Sierra 2 will be celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Sierra School building on Saturday, April 27 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Every half hour a video of the history of the school will be shown in room 9. In room 10, there will be historic exhibits and photos of the school including its rescue from demolition in the 1970s by the newly formed Sierra Curtis Neighborhood Association. At 2 p.m., there will be a ceremonial unveiling of the historic landmark plaques at the front entry facing 3rd Avenue, followed by a 90th anniversary cake celebration in the garden room.

The Sierra 2 Center is working to restore some of the light fixtures to provide a more historically accurate representation of the original design. The center is looking for potential donors to help fund the project. Every $200 tax-deductible donation will purchase one light fixture. Each donor will be named on a commemorative plaque to be hung at Sierra 2 Center.

The following history and photos accompanying this article have been provided by Sierra 2.

When World War I ended Sacramento had great pent up demand for homes and schools. The Curtis Park neighborhood had only Highland Park School, a wooden structure first erected in 1888. A bond issue paved the way for new schools and Sierra School was opened for the spring term in 1923. Alumnus Philip Watkins who became a United States  District Judge recalled moving day from Highland Park School across the street: “We got in line and marched, two by two, down the steps of the old school and then across the street to our new home,” recalled the judge.

“Mrs. Rowe (the principal) led the way. It was the biggest thrill of our school life to that point.”

Much of the design of the school was accomplished by Curtis Park’s landmark architects Charles and James Dean. The school is Andalusian Spanish Style and inspired Spanish Revival Style homes in the nearby 1920s subdivisions. The auditorium was added in 1929. The campus was designated a Sacramento historic landmark in 2005.

Sierra was used as an elementary school from 1923 to 1976, educating thousands of Curtis Park children.

When the Field Act, an earthquake safety measure, forced cosure the neighborhood rallied to save the school. The successful effort led to the creation of the Sierra Curtis Neighborhood Association. Since it was saved, SCNA has run the Sierra School campus as the Sierra 2 Center for Arts and the Community. The first decade of that stewardship entailed a major restoration and rehabilitation project. Over the years the Home and Garden Tour has been a major source of revenue to continue the tradition of stewardship of this historic landmark and social and cultural resource.

Sierra 2 is located at 2791 24th St. For more information, call 452-3005.

One of Northern California’s most loved walking holiday home tours returns this December, with five elegantly decorated homes in East Sacramento’s historic Fabulous Forties neighborhood open for viewing.  For 39 years, this popular tour has grown to include nearly 5,000 patrons from throughout northern and central California.  The homes showcase elaborate renovation while preserving historic design, custom interior decoration and creative holiday décor that is sure to ignite the spirit of the season. Homes on the tour this year range in style from a stately Tudor to a beautifully remodeled plantation home that was at one time a multi-family duplex.

The tour is completely run by volunteer parents from the school. According to Leslie Wilson-Lopez, a parent and one of the tour’s four co-chairs, the holiday tour is a fundraiser for Sacred Heart Parish School and funds raised are used to help offset tuition and to provide assistance to those who families who might not otherwise be able to afford a Catholic education.

The holiday tour includes a holiday boutique and café located at Sacred Heart Parish School’s gymnasium at 39th and H Streets. This year’s talented interior and floral designers will include: Beyond the Garden Gate, East Sac Florist, Holiday Home, Kerrie Kelly Design Lab, Lumen’s and Twiggs Floral Design Gallery.

Here’s a summary of what each home has in store for the tour:

Southern Bungalow on 38th Street

Built in 1915, this  38th Street home  Southern Bungalow may be 3,000 square feet on 1/3 acre, but it is the least bit ostentatious. Once again, Philip Rice of East Sac Florist dazzles the homeowners. This time with his dramatic holiday take on Contemporary Country meets edgy Rock-n-Roll.

California Cottage on 42nd St.

As you enter this lovely 1924 California cottage, a beautiful wreath greets you at the front door. The family monogram on the wreath is a sign of things to come inside, as Kerrie Kelly Design Lab has decorated this home for the holidays in a very approachable and authentic way that is personalized to the homeowners.

Majestic Tudor on 45th St.

Built in 1925, by well-known craftsman and architect Squeaky Williams, this elegant home replicates an authentic Normandy Castle.  Upon entering the grand foyer this Christmas season, you will be greeted by traditional holiday décor, created by Carol Shellenberger and Mary Shaw, from Holiday Home. The designers called upon the homeowners’ classic style when decorating this majestic home for the holidays.

New England Manor on 46th Street

This 1939 Grand Brick Tudor home, in addition to our 45th Street home, is suspected to have also been built by well-known Sacramento builder Squeaky Williams. The long walkway and warm brick porch are only the beginning of what lies behind the front door, including holiday décor and furnishings by Elizabeth Lake, senior lighting designer of Lumens Light + Living.

Fab 40s Charmer on 47th St.

The holiday theme for this 1925 bungalow is “simple elegance intertwined with family tradition.” Pat Stromberg, Nancy Storm and Patti Green, from Beyond the Garden Gate, set the décor tone in this newly remodeled home by adopting the homeowners’ clean, yet classic taste, along with their family-friendly surroundings.

If you go:

WHEN: Friday, Nov. 30 through Sunday, Dec. 2
Friday 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. (Homes open for touring at 11am; Café and Boutique open at 12:30 Friday due to school dismissal)
Saturday 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Sunday 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
TICKETS: Tour tickets are $25 in advance starting on November 1st; $30 after November 29th.  Organizers predict another sellout this year and suggest advance purchases when possible.
Please check the website for ticket retailer locations or to purchase tickets online!  www.sacredhearthometour.com or call the Holiday Home Tour Information Line
at (916) 556-5050.

Among the many entertainment venues of the capital city, few can boast such a profound history like Land Park’s Hughes Stadium.

From football and baseball games and motor sport competitions to boxing, graduations and concerts, the stadium, which was originally known as Sacramento Stadium, has been home to many memorable local events.

Although the stadium is certainly not the major entertainment venue that it once was, as its formerly golden reputation and popularity has considerably faded in more recent years, its legacy undoubtedly continues to shine.

The story of the stadium dates back to the 1920s when efforts were being made for the selection of a site and the construction of the venue, which would become the only one of its kind in Superior California.

Prior to the decision to build the stadium on the campus of Sacramento Junior College – today’s Sacramento City College – an earlier proposal to construct the stadium in William Land Park had received considerable attention.

On April 2, 1926, The Sacramento Bee reported that efforts to build a stadium in the park had been abandoned.

With this decision, which was made upon the advice of several attorneys, including City Attorney Robert L. Shinn, City Manager H.C. Bottorff began to investigate alternative stadium sites.

 

Founding and funding

Following his eight-month search, Bottorff presented his findings to a group of local citizens and various officials at the annual Sacramento Service Club Forum banquet.

During the Dec. 7, 1926 gathering, Bottorff said that he felt that the new stadium, which he added should include a quarter-mile track and an accompanying, nearby parking lot, should be constructed on at least a 14-acre area on the junior college property.

Estimating that a 15,000-seat stadium could be built for $75,000, Bottorff added that it should be paid for by script, the municipal budget and the school board.

Bottorff’s plan was well received at the meeting, but perhaps the most important endorsement of the idea came from Mayor A.E. Goddard, who attended the banquet and pledged his support for Bottorff’s proposal.

Also attending the gathering was Robert G. Sproul, controller of the University of California, Berkeley, who described the importance of the stadium.

“A stadium is a social asset to a city and will certainly promote sport,” Sproul said. “With one, a city may give pageants, use it for graduation exercises and it will be invaluable for the schools of this vicinity.”

Additionally, Sproul suggested that the stadium be constructed as a “horseshoe-shaped arena” with sufficient space “to expand it without too much cost.”

 

Constriction and building

As the efforts to have the stadium constructed at the junior college site continued, the Sacramento Stadium Commission was formed and by April 27, 1927, the commission issued a statement in The Bee declaring that the commission trusted that there would be no delay in its plans to bring a stadium to the people of Sacramento.

A major event in the stadium’s history occurred in February 1928, as ground was broken for the new, 23,000-seat stadium, which would eventually be built for about $200,000.

Six months later, the stadium, which was designed by Dean and Dean and constructed by George D. Hudnutt, Inc., was nearly completed.

Final details of the stadium were finished as the venue was readied for its dedication and inaugural day’s events, which were to be held on Saturday, Oct. 13, 1928.

To add to the public’s enthusiasm of the new stadium, a “Pack the Stadium” on opening day campaign was launched.

So great was the drive to fill the stadium on this historic day that even local businesses participated in special efforts to encourage Sacramentans to support the campaign.

Retail sporting goods supplier, the Kimball-Upson Co., for instance, ran a large advertisement in The Sacramento Union, which included the following words: “To pack the stadium on its opening day should be a pleasureful duty of every resident of Sacramento city and valley who can possibly arrange to attend the formal opening – another victory marker on the highway of progress and a magnet that will draw to this city its full quota of the important athletic activities of the valley.”

 

The opening day

This memorable day in Sacramento history finally arrived as the Sacramento High School band marched onto the field at 12:40 p.m.

Twenty minutes later, the crowd roared as a gridiron contest between Sacramento and Modesto high schools began.

Following the game, a dedication ceremony commenced at about 2:35 p.m., as high school and college bands entered the field and began playing, followed by a drum corps performance and the entrance of a dedication party.

At about 2:50 p.m., the stadium was officially dedicated during a 20-minute ceremony, which included speeches by Dr. Lester R. Daniels, president of the stadium commission, California Gov. C.C. Young and Murray Hulbert, president of the Amateur Athletic Union and a director of the international Olympic Games.

The ceremony was also attended by the new stadium’s manager, Edward S. Loder, who formerly served as the manager of operations of Stanford Stadium and was in charge of large events at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

The historic day’s activities ended with a second football game, a contest between Sacramento and Santa Rosa junior colleges, thus concluding the earliest beginnings of the community’s long relationship with its cherished stadium.

 

The whole nine yards

Following its Oct. 13, 1928 inaugural day event, which featured a pair of football games and a dedication ceremony, the horseshoe-shaped Sacramento Stadium – later known as Hughes Stadium – continued to prove its value as a community asset, as it attracted many fans of sports, live music and other events.

The Sacramento High football team returned to the stadium on Oct. 27, 1928 for a game against Lodi High after opening the long-awaited city venue with a 33-0 victory against Modesto High.

The first Thanksgiving Day football game at the stadium was played between the gridiron squad of San Mateo Junior College and the Sacramento Junior College (today’s Sacramento City College) team, which beat the Santa Rosa Junior College team 24-6 in the second game of the stadium’s opening day games.

A soccer game was first played at the stadium in about January 1929 and in May 1929, the Far West Conference Track Meet was held at the stadium. This latter event was perhaps the first of what would be many such events held at the stadium, including the National Junior Collegiate Track and Field Meet on May 27, 1939 and the 1968 U.S. Track and Field Championships.

On May 25, 1929, about 10,000 Sacramento schoolchildren participated in a historical pageant with “historical episodes of early California” and “many beautiful floats depicting early events of national fame.”

By 1931, speedway motorcycle racing made its way to the stadium and remained extremely popular until the late 1940s.

Midget racing, featuring small racecars with high power-to-weight ratios, were also introduced to the stadium’s track in the 1930s.

Tom Motter, author of Sacramento: Dirt Capital of the West, said that the stadium served as a very historically important motorsports venue.

“Hughes Stadium’s prominence in the whole auto racing scheme of things came about probably because it was the only venue in the city that had the space to accommodate that kind of racing,” Motter said. “Hughes Stadium, being the largest venue for any kind of event, drew a lot of large crowds for motor sports events. And its importance in midget racing can’t be minimized, because it was the birthplace of midget auto racing (on June 4, 1933) and as such, it will always be at the heart of what we now know as modern-day midget auto racing.”

Motorsport events, including track roadster racing, continued at the stadium until about the mid-1960s.

Other events held at the stadium during its earlier years included boxing, a circus, a religious event, a rodeo and high school and college commencements.

During World War II, SCC’s campus served as a place to both educate and house soldiers as part of the Army Special Training Program and pilots were housed in tents on playing fields and in the stadium.

 

Field of champions

One of the most popular and well-attended events at the stadium was the annual Turkey Day Game, a Thanksgiving holiday football matchup between Sacramento and McClatchy high schools, which was first held in 1937.

The 1945 game between these two schools marked the first time the stadium had been filled to its capacity.

The rivalry, which later became known as the Bell Game and was relocated to Hornet Field at Sacramento State, was discontinued after the 1975 game.

The two teams reunited for a special reunion Bell Game at Hughes Stadium on Nov. 10, 2006. The game was won by the Sacramento High Dragons squad 52-20 before a crowd of 5,500 spectators.

Among the most notable parts of the stadium’s history occurred from 1974 to 1976, as the venue was converted to host the home games of the new version of the Sacramento Solons Triple-A, minor league baseball team.

As a baseball venue, which drew 17,318 spectators for its inaugural game, the stadium was famous for its short, left field line, which allowed many normally routine fly ball outs to instead become home runs.

Like many of the Solons teams of the past, their fan support was often more impressive than their won-loss record.

The Solons, for instance, led the nation in minor league baseball attendance during the 1974 season, while finishing in last place.

Nonetheless, the fans enjoyed the highlights of their team, as well as a June 5, 1975 Solons-Milwaukee Brewers exhibition game, which featured a long home run by the legendary slugger Hank Aaron, who was playing for the Brewers at the time.

Unfortunately for the 1970s Solons, part of their time in Sacramento was plagued by the possibility that the historic stadium where they played their home games might be torn down and replaced with a new stadium, which would not accommodate the team’s games.

Fortunately, for those who fought against the demolition of the old stadium, which was determined to not meet the Field Act earthquake safety standards for schools, a secondary plan was approved, as the stadium instead underwent a major renovation, beginning in 1977.

Nonetheless, the Solons were not victors with this alternative plan and were evicted and relocated to San Jose.

 

Football frenzy

The renovation of the stadium, which is the oldest existing structure on the SCC campus, was timely in the sense that the venue was readied for its rededication ceremony at the same time that it was celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Midway through the Oct. 28, 1978 football game between Sacramento City College and Fresno City College, the rededication was held with Dr. Robert Lynch, the emcee and a member of the Board of Trustees, Greg Van Dusen, the stadium’s manager, and Harry Devine, Jr., the project’s architect.

The 1970s also brought the extremely popular Pig Bowl between the local police and sheriff’s departments to Hughes Stadium.

The first of these fundraising games, which was complimented with entertainment by the Capital Freelancers and marching bands from Kennedy and Elk Grove high schools, was held on Jan. 11, 1975 and drew only the third sellout crowd in the stadium’s then 46-year history.

The Sacramento Police Department won the game 18-17 with a strong effort by the game’s most valuable player Mike Schuering, who rushed for 148 yards. Schuering was also the MVP of Pig Bowls II, III, VI and VII.

Although the teams enjoyed competing for bragging rights between the departments, it was always considered that there were truly no losers in these games, since the games were played for charities.

Today, the game is no longer played at Hughes Stadium and since 2003, has been known as Guns and Hoses – a matchup between the local law enforcement Hogs and the local fire service Dogs.

Predating the Pig Bowl is the popular Holy Bowl football game, which celebrated a special anniversary with the 40th edition of the game last September.

Played annually at Hughes Stadium, the Holy Bowl pairs the local Catholic educational institutions, Christian Brothers and Jesuit high schools.

Although Christian Brothers won last year’s game 21-6 before a crowd of about 16,000 spectators, Jesuit leads the rivalry with 23 wins to Christian Brothers’ 15 wins. The teams have also tied twice.

Many other football games have been played at the stadium, including Sacramento Capitals games of a long ago disbanded league, the Camellia Bowl college football games (1961-75 and 1980), San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders NFL exhibition games and many prep and college games.

In 1991, Hughes Stadium was also home to the Sacramento Surge of the now defunct World League of American Football. The team won the league’s World Bowl while playing at Hornet Stadium the following year, which was also the league’s final year with American teams.

 

A venue like no other

Also a rich part of the stadium’s history is its former existence as a musical concert venue.

The stadium once drew big name rock and country acts such as Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, the Eagles, Jefferson Airplane, Rod Stewart, Linda Ronstadt, Heart and Sammy Hagar.

An article in the Jan. 14, 1976 edition of Sacramento City College’s newspaper, The Pony Express, noted that many people around the community had made complaints regarding extreme noise level disturbances and that under the then-present conditions, “it would be very inadvisable to hold future concerts at Hughes.”

Concerts at the stadium continued for more than a decade following the publishing of this article, however, with the last of which, a Pink Floyd concert, being held on April 20, 1988.

The decline of events at the stadium also includes less prep games. The Sacramento Bee reported in 2008 that due to increasing per game costs, for the first time in the stadium’s history, no high school team used Hughes Stadium as its home field.

Although it is no longer used as frequently as in years past, Hughes Stadium stands tall as one of the city’s premier historic landmarks, where many memories were made that will surely not fade away anytime soon.

 

E-mail Lance Armstrong at lance@valcomnews.com.

In 1960, Gary Costamagna built a tree fort behind our house on Janey Way. He picked this tree because it featured four limbs roughly square with each other. The tree stood in a line of trees separating the pit (the vacated sand and gravel excavation lot where St. Francis High School now stands) from the residential housing on Janey Way.

 

He began by nailing spikes on each side of the tree up 20 feet to where the base of the fort would be. Then, he sawed off the limbs level with each other. After that, he nailed four two-by-four-inch pieces of wood connecting the four limbs. On top of that foundation he fastened plywood for a floor. The next step in the process involved building four-foot high walls around the fort. Finally, he attached a roll of canvas to one side of the structure. This could be rolled back over the top in the event of inclement weather. It took him about a month to complete the project.

 

The fort with its clean new wood looked majestic sitting high above the pine tree behind our backyard. Standing in it, facing west, you looked out over the rooftops above Janey Way. Facing east you gazed at the full expanse of the pit. By this time, the pit had been almost completely leveled. Mt. Everest, the mound in the middle of the pit, remained, but the rest of the pit contained mostly small piles of dirt and debris.

 

We spent hours in the tree fort, playing cards, eating lunch, drinking cokes and just hiding out. After school, I would climb up there to get away and contemplate the events of the day. We also used the fort as a lookout post to monitor activity in the pit or on the block.

 

Our tree fort lasted about three years. Eventually, workers cut down the entire line of trees on that side of the pit in preparation for the construction of St. Francis High School. That marked the end of an era on Janey Way. The pit had been our playground during childhood and finally, like all things, it disappeared along with our tree fort.

 

Later in life, Gary built his own home in El Dorado Hills. So the tree fort he built was only a prelude to many building projects he would take on in life. Oh, by the way, Gary went on to be the fire chief of the city of Sacramento, one of many Janey Way success stories.

 

E-mail Marty Relles at marty@valcomnews.com.

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.