http://www.sacbee.com/content/business/story/14176083p-15003352c.html
If you like open-air sushi, fun’s afoot on K Street

In a boost to lower K Street – the ground zero of downtown redevelopment – a local investment group is putting an Asian-influenced restaurant and takeout food center near the city’s ice-skating rink at Seventh Street.

Harvest Ventures Inc. is taking almost the entire first floor of the historic Sun Building at 717 K and putting in a restaurant called 3 Monkeys that’ll be dishing up a mid-priced menu of steaks, wraps and sushi.

The eatery will wrap around the Starbucks cafe now in the century-old building’s southwest corner.

The project, quietly in the works for months, could be a huge lift for redevelopment along K Street, drawing a fresh crowd to the same block where developer Zeiden Properties is working to attract trendy retail operations.
“We want to be a big part of the turnaround of K Street,” says Bob Wilson, Harvest Ventures’ CEO. Other execs in the group include local Asian food pioneer James Chong, accountant Eric Waddell and Carl Steagall, who was involved in the Claim Jumpers restaurant chain.

Their restaurant will have an outdoor patio facing St. Rose of Lima Park and 7th Street. A separate food-to-go restaurant will have its entrance on K Street, at the former site of Emma’s Taco House.

The restaurateurs are spending $1 million on the bistro and takeout diner and expect both to open by June.

Wilson says his group first looked at the K Street site two years ago but opted not to proceed then. “It was blighted … the transient population; we passed on it,” he says of the area.

Now, with K Street improvements planned, other restaurants moving in and the Greyhound bus terminal likely to be relocated, (Don’t hold your breath guy) “It’s all changed,” Wilson says. “Now we’re fully committed.”

Unfortunately, I think it closes at like 5 and isn’t open on weekends. I’m hoping that once more people are living in downtown proper, places like this will be open on weekends and later at night.

As for higher-end take out, have you been to Bountiful Country Market? It’s a little too country as far as the decor goes, but the food is really good, if a tad expensive. I haven’t been there since last spring though – since my office moved its now too far to walk for my lunch half-hour.

Sacramento doesn’t need another place to get ribeye steak and garlic mashed potatoes

When we talk about the downtown Sac restaurant market being saturated…this is exactly the type of food doing it. I would have liked to see them do something more along the lines their Sellands Market and Cafe versus another white cloth sit down place though

I really wish we would see more neighborhood places without the glitz and glamor (no more sushi , though I would like a teppanyaki place) open DT/MT versus more and more meat and potatoes places. Give it some time and you will see a few start closing.