needs to work on, to attract people to a vibrant downtown retail, restaurant and nightlife district.

In addition, he said, many downtown office workers are still working remotely, leaving fewer customers to patronize businesses.

He said DoCo’s location next to the Golden One Center, home of the Sacramento Kings, and other events, is a major advantage. Still, some establishments in the complex have struggled financially.

“What you’re seeing,” he said, “is turnover of tenants.”

Phenom manager Kenny Ly said the store feels the DoCo location will attract a wider range of customers than the stores’ current Elk Park location.

“It’s a more central location,” he said of DoCo.

Ly said the Elk Park location may close after the store’s relocation.

DoCo’s origins

Downtown Commons started opening in 2017. It’s a venture by the Sacramento Kings to open an entertainment district next to the new arena. It replaced a two-story mostly outdoor mall, commonly called Downtown Plaza. The mall was built in 1971 and had lost its luster and many of its tenants at the time of its demolition in 2014.

More than $250 million in city funds were used to build DoCo in addition to the more than $200 million Sacramento contributed to the construction of The Golden One Center.

Around 5.7 million visitors frequented DoCo in the last 12 months through October, bringing visitation back to 67 percent of pre-pandemic levels, said Scott Ford, economic development director for the Downtown Sacramento Partnership.

Ford said it’s a major contrast from the earlier days of the pandemic when visitation collapsed.

“It’s encouraging sign for sure,” he said. “It’s great to see pedestrian traffic start to pick up.”

Competition remains

Edwards wonders that even with increased visitation, whether all the new DoCo venues will prosper.

He said one new tenant, Tom’s Watch Bar, is a sports viewing bar and restaurant, which will compete with The Yard House and Punch Bowl Social.

“They are a little bit different, but there are a lot of similarities: TV’s, beer and food,” he said. “It’s just interesting to me how many of these can be supported downtown.”

Another example he said, is the new World Traveler Coffee Roasters, which will compete with Estelle Bakery& Patisserie. Edwards said both establishments feature coffee and pastries.

Yaniv Rosenberg, owner of World Traveler Coffee Roasters, said both he and his competitor can thrive.

“There is room for both businesses,” he said.

Rosenberg said what makes World Traveler Coffee Roasters unique is that it roasts its own beans.

He said DoCo is the next logical location for his coffee cafe, which has four locations and opened its first Sacramento location in midtown last month.

Rosenberg said people have become comfortable going out again and the DoCo location can only bring more recognition to World Traveler.

A new way to ‘watch’ sports

Another new business owner who is confident of his selection of DoCo is Tom Ryan, owner of Tom’s Watch Bar.

Ryan, who co-founded hamburger chain Smashburger, said the establishment’s screen play will make it a destination.

“Our 360 degree viewing anchored off our stadium screens are just an amazing kind of visual spectacle if you love sports,” he said.

Ryan said the location of Ryan’s Watch Bar — “literally a stone’s throw from the front door where the Kings play” — along with heavy DoCo foot traffic, were all positive factors in the site selection.

He said a significant difference between his bar restaurant and Yard House and Punch Bowl Social will be its connection to the Kings fan base.

“Neither of those concepts are focused on the fan base and engagement like we are,” he said. “We consider ourselves to be extensions of the teams, particularly when we’re that close to the arena. So that when the team doesn’t have people inside their four walls, they’ll come to us for another fan base experience.”

Ryan said the pandemic had slowed down opening plans several times.

“We were committed to Sacramento before COVID hit,” he said.

Ryan said while a 2023 opening is definite, he could not pinpoint an exact date, due to various construction issues that need to be resolved.

Tom’s Watch Bar has six other locations including at the L.A. LIVE entertainment district, where the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers play, Denver’s Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies baseball team, and the Las Vegas Strip.

This story was originally published November 14, 2022 at 6:16 PM.