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

As this 12-part series comes to a close, it is quite fitting to include a brief history of the very place that the locally renowned shopping centers and several businesses of the four corners of Watt and El Camino avenues were named after – Del Paso Country Club.
This well-known private country club, which was established in 1916, is located at 3333 Marconi Ave., just east of Town and Country Village.
When the club was founded, the north area was many years away from becoming a developed area, thus the club was constructed in a very rural location.
In selecting the name of the club, the club’s founders honored the history of the property, which had been part of the old Rancho Del Paso Mexican land grant.
The rancho was most renowned as the one-time site of the breeding and training ground of thoroughbred racehorses, the most famous of which was Ben Ali, who won the 1886 Kentucky Derby.
The idea to create a country club in the north area was that of members of the Sacramento Country Club, which was located off J Street, near Tullar Avenue (today’s 48th Street).
Members of this East Sacramento country club, which featured a nine-hole golf course on rented land, saw that the area was changing.
These changes included developers Wright and Kimbrough’s development of the nearby Tract 24.
In 1915, while standing with a group of people near the present day grounds of Del Paso Country Club, land developer Orlando A. Robertson, in referring to the site, declared, “This is it.”

The group included Harry S. Wanzer, Fred Peck, Lauren Stuart “Stu” Upson and Steve Day.
Unfortunately for the group, a crop of grain made it difficult to see the boundaries of the property, so the group reconvened to observe the land a month later, after the crop was removed.
With the 148.3-acre site meeting the approval of the group, the property was purchased for $22,253.80. The club increased its size with its $20,000 purchase of a 1.4-acre addition 31 years later.
With arrangements made to develop the property, a Bay Area man named John Black was called to the site due to his expertise in laying out golf courses.
The nine men behind the founding of Del Paso Country Club were Wanzer, Peck, Day, Upson, Clinton Harber, James C. Carly, Harold J. Furley, William Murcell and Rudolph A. Herold.
Upson served as the club’s first president, Carly as vice president and Peck as secretary and treasurer.
Additionally, Edward Olden and his wife were the club’s first managers.
On Feb. 5, 1916, The Sacramento Bee ran an article with the headline, “Club to have fine new home.”
The article noted that the construction of the club, which would include an 18-hole golf course, a clubhouse and bowling, tennis and swimming facilities, would begin at the end of the winter weather.
The Bee also reported that these amenities, as well as landscaping and roads, would be completed at a cost of about $75,000.
Articles of incorporation for the country club were signed in January 1916.
To assist in the club’s membership campaign, which was launched on Feb. 7, 1916, a dance and dinner was held at Hotel Sacramento at 10th and K streets just eight days after the campaign began.
After much hard work and deliberation, the club was finally prepared for its Sept. 2, 1916 opening.
The Sacramento Union reported on this grand afternoon and evening gathering, which included an orchestra performance and dancing on the tennis courts.

Although the club’s grounds had not been completed in their entirety, The Union noted that Sacramento could nonetheless boast a country club that could “hold its own for situation and accommodation with any (country club) in cities of similar sizes.”
The club’s living room was described by The Union as having colorful Oriental rugs, massive oak tables and luxurious couches and chairs.
Also located at the club were a kitchen, a dining room, a billiards room, a men’s lounging room and a ladies’ card room.
The club, which also included a skeet shooting range during its earlier years, hired its first golf professional, Scotland native Jim Smith, in 1916.
Three years later, Bill Selkirk was hired to replace Smith. And Selkirk continued in that role until 1924, when the club hired another golf professional, Bob Clark.
During Selkirk’s time at the club, grass was planted on the fairways and greens.
The club acquired one of its most notable golf professionals, Frank Minch, Sr., in 1925. He remained with the club for the following 40 years, during which time he became one of the state’s leading golf professionals.
Another early highlight of the club was its first golf tournament, which was held on Sept. 17, 1916.
A decade later, Joe Turnesa won the first Sacramento Open Championship, which was held at Del Paso Country Club.
Many local and national championship tournaments have been played at the club throughout its history.
To date, the club has hosted four U.S. Golf Association tournaments – the 1957 and 1976 U.S. Women’s Amateur Golf Championships, the 1960 U.S. Women’s Senior Amateur Championship and the 1982 U.S. Women’s Open Championship.
And with about a $10 million redesign and renovation of its world-renowned golf course in 2005 and 2006, the club earned the privilege of hosting the U.S. Senior Open from June 22-28, 2015.
The club also hosted the “Swing at Cancer” Celebrity Pro-Am, a one-day tournament that was founded by Bob Hurst and held from 1972 to 1997.
The tournament, which raised funds for the American Cancer Society and local cancer projects, featured such renowned participants as Bob Hope, Glen Campbell, Tom Watson, Johnny Miller, Sam Snead, Hale Irwin and Billy Casper.
Bob Kunz, the club’s general manager/chief operating officer, described “Swing at Cancer” as “certainly the biggest golf charity in Sacramento history and maybe one of the biggest charities in Sacramento history.”
Although those associated with Del Paso Country Club take pride in the various prestigious events that have been held at the club, as well as Del Paso’s position of hosting the 2015 U.S. Senior Open, Kunz emphasized that first and foremost, the club is a social place.
“What (the club) boils down to on a grassroots level is community,” Kunz said. “It’s a reason to get together with your friends. That’s what it’s all about. It’s all around an excuse, if you will, to get together. A club environment; you take the physical plant, a golf course is a golf course. Whether you’re here or at Ancil Hoffman (Golf Course), it’s a golf course. Yeah, it’s a difficult golf course, but it’s a golf course. The restaurant is a restaurant. The difference is the social interaction.”

THE REINCARNATED “GOAT MAN”? Dr. Pat Melarkey, dressed in clothes similar to those that were worn by the late George “Goat Man” Zwerkis, stands alongside two goats. Photo by Lance Armstrong

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

Certainly most people in the Arden and Carmichael areas are familiar with Country Club Centre, the 60-year-old shopping center on the southwest corner of Watt and El Camino avenues. But few people today remember a man in that area who was simply known as the “Goat Man.”
But there was a time when just about anyone who was familiar with the area understood what one meant when they referred to the “Goat Man.”
This man, whose real name was George Gust Zwerkis, was a sort of legendary figure of the area.
In about 1924, Zwerkis, who was an old country Greek, purchased 24 acres at the northwest corner of Watt Avenue and Cottage Way, and it was in that area that he acquired his nickname.
Prior to purchasing the property, Zwerkis worked for several years as a sheepherder for the Swanstons, the well-known, local landowners. The Swanstons operated a ranch and meat packing plant near Arden Way and the railroad.
It is no wonder why Zwerkis was known as the “Goat Man,” as he would seldom be seen without his goats.
And being that today’s Country Club area was quite rural, Zwerkis had plenty of places to roam with his goats.
One of the places where he would spend time with his goats was on the site of today’s Country Club Centre, just north of his home, which was about a 20-foot by 20-foot shack that was accompanied by an outhouse. His home was located about 50 feet off Watt Avenue and about 30 feet off Cottage Way.
Zwerkis also brought his goats to open grassland areas along Arden Way, Eastern Avenue and to a site at Marconi and Watt avenues.
Among the people who remember the “Goat Man” is Carmichael resident Sylvia Bringas.
“My late grandparents, Paul and Anna Zvalo, knew George Greek, the ‘Goat Man,’” Bringas said. “This is what everyone called him. I remember the ‘Goat Man’ crossing Watt Avenue, which was nothing but a two-lane country road. George was a very frugal man, who kept to himself and his goats. That area was country and my grandparents had a home nearby a mini farm on Marconi (Avenue) at Watt (Avenue). My grandparents were from Czechoslovakia and English wasn’t their first language. My grandfather was the original groundskeeper at Del Paso Country Club there on the corner of Watt and Marconi (avenues).”
Jerry Thomas, a 1963 graduate of Encina High School, remembers seeing the goat man during his youth.
“The goat man, all the kids were terrified of him,” Thomas said. “The goat man was dirty, meaning everyone thought he was a bum. You would drive by his house, which was set back off the road and there would be a Cadillac out in front, and somebody would say, ‘That’s those real estate people trying to buy (his property).’ Eventually they did. They talked him out of his property, because it was a really hot place. He didn’t want the money. That was the whole thing, but they kept bugging him and bugging him and bugging him. And then we would hear these silly stories and I think they were just myths. ‘Oh, it broke his heart when he had to leave his property’ and ‘the real estate men have cheated the goat man out of his land.’ This (north area) property out here in that neck of the woods is really very useless as a farming area. It’s hardpan.”
In 1976, the longtime local educator Herbert E. Winterstein (1908-1981) – who was memorialized through the naming of the Winterstein Community Park and the Herbert E. Winterstein (elementary) School (now the Community Collaborative Charter School) at 900 Morse Ave., adjoining the park – wrote his own memories about the “Goat Man.”
In these writings, he noted that Zwerkis told him that he sold his 24 acres for $165,000 in 1954.
Additionally, Winterstein described the “Goat Man,” as follows: “(Zwerkis) was a friendly, talkative neighbor, who somehow knew what was transpiring everywhere. He was difficult to understand, but he was alert and loved company. Yet he was something of a recluse.”
Winterstein noted that the “Goat Man” was proud of his new neighbors at Country Club Centre and loved to drop by the shopping center for coffee and doughnuts.
Another Sacramentan who recalled Zwerkis was Dr. Pat Melarkey, a longtime local dentist and former county supervisor.
Melarkey, 81, said that he first saw the “Goat Man” as a teenager in the mid-1940s.
“In 1944, I became the stable boy for the (Merle) Foster family on the corner of Morse (Avenue) and Cottage (Way), right where Kaiser (Permanente) Hospital is now,” Melarkey said. “They had five acres with a stable and some stalls and horses. So, we had the horses there and I used to take two or three of them and get on one of them and go down Cottage Way, east, and cut through the ‘Goat Man’s’ grape vineyard there. He would tell me not to cut through his property, but I would do it anyway. There were no fences. There was nothing out there then, just a few houses on Cottage Way. All that land over there, where Wal-Mart is there (in Country Club Centre), was all open, so we would just gallop the horses around and exercise them. So, I would see George herding goats, and, of course, I was there many times when traffic stopped and he was driving them across Watt Avenue or El Camino (Avenue). It was all open and he would just take them over (to different properties) to keep the grass down.”
Melarkey said that on at least two occasions, Zwerkis was photographed for a local newspaper.
“He was shown with his hands up in the air leading his goats across either Watt Avenue or Fulton Avenue with some heading like, ‘Traffic problem on Watt Avenue,’ which was quite funny, since neither one of those streets ever got much traffic back then,” Melarkey recalled.
Zwerkis’ goats, Melarkey noted, ranged in numbers, depending upon the time.
“He had a minimum of 25 goats, but sometimes he had 75,” Melarkey said. “And he had them kept in pens and a lot of those little ones he kept in the shack with him. He was really into husbandry.”
Melarkey added that the “Goat Man” also owned dogs that he used to herd the goats.
“He had five or 10 (dogs) at a time,” Melarkey said. “He had some beautiful sheep dogs. The neighbor (local butcher Dick Rogers, who resided at 3229 Cottage Way) around there found this one (dog that belonged to Zwerkis) in their garden and it was half dead. I brought (the dog) home and my mother (Eunice) got him well. It took about three or four months for him to get well. I then used to bring him out there (around Zwerkis’ place), and as soon as George saw the dog, he said, ‘That’s my dog,’ in so many broken words. And I said, ‘No, this dog was given to me by somebody else.’ The dog’s name was Bill. It had those white eyes and it was very distinctly marked – light brown and white. It almost looked like a calico cat.”
Bill eventually became a very strong dog, much due to the fact that he would accompany Melarkey on his daily Sacramento Union route.
Melarkey said that he experienced a sad moment in his life a few years later when Bill died, as he was one of several dogs in the area that were randomly poisoned with strychnine.
With a bit of a chuckle, yet with a fond tone to his voice, Melarkey said, “No matter what (the temperature) was (Zwerkis) was out there with an Army overcoat, a great, big hat, rubber boots and his goats and dogs. The ‘Goat Man’ was quite a unique guy.”
After selling his Watt Avenue and Cottage Way property, Zwerkis moved to Elk Grove, where he died at the age of 72 on May 15, 1955.
Winterstein and those who were interviewed for this article recalled that the “Goat Man” had left a wife back in Greece.
Regarding this woman, Bringas said, “(Zwerkis) stashed the cash (from the sale of his north area property) in his mattress. Subsequently, he died and a wife no one knew about showed up direct from Greece and claimed the money and went back home.”
Despite his passing, the “Goat Man” left behind a legacy as one of the north area’s all-time notable characters.

As this series regarding the four corners of Watt and El Camino avenues was reaching its fourth corner, it was brought to the attention of this publication that one of the north area’s longtime continuously operating businesses was about to celebrate a milestone under its current ownership.
This business, Pardee’s Cameras, was acquired by Manfred Kallweit 35 years ago this Saturday.
In remembering that moment, Manfred said, “We agreed and we signed the paper (for the transferring of the business’s ownership) on Dec. 15, 1977.”
Although not precisely on the northwest corner of Watt and El Camino avenues, this business is only separated from the corner by the small street, Yorktown Avenue.

The story of Pardee’s Cameras, which was originally known as John Pardee Photographic Supplies, began in 1946.
The store, which became the north area’s first photography shop with its opening on Nov. 29, 1946, was originally located in Town and Country Village at 2417 Marconi Ave.
Eventually under John Pardee’s proprietorship and later during the early part of Manfred’s ownership, the shop was recognized as one of The Village’s longest operating business.
John, who resided with his wife, Norma, at 3201 Bonita Drive, near Del Paso Country Club, where he maintained a membership, was originally from Nevada.
He made his way to Sacramento from San Jose in the mid-1920s.
In about 1927, he was residing with his wife at 1441 51st Street and working as a bookkeeper at the Ehmann-Kohler Stationery Co. at 1318 J St.
John and Norma and their daughter, Barbara, moved to 1567 32nd Street in 1929 and by the following year, John was working as a bookkeeper at Lavenson’s shoe store at 1018-1020 K St.
In 1933, John and Norma’s second daughter, Nedra, was born.
While residing at 3400 H Street in 1935, John became Lavenson’s credit manager. But three years later, he was once again the company’s bookkeeper.

John left his job at Lavenson’s in 1938 to become a clerk at Douglas Osborn Photo Supply at 1207 K St.
This Kodak shop operated at that site from 1937 to 1941, at which time it was relocated to 1025 12th St. The business, which moved to 1231 K St. in 1946 and was last known as Osborn’s Camera Center, continued to operate until 1955.
Prior to his time working for Osborn, John co-founded the Sierra Camera Club of Sacramento, which was established with 19 members in the spring of 1936.
On Dec. 8, 1936, while serving as the club’s president, John was presented with a trophy in honor of his accomplishment of earning the most points during the year for the exhibition of prints in the amateur class. The presentation was made by the club at the Consumers’ Ice & Cold Storage Co. clubroom at 300 9th St.
On the evening of Aug. 25, 1938, while John was serving as the club’s director, members of the club met at Osborn’s shop and then adjourned to John’s home for a supper meeting with the main dish of weiners.
During the gathering, Florence Keemer of 5253 22nd Ave. spoke about flower arrangements. Her speech was accompanied by a Kodachrome slide show.
In 1939, John moved to Route 5, Box 8520, along Fair Oaks Boulevard.
John, who became the assistant manager of Osborn’s shop in 1940 and later worked at this business at separate times as the manager and as a salesman, continued to work at the shop until he established his own business.
In 1950, John’s shop had a change of address, as the address became 2617 Marconi Ave.

And about five years later, John Pardee Photographic Supplies was operating in a different location in The Village at 2922 Fulton Ave.
During its time in The Village, the business expanded its floor area by four times its original space.
Manfred, who was born in East Prussia, Germany and was one of the seven children of Gustav and Hedwig Kallweit, said that he immigrated to the United States with his then-wife, Ulrike, 12 years prior to purchasing John Pardee Photographic Supplies.
In being that Manfred had gained a love for photography through his father who owned and operated a photography studio in his hometown of Tilsit, after arriving in America in 1965, he worked in a camera store in Bishop, Calif.
Two years later, Manfred, who completed his photography apprenticeship in Germany, was operating a European camera store that was built for him by the McCurry Camera Co. in The Crossroads shopping center at 5770 Freeport Blvd.
The store, which was known as Kamera Haus, was in operation from 1967 to 1971, at which time Manfred began managing the McCurry store in Arden Fair Mall.
In recalling his negotiations with John in 1974, Manfred said, “I knew there was this camera store in Town and Country Village and there was an older owner and he was 72 or 73 at the time,” Manfred said. “I said. ‘Why is he still in there when he should be retiring?’ I’m saying that about him and I’m doing it still. I’ll be 72 this month. Anyway, I told him that I was interested in his store and that I could start there as a manager and then he could sell it to me. He was delighted.”

Because he could no longer afford to operate the store in Town and Country Village by 1983, Manfred relocated the business to a 1,000-square-foot space at 3333 Balmoral Drive.
After about 12 years of operating the Balmoral Drive store, Manfred, in desiring to expand his store, moved the shop to its present, 4,000-square-foot location at 3335 El Camino Ave.
The current store site was originally divided into three store spaces in its pre-Pardee’s days, but it was made into its larger space when Country Club Family Billiards, with its 16 tournament tables, opened at that location in 1967.
The store, which is operated by Manfred, Ulrike and several employees, has continued its success at its present location despite challenges created by a changing market.
Pardee’s Cameras, which has a strong reputation for its emphasis on personal service and its offering of quality cameras and accessories, is also recognized as a museum-type camera store.
The store includes a large display of historic still photography and moving picture cameras, which Manfred said he collected to set his store apart from other camera stores.
“I’ve been into photography and cameras all my life and I wanted to have not just an ordinary camera store like you see everywhere, but something special,” Manfred said. “People come in and make remarks in awe of what they see. ‘Is this a camera store or what?’ they say. They can’t believe it what this looks like, what it feels like to be surrounded with cameras that are over 100 years old.”
And in describing some of these cameras, Manfred said, “The history-making wooden, brass cameras up there are super neat and made in England. They’re large 8 (inch) by 10 (inch) format cameras that were made around 1925. That big, black machine in the center is a (35 mm) manually operated, movie film projector that was made in about 1915. We have a lot of Leica cameras, a pioneering company from Germany that invented 35 millimeter photography. We have a collection of over 100 of those. They were made by the Leitz company. There’s also an old Kodak box camera from 1896. I bought (the cameras) at swap meets and people came in donating them at times and were trying to sell them. There are hundreds and hundreds (of cameras) and about 20, 25 movie cameras, and a tremendous variety of movie projectors, as well.”
In speaking about the anniversary of his business, which has 35,000 loyal customers in its database, Manfred said, “I’m proud of the success (of Pardee’s). It’s my profession, its my hobby, it’s my passion.”

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

Country Club Centre, a well-known shopping destination in the north area of the city, has reached a milestone, as it recently turned 60 years old.
The shopping center, which derived its name from the nearby Del Paso Country Club, opened on the southwest corner of Watt and El Camino avenues on Aug. 21, 1952.
Although it would be extremely unlikely to find anyone adept in U.S. geography who would think of any place in Sacramento after hearing the name, “Four Corners,” the corner properties of Watt and El Camino avenues are undeniably locally famous.

Sacramento’s four corners
For those who need a little assistance when it comes to this bit of U.S. geography trivia, the name, “Four Corners,” has for many years been used to identify the region where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah join together.
Certainly, references to such places as Country Club Centre, Country Club Plaza, Tower Records, Sam’s Plaza Hof Brau, Jack’s House of Music and Country Club Lanes draw plenty of endearing, reminiscent responses from many longtime Sacramentans.
And based on the fact that these locally renowned places are all representatives of either the past or present days of the four corners of Watt and El Camino avenues, it would be difficult for one to dispute the historic significance and legacy of these four corners.
In the north area of Sacramento, perhaps no place would be better designated as “four corners” than these very notable four corner properties.
Sacramento native Pat Melarkey, who is well known for his service as a county supervisor and his local work in dentistry, recalled how these north area corners appeared prior to their development.
“There was nothing out there at all, and I’m talking about a time between about 1945 and 1950,” Melarkey said. “It was all vacant and I was exercising horses in a field there on Watt Avenue and El Camino (avenues) with Dr. Bill Campbell, a very well-known physician in town. The field was on the big corner where Wal-Mart is now (in Country Club Centre). I remember one day, when (local real estate broker) James Cordano drove off the road – it was only a two-lane road then – and parked in a field and was talking to Dr. Campbell when we were resting our horses. (Cordano) said that he was putting together a deal to buy up the whole corner. (Cordano) is the one who developed Country Club Centre (with Joseph Blumenfeld), and he also developed Southgate (Shopping Center with Blumenfeld) and Sunrise Mall (with Ernest W. Hahn). Cordano said that any acreage on Watt or El Camino (avenues) was $100 an acre and that there were a few blocks off of those two streets that were $60 an acre.”

Original plans
The Country Club Centre corner was eventually owned by the Blumenfeld theater interests, as the initial plan for the property was to construct a drive-in theater on the site.
In recalling his change of plans, Blumenfeld, in a 1952 interview with The Sacramento Bee, said, “After the project was started, we were convinced by some of the largest merchants in the country we were building the wrong type of development and they persuaded us to abandon our original plans and convert to the present type shopping center.”
With this change in plans, Blumenfeld became the president of Country Club Centre, Inc. and Cordano began his service as vice president of the corporation.
Selected to build the immense Country Club Centre was the Erickson Construction Co., which was located at 1119 East Bassettlaw Ave. in North Sacramento.

Grand opening celebration
After the first unit of Country Club Centre was finally completed, a grand opening celebration was held from Thursday, Aug. 21 through Saturday, Aug. 23, 1952.
Among the features of the celebration were thousands of gifts and prizes, including a free 21-inch RCA television set for one lucky number holder in a drawing, and performances by Billy Jack Wills and His Western Swing Band, clowns and The Kramers jugging act.
Other attractions of the celebration included free orchids for women, rides for children on the Calo dog food’s dog-drawn cart, Lucky Market hats for children, free Coca-Cola (Thursday), free Dr. Pepper (Friday and Saturday), and special prizes for those who could guess the weight of quantities of frozen fish and Pillsbury grain and a giant bologna.

Original businesses
The original businesses of Country Club Centre’s initial unit included the J.C. Penney Co., Eagleson’s, Lucky Market, Kid-E-Korral juvenile shop, Emigh Hardware, Heintz Bakery, Kirby Shoes, Buster Brown shoe store, Green & Heyden shoe store, Anita Shops women’s apparel, Country Club Centre Launderette & Swanson’s Cleaners, and O’Neil Bros. service station.
The J.C. Penney store, which was located in a single-story building with a basement and a balcony, included 23,000 square feet of selling space and 39-foot-wide show windows.
Eagleson’s, was already a longtime established men’s wear business when it opened in Country Club Centre, as it had been established in San Francisco in 1867 and had since added a store at 801 K St. and another store in Los Angeles.
The O’Neil Bros. service station at Country Club Centre became the sixth unit in this Sacramento area service station chain.
The O’Neil name in local service stations dated back to 1921, when Joe and Jack O’Neil established a service station on 13th Street, between K and L streets.
Heintz Bakery, which was owned by Joseph Heintz, was already a recognized bakery in the capital city through its other location at 1206 J St.
Following Country Club Centre’s grand opening, the shopping center continued to expand, as additional stores planned for their own grand openings about three weeks later.

Lance@valcomnews.com

Editor’s Note: This is part two of a two-part history series about Sam’s Hof Brau and other restaurants that were founded in Sacramento by the late Sam Gordon. Read Part one

As presented in the first part of this series, local restaurateur Sam Gordon (1907-1998) established four restaurants in the Sacramento area from 1955 to 1960. And with the popularity of these eateries, he continued to open other local restaurants.
Sam’s Plaza Hof Brau
His next dining establishment, Sam’s Plaza Hof Brau at 2500 Watt Ave. at El Camino Avenue, opened in January 1962.
In its Jan. 21, 1962 edition, The Sacramento Union noted that the restaurant had “opened to the public last week.”
The announcement was accompanied by a few details regarding the then-new Sam’s Plaza Hof Brau and a photograph of Gordon standing alongside a tall, wooden American Indian statue.
The carved statue was part of the décor of the restaurant, which was mainly designed with a “Gay 1890s” theme and had 6,000 square feet of floor space.
Other decorations placed in the restaurant were old signs, paintings and stained glass from a collection in Scottsdale, Ariz. and solid brass, gas lanterns from the grand ballroom of the old Union Hotel in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The lanterns had since been converted for electrical use.
The restaurant also opened with its 1890 Room, a banquet room with a safe from the Western Hotel, which was located at 209-219 K St. and owned by William Land, who willed the funds for today’s William Land Park. The banquet room was built to accommodate 60 to 90 patrons and the remainder of the restaurant seated 180 guests.
More than 100 photographs and etchings of early Sacramento and nearly life-sized paintings of Lillian Russell and Diamond Jim Brady were hung on the walls.
One of the more notable decorations at the restaurant is a large painting of the 1869 “golden spike” celebration, which ceremoniously marked the completion of the first Transcontinental Railroad.
But beyond its unique, inviting décor, Sam’s built its positive reputation through its entrées featuring fresh meats such as roast beef, roast turkey, prime rib, corned beef, baked ham and pastrami.
And of course, these meats can always be used to make this eatery’s signature “Sam’wiches.”
Special hof brau memories
Tom Tolley, who grew up in Carmichael and was a 1968 graduate of Del Campo High School, was one of this restaurant’s earliest diners.
“Sam’s Hof Brau was always a favorite,” Tom said. “In 1962, my folks (Walter and Norma Tolley) and I first visited Sacramento and ate at Sam’s on Watt and El Camino (avenues). I found it hard to believe that such a cool restaurant was right next door to such a fabulous bookstore and record store – the two Towers. Even Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley, where I lived, couldn’t match that sort of arrangement. We moved to Sacramento two years later and my dad and I would eat there. When Sam’s celebrated their 25th anniversary, they rolled prices back to match their opening menu for about a week – a roast beef sandwich for around 65 cents – and the lines were out the door. Even though I was working at a quality restaurant – Coral Reef – I ate there almost every day during that week. Sam’s is still a destination where I have lunch with friends or when I happen to be out that way. The one thing I miss is being able to buy a new book or album before or after lunch. The changes to Sam’s have not been drastic over the years and I can still load up on free pickles.”
David Spieth, 60, who graduated from El Camino High School in 1970, also shared his memories about the Watt and El Camino avenues restaurant.
“Sam’s Hof Brau was always a neat place to eat roast beef sandwiches,” Spieth said. “And, of course, if you wanted a taste of turkey, they always had one turning in the window. It was always dark and cozy and had a lot of privacy when you ate. It was a place where you could take your girlfriend or friends and family. And it was close to the Country Club (Lanes) bowling alley, where I used to bowl. (It was) next to Tower Records, where you could always get your vinyl or tapes. (The area has) changed a lot. The bowling alley and Sam’s Hof Brau are the only original places left.”
Carmichael resident Pete Lennarz, who owned the Watt Avenue hof brau for about 16 years, said that he began leasing the Watt Avenue building from Gordon in 1991.
Lennarz added that since the Denny’s restaurant corporation owned Sam’s eateries at that time, he simply shortened his business’s name to Plaza Hof Brau to avoid any conflict with Denny’s.
In 2007, the restaurant was purchased from Lennarz by the Hof Brau Restaurant Group, which included several Mikuni restaurants partners. And since 2009, this hof brau has operated under the name, Sam’s Hof Brau.
Among the earlier events held at the restaurant under its then-new ownership was a 50th anniversary celebration on May 18, 2009.
To eliminate any confusion regarding the timing of this event, it should be recognized that upon acquiring the hof brau, these owners were incorrectly informed that this Watt Avenue business had been established in 1959.
It was not until the publication of the first part of this article series (see May 24 edition of this paper at www.valcomnews.com) that the ownership learned that the event was unfortunately held three years prior to the restaurant’s actual anniversary.
Sam’s Big Top
Less than two months following the opening of Sam’s Plaza Hof Brau, construction began on Gordon’s sixth Sacramento area restaurant – Sam’s Big Top at 1101 16th St. The business was opened to the public in October 1962.
The location was an ideal place for this circus-themed eatery, since Sacramentans had routinely dined at the popular Stan’s Drive-In at the same site.
This Sam’s restaurant, which was originally managed by Art Davis, featured 24-hour booth and counter service and seating for 100 guests.
Another Sam’s Big Top later opened at 2721 El Camino Ave. at Sandringham Road, but was operating as a Denny’s by 1970.
Sam’s expanded outside Sacto
Many Sacramentans also have fond memories of Sam’s Town entertainment center and restaurant, which operated off Highway 50 in Cameron Park from 1963 to 2000.
Additional Sam’s Hof Braus were opened outside the capital city, including in Auburn (Placer County), Oakland, Portland and Los Angeles.

A Sacramento tradition continues
Certainly the days are long gone when Sam’s restaurants could be spotted in different parts of the Sacramento area.
But fortunately the last remaining Gordon-founded eatery in the city, Sam’s Hof Brau at Watt and El Camino avenues, continues to carry forth its tradition of serving “fresh, stick-to-your-ribs food at piggy bank prices.”

The Sacramento County Department of Transportation is starting a tree transplanting project on Fair Oaks Boulevard between Watt Avenue and Sam Ramon Way/Wilhaggin Drive. The tree transplanting effort is part of the Fair Oaks Boulevard Safety Improvement Project, which was approved by the Board of Supervisors at their May 18 meeting.

Tree transplanting work will begin on Friday, May 21, and must be completed in anticipation of installation of steel backed guardrails. This work will require intermittent closures of one travel lane on Fair Oaks Boulevard. It is anticipated that traffic delays will be kept to a minimum with project work occurring during non-commute hours. The tree transplanting effort will take approximately one week to complete.

Eleven trees will be transplanted as part of project work. Transplanted trees will be approximately 20-feet tall with diameters of 4 to 6-inches in order to provide large size trees for immediate effect in this tree lined corridor, and to allow for clearance of vehicles. In addition six trees need to be removed because they are in conflict with the traffic safety zone for new guardrail installation. The eleven transplanted trees will be strategically located to help offset loss of removed trees.

SACDOT is moving forward with a project to enhance safety on Fair Oaks Boulevard. A Phase 1 project will install steel-backed timber guard rails at various locations along the center median between Watt Avenue and San Ramon Way/Wilhaggin Drive. Project benefits include:

- Enhanced safety for Fair Oaks Boulevard motorists.

- Reduced incidents of run-off-the-road collisions.

- Replacement of aging, diseased and damaged trees.

- It is anticipated that guard rail installation work will start in mid-July and be completed by September 2010. Phase 1 project construction costs are $489,980 and will be covered by Measure A Sales Tax funds.

A proposed Phase 2 project will install steel-backed timber guardrails at locations along the center median between San Ramon Way/Wilhaggin Drive and Eastern Avenue. SACDOT is actively seeking Federal stimulus grant funding (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) for a Phase 2 project for Fair Oaks Boulevard – from San Ramon Way/Wilhaggin Drive to Eastern Avenue. If grant application efforts are successful, design and environmental work will begin as soon as possible after funding approval is received.