West Sacramento bar, restaurant scene hopes to capitalize on A's arrival
WEST SACRAMENTO — While they're hitting dingers, the A's are also helping serve up a business boom for West Sacramento staples.
When the announcement came last year that the Athletics would move to the capital region, conversations among local businesses started right away. That included pitching new ideas, increasing staffing, and more than a dozen businesses even took part in West Sacramento's small business accelerator program, which offers funding to expand.
Now, finally, the big day has arrived.
For Sutter Health Park's neighboring bars and restaurants, big league ball means big league business.
"As you know, the A's are only one block away. We'll have the smoker going in front. We'll have the satellite bar out here [and] a lot more employees," said Jeff Davis of Tree House Café.
At Tree House Cafe, the traditional breakfast and lunch spot has grown to now have a nightlife scene.
"On the games that are like 7 o'clock at night, we will have music starting at 4:30 to 7:30," Davis said. "On afternoon, weekend games, we will have our music starting right after the game."
Also hoping to capture that before- and after-the-game crowd is local favorite Sal's Tacos.
"On one night, it could mean double, triple, quadruple the amount of business for a small business," said owner Ernesto Delgado.
Sal's built new outdoor and indoor patios, providing more space to keep up with more foot traffic.
"We have a stage here, an outdoor bar, we plan to sell tacos out here. It's all-around fun," Delgado said. "I like to say baseball and tacos are great together."
Just down the street, 319 Broderick is pitching its craft kitchen to the local and out-of-town baseball crowd.
"One of the great things about this place is we have a loyal fan base," said Gordon Duff, a manager at 319 Broderick. "We are looking forward to selling this place to new people."
It's a game of adjustments. With major league ball on the menu, the A's have these businesses seeing green.
"We currently aren't open after 10, but if we see the demand for it, we'll stay open later," Duff said. "We will play that by ear as it goes along."
In West Sacramento, that growth stretches as far as Southport. The owner of West Sac Sports Bar and Grill, which is near the Target and Nugget on Jefferson Boulevard, made similar adjustments by expanding their patio and adding brand new TVs in hopes of attracting the game-time crowd that wants to watch the A's but not make the trek down near the ballpark.
