Knott’s Pharmacy, an East Sac presence on J Street for more than 75 years, has moved its operations to Coyle Avenue in Carmichael as of Jan. 15. But worry not, faithful Knott’s customers, owner Steve Dokimos stresses that it’s business as usual, even from the new surroundings.

Dokimos delivers around 20 prescriptions himself every night free of charge to long-standing customers in East Sac in an effort to show customers that they can still have their orders filled by Dokimos and company.

The pharmacy moved away from its most recent home at 4819 J St. because of a failed attempt to buy the leased property from its owner. Dokimos, who became the owner on Feb. 2, 2002, held a 10-year lease that expired in 2012. After trying unsuccessfully to buy the property, (the owner apparently had no intention of selling) Dokimos settled on paying month-by-month rent for the next year.

After briefly considering moving into the plot next door on J Street, Dokimos decided that his best move would be to shift the pharmacy to Coyle Avenue while he tries to find another plot in East Sac.

“I’m looking for places on H Street, J Street or Folsom Blvd.,” Dokimos said. “I’m working with a leasing agent to look for places.”

Somewhere near the intersection of 51st and L at the old Lucky’s lot would be ideal for Dokimos, as he grew up visiting his grandmother at the intersection when he was just a boy.

Despite moving his base of operations, Dokimos said that many long-time customers have stayed with him.

“I get a lot of visitors from East Sac,” he said. “I probably get more business catering to East Sac than I do around here.”

Despite moving into a former pharmacy space in the St. George Medical Building on Coyle Ave., Dokimos wants East Sac customers, who may be unaware of the pharmacy’s moving, to know that they can still do business with him.

“I want to get the word out that we moved – not closed. We are still open for business.”

As far as getting back in the J Street area, Dokimos said that he would like to get a lease agreement signed within the next three months and hopefully be open for business within another three months.

“We will be back,” he said. “We are dedicated to our clients and we try our hardest for them.”

For more information, Knott’s Pharmacy can be reached at 455-3068.

East Lawn Memorial Park is located at 4300 Folsom Blvd. in East Sacramento. Photo by Lance Armstrong

Editor’s Note: This is part two in a series about the rich history of and associated with East Sacramento’s award-winning East Lawn Memorial Park.

For those who are familiar with Sacramento’s earlier years, it is no secret that floods influenced many decisions in the area. And today’s East Lawn Memorial Park was established as a result of the Edwards Break flood of 1904.
The flood inundated about 10,000 acres in the Riverside and Pocket areas and washed through the old city cemetery – today’s Sacramento Historic City Cemetery on Broadway, between Riverside Boulevard and Muir Way.
So great was the flood’s effect on the city cemetery that many headboards were carried away by its waters and, according to a 1905 edition of The Sacramento Bee, “there was no place to bury the dead.”
In reaction to the flood’s damage to the city cemetery, Louis Breuner, the son of John Breuner, who founded the well known John Breuner Co. home furnishing business, led an effort to establish a cemetery on 42 acres of the old Newton Booth place, which was previously known as Twin Oaks Farm.
The site was a desirable site for a cemetery due to its high ground above the city’s flood plain.
Louis F. Breuner, who was then serving as the president and manager of the John Breuner Co., which was at that time located at 600-608 K St., purchased the old Twin Oaks Farm site in 1904, following the Edwards Break flood. However, the property was for some reason placed in the name of Louis’ wife, Clara.
In addition to pursuing the construction of a cemetery on this old farmland, Louis, who served as the president of the Sacramento Chamber of Commerce in 1901 and 1902, had his home built on a portion of the property in about 1911.

This residence had the address of 4028 Folsom Blvd. by 1918, and Louis’ home address was recognized as 4110 Folsom Blvd. by the following year.
Louis, who had previously resided at 1103 O St., continued to live in his Folsom Boulevard home until about 1923, when he moved with his family to 1128 45th St.
Assisting in Louis’ venture to have a nondenominational cemetery established east of the eastern edge of the then city limits at 31st Street – today’s Alhambra Boulevard – were other local residents, including Fred W. Kiesel and Chauncey H. Dunn.
The proposed cemetery site met the approval of Sacramento County coroner George C. McMullen.
McMullen was quoted in the March 14, 1904 edition of The Bee, as follows: “While I have not given the proposed new cemetery full consideration as yet, still it must be obvious to even a casual observer that Sacramento requires a new burying ground – and that badly. The city itself has practically no more lots for sale in the old (city) cemetery. Under political influence, the tendency is productive of inferior results. Unquestionably, the (former) Twin Oaks Farm property is the very best available for a burying ground. The proposition advanced is quite feasible. With the enterprise of those behind the project, I believe satisfactory results will follow. I have every confidence in them and understand they are going ahead, if they can secure sufficient encouragement from our citizens.”
McMullen added that even if the city desired to enlarge the old city cemetery, little space was available for such a project.
Also among those in support of the proposed cemetery was Leon H. Jacox, proprietor of Jacox Bros., a new and used furniture and upholstery store at 920 K St.
Jacox, who resided at 1901 P St., was quoted at the time as saying, “I believe a modern lawn cemetery, with a good crematory, will be a necessity within the next few years. Recent high waters has (sic) shown that all the desirable portion of the city cemetery is already occupied. No finer location could be secured than the one under discussion. It is far enough from the city, yet near enough for the purpose.”
Even at the planning stages of East Lawn Cemetery (the original name of the cemetery), many well known Sacramentans, as well as notable San Francisco residents, had arranged for lots at East Lawn.

Among these people were: McMullen, William E. Gerber, vice president of the California State Bank and president of the Earl Fruit Co.; George Peltier, manager of the California State Bank; Daniel W. Carmichael, proprietor of the Curtis, Carmichael & Brand insurance company; and H. Edward Yardley of the Clark & Booth Co. funeral home at 1017-1019 4th St.
After the proposed cemetery site gained its necessary approval and the cemetery was established, the first burials occurred on Dec. 24, 1904.
It was then that the William F. Gormley funeral home, which was located at 912-914 8th St., disinterred the remains of seven people from a lower, flooded section of the city cemetery and relocated them to the East Lawn property.
These people were Katie, Arthur W. and Theodore Bowles of Brighton, John Bowles of Sacramento, John D. Winters of Stockton, Elizabeth Winters of Brighton and Earle A. Dudley of Arizona.
East Lawn Cemetery was dedicated on Easter Sunday, April 23, 1905.
The event, which began at 3:30 p.m., was presented from a platform that had been constructed for temporary use on the cemetery’s grounds.
Participating in the ceremony were the Rev. H. K. Booth of the Congregational Church (opening prayer); the Rev. Charles F. Oehler of the German Lutheran Church (benediction); Frank D. Ryan, president of the East Lawn Cemetery Association (short address); and Judge Carroll Cook of San Francisco (oration).
The gathering also included music by an 18-member chorus and an eight-piece orchestra.
At the time of this dedication, the cemetery included about 50 burials, which is in stark contrast to its present 99,661 burials. This latter figure does not include the 4,691 unidentified human remains that were relocated to East Lawn from East Sacramento’s old New Helvetia Cemetery in the 1950s.

When it comes to Sacramento history, few places in the city have such a rich heritage as the Español Restaurant.

To the average commuter, this East Sacramento eatery’s historic building and its accompanying old neon sign have the appearance of a business that has stood the test of time.

Although such an impression is undoubtedly correct, the historic building and sign represent only a part of this restaurant’s rich past.

With a few steps inside this old building at 5723 Folsom Blvd., which was built in 1946 as the new home of the Square Deal Café, one can observe a business that is swarming with history.

Immediately inside the front doors of the place, black and white photographs of days of old begin to tell the story of a business that began long before it opened at its current site in 1965.

Hanging on the walls of the lobby area, which is an addition to the original structure, are photographs of the business’s previous site at 231 I St., as well as other images such as photographs of members of the Luigi family. The business is currently owned by Perry Luigi, Paula (Luigi) Serrano and Karen (Luigi) Zito, whose father Frank “Babe” Luigi and uncle Mario Luigi previously owned the business.

The longtime tradition of the restaurant, however, began long before Babe and Mario purchased the business in 1959.

The restaurant, in fact, was established in an even earlier location than the 2nd and I streets site, near today’s historic Southern Pacific train depot.

 

Español of yesteryear

During the 19th century, the city was home to many hotels such as the Pacific Hotel at 916-918 11th St., the International Hotel at 320-326 K St. and the Tremont Hotel at 112-114 J St.

At the site of the Tremont Hotel, a new hotel, known as Hotel Español, emerged as early as 1919.

The Hotel Español, which was primarily operated as a Basque boarding house, was initially home to sheepherders who were hired out to local ranchers.

It was at this hotel, which in its early years was owned by Victoriano Urrutia and then Castro Arrate and Mamerto Fernandez, that the Español Restaurant began to evolve.

On the ground floor of the large, brick building, food such as oxtail stew, pig knuckles, lamb fries, lamb chops, tripe, chicken and veal were prepared and cooked for the Basque tenants.

News of these meals eventually made its way to many outsiders of the building, as others were introduced to the boarders’ food and the eatery increased in popularity.

During the early 1930s, the well-known Sacramentan Ancil Hoffman, who has a park named in his honor in Carmichael, became the owner of the building.

With the 1952 sale of the Hotel Español building, the Español Restaurant was relocated to the Commercial Hotel, which had been constructed about 15 years earlier.

This move was arranged following Arrate’s retirement and under the direction of the restaurant’s chef Joe Trueba and his close friend, Joe Martinez.

The restaurant, which continued to increase in popularity and serve Basque tenants who relocated to the Commercial Hotel, was operated by Trueba and Martinez until the business’s sale to Babe and Mario Luigi, who brought in the eatery’s Italian food offerings.

The development of Old Sacramento, which included the nearby extension of Interstate 5, resulted in the second relocation of the restaurant within a 13-year span of time.

 

Moving to East Sac

Opening at its current site in 1965, the Español Restaurant, despite no longer serving unique food to Basque hotel tenants, carried forth many of its traditions in East Sacramento, near the historic Little Italy neighborhood.

Among these traditions included the presence of the popular waitress Mary Trabazo, who worked at all three sites of the restaurant.

Beginning her career with the Español in 1936, Trabazo retired from the restaurant 52 years later.

Waitress Leah Alcanter also dedicated her fair share of time as an Español waitress, as she worked at the restaurant for 35 years.

Many other employees, including 26-year waitress Diane Lara and 25-year dishwasher David Larsen, have spent many years at the restaurant throughout its history.

This history includes various famous diners such as actress Ann Sothern, actor Leo Carrillo, singer Frankie Laine, boxer Max Baer, flamenco dancer Jose Greco, Gov. Earl Warren and Secretary of State Frank Jordan, Sr.

East Sacramento native Willie DaPrato, who was part owner of the restaurant with Babe and Mario from 1978 to 1985, said that he enjoyed working with the Luigi family.

“I had a great time and (Babe and Mario) were two wonderful people,” DaPrato said. “I had no problems. I went in on a handshake and I left on a handshake. Every now and again, I still drop into the restaurant. It’s one of the finest family-owned restaurants in town with lots of home-style cooked food and it’s just very good.”

On Jan 1, 1988, Perry, Paula and Karen, who began assisting their father at the restaurant as children, purchased the Español from Babe, who passed away three months later.

Louise Luigi said that she is proud of her children’s accomplishments as owners of the restaurant.

“They have done a wonderful job running the place and my husband (Babe) would be very proud to see that it is continuing on today,” Louise said.

With a look around the Español on any given day, one can observe people who have been dining at the restaurant for many years, as well as those who are much newer guests of the establishment, which also includes a popular bar.

 

Rave reviews

Español customer Mary Giacomotto said that she has been enjoying visiting the restaurant since it was located at 231 I St.

“In the old days, it was wonderful just going (to the restaurant) with our parents and (Rosemary and Ted Lehy) and their children,” Giacomotto said. “It was very family-oriented and we would sit and have (soup) and wait for our parents to return from the bar. I also remember how my father (John Bateman) would start to sing there (at the restaurant) and then we would all sing and everybody around us would sing. Those were wonderful, wonderful times.”

Perry said that the secret of the restaurant’s longtime success is its traditional, family-style Italian dishes, as well as its great value and fine service.

The Español offers dishes ranging from veal cutlets and chicken cacciatore with polenta to cheese ravioli pesto and lasagna. Guests can also enjoy traditional spaghetti and raviolis with meat sauce.

Also among the restaurant’s many menu items is its famous minestrone soup, Perry explained.

“People come from miles around to buy our minestrone soup-to-go for their dinners and family functions such as Christmas Eve,” Perry said. “I think I sell more soup than any restaurant in Sacramento.”

Complete lunches and dinners include tureen of minestrone soup, salad, an entrée of one’s choice, pasta, vegetables, coffee or iced tea and spumoni.

Prices for these lunches range from $9 to $11 and the dinner prices range from $15 to $20. And for those who prefer a lighter meal, soups and salads cost about $5.

The restaurant also includes the following daily specials: roast turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy on Tuesdays, veal stew on Wednesdays, corned beef and cabbage on Thursdays and meatloaf on Fridays.

Paula said that people are attracted to the restaurant, in general, because it reminds them of the traditional, family-style restaurants of New York, Chicago and San Francisco.

“It reminds them of the Godfather-type restaurants,” Perry added with a chuckle.

Español Restaurant, which has a seating capacity of 160, is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and on Sundays from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Perry said that he takes great pride in carrying forth the tradition of what he refers to as “the Italian restaurant with a Spanish name.”

“We’re proud of our long history in East Sacramento, as well as the Old Sacramento area, and we invite people to take a step back in time and drive to East Sacramento to enjoy Sacramento’s oldest restaurant,” Perry said. “Come on in, join us and experience traditional, family-style cooking and be part of the Español family.”

For additional information about Español Restaurant, call (916) 457-1936.

 

E-mail Lance with lance@valcomnews.com.

May 16, 2013 Edition

Within the boundaries of the East Sacramento News are Midtown Sacramento, an up-and-coming center for economic and residential activity; the McKinley Park and Fabulous Forties neighborhoods, homes and homeowners so famous they have been featured in major Hollywood films; River Park, a welcoming community along the American River; and St. Francis High School and Sacramento State University.