The Sacramento Storm Of The Century!

It was Rain-sanity in Sacramento on Thursday! 2.39 inches of rain fell at Sacramento Executive Airport breaking the record set in 1995 of 2 inches.

City crews work furiously to unclog a drain on 10th and College in Land Park.

According to the City Of Sacramento there were 300 calls for assistance. City workers furiously cleared 533 drain inlets, 65 culverts, and 15 plugged mains. I even managed to clear a couple of old antiquated drains on my street in Hollywood Park where the street sometimes floods.

City of trees, city of leaves, city of clogged drains.

Most folks were prepared for the deluge of wind and rain due to the oversaturation of local news reports. Social media was a big part of the hype, too. #hellastorm #norcalstorm and other hash tags were used on Facebook and Twitter to report on all the chaos.

A Toyota pickup drives through the flood on Freeport and makes a splash.

The City of Sacramento even ran out of sandbags. I saw a guy in a Toyota pick-up with a whole cab filled with sand bags. Noah would have been impressed.

The good news is there wasn’t a lot of damage to the Sacramento area. Minor flooding of streets and a few trees blew over. Freeport Blvd in front of William Land Park was a small lake for awhile but eventually the drains did their job. Some folks stayed home from work to avoid the street flooding , while others jogged right through the big storm.

A soaking wet jogger runs through the rainstorm in Land Park.

The rainstorm also put a good dent in the drought. If any Sacramento resident or business have their sprinklers on this weekend, they should immediately be whipped, flogged and waterboarded.

Rainy Day in Hollywood Park

The rain came down in buckets in Hollywood Park today. It was wet all over. It’s fun to play outside in the rain. It was also fun to watch the cars go by with Freddy as they braved the flooding on Irvin Way. Lake Irvin for a day. I was rooting for a big truck to speed on through and make big waves. A big GMC truck whizzed by and Freddy screamed his approval at the big splash it made.  The driver passed by and gave a nod like, “Did he like that?” Then a big rainbow appeared and the show was over.

Over The Fence

Curtis Park Village Voices Say No To Proposed Gas Station

A fight’s a brewin’ in the Curtis Park Village development. Developer Paul Petrovich and members of the Sierra Curtis Neighborhood Association are duking it out again. This time over a Safeway Gas Station. Err make that the Curtis Park Village Neighborhood Fuel Center as the project is being called.

Wordy. They’re gonna need a giant glowy sign for that.

The Sierra Curtis Neighborhood Association has come out against the fueling station and kiosk that would be part of the Safeway Supermarket being proposed.

The Curtis Park Village Neighborhood Fuel Center, or the Safeway Gas Station, would be open 24 hours a day. There will also be a large kiosk where busy commuters can get their Redbull, snacks, beer, cigarettes and anything else they need at 3 in the morning.

The proposed gas station will have 8 pumping stations. 16 gas pumps. Open 24 hours a day.

I spoke with Curtis Park resident Nancy McKeever over the phone and she really did her homework on the proposed friendly neighborhood fueling station. She is very much opposed to any gas station in Curtis Park Village. She’s uber opposed.

When I asked her about it she sarcastically said, “We didn’t know we needed one”.

Nancy told me about how the Curtis Park neighborhood has worked hard for a high quality urban infill project. Every step of the way they have fought tooth and nail for this infill development to be the kind of project the neighborhood could be proud of. They’ve worked to increase densities of housing, to make streets punch through so the old neighborhood is connected, to get a bridge over the railroad to connect the neighborhood with the transit station. They’ve also butted heads with Paul Petrovich over park space.

Now they’re going toe to toe over the Safeway gas station and kiosk.

The grocery store is not the problem. It’s the gas station. Nancy said,” It’s not transit serving. It does not honor multi-million dollar public investment, it degrades it. Not only does it not provide transit riders and value to that investment and the bridge that’s going over it. It greatly detracts because of the amount of traffic it’s going to pull in to get gas at the fueling station”.

The Safeway Gas Station in Natomas Town Center was doing brisk business.

I drove on out to the Natomas Town Center on Del Paso Road and the Safeway gas station was doing brisk business. This gas station on Del Paso Road has 6 pumps, the one proposed for Curtis Park Village is 8 pumps so it would be larger. A lot of Safeway gas was being guzzled up. So much in fact there was also a huge gasoline truck parked at the gas station. They can’t keep the gas tanks filled! The truck driver was taking a smoke break along the sidewalk before he hit the road to the next Safeway gas station to fill’er up.

In their letter to the Sacramento City Planning Division the Sierra Curtis Neighborhood Association states, “The overall purpose of this PUD’s development guidelines is to ensure that the proposed uses of this infill development blend with and enhance the quality of life and charm of the existing Curtis Park neighborhood. Compatibility with the existing neighborhood has been the watchword for a very long time. The proposed gas station works against this general purpose. One of the objectives for this goal is to encourage the use of public transportation and to develop appropriate linkages to surrounding neighborhoods including pedestrian, bicycle, vehicle and alternative transportation modes. A gas station in this location frustrates this goal.”

I reached out to Paul Petrovich via e-mail and he referred me to former City Council member Rob Fong. I guess Paul is handling some media matters for Petrovich Development. I wanted to know what Petrovich thought of the neighborhood’s opposition to the fuel station and the rumor that Safeway won’t move in without a gas station. Fong said via e-mail   “As part of the final executed lease, Safeway required that its lease be contingent upon the Landlord obtaining the necessary approvals to build the fuel center. Vice Mayor Jay Schenirer will be organizing a community meeting in early January to discuss all of the retail options for Curtis Park Village and to receive input from the neighborhood”.

No fuel center, no Safeway?

The Curtis Park Village Neighborhood Fueling Station Battle Royale continues in January at the Sierra 2 Center.

Bring Us Your Tootsie Pops

Dr. Jill Whitney is a dentist on Freeport Blvd who is also good deed doer. Every year her and her staff have a Halloween Candy Buyback Program. The program encourages kids to bring in their leftover Halloween candy they begged all night for in exchange for cold hard cash

They better not buy candy with it!

This year Dr. Whitney’s office collected 84 lbs of candy. They gave a dollar for every pound. Not to mention the 16 lbs her husband collected at his work.

It’s for a good cause, too. All the candy they collect gets sent to Operation Gratitude…along with lots of toothbrushes. Operation Gratitude sends it to U.S. soldiers overseas in holiday care packages. I bet it’s a nice treat for our men and women in uniform. Tootsie Rolls, Snickers, and Smarties probably remind them of home.

Another benefit of the Candy buyback is saving the kid’s teeth from high sugar exposure for an extended period of time. I remember when I was a kid we covered a large swath of trick or treating ground which meant a pillowcase full of sugar-filled Halloween candy. I had leftovers til Christmas! I also made quite a few unpleasant trips to the dentist.

Debbie Podesta, the office manager, told me “Dr. Whitney does things she likes to do. Little charities. She’s just that way”.

BIKE COMPANY BBQ

Sutterville Bicycle Company recently had a big grand opening and BBQ with all the fixin’s. There were hot dogs, hamburgers, even some turkey burgers. They also were playing some groovy funky tunes that complemented some of the groovy bikes the shop had for sale. The new owner, Jeff Dzurinko, took over ownership of the bike shop about six weeks ago from the initial owner, so it was more like an Open House than a Grand Opening. Jeff said, “I can’t wait to get to know some of the neighbors”.

He’s already getting some local love from the neighborhood Facebook Group!

“The people in the neighborhood have been nothing but supportive to me and I’m happy to help them out with their bicycling needs.”

Jeff referred to it as a “grass roots kind of bike shop”.

“I think having this sized shop allows me to be more personable and allows me to give that one on one experience that customers can appreciate”. And Jeff definitely has that. He was greeting the folks who came to the Grand Opening with handshakes and a friendly “hello”.

One thing Jeff wants to put a big emphasis on is service and repairs. Jeff is a very experienced technician and is capable of working on all sorts of bikes. Does your bike chain keep slipping? Need a tune-up? Head on over to see Jeff. He also does custom-built bikes and custom orders.

He had some cool old school used bikes in the shop. A wide array of different style bikes. He’s got vintage bikes from the pre-war era along with accessories and parts to those old bikes. He’s also got a lot of 70’s, 80’s and 90’s era BMX bikes. It kind of reminded me of being a kid hanging around the bike shop.

Jeff said, The BMX bikes are cool, and not only are kids buying them but adults that had them when they were kids want to buy them for their kids now”.

They also have comfortable, efficient, modern bikes that are perfect for a work commute.

The Sutterville Bicycle Company is located in a tricky area. Sutterville and Attawa right next to the Sutterville Bypass. That hill will get your quads in shape once you get your bike in perfect working condition at the new bike shop on the block.

got an item for Over The Fence? McGregorradio@comcast.net

Hollywood Park School in 1953

Mr. Johnson’s 7th grade class at Hollywood Park School. Mr. Johnson looks like a no-nonsense type of teacher. The student pictured next to him looks like the class trouble-maker.

Over The Fence: Look Up In The Sky! It’s A Drone In Land Park!

Look, up in the sky, it’s a drone in Land Park!

Some drone videos showcase remote Alaskan ice caves, cascading waterfalls in Costa Rica, even earthquake damage in Napa. Sacramento resident Tim Pantle showcases the beauty of the Sacramento area with his aerial photos and drone videos on his blog “Love Where You Live”.

I hung out with Tim while he was getting aerial views of the Half Cow Marathon that was held in William Land Park recently. He also filmed some nice shots of the golf course, Fairytale Town and the Sacramento Zoo.

We spoke about the good, the bad, and the ugly of quadcopters. Drone videos have been somewhat controversial but Tim is the “Mister Rogers of drone video operators”. He does nothing nefarious; just good, wholesome, fun videos of the Sacramento area.

What spurred Tim’s quadcopter hobby is he wanted to start a blog of some kind. One day he saw a picturesque drone video of the old Fair Oaks Bridge and he was hooked. “I’ve always been that tech-geek and used to be really into photography” Tim said. He loves the challenge of “getting the good shot”.

He was getting plenty of good shots of the Half Cow marathon and William Land Park the day we got together.

When Tim’s Phantom 2 Vision Quadcopter was filming the start of the Half Cow Marathon the announcer told runners to “wave to the drone.” Most folks smiled and gave a quick wave. When Tim was filming on the fifth hole at Land Park Golf Course a golfer took a practice swing from the fairway then turned around to smile and wave. The drone makes a loud buzzing- swarm-of-bees sound, I was surprised the golfer didn’t let the quadcopter bother him. Most golfers demand complete silence before hitting a fairway wood on a par 4 hole.

The Phantom 2 Vision reminds me of the Starship Enterprise from the old Star Trek series. It has a similar look. If you can operate a joystick you can certainly operate a quadcopter. Tim syncs it up with GPS. It’s the ultimate in tech gadgetry for a photographer. If the battery goes dead, or it loses connection with his remote it’ll fly back to where it started and land. It has a brain! The controller has a WiFi extender that allows the drone to send a signal to his phone so he can see what the camera sees.

The Phantom 2 Vison has quite a few different names, including an aerial drone, quadcopter, UAV or Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. The term drone came about because the vehicles sounded like worker bees known as “drones”.

Tim’s a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker and he thought the quadcopter or drone would be a great aspect of selling real estate. “Unfortunately I can’t use it for real estate because of FAA rules of no commercial, at the time that I bought it that rule wasn’t in place.”

There are a few rules when it comes to the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. The laws are still trying to catch up with the technology.

You cannot use it for commercial purposes. You can’t go above 400 feet. It’s also a big no no in National Parks. Yosemite National Park has banned drones after they became a nuisance to vistors of the park. Another rule is you can’t fly within 3 miles of an airport.

Whereas Tim uses his drone for good, clean, wholesome fun, other drone operators aren’t as level headed and responsible as Tim.

There have been many publicized incidents of aerial drones causing problems. One drone operator flew over a nude beach in Hawaii that created an online stir. Technically there’s nothing illegal about being a “creepy pest” because it was a public beach. When the operator was confronted by one of the sunbathers he accused him of breaking the law by being nude in public which is technically illegal in Hawaii.

Got that? Being nude illegal, filming people nude, legal.

One man actually shot down a New Jersey man’s drone after it hovered near his home. He blew it out of the sky with his shotgun. Kaboom! The guy who shot down the drone was arrested and charged with Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose and Criminal Mischief. Oops.

Then there is the case of a 17 year old teen who was innocently filming the shoreline of a beach in Florida. A woman became enraged and assaulted him because she thought he was filming bikini baring beach goers. The video of the confrontation is quite disturbing. The woman called the police but after they viewed the I-Phone video from the teen’s camera she was arrested for assault.

Tim told me he thinks “some of the news coverage is overblown”.

I spoke with Rob Watkins at RC Country Hobby on Folsom Blvd and he said, “I’m more concerned in the type of person and how they’re flying them than the quadcopters themselves”.

Rob mentioned an incident where a guy was flying his drone over the Sand Fire in the Sierra Nevada foothills. It caused the grounding firefighting aircraft.

“We sell a lot of them here and they’re fun to fly it just concerns me what people are doing with them”. Rob said.

What Tim is doing with his drone videos is making people feel good. The feedback Tim gets is all positive. His most popular drone video is the Del Campo High School campus. He’s actually from the graduating class of ’86. His quadcopter gives an aerial documentation of the campus as it slowly glides over the mighty oak tree that is at the center of the campus. The aerial video ends on the newly build Cougar football stadium. He also has an ethereal soundtrack that plays during the video. It elicited quite a few emotional responses on a Del Campo High School reunion page. Gregory Hansel, a class of 1984 alumni said, “Am I the only one who got a bit emotional seeing that? School hasn’t changed much. A lot of memories”.

Tim also has enchanting drone video of the Sacramento River at the Tower Bridge. The quadcopter glides right over the golden bridge to reveal an aerial shot not many people have seen. The tip top of the Tower Bridge. It’s accompanied by some Joe Satriani-style guitar riffs. He also filmed a video of the American River near the Fair Oaks bluffs and bridge. Another picturesque drone video of the area Tim calls home.

If you search Youtube there are numerous beautiful, edgy, and just plain magical videos of nature’s beauty. These drone videos by far outnumber the irresponsible and innocuous ones that tend to get headlines. Waterfalls, cliff diving, and amazing Alaskan glacier views are just some of the subjects drone videos have beautifully captured.

Drone videos are also publicizing social justice like the Occupy Central protests in Hong Kong. There is aerial drone video of hundreds of thousands of people in the street peacefully protesting.

There’s also aerial drone videos by The Swandiri Institute, an organization focusing its research on the political-ecology and social-ecological analysis of environmental change happening in Indonesia.

Drones are even helping to save the whales. The Ocean Alliance is a group that uses aerial drones to collect a broad spectrum of data from the whales without disturbing them. From the data they advise scientists and policy makers on pollution and how to prevent the collapse of marine mammals and other sea life.

See? Aerial Drones are being used for good.

Which brings me back to Sacramento’s drone video photographer Tim Pantle. He takes great pleasure in making drone videos that people have an emotional connection to. Tim also uses his common sense. “I don’t fly over people’s houses and if somebody shows any inkling they’re upset I just leave. I’m not looking for any trouble”.

Tim is very careful and cautious with his quadcopter. When we were together his plan was to fly over the Sacramento Zoo but he was also a bit hesitant. Tim said, “I don’t know if I could fly over the zoo because it might disturb the animals. Common sense says, don’t bug the animals”. He did manage to get some aerial footage of the Zoo and no animals were disturbed.

Whether it’s Sacramento parks, historic bridges or our beautiful waterways Tim only uses his quadcopter for good. He also takes pride in giving Sacramento a birds-eye view of the city he loves.

To check out all of Tim’s videos go to www.LoveSacramento.Blogspot.com

http://www.valcomnews.com

Got an item for Over The Fence? McGregorradio@Comcast.net

Got an item for Over The Fence? Greg@valcomnews.com

Over The Fence

SLOW DOWN FOR WILDLIFE IN LAND PARK

Feathers flew everywhere in Land Park when a driver hit a goose slowly waddling across Land Park Drive between the baseball fields and the pond area. Details of the fowl fatality are sketchy. Perhaps the driver was speeding, texting, or just not paying attention. No clue on the make and model of the car. A witness said the goose was suffering and in obvious pain. Suzanne Vice of Land Park told me via e-mail “It was very difficult for me to see”. She went on to say, she was tearful and what got to her the most was the gaggle of geese standing next to the dying goose. The geese gathered around their fatally injured friend and made loud, frantic noises.

It was a chaotic scene.

The City of Sacramento Parks and Recreation website mentions “do not feed the wildlife” They should add, “and don’t hit them with your Ford Focus either”.

Suzanne mentioned to me that “maybe better signage for drivers to be aware of wildlife crossing the street as well as many pedestrians, children, and joggers that cross the street as well”. She just thinks people should slow down.

Maybe a wildlife crossing sign could get drivers to slow down on that stretch of Land Park Drive. Maybe a goose crossing guard…hey they have one for DMV workers on 24^th!

I SEE A SIGN

Hollywood Park deserves a sign. Plenty of other established Sacramento neighborhoods have signs marking their territory. Why not Hollywood Park? Hollywood Park resident John Maradik-Symkowick is sprearheading an effort along with his wife Christina to get a Hollywood Park sign placed along Freeport Blvd to “put the neighborhood on the map” as John put it. They found a perfect spot too. A small rectangular piece of city-owned property next to the Regional Transit bus stop. The little strip of land is located between the King of Curls and the Freeport Dental office. There’s a beautiful large pine tree and even some small palm trees growing on the “perfect place for a sign” spot. John joked about making the sign look like the Hollywood sign in the hills of Hollywood.

It obviously wouldn’t be that large and extravagant but John hopes it would make a similar impact. Maybe a 1950’s era type sign.

A lot of Sacramento residents don’t even know where Hollywood Park is. When people ask “Where is Hollywood Park? the replies are usually “Across from Raley’s” or “Do you know where Hollywood Hardware is?”

If there’s a sign residents can say, “Look for the Hollywood Park sign”.

At least that’s the plan. John, who is also on the HPNA Board, has met with Sacramento City Council member Jay Schenirer’s office to discuss the possibility of a Hollywood Park sign. The proposed site is on city owned property. There’s even electrical that can be used to shine a light on the sign and surrounding area at night.

John and his wife came up with the idea together. Then John brought it to the attention of the HPNA.

When we were standing at the proposed spot for the sign, his wife Christina told me, “This is the fun phase. The dreams and aspirations as well as engaging with the community. Then comes the nitty gritty stuff”.

The nitty gritty stuff… like funding for the sign and implementation.

Where will the dough come from? The HPNA could pitch in some funds. The City of Sacramento might be able to contribute as well. There has been discussions about fundraisers too.

Local volunteers are also welcome. John put out a call for local artists, craftspeople, or “anyone with a creative itch that needs scratching”. He’s also been in talks with City Signs on Freeport with design ideas.

If the project moves forward, the HPNA board plans to pick a set of final designs to be voted on at a future Neighborhood Association General Meeting. A neighborhood sign that would adequately reflect the neighborhood. Nothing too flashy….but something that would complement all the 1950’s era homes in the quaint little neighborhood that wants to burst out of the shadows of the more popular local neighborhoods.

PHO COMES TO FREEPORT BLVD

Fatty Cow Hot Pot along Freeport Blvd is the restaurant that never opened. They never served one hot pot. A lot of remodeling was done inside the former Futami Japanese Restaurant earlier this year but Fatty Cow never actually opened its doors for business.

People who like Hot Pot will have to set their sights elsewhere. I noticed a new sign had replaced the old sign of the fat cow licking his spoon.

The new restaurant will now be called Pho Garden, only this time the restaurant will actually open. The doors were not open when I dropped by but Sherry the psychic next door looked into her crystal ball and told me they would open October 6^th.

Never doubt a psychic.

There are new neon signs in the window and some giant palm tree like plants ready to be placed around the restaurant.

I spoke over the phone with Jonathon Lam, who’s in charge of hiring the restaurant employees, and he told me they are “very excited about opening in the neighborhood”. He couldn’t give me any information on why Fatty Cow Hot Pot never actually opened. They never served one hot pot. So forget the hot pot and get ready for some pho on Freeport.

Got an item for Over The Fence? Greg@McGregorradio@comcast.net

My column appears bi-weekly in the Land Park News. http://www.valcomnews.com

Over The Fence

Cervantes Plaza To Come Alive

Where the heck is Cervantes Plaza? Not many local residents have even heard of it. Cervantes Plaza is an unassuming tree-lined patch of green park space along Freeport Blvd. nestled between Café Metro and the boarded up Crepe Escape restaurant.

The park space at the plaza is a decent spot for local residents to walk their dog or for Sac City College students to just hang out. But the Plaza could use some beautifying panache. A nip and a tuck. It just sits there.

Cervantes Plaza will soon be getting a cool makeover that may include public art from the Downtown Plaza and more park space for people to enjoy. Who knows what else they may add as this improvement project moves forward. Panache is on the way!

Cervantes Plaza will soon get a makeover.

The park is actually being referred to as a “public safety hazard” according to City Council member Steve Hanson’s office. District Representative Pete Fenolio told me via e-mail that they will be fixing a public safety hazard that was created years ago by the frontage road between Cervantes Plaza and Freeport Blvd. It will be part of the Freeport Blvd. restriping project that will make for a more pedestrian friendly street. The frontage road will be completely eliminated along with the “excessively long crosswalk that it creates” Pete said.

The frontage road doubles as a crosswalk/street. It definitely seemed dangerous when I was there observing the area. It’s used as a crosswalk and a road. Those two things do not usually go together.

In place of the hazardous frontage road/crosswalk will be more park space. The curb and gutter for the expanded park should begin construction with the restriping project early next summer.

The other exciting development is plans for public art that used to be displayed at the former Downtown Plaza will find a new home at Cervantes Plaza.

City Council member Steve Hanson mentioned to the Land Park Community Association they may add some public art to the new park space. They have their eye on the sculptures that were formerly at the Downtown Plaza. Specifically, the ceramic harlequin sculptures created by artist Yoshio Taylor called “Spherical Discourse”, the Tony Natsoulas sculpture entitled Balancing Act, and a large, intricate steel gazebo that was on display at the now demolished Downtown Plaza.

 

Hanson’s office has been in contact with the Sacramento Arts Commission about the public art work.   I spoke to their Executive Director Shelly Willis over the phone and she told me that “Cervantes Plaza is definitely a potential site that we’re seriously considering but, nothing has been approved. Nothing is set in stone. It’s just an idea right now”.

A brilliant idea!

Shelly went on to tell me she’s been approached by a lot of people that are interested in sighting the former Downtown Plaza artwork in libraries, parks, and all kinds of places. Frankly, I’d like to have Balancing Act in my backyard. I could gaze up at it while I grill a NY York steak and sip on a craft beer. But alas, public art is to be viewed in public.

The relocating of public art has to go through a process. Shelly told me, “We’ve done the first thing which is remove the art pieces and put them in storage.  Now we’ll create a plan to conserve them and work with the artists to develop an installation that works for the individual artwork and then install them.”

The Sacramento Arts Commission has to approve the Cervantes Plaza site. By Spring they will be bringing the location site to the Sacramento Arts Commission for approval. “It’s exciting and it would be an interesting spot for the artwork”. Shelly said.

Instead of cars and bikes whizzing by, perhaps the park improvements along with the public art will transform Cervantes Plaza into a wondrous gathering spot along Freeport Boulevard.

Casual Healthy Dining Coming To Former Crepe Escape Building.

Another improvement will also be coming to that specific area along Freeport Blvd. The building that used to house the Crepe Escape on Freeport Blvd has seen some activity lately. There was a small fire a couple years ago which caused the restaurant to shut its doors. Lately, there have been workers on the roof and guys in big white trucks working on the building.

When I peeked through a window there looked to be some food pamphlets and also a catalog of cheeses and a catalog about glassware.

This is real investigative reporting here!

There was also a liquor license application posted on the front of the building. It says the company applying for the license is M Cafe Inc.

I googled M Café and they indeed are applying for a liquor license and the owner is Rafi Rozbahani.

More Internet research and I found the headquarters of M Café is at 2700 24^th street. When I Googled the address Café Donterels in Curtis Park popped up.

It took quite a few phone calls but I was finally able to speak with Rafi about his plans for the new restaurant on Freeport.

He told me they don’t have a name and they’re in the initial planning stages. But the good news is something will finally be happening in that spot. Land Park residents have been eager for something, anything, to take over the empty building.

Rafi wouldn’t give me too much detail but told me the new restaurant will offer casual, healthy food like salads, sandwiches, and burgers. A variety of different foods will lean more towards a healthy direction like a signature salmon burger. They will also offer local craft beer. Bring on the Panic IPA!

They’re also going to spend some money on the building to make it look nicer. The patio will be used year round for outdoor dining. One interesting aspect Rafi let me in on was they plan on installing automatic garage doors that will be placed in front of the outdoor patio area. The garage doors will be controlled depending on the weather. Sort of an indoor/outdoor dining area with automatic garage doors.

Look for a new casual dining spot in the old Crepe Escape building around February of next year.

Got an item for Over The Fence? McGregorradio@comcast.net