Comstock's magazine 0919 - September 2019 | Page 34

n TASTE
HOPPING AGAIN
Fair Oaks Village is experiencing a renaissance fueled by new drink and dining options
BY Judy Farah PHOTOS: Debbie Cunningham
I
Gary Juels opened the Fair Oaks Brew Pub
in 2015 and is now restoring the former
Slocum House, which closed in 2011.
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comstocksmag.com | September 2019
t’s a weekday afternoon and the Fair
Oaks Brew Pub is hopping. Regulars
come in for a late lunch or beer after
work. Families sit on the patio, talking
and eating pizza. Next door, Wild Roost-
er Bistro is prepping Mexican dishes for
the dinner crowd while down the street
in Fair Oaks Village, Shangri-la, the new
Palm Springs-themed restaurant at the
site of a former mortuary, welcomes cus-
tomers with its outdoor bocce ball court.
Colonized in the late 1800s, Fair Oaks
Village is the quaint, charming center of
town. The village is tucked away under
a canopy of heritage oak trees within
walking distance of the American River
and a few miles from busy Sunrise Bou-
levard. The annual Fair Oaks Chicken
Festival, summer concerts and theater in
the park attract people from throughout
the region. With its historic buildings,
colorful amphitheater murals and cluck-
ing chickens roaming free, the village
could be the setting of a Hallmark movie.
Fair Oaks Village is experiencing a
renaissance, largely driven by a bur-
geoning dining scene. “There is a kind
of revitalization in the village right now,”
says Roselyn Barbray, president of the
Fair Oaks Chamber of Commerce. “I see
people meeting there — as opposed to
going to a Starbucks to meet a client, they
go to the brew pub.”
The village took a hit when Slocum
House closed in 2011, a victim of the
economic downturn. Once considered
one of the finest restaurants in the Sac-
ramento area that drew crowds from all
over the region, Slocum House featured
a high-end menu and a romantic patio.