On December 18 a crowd of people gathered on Watt Avenue to watch the demolition of the Regency Theatre that has been around since the 1960’s. Excitement was in the air as people of all ages from the community joined by county officials both from Roger Dickinson and Susan Peters offices as well as local news channels to witness this ground breaking event.
In the 1960’s the property housed the Coronet Theater, showing double features where all seats were $1. Phil Fasolo, the building contractor in charge of the new construction remarked, “I grew up around here and saw Parent Trap at the theatre in 1964.”
In 1975, it became an adult theater operated by the Pussycat Theater chain, and was later renamed the Regency Theater until it finally closed one year ago. On December 31, 2007 the Regency doors shut permanently, as their business license was not renewed by the county, due to the adult theater’s proximity to an elementary school.
We will now have in its place a great family restaurant chain – the Golden Corral®. North Highlands will be home to the fourth Golden Corral® restaurant in California. The new 14,000 square foot building will seat 469 patrons. The owners are moving ahead with construction and they have already hired and begun to train four long-term, local residents to form the management team. These managers willcomplete their initial training in January and relocate to San Antonio to work in a new Golden Corral® that footprints what we will have here in Sacramento. They will also be hiring 160 local employees in May, prior to the Grand Opening at the end of June. Golden Corral® is a privately held company and is 35 years old - based out of Raleigh, NC.
The company was voted #1 for the twelfth consecutive year in the Family Buffet Grill segment by Nations Restaurant News. They currently have approximately 490 restaurants nationwide with a mix of franchise and company units. I have eaten at a Golden Corral® and it is definitely a great place to eat and it is family friendly. It will be an alcohol free establishment.
Paul Hahn from the Municipal Services agency said, “We are seeing positive things happening in these hard economic times. The county is thrilled to see the energy and effort that will be going into the Watt Avenue stretch.” So while driving down Watt Avenue be sure to look for the new construction that will be going on.
Golden Corral® family-style restaurants have been said to offer the biggest and best buffet and grill available anywhere. Their famous buffet contains an array of food choices including hot meat options, pasta, pizza, fresh vegetables, salad bar and a selection of carved meats at dinner and on Sundays. Through the dedicated efforts of our caring and knowledgeable staff, we are able to serve our guests the highest quality foods at reasonable prices in a clean and friendly atmosphere, because “Everyone Deserves a Good Meal™.”
Go online at www.northsacnews.com to see video footage of the Regency being demolished. Look out for updates on construction, hiring and all other news on this new restaurant.