TASTE
Survival Strategy
Downtown Sacramento restaurants plan for a future , although unknowns remain
BY Graham Womack
PHOTOS BY Debbie Cunningham
Jami Goldstene , co-owner of Solomon ’ s Delicatessen , says the shift to remote work has affected restaurants , including her own , along K Street Mall .
It ’ s the kind of Friday afternoon in February in downtown Sacramento that could make a person forget , if only for a moment , the hellacious year of the COVID-19 pandemic .
The balmy blue skies and temperature slightly above 60 degrees are enough to attract smatterings of people to restaurant patios on K Street Mall . The decent weather on this weekday is perhaps a lifeline for restaurants that have been struggling to maintain .
“ The people are not in their offices , so that ’ s what ’ s affected us ,” Jami Goldstene , co-owner of Solomon ’ s Delicatessen on K Street , says as she sits on the patio of her restaurant that opened in 2019 . “ It ’ s affected everyone up and down the block .”
On this day , the Sacramento Kings will play the Orlando Magic in a game without fans — a safety measure because of the ongoing pandemic — in the Golden 1 Center , a $ 558 million arena that opened in 2016 with promises of how it could bring economic development to the neighborhood . In its first three years of operation , through September 2019 , the arena averaged more than 350 events a year : a mix of NBA games , concerts and other gatherings , which brought more than 1.65 million people to the area annually .
But all throughout downtown Sacramento , restaurants have had to adjust to a dramatic shift over the past year , with legions of employees who used to commute into the area now working remotely . That coupled with a shortened 2019-20 NBA season and now a season without fans has led to a far quieter Downtown Commons and downtown in
30 comstocksmag . com | April 2021