California’s people business capitol
The capital of the sunshine state now boasts an expansive new SAFE Credit Union Convention Center after an $83-million renovation that acted as a headliner at Visit California’s recent Outlook Forum. The 240,000 sq. ft. space is fronted by a two-story atrium that opens onto a 15,000-square-foot outdoor plaza flanked by SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center.
A light rail ride down K Street, DoCo (short for Downtown Commons, a mixed-use entertainment/retail center) and its star attraction Golden 1 Center, home of the NBA Sacramento Kings, anchors a revitalized retail and restaurant hub. Before the Outlook Forum Finale, I checked out the evolving hospitality scene in the city where I cut my journalistic teeth.
Meet, Sleep & Eat
More than 2,000 hotel rooms are in walking distance of the convention center and many have added their own upgrades to the mix while the convention center was dark. Hyatt Regency Sacramento, nestled between the State Capitol and SAFE Performing Arts Center, completed an $8.1 million renovation of 505 guest rooms in June of 2020. I attended many an awards gala there back in the day and can attest to its fresh face.
Next door to the Convention Center, at Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel, a historic property with similarly grand proportions, General Manager Jeroen Gerrese says the property is in the midst of reimagining the 503 guest rooms and 19,300 sq. ft. of meeting space. New lobby renovations will be an even more open, multi-purpose space designed to “make locals feel like guests and guests feel like locals.”
All of the renovated 9,900 sq. ft. of meeting space and 196 guest rooms in The Citizen Hotel, Autograph Collection come with a wink and conspiratorial smile. The architectural details and art reference the building’s 1920s origins and proximity to lawmakers with rooms named Quorum and Scandal Lounge. “Intelligent wit is our mark,” said Taylor Neal, director of sales and marketing. The crowning glory is the brick and glass, fabric-draped 2,860-square-foot Metropolitan Terrace. And the farm-to-fork foundation is Chef Dane Blom’s Grange Restaurant. He started a few blocks away at Fat’s Asia Bistro and followed a culinary path that led to New York’s Culinary Institute of America, Napa Valley’s Michelin-starred Terra and back to Sacramento where his seasonal bounty is evident in the private dining room and the catering menu.
Sacramento
Hyatt Centric Sacramento Downtown opened at the DoCo end of the street in 2021 with 172 guest rooms behind another repurposed facade. The building houses two of the city’s most popular new F&B spots—7th Street Standards for brunch and dinner and Clayton Club rooftop lounge. Kimpton Sawyer is an underground tunnel walk from Golden 1 Center with 250 guest rooms and 20,000 sq. ft. of meeting space opening out onto a bustling restaurant and retail scene. The feeling I had as they “lit the beam” to celebrate a Kings win is what is called freudenfreude, pleasure in the good fortune of an old friend.
This article appears in the May 2023 issue. You can subscribe to the magazine here.
