Sacramento County Business, Economy & Jobs Digest

The ownership of J. Wild’s Burgers & BBQ in Folsom has come full circle. The location was once the original Chicago Fire Pizza, and now has been taking over by the daughter of Chicago Fire’s founder. Sammy Youman also acquired Icing on the Cupcake in 2017.

The Sacramento Bee has created an interactive map showing how the housing market has slowed in most California counties. While the real estate market was peaking at this time last year, things have changed, with El Dorado County experiencing the largest drop-off.

The city has been awarded a $75,000 grant to participate in an initiative to address wealth equity. The grant will help identify strategies that will financially empower residents, with a focus on the Black community.

Valley Oak Press has the distinction of being the last newspaper company-owned and operated printing press in Sacramento County.

One of the Land Park area’s longest-term business owners, Marie Balshor of Balshor Florist, recently celebrated a very special day at her business.

A plasma center is coming to Citrus Heights, making its home near the Sunrise Marketplace in the former Dimple Records building. Construction is largely complete and the business is waiting on licensing.

Wealthier residents, liberated from the office by remote work, are leaving the Bay Area at a higher rate than before the pandemic—a trend that could exacerbate an economic “doom loop” for the region’s slowly recovering job centers and downtown cores.

Mezcalifornia, California’s new form of tequila production, is enjoying quite the movement in the Sacramento Valley. By using blue agave plants, small batches of this liquor are sent to craft distilleries throughout the state—and demand is intense.

PepsiCo unveiled its new fleet of Tesla Semi electric trucks at its Sacramento bottling plant, becoming the first company in the world to acquire the zero-emissions vehicles. The vehicles will be used for local deliveries of Pepsi products while another 15 will be used at PepsiCo’s FritoLay manufacturing plant in Modesto.

Gov. Newsom reneged on pledge to wind down fossil fuel refineries.

With funds received from COVID-related relief grants, the city of Galt is planning multiple changes and improvements, including entertaining a tourism proposal from the Chamber of Commerce.

The United States Postal Service has raised prices four times in the last two years.

The California Black Chamber of Commerce is joining hands with state government to help narrow the Golden State’s Digital Divide for nearly two million houses without access to broadband. The CBCC will help push the state’s Middle-Mile Broadband Initiative.

A final study on Stockton’s famous experiment giving low-income residents unconditional cash found the money improved some recipients’ mental health and financial stability—but only during “normative” economic conditions.

The Folsom Chamber of Commerce announced the appointment of new Board Chair Steve Heard, effective April 1. Heard has been an active member of the chamber for more than a decade, serving on several committees and as vice chair for the past two years.

The Almond Orchard Shopping Center will soon be welcoming a new tenant: Ace Hardware. The store's location will be easily accessible to both Fair Oaks and Citrus Heights residents.

A Sprouts Farmers Market in Roseville will permanently close at the end of April. The store on Stanford Ranch Road, next to Costco, will close its doors April 30, the store said on its website.

Evidence from pilot programs show that 32-hour weeks are feasible, but business groups in California say it won’t work for all companies. Lawmakers in California and D.C. are introducing bills that would encourage or require shortened work weeks.

The bill calls for preserving significant sites associated with labor and civil rights leader César E. Chávez and the farmworker movement in California and Arizona. The legislation is co-sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and U.S. Congressmembers Raul Grijalva (D-AZ-7) and Rueben Gallego (D-AZ-3).

Rancho Cordova’s minority-owned and small businesses were equipped to stay competitive and succeed through the MBARK program, which recently wrapped up its first participating group.

The city of Galt recently conducted a survey asking residents what retail destinations they would like to see come to town. The results showed Target as the number one desire “by a landslide.”

Joshua Green, the general manager of Cosumnes Community Services District, will be leaving his post next month to work for Sky River Casino as a community liaison between government and organizations.

The mayor of Elk Grove is proposing the first-ever municipal tax that would help to fund the massive Sacramento Zoo relocation project.

With the intention of invigorating Folsom, the city has begun work on a Central Business District Master Plan, which will focus on a 220-acre retail and commercial area.

The state Assembly voted 52-19 to approve the proposal, which would create a watchdog agency at the California Energy Commission that could compel oil companies to provide information and possibly set a profit cap and a penalty for those that exceed it.

Robot servers are becoming more commonplace in the dining scene, both locally and in the United States. There are burger-flipping bots in San Francisco, auto-mixed cocktails aboard cruise ships and sidewalk-rolling machines that deliver food in Los Angeles.

The city of Rancho Cordova has committed $2 million to provide free education and training workshops for residents.

People ask Ernesto Delgado why he’s opening one restaurant across the street from another. Because, he says, he wants people to visit a historic central park named for a Mexican American hero.

Local agricultural businesses can now apply for grants and loans to improve their energy efficiency. The program was presented by U.S. Rep Doris Matsui in Galt on March 20.

Gov. Newsom wants to spend $300 million the first year. But falling home prices and rising mortgage rates are complicating the launch.

A court ruling that upheld much of a 2020 gig-worker initiative also struck down a part that labor advocates say could lead to legislation for driver unionization.

The Fair Oaks Community Planning Advisory Council disapproved plans for a new drive-thru Starbucks on Fair Oaks Boulevard.