Appetizers

Big changes are coming next week for Noradino Salas, operator of Oscar's Very Mexican Food at 3061 Freeport Blvd., in Sacramento.

The Freeport site will close after the last meal is served on Sunday. Two days later, the process of tearing down the building and starting on a new one begins.

Salas said he hopes to reopen the new building in four to six months, depending on how weather affects construction.

Next Wednesday, Salas will open a new Oscar's Very Mexican Food site at 1350 Harbor Blvd. in West Sacramento. Nearly a dozen employees who work at the Freeport site will simply move to the Harbor Boulevard restaurant.

By midyear 2013, Salas said he will be overseeing two eateries.

Grand opening ceremonies will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday for a new McDonald's restaurant constructed with environmentally friendly features at 8300 Elk Grove Florin Road in Sacramento.

About 80 have been hired to staff the restaurant.

Restaurant features include light-emitting diode lighting to save on electricity usage and an energy-monitoring system to control heating/ventilation/air conditioning units, lighting, freezers and fans.

The restaurant also recycles all of its cardboard products and oil.

By Mark Glover
mglover@sacbee.com

Sacramento's Rubicon Brewing Co. will turn 25 on Friday, and the brewery is celebrating with special festivities all this week.

On Friday, Rubicon will release a special-edition, single-malt, single-hop India Pale Ale. Rubicon is at at 2004 Capitol Ave.

"We have planned this week of parties and fun to thank our loyal customers that have supported us during the last 25 years," said Rubicon owner Glynn Phillips.

See more details at www.rubiconbrewing.com.

Call The Bee's Mark Glover, (916) 321-1184.

Sacramento-based Jack's Urban Eats, the "California-style cafeteria" chain, will open its new restaurant Monday in the Fountains at Roseville shopping complex.

The new Jack's, the eighth locally, has 2,800 square feet of space and will feature year-round patio dining.

Owners said the menu will be consistent with other Jack's locations, but there may be some local or seasonal variations.

Jack's has another Roseville restaurant on Sierra College Boulevard and also operates in Sacramento, Gold River and Folsom. It also has a restaurant at the Sacramento International Airport.

Fountains at Roseville is owned by Peter P. Bollinger Investment Co. and managed by its Inter-Cal Real Estate Corp. affiliate.

PHOTO: Cashier Katie McBrien works the lunch rush at Jack's Urban Eats on 20th Street in Sacramento. The Sacramento Bee 2005 file photo.

Chili's restaurant at 3199 Zinfandel Drive in Rancho Cordova is hosting events through Sept. 27 to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the Memphis-based center for treatment of pediatric cancer and other catastrophic childhood illnesses.

The events include: "Tip a Cop," with 10 Rancho Cordova law enforcement officers waiting tables and accepting donations from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday; a "Plant a Seed for St. Jude" donation program from 4 to 6 p.m. Sept. 22; and "Donate Profits Day" on Sept. 24, when 100 percent of restaurant net profits will be donated to the St. Jude hospital.

General donations also can be made by restaurant customers participating in the "color a pepper" campaign.

The Benihana restaurant in Citrus Heights is hosting a class designed to help entrants learn the art of making sushi and pairing it with sake.

The class, called "Sushi + Sake 101," will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Sept. 18 at 5489 Sunrise Blvd.

Under the guidance of a Benihana sushi chef, attendees will be taught skills to create popular sushi rolls and learn which styles of sake pair best with different types of sushi. They will also learn serving etiquette.

The operators of Zocalo, a popular upscale Mexican restaurant in midtown Sacramento, will open a new Zocalo next Monday, Aug. 20, in the Fountains at Roseville shopping complex.

The new Roseville Zocalo is co-owned by Jimmy Johnson, Ernesto Jiminez and Scott Kim. The general manager is Noe Hernandez. Johnson and Jiminez also own and operate Mas Cocina Mexicana in Roseville.

The 4,500-square-foot Roseville eatery will seat about 120 people inside and 60 on the patio and within an enclosed waiting space that will double as a lounge.

Designer and architect Ernesto Cruz has imported authentic furnishings from Mexico, including bar stools, tables and 7-foot, hand-carved columns. A full bar is included.