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Category: Business

  • More changes underway at Copperwood Square in Citrus Heights

    Planet Fitness
    Construction work can be seen as Planet Fitness expands in the Copperwood Shopping Plaza. // M. Hazlip

    By Mike Hazlip—
    Demolition work inside the former Hometown Buffet at 7016 Sunrise Blvd. is almost complete, as part of the latest changes at the Copperwood Square shopping plaza in Citrus Heights.

    Lynn Wilkinson, project superintendent for RCP Construction, told The Sentinel on Tuesday the current expansion project for Planet Fitness is expected to be completed in February or March of next year. Wilkinson said construction is planned in two phases, with the first phase slated to be completed by Christmas this year.

    Planet Fitness plans to pause work for about a month in January, according to Wilkinson. The current gym space is also scheduled for a remodel once the new space is complete, he said.

    The former Home Town Buffet space has remained vacant since the restaurant closed four years ago.

    Dan Chiavario, principal/director of operations for Strategic Asset Management Group, which manages Copperwood Square, told The Sentinel last year that Planet Fitness had signed a new 12-year lease for the site, which includes expanding its current location in the center to include the former buffet location.

    Chiavario said the fitness center has planned a complete remodel that will include a “Black Card” area, which typically offers additional amenities, such as massage chairs and discounts. He said the additions will make the gym “the nicest one in Citrus Heights.”

    Planet Fitness spokesperson Becky Zirlen, told The Sentinel previously the timeline for planned improvements was pushed back because of the impacts of COVID-19. The New Hampshire-based fitness corporation has more than 2,000 locations and 14.4 million members globally, according to a news release on the company’s website.

    In an email update last month, Chiavario said once construction is completed for Planet Fitness, there are plans to redo all of the monument signs, landscaping and parking lot. “We look forward to making Copperwood Square a premier, neighborhood shopping destination,” he said.

    Other recent changes at the plaza include the opening of a Starbucks drive-thru earlier this year, as well as a recent lease extension for Dollar Tree and sales reportedly increasing by “a double digit percentage” at Foodmaxx, according to Chiavario.

  • New 23-home subdivision taking shape in Citrus Heights

    Wyatt Ranch
    New homes can be see being built along Sunrise Boulevard near Sayonara Drive. // CH Sentinel

    By Mike Hazlip—
    Framing is up for some of the first homes as construction of a new 23-home subdivision in Citrus Heights begins to take shape off Sunrise Boulevard.

    Wyatt Ranch, the new housing development at Sunrise Boulevard and Lawrence Avenue, is slated to include a mix of single-story and two-story homes, according to the company’s website. Eight of the homes are already listed as “reserved,” and the developer is accepting reservations for the remaining 15 homes.

    Prices start around $550,00 for three and four bedroom floor plans. Square footage ranges between 1,550 to just over 2,000 square feet. Four different floor plans are available.

    The developer, Rocklin-based CEC Homes, shows three other projects in the area including Loomis and Rocklin.

    The city approved a 23-lot tentative subdivision map for the project in 2015, but activity at the site remained dormant. The City Council earlier this year approved an amendment to an agreement related to the subdivision after the property changed owners to Citrus Heights 23, LLC, a Utah-based company.

    Marketing information highlights the development’s close proximity to the Sunrise MarketPlace business and shopping district, along with nearby Arcade Creek Park. A separately owned housing community is also being constructed by KB Home several blocks away, in Mitchell Village.

  • New business comes to long-shuttered Citrus Heights building

    BidRL
    BidRL, an online auction service, has taken up one of the spaces in a long-vacant building on Tupelo Drive, in Citrus Heights. // M. Hazlip

    By Mike Hazlip–
    The long-vacant building at 6422 Tupelo Drive is seeing new activity as BidRL.com occupies part of the building.

    BidRL.com owner Andrey Sprikha said he plans to use the space as a warehouse for the online auction liquidation company. Customers bid on items displayed on the BidRL website and pick them up at the warehouse. Customers can pay online or pay at the pick-up location.

    “This is an online auction where everything starts at $1. Everything that you can get, Amazon returns, Target, all those,” he told The Sentinel.

    Sprikha said he plans to hold the first auction in about a week. The BidRL website lists a Citrus Heights location, but no items were displayed as of press time Wednesday.

    The remaining space is slated to be a Falling Prices, according to Amir Razavi of NPR Associates Incorporated, an investor in the building. Falling Prices is a discount retailer with six locations throughout the greater Sacramento area, Folsom and Tracy.

    Razavi said he is actively looking for new tenants. He says the building is in good shape, with newer equipment on the roof.

    The building is divided into separate tenant spaces, one 10,000-square-foot space, and another 20,000-square-foot area, and Razavi hopes to attract a restaurant to occupy the front space with a patio.

    Commercial real estate agent John Newton of Newmark told The Sentinel that the building’s former owner, Rite Aid, filed permits with the city more than 20 years ago that were never finalized. Razavi said discovering the unfinished permits during escrow was a surprise and he is now working with the city to finalize the permits and make the site ready for new tenants.

  • Popular ‘Hotpot’ restaurant reopens in Citrus Heights after closure during pandemic

    Hotpot Express
    HotPot Express is located at 6456 Antelope Rd., in Citrus Heights. // M. Hazlip

    By Mike Hazlip—
    Hotpot Express near Stone’s Casino on Antelope Road has reopened after closing its doors during the pandemic.

    The family owned restaurant at 6456 Antelope Rd. has earned nearly 300 reviews on Yelp, with an average rating of 4.5-out-of-5 stars for it popular customizable hot pot bowls, papaya salads, and other foods.

    A family member, who would only provide his first name, San, told The Sentinel on Friday that the business is welcoming back customers. He said it was difficult for the business to survive during the shut-down orders.

    “During the pandemic, there was a lot of things that had a lot of modifications, a lot of changes,” San said. “For a small family business, we had to adjust.”

    The business model for Hotpot Express won’t work for outdoor dining, San said. Their business model relies on dine-in experience with a cooking top on each table. Their location does not allow for outdoor dining, and they had concerns over tents blowing over, San added.

    “It just wouldn’t work,” he said.

    Customers at Hotpot Express choose the ingredients from a refrigerated display case and the meal is cooked at the table, San said. The business has various bowls with dividers to cook meals separately.

    San said the landlord has been understanding of their situation as the restaurant slowly gains back customers.

    “Luckily, the landlord here, we talked to them and they understand. We’ve only been open for a month and a lot of our customers don’t even know we’re back up open yet. It’s going to take some time.”

    The restaurant landscape in Citrus Heights has seen a number of changes over the last year as businesses struggle to keep up with changing state regulations and customer habits.

    The Sentinel reported almost 20 local restaurants received over $4.8 million in federal relief, and more than 500 businesses in Citrus Heights received millions more in Paycheck Protection Plan funds.

    Citrus Heights also had an additional restaurant stimulus program active last year called Great Plates Delivered, which utilized federal and state funding to pay six participating restaurants to deliver up to three meals a day to seniors and at-risk individuals during the pandemic.

    The program was discontinued by the City Council in December after city staff said funding delays from FEMA caused the city to have to front nearly $2 million to keep the program going while awaiting reimbursement.

  • Renovation of 15-acre Citrus Heights shopping center continues

    The frame of a new building and drive-thru is now up, where a Coco’s restaurant once stood in Citrus Heights. // M. Hazlip

    By Mike Hazlip—
    Framing is now up for a new building in the former Coco’s location at Sunrise Boulevard and Madison Avenue, along with additional construction work underway throughout the Sunrise Village shopping center.

    The shopping center’s northern end is being redeveloped, and the former Benihana grill has already been rebuilt.

    Sunrise Marketplace Executive Director Kathilynn Carpenter confirmed Starbucks will be one of the new tenants, but said she could not comment on other potential tenants.

    Future tenants listed on Merlone Geier’s website include a 36,152-square-foot City Sports Club and a 38,000-square-foot “grocer,” although a specific name is not listed. Jo-Ann Fabrics will also reopen with an expanded 27,150-square-foot location in the center.

    The project includes adding 18,000 square feet to the existing 150,000-plus square foot shopping plaza. It also includes construction of a new 5,500-square-foot building with a drive-thru, where Coco’s restaurant once operated.

    Large archway signage branding the center as “Sunrise Village” will also appear across two of the center’s driveways, according to a Planning Division staff report. The facades of existing buildings will also receive “significant exterior enhancements” that include canopies above walkways, the creation of outdoor patio spaces and modifications to the existing roofline.

    The Sentinel previously reported that demolition had begun in March.

    A representative with property owner did not return The Sentinel’s request for comment by press time Wednesday. The property was purchased by San Francisco-based Merlone Geier in 2017, with renovation plans approved last year.

  • Concern raised over city’s plan for new median islands on Auburn Blvd.

    A satellite image from Google Maps shows a section of roadway on Auburn Boulevard slated for renovation.

    By Mike Hazlip—
    With funding for the $23 million second phase of the Auburn Boulevard Complete Streets Revitalization Project now secured and plans moving forward, at least one business owner along the corridor is raising concerns about proposed changes to the median in front of his business.

    During this month’s meeting of the Auburn Boulevard Business Association (ABBA), the owner of Nor Cal Auto Body, Chad Riffe, raised concerns over a planned extension of a median divider at Twin Oaks Avenue and Auburn Boulevard.

    Riffe said the proposed island would prevent southbound tow trucks along Auburn Boulevard from turning left into his business. He also said the concrete median would prevent northbound big rigs from making a left turn into Harris Industrial Gases.

    A city representative said there is still time to make changes to the plans, and said the issue would be brought to the attention of the Auburn Boulevard Corridor team. She said the decision to increase the center divide was an effort to prevent southbound traffic from traveling the wrong way in the northbound lanes to access Bob’s Quality Tires.

    In an interview Wednesday, Riffe told The Sentinel that a proposed u-turn at Twin Oaks would not be large enough to accommodate a tow truck towing a vehicle to his shop. Aside from the proposed islands he is optimistic about the project, however.

    “It needs to be done,” he said. “If you drive down it does look terrible. I think it’s fantastic, it’s an inconvenience that we’ll have to live through for a little bit.”

    See video overview of what’s planned for Phase Two: click here

    Kathleen Harris, of Harris Gas, said she had not seen the latest plans, but acknowledged that changes in traffic flow can affect businesses.

    “I don’t know what kind of studies they do, but those turn lanes can make or break a business,” she said. She also noted the corridor along Galleria Boulevard near Highway 65 as an example of efficient traffic flow design.

    Some businesses along Auburn Boulevard during the first phase of the revitalization effort, from Sylvan Corners to Rusch Park, also noted a negative effect during construction. The first phase was completed in 2014.

    “I’m glad it’s done,” business owner Rocky Moffitt was quoted saying in a 2014 Sentinel story, noting his 7440 Club took a hit during the road work outside his doors. “The construction actually has hurt my business during the daytime… but overall it looks great. I love the finished project.”

    Other businesses have also voiced complaints to The Sentinel over decreased traffic in the phase one section of Auburn Boulevard due to the new center medians and restricted turn lanes, especially during construction. Some said they almost didn’t survive.

    Some drivers have also complained about the lack of a legal u-turn option on a more than half-mile stretch of the boulevard, when traveling north from Sylvan Corners to Pratt Avenue.

    Related: Survey finds overwhelming support for steel arch option on Auburn Blvd

    Plans for the second phase of construction, from Rusch Park to the Roseville border, show new center medians with designated turn lanes to be installed along most of the corridor. Plans also include undergrounding of overhead utility lines, installation of bike lanes and wider sidewalks, upgrading signals, adding decorative street lighting, planting of new landscaping and trees, upgrading storm drains, roadway resurfacing, enhanced transit stops and a new gateway sign over the boulevard.

    Harris said the city’s revitalization effort is a welcome change to the corridor.

    “Anything they can do to Auburn Boulevard to increase safety and security is really needed,” she said.

    More information about the project is posted on the city’s website. Anyone interested in providing input on the second phase of revitalization can send comments to the city’s Auburn Boulevard Corridor Team, at ABCS2@citrusheights.net.

  • New burger drive-thru sees long lines after opening in Citrus Heights

    Rally’s burger drive-thru is now open at 7911 Auburn Blvd., in Citrus Heights. // CH Sentinel

    Sentinel staff report–
    Opening day on Tuesday for the new Rally’s burger drive-thru on Auburn Boulevard saw long lines of vehicles extending into the adjacent bowling alley parking lot, with additional customers lining up at a walk-up window.

    Franchise owner Ben Aibuedefe said Wednesday night that a total of 450 transactions had been recorded on the first day, which amounts to an average of 30 orders per hour or an order every two minutes, during the restaurant’s operating hours of 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. Customers reported waiting 30 minutes to an hour in line.

    Reviews for the restaurant have already appeared on Yelp and mention the long lines, but give the restaurant an average rating of 4.5-out-of-5 stars. One reviewer commented about an order mix-up, while others spoke positively about burger taste and flavorful fries.

    Prices include a “2 for $4” burger deal, with meals starting at $5.99 for a chicken sandwich combo or about $9.50 for a “Big Buford” burger combo meal with triple meat. The menu also features milk shakes, funnel cake fries, and “monsterella stix.”

    Aibuedefe described the first two days as “crazy busy” and said the restaurant is short staff.

    A sign posted in the drive-thru window on Tuesday said the restaurant is still hiring, with “on the spot” job offers mentioned. The Sentinel reported in August that the restaurant was struggling open due to a lack of employees, but an opening date of October 19 was eventually set.

    The new 827-square-foot burger joint is located next to Rusch Park at 7911 Auburn Blvd. and features a drive-thru only model, with no indoor seating by design. A small outdoor patio area has tables for diners to use.

    Rally’s is a franchise location of the Florida-based Checkers Drive-In Restaurant Inc., which has over 800 locations nationwide and about 40 in California. The fast-food chain offers items like seasoned fries, big burgers, chicken wings and milkshakes, and markets itself in different parts of the country under the brand names Rally’s and Checker’s.

  • Opening date set for Rally’s burger drive-thru in Citrus Heights

    Rally's burger drive-thru
    A new Rally’s burger drive-thru is planning to open Oct. 19 in Citrus Heights, at 7911 Auburn Blvd. // CH Sentinel

    Sentinel staff report–
    After years of setbacks and delays, the franchise owner of a new Rally’s burger drive-thru on Auburn Boulevard said Thursday that he’s now hired and trained enough staff to set an opening date of October 19.

    The new 827-square-foot burger joint is located next to Rusch Park at 7911 Auburn Blvd., and features a drive-thru only model, with no indoor seating by design. A small outdoor patio area has tables for diners to use.

    The new eatery is a franchise location of the Florida-based Checkers Drive-In Restaurant Inc., which has over 800 locations nationwide and about 40 in California. The fast-food chain offers items like seasoned fries, big burgers, chicken wings and milkshakes, and markets itself in different parts of the country under the brand names Rally’s and Checker’s.

    Local franchise owner Ben Aibuedefe says the restaurant will bring a “value burger” to the area, promising prices for a meal in the $6-7 range, including fries and a drink.

    Hours of operation will initially be 10 a.m. to 1 a.m., Aibuedefe said, noting that more staff are still in need of being hired.

    During a prior interview in August, the franchisee said construction was complete but he was struggling to find 45 to 50 employees required to open the restaurant. In an update last week, he said the company’s corporate office agreed to send out a trainer if he could find 34 employees, a lower threshold from the original minimum of 45 employees.

    With other companies desperate to hire workers immediately amid the current labor shortage, Aibuedefe said it has been difficult to hold on to employees once they sign up for the job, as he can’t provide new hires with work until enough workers sign up and the restaurant opens.

    Those interested in applying for a job at Rally’s can visit the company’s online jobs listing, or drop by the location at 7911 Auburn Blvd. this Friday or Monday between 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., when Aibuedefe says he will be on site.

  • New police chief talks shootings, crime with business leaders

    By Mike Hazlip—
    Newly appointed Citrus Heights Police Chief Alex Turcotte spoke at a monthly Auburn Boulevard Business Association (ABBA) meeting on Tuesday at Fireside Lanes bowling alley, saying overall crime is down but raising concerns about violent crime in the district.

    Turcotte said overall crime is down 25%, with burglary down 60% and stolen vehicles down 80%. The chief also referenced double-digit drops in “quality of life” concerns, such as loitering and blight.

    He said violent crime is up however, reflecting trends seen nationally. Turcotte said ABBA has seen 11 to 15 more incidents of violent crime compared with last year. Two of those were shootings over the summer at what Turcotte referenced as a local nightclub.

    The Sentinel reported on two incidents in May near the 7440 Club about a week apart. Turcotte said police are working with the business owner to ensure safety of the community.

    Shots fired: see where all the shootings in Citrus Heights have occurred in 2021

    “We want our businesses to be successful and make money, but when they’re attracting that kind of nefarious activity, we have to do our part to try to drive that down,” he said, describing various measures such as education and Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design. “We definitely have structures in place to come back around and try to make sure that stays consistent and drops.”

    Business owner Rich Hale asked Turcotte what can be done to reduce crime in the district. While Turcotte said tougher crime laws would make a difference, he encouraged business owners and residents to continue reporting crime.

    “I don’t care if the guy’s out again in a couple hours: if there’s a criminal doing criminal activity, we’re going to continue to lock him up. We’re going to continue to do what we can,” he said.

  • Questions surround sudden closure of Starbucks in Citrus Heights

    Starbucks
    The Starbucks at 6121 Sunrise Blvd. in Citrus Heights closed on Oct. 3, 2021. // M. Hazlip

    By Mike Hazlip—
    Customers looking for their usual morning dose of caffeine will be disappointed to find the Starbucks in the Marketplace at Birdcage has shuttered its doors.

    A notice posted on the door said the location permanently closed on October 3.

    “We’re grateful you’ve allowed us to be part of your daily routine—and hope you’ll visit us at one of our neighboring stores,” the notice said.

    Sunrise Marketplace Executive Director Kathilynn Carpenter announced the closure on social media Monday saying it was not a landlord decision. She said the landlord is “actively looking” for a replacement tenant.

    The vice president of asset management for Gerrity Group, which manages Birdcage, told The Sentinel in an email Wednesday the closure came as a surprise.

    “It was a surprise to learn of the tenant’s intent to close the business as of October 3, 2021, particularly because the store appeared to perform well and there is considerable amount of term remaining on the lease,” the vice president, Colby Young, said. “We don’t know why they did that; they had been an excellent tenant for 24 years, and we would love to see them remain open in the center.

    Young also said “I can assure you the reason is not due to any changes in rent, in fact rent has been the same since 2018 and was to remain as-is until lease expiration.” Young noted the location appeared to be performing well, and Gerrity Group is looking for a replacement tenant for the now vacant space adjoining Barnes and Noble.

    Starbucks District Manager Jackie Paduveris told The Sentinel in a phone call Wednesday the closure was related to “the business model,” but referred further questions to the corporation’s public relations team.

    In an email sent to The Sentinel Thursday, a Starbucks media relations representative said the closure was related to maintaining “a healthy store portfolio,” but did not offer any specifics.

    “As part of Starbucks standard course of business, we continually evaluate our business to ensure a healthy store portfolio. After careful consideration, we determined it was best to close the store at 6121 Sunrise Boulevard in Citrus Heights, CA.”

    “As difficult as this is, we must make the right business decisions for the sake of Starbucks long-term growth. All Starbucks partners (employees) working at that store had the opportunity to transfer to one of our nearby locations,” the representative said.

    Earlier this spring, Starbucks opened a new drive-thru location in Citrus Heights at 7056 Sunrise Blvd. With the closure of the Birdcage location, which did not have a drive-thru, Starbucks now has four locations in Citrus Heights.

    While Starbucks store closures are infrequent, news reports from New York show the company recently closed two Buffalo locations. Reports by multiple media outlets indicate some suspicion among workers that the closures were related to a recent attempt to unionize.