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Tag: Beer Dogs Citrus Heights

  • Middleton set to join Miller, Bruins on Citrus Heights City Council

    2018 city council, Citrus Heights election
    Porsche Middleton, center, will join Mayor Steve Miller and Vice Mayor Jeannie Bruins on the Citrus Heights City Council. All three received the most votes in the Nov. 6, 2018 election.

    Updated 9:45 a.m., Nov. 14–
    Sentinel staff report–
    The race for three seats on the Citrus Heights City Council appears to be decided, after more results were released by elections officials on Friday afternoon.

    Porsche Middleton, who currently serves as a Citrus Heights Planning Commissioner, pulled ahead by several hundred more votes to solidify her place in third, earning her a seat on the City Council along with Mayor Steve Miller and Vice Mayor Jeannie Bruins, who both won their campaigns for re-election.

    Al Fox, who was appointed to the City Council following the death of Councilman Mel Turner in 2017, told The Sentinel he won’t be conceding until the final results are posted, which will happen before the election is certified on Dec. 6th. He and Middleton are separated by about 900 votes, or 2%, as of the latest vote count.

    “I think there’s no question that Steve and Jeannie are re-elected. There’s no question about that. I think that the split between Porsche and I will probably remain the same,” said Fox. “I obviously didn’t get the votes I hoped for, but I’m very pleased with how things went.”

    Middleton told The Sentinel on Saturday that “[w]hile every ballot has not yet been counted, it would seem that I have a solid position in third place and will be a Citrus Heights City Councilmember.” She said her focus over the next four years will be on business development, maintaining fiscal integrity, and “working closely with the County to develop more effective solutions to help the homeless individuals within our community.”

    The 34-year-old had picked up endorsements from elected officials and organizations around the region, including The Sacramento Bee, the Sacramento County Democratic Party, and the Sacramento Association of Realtors. She was also the top fundraiser of the five candidates running — reporting close to $50,000 in total campaign contributions, nearly five times more contributions than Mayor Miller reported receiving.

    Candidate Treston Shull, who came in second for fundraising but placed last in the race with about 12% of the vote, told The Sentinel in an email on Friday that he wished the best for the three candidates who won election to the council. “While I was looking for different results, I ran to help make my city better — I will continue to do that, just not as a member of the City Council,” he said.

    The latest vote count shows Bruins holding her lead with 27% of the vote, Miller with 21%, Middleton with 20%, and Fox receiving 18% of the vote. Each candidate’s percentages have held steadily each time Sacramento County elections officials have released more results. Additional vote count updates are scheduled to be released each Tuesday and Friday, until election results are officially certified next month.

    Update: Additional results released by elections officials on Nov. 13 show all candidates holding the same percentages, with 40,376 total votes now counted in the race. Countywide, officials estimate an additional 94,500 ballots are still waiting to be processed.

    Miller and Bruins both told The Sentinel they were pleased with their re-election and look forward to serving another four years. Miller will be serving his fourth term on the City Council and Bruins will be serving her fifth term, having been on the council since 2002. Both have said one of their goals for their next term will be working to improve schools in the city, including the possibility of bringing a charter school to Citrus Heights.

    Learn more: Meet Porsche Middleton, 2018 candidate for Citrus Heights City Council

    Councilman Bret Daniels, who had endorsed Middleton and is often a lone “no” vote among his colleagues on the council, told The Sentinel he is looking forward to serving with her.

    “I think she’ll bring a fresh energetic voice and a perspective that we do not have on the council now,” said Daniels in a phone interview. “I think what we don’t have is a younger voice and a willingness to not just be a head-nod to what staff wants.”

    Middleton is slated to take her new seat as a member of the City Council next month.

    See where Middleton stands on nine local issues: Porsche Middleton on the issues, in her own words

  • Beer Dogs: new eatery to feature gourmet hotdogs, craft beer

    Beer Dogs, Citrus Heights
    Beer Dogs restaurant signs have already popped up at Sylvan Corners, advertising the soon-to-open new eatery in Citrus Heights. // CH Sentinel

    Updated Aug. 5, 7:01 p.m. —
    A new gourmet hotdog and craft beer restaurant is scheduled to open in Citrus Heights as early as next month, with plans to quickly expand to other locations in the region as well.

    Located between JB Liquors and the Bearpaw shoes store at Sylvan Corners, Beer Dogs spokesman and senior partner Zachary Swithenbank said the new “quick-service” restaurant will offer menu selections ranging from tater tots and kids meals to a choice of 10 different hotdog options.

    A preview menu posted on the front window of the new eatery includes names like “The New Yorker” and “The Great Western Dog” — described as a “signature grilled gourmet 10-inch hotdog on our mouth-watering, hand-baked sourdough bun, topped with chopped crispy bacon pieces, French fried onions, cheddar cheese, and BBQ sauce.”

    Craft beer choices on the menu feature several selections from regional breweries, including the “Gold Digger IPA” from Auburn Alehouse brewery and a “Golden Eagle Mandarin Wheat” from Loomis Basin Brewing Co. Hard alcohol won’t be offered.

    Although hotdogs and beer don’t usually come to mind when thinking “healthy,” Swithenbank said Beer Dogs is “trying to make the hotdog healthy and good at the same time.” He said “everything that goes into the bun” will be “farm-to-table concept,” and the restaurant will use hotdogs from San Fransisco-based Evergood Foods.

    Beer Dogs General Manager Jeff Wilkinson described the inside of the restaurant as having an “industrial” look, with a craft beer bar and 30-foot long counter for seating guests. He said there will also be bar stool seating along the wall, and a “horseshoe-shaped” seating area inside.

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    In a recent phone interview, Swithenbank told The Sentinel he partnered with Bearpaw shoes owner Tom Romeo to launch the new restaurant. He also said the pair plans to quickly open several more Beer Dogs locations in the Sacramento region and beyond.

    “We have quite a few locations already picked out and we’ll expand quite a bit in three to five years,” said Swithenbank, who has a background in real estate development and corporate management. “We’re hopeful to take 50 to 100 locations by the end of the 10-year mark.”

    He said Citrus Heights was chosen as the place to launch the first Beer Dogs due to the area’s demographics and high traffic count at Sylvan Corners, calling it “the right place at the right time.”

    The pair have already hired enough employees to open the first location, but will have a second wave of hiring in a few weeks. Everyone hired in the first wave will go through an in-house management program to learn “every facet of the business,” according to Swithenbank.

    In 6 to 12 months, the goal is to have all hires be prepared to take on positions as general managers of future Beer Dogs locations. “We’re not hiring people that want a job, we’re hiring people that want a career,” said Swithenbank.

    With hiring complete and interior remodeling nearing completion, the new Beer Dogs is targeting an opening date of Sept. 1 or Labor Day.

    The new restaurant’s address is 7032 Sylvan Rd.

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