Editor’s note: This is the ninth part of a series regarding the history of the “four corners” of Watt and El Camino avenues.

The northwest corner of Watt and El Camino avenues has been home to a wide variety of businesses throughout its history.
As presented in the last part of this series, Jack’s House of Music was among this corner’s most notable businesses.
This longtime popular shop, which operated at 2528 Yorktown Ave. from about 1956 to 2002, was originally part of a series of businesses of the Garden Rustic Shops.
This set of shops was named after one of the shops’ businesses – the Garden Rustics & Nursery at 2520 Yorktown Ave.
A 1955 advertisement for Garden Rustics & Nursery, which was owned by Tom Russell, notes that the business offered seeds, shrubs and trees, fertilizers, insecticides, garden hardware, copper and brass items and pottery.
Garden Rustics & Nursery began operating in the north area in about the mid-1940s with its 2900 Fulton Ave. location.
Russell, who owned the aforementioned Yorktown and El Camino avenues property, became associated with a man named Ray Boroski (1924-1999) in 1954.
It was in that year that Russell rented a business space at 3405 El Camino Ave. to Ray for an appliance store.
Ray, an automobile mechanic by trade, came to California from Cleveland, Ohio with his wife, Stella (Plezia) Boroski, in 1946.
In about 1948, Ray, who then resided at 2305 I St., opened Master Motor Parts, a gas station and garage at 3417 Broadway in Oak Park. His original partner in the business was his brother, Fred W. Borowski, of 4224 T St., and Joseph W. Capra of 700 54th St. was later added to this partnership.
The spelling of the Borowski surname was only altered in Ray’s family, as he dropped the “w” of this name while he was serving in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II.
Master Motor Parts, which relocated to the former location of a Safeway grocery store at 3409 Broadway in 1952, continued its operations at this latter location until 1956.
Under the sole proprietorship of Capra, Master Motor Parts later grew into a small chain of stores that experienced many years of success.
Stella, 87, said that she was not entirely fond of her husband’s previous occupation, since he returned home each evening with greasy clothes and hands.
And she added that it was not Ray’s ultimate dream to own an appliance store.
“There were no bars around the neighborhood (within the area of Watt and El Camino avenues) at all and (Ray) said a bar would be a good (business) to put in (that area), and when he set his mind to something, he made sure he got his way,” Stella said. “My husband rented the (El Camino Avenue) building from Tom Russell, who owned it. In order to get a bar in there, you had to pass all kinds of city ordinances. There was a Bible reading class across the street (near Rytina Laundromat at 2525 Yorktown Ave.) and they objected to a bar going in, so my husband opened an appliance store. In the meantime, he jumped hoops to get the bar going, and he finally got it in.”
The bar, which was opened by Ray and his brother, Harry A. Borowski (1917-2000), on Monday, Aug. 6, 1956, was known as the Palomino Room.

Ray had recruited Harry to become a partner in the business, partially because Harry was the owner of a tavern in Cleveland and thus had experience as a bar owner. Harry’s son, Fred Borowski, said that the Cleveland bar was known as the Tremend Club.
Although the Palomino Room opened primarily as a bar, many people remember the business as a place that served high quality lunches and dinners.
In commenting about this fact, Stella said, “The bar was first, but you had to serve food (in a bar) at that time. We served sandwiches and chili and things like that and then we went further. Prime rib was (later) our biggest seller, so we were noted for our prime rib.”
A Palomino Room advertisement, which appeared in the Feb. 21, 1960 edition of The Sacramento Union, noted that its customers could also order steaks that were “tender, not tenderized.”
Stella said that the Palomino Room began serving prime rib and other more elaborate entrées about a year after its opening. And hired to prepare this more elaborate food were Frank Russo, who worked at the restaurant for about 20 years, and Nick Jukich, who remained with the business until the late 1990s.
Another notable part of the Palomino Room’s history was its live music performances.
The business, which seated about 45 people in its original dining room, included a piano bar, and one of the earliest pianists to entertain this establishment’s guests on a regular basis was Dodd Baker.
Other pianists who later played at the Palomino Room were Ronnie Kemper, who was once a member of Dick Jurgens’ band, Abe Battat of San Francisco, and Randy Carmichael, one of the sons of the legendary jazz pianist, composer and singer, Hoagy Carmichael.
As for the name of the business itself, Ray’s son, David Boroski, said, “The name came about, because at the time, in the north area, the sheriffs’ posse had a squadron of palomino horses and they were all bordered in the north area. My father thought that it would be a great idea to tie in the sheriffs’ palominos, which appeared in parades downtown and maybe even in some Tournament of Roses parades, with the restaurant.”
Ferdinand Morant, 89, said that he enjoyed going to the Palomino Room during the 1960s.
“I first went (to the Palomino Room) in around 1965,” Morant said. “We used to go in there with a group (for dinner) weekly, because of bowling. The Swiss (Helvetia Verein) lodge had a bowling league (at Country Club Lanes) at that time. They started in (about 1960) or something like that. The whole group liked to go in there to the Palomino Room. It was good food all the time there. They were known for good food.”

Ray was also recognized as a good bowler with a very high average.
In addition to members of bowling leagues, members of various businesses, organizations and groups, including the Kiwanis Club of Sacramento Suburban, The Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co., Masonic lodges, attorneys and accountants also used the Palomino Room as a meeting place.
During its history, this business expanded to accommodate a greater number of guests.
Eventually the Palomino Room featured seating for about 60 patrons in its front room, seating for about 50 people in its Gold Room (aka “Gibson Girl Room” due to its various Gibson Girls prints that hung on its walls), about 125 to 150 people in its California Room (which had its own bar, dance floor and restrooms and was the site of weddings and receptions) and about 30 people in its Garden Room.
In 1973, Ray and Harry purchased Leonard’s Liquor Shop at 3401 El Camino Ave. The business, which was then renamed the Palomino Bottle Shop, was previously owned by Clyde Leonard.
It was also in the early 1970s that Ray and Harry purchased the entire corner of El Camino and Yorktown avenues. This property also included Jack’s House of Music.
Fred and David took over the operation of the Palomino Room in 1982.
Six years later, the Palomino Room underwent a $400,000 remodel, which gave the place a less western and more upscale appearance.
This remodel also included the elimination of the bottle shop, the Gold Room and the Garden Room, which all became part of the Palomino Room’s front room.
From 1999 to 2000, the building was leased to David Hinkle, who continued the operation of the Palomino Room.
And after a fire destroyed Jose’s Mexican Restaurant at 5451 Fair Oaks Blvd., the restaurant, said former Jose’s server Alan Boehle, operated at the old Palomino Room location for six months prior to its closure in late December 2002.
Other businesses to occupy the site were V.I.P. seafood and sushi buffet restaurant, East Meets West steak and sushi buffet restaurant and Farmer’s Daughter, a café and specialty food store.
In 2004, Fred and David sold the old Palomino Room building and its property, and its accompanying property and buildings to Ethan Conrad Properties.

The Raley’s supermarkets chain is celebrating a very special anniversary, as this year marks 75 years since the chain’s first store opened.

Since its founder Tom Raley opened this first location on Main Street in Placerville on Feb. 16, 1935, Raley’s has grown extensively and is a rich part of Sacramento area communities.

Recognized as the state’s 11th largest private company by Forbes magazine, Raley’s owns and operates 133 stores: 85 Raley’s, 21 Bel Air Markets, 22 Nob Hill Foods supermarkets and five Food Source stores.

These stores include Raley’s stores at 4850 Freeport Blvd. in Sacramento and 5159 Fair Oaks Blvd. and 4005 Manzanita Ave. in Carmichael, and Bel Air stores at 7465 Rush River Drive and 1301 Florin Road in Sacramento.

 

 

First link in the chain

The road to Raley’s establishment is one with long roots beginning in Lead Hill (Boone County) Arkansas – Tom Raley’s birthplace.

Raised in a family of seven boys and seven girls, Tom Raley was taught to have good virtues, as the son of a Baptist minister and farmer, named Reglus Raley.

Following his high school years, Tom Raley earned a business degree from a business college in Missouri before moving to Los Angeles, where he worked for an ice and cold storage firm.

Eventually working for a Safeway grocery store in Los Angeles before transferring to a San Francisco store, Tom Raley was later offered, but declined an opportunity to serve as the district manager of San Francisco Safeway stores.

In 1934, despite being a Depression year, Tom Raley opted to instead establish his own grocery store.

In a 1972 interview with The Sacramento Bee, Tom Raley described the challenges he faced in opening his first store, which had a price tag of $9,000.

“I wanted to build a store in Placerville and I had only $120,” Tom Raley told The Bee. “I needed credit, so I listed the chairman of the board of Safeway as a reference. Suddenly everybody was willing to help me.”

Opening his Placerville store with only two assistants – a clerk and a butcher – Tom Raley experienced much success with his store, which led to his additional success in Sacramento.

His good fortunes with the Placerville store ended when it was destroyed by fire in 1942.

Less than a decade after opening his first Sacramento store, Tom Raley was at the helm of a chain of eight stores, including a store at 1700 Capitol Ave., where Compton’s and Rick’s Uptown markets were later located.

And this was definitely only the beginning of Raley’s growth, as the chain continued to expand throughout the years, making possible Tom Raley’s goal of establishing 50 stores by Raley’s 50th anniversary in 1985.

 

Starting the superstores

The aforementioned Freeport Boulevard store was established in 1958, which was the very year that Raley’s made history by opening the nation’s first grocery store-drug store combination, which was known as a superstore.

Raley’s was obviously proud of its superstores, as is indicative of an advertisement, which appeared in the Dec. 7, 1977 edition of The Sacramento Union.

“If there’s no Raley’s Superstore near you…move,” the advertisement read.

The advertisement also invited The Union’s readers to the day’s opening of the 5159 Fair Oaks Blvd., at Walnut Avenue, location in Carmichael.

The Fair Oaks Boulevard store became Raley’s 10th superstore.

Raley’s also once had a presence in East Sacramento with its former store at 2815 L St., near Sutter’s Fort.

Although it never materialized, during the late 1980s, plans were made for a 99,000-square-foot shopping center, which was to be known as Pocket Landing and anchored by a 61,000-square-foot Raley’s Supercenter at the northeast corner of Pocket Road and Greenhaven Drive.

 

Raley’s acquired Bel Air

In 1992, Raley’s acquired Bel Air Markets from the Wong family and like Raley’s, Bel Air also has a very rich history, which has left a positive impression on many people throughout the region.

The roots of the store began in the 1930s, when Chinese immigrant Gim Wong, who came to America in 1916 and eventually helped found his family’s supermarket, Bel Air, began selling produce that he grew on his 5-acre farm in Penryn, about 30 miles east of Sacramento. Assisting him with his business was his wife, Lee Shee and their children.

After establishing his produce-selling business on his farm, he eventually opened his own store in Penryn. And moving to Sacramento in the late 1940s, he opened a grocery store at 28th and P streets.

The Wong family’s establishment of their first Bel Air Market at 6231 Fruitridge Road was, according to the business’s corporate history, “still a novel concept at that time.”

The same can also be said of Raley’s during its early years as a supermarket.

Even by the early 1960s, the concept of the supermarket remained somewhat in its infancy.

In 1961, for instance, The Bee published an article that in today’s world can be considered amusing to reflect upon.

The article explains that the Department of Agriculture created a pamphlet covering the topic of “why the American housewife’s supermarket bill seems so high.”

The pamphlet responds to this inquiry, noting that “she buys better food, spends less time in the kitchen and buys cigarettes, (lipstick, toilet articles), face lotion and even clothes” at the supermarket.

Committed to its mission of offering superior products and top-notched customer service, Bel Air capitalized on its success and had expanded to a chain of six stores within its first decade.

Today, the now-much larger Bel Air chain, which was formerly led for 40 years by its president, George Wong, has stores as far east as Cameron Park and as far north as Yuba City.

Among these stores, the Arden Way store opened on Aug. 14, 1958, the Florin Road store opened on Aug. 8, 1966 and the Rush River Drive store opened on Nov. 16, 1988.

 

The local store

Other highlights in Raley’s history include the opening of its first Food Source warehouse format store in Folsom in 1994 and its purchase of the Nob Hill Foods chain in 1998.

Tom Raley passed away at the age of 88 on Dec. 27, 1991 and the company is now owned by his daughter, Joyce Raley Teel, who also serves as a co-chair of the Raley’s board of directors. Her husband, James E. Teel, is the other co-chair.

Tom Raley’s only grandson, Michael J. Teel, serves as Raley’s president and CEO, while each of his four sisters, Claudia Doerhoff, Diane Perry, Laurie Struck and Lisa Davidson, serve on the board of directors.

Today, Raley’s, which has its headquarters in West Sacramento and about 13,500 employees, continues to add to its legacy.

Raley’s spokeswoman Amy Davis said that Raley’s is proud of its 75-year commitment to providing quality products and services for its customers.

“We are thrilled to celebrate Raley’s 75th anniversary with the community,” Davis said. “It’s been an honor to serve the greater Sacramento area since 1935. Although our offerings and services have evolved over the years to meet the needs of today’s consumers – including a recipe database on raleys.com, accounts on Twitter and an iPhone app for customers on-the-go – the foundation of customer service built by our founder, Tom Raley, remains constant as we welcome a new generation of customers through our store doors. As a regional, family-operated company, we look forward to serving you and your families for many years to come.”

 

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