Stop #2: Rio City Cafe

• The second stop on a route towards change!

• Once a beautiful family-owned restaurant this building serves as a reminder of Sacramento nostalgia. This cafe was brought low by an unrepaired dock that made the restaurant supports unsafe. 

• The City of Sacramento has taken full responsibility and aims to restore the dock with a $3 million budget and repair time frame to finish in October 2025. 

• Sacramento has a history of investing in its future, and has utilized available support from other cities, from the state, and federal funding. For example, the First New Deal, an investment by President Roosevelt back during the Great Depression.

• While the state of this building is far from cheery, it represents opportunity as the City of Sacramento looks for a new partner for the restaurant. 

• Originally the restaurant was opened in 1994, and served delicious food to Sacramento locals and visitors for 30 years. 

• The restaurant is so sorely missed that residents have come to the city, some even in tears, reminiscing of time spent at the well-known restaurant. Many people have hope for the restaurants return. 

• The design of the building was originally as a warehouse, specifically modelled after a Steamship warehouse set during the Industrial Revolution & Gold Rush in the late 1800s and matches the Waterfront District aesthetic.  

• The view of the Tower Bridge and Sacramento River is stunning from the outer deck of the building, and hopefully once restored, diners can once again revel in the history of that view. 

• Local businesses and entrepreneurs are dreamers, people hoping to find and make their American Dream happen. Whether they are finding a new home in Sacramento, or have long called it so, or maybe even called it by another name before the City even came to be, it is a home we all dream in.  

• This local investment into local infrastructure is just one aspect of being part of a community. Sacramento is an old city, and it has deep roots. We must always continue to advocate for the preservation of its history, and celebration of its future. 

• The impact this restoration project will have is on our local baseball fans as well, as the A’s have come to bat for Sacramento! Sadly the Restaurant had to close its doors in August of 2024 just as the team arrived, but we hope to reward them with good food and fine dining once it reopens! With the team in play our local businesses also do better, and create a more lively old town Sacramento, and hopefully a renewed RIo City Cafe! At least while they stick around, since the As are only in Sacramento until their new home in Las Vegas is complete 

• All this requires hope, but also effort. Everyone needs to pitch in. And to have hope in our American Dreams we need to know our opportunities will be protected from those who aim to crush our dreams under unfair, and inequitable laws. No one wants to feel excluded, and this administration does just that. Robbing the poor and hardworking, to feed the rich. 

• Our economy is not great right now, but we have solidarity and aim to build that solidarity among other cities and states like ours. We can do that by investing in candidates who do the work.

• Right now we need to show that support for Virginia, a state that has local and statewide elections coming up, so we must show up! Like our fine capital city, Alexandria, Virginia is a city of rivers, boardwalks, and family-owned businesses relying on city, state and federal funding. 

• Virginia has many amenities as a southern state, one among them being DC, the seat of our nation's capital, which currently is struggling with the ego and incompetence of an administration that stresses obedience over standing up for our value of community investment. They are even dismantling our Smithsonian museum exhibits about Black history and culture! Outrageous!

• Let’s work towards those American Dreams, demand more from our representatives, and arm them with our will to make change, to protect ALL our DREAMERS!

  • Resources:

    • https://riocitycafe.com/ 

    • https://riocitycafe.com/about/ 

    • https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/old-sacramentros-rio-city-cafe-shut-its-doors-for-final-time/ 

    • https://engagesac.org/blog-civic-engagement/2024/7/30/update-from-mayor-steinberg-on-rio-city-cafe-and-the-future-of-the-old-sacramento-waterfront 

    • https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/31/us/athletics-sacramento-mlb.html