Lodi Rubio’s to offer seafood treats

The newly constructed Rubio’s Coastal Grill in Lodi is scheduled to open its doors to the public on Thursday, Aug. 16.

On opening day the new restaurant, located in Sunwest Village at 1515 S. Lower Sacramento Road, will donate 50 percent of its sales that day to Ellerth E. Larso Elementary School. Guests purchasing an entree will have the opportunity to win free Rubio’s for one year and three winners will be selected.

Established in 1983, Rubio’s is known for its fish tacos, hand-dipped in Rubio’s signature beer batter. Rubio’s also serves tacos with grilled shrimp, mahi-mahi and salmon and other seafood along with a variety of burritos, bowls and salads. The restaurant boasts responsibly-sourced seafood, all-natural chicken raised without antibiotics and all-natural steak.

“It’s a chain that I think is going to do very well in town.” Lodi City Planner Craig Hoffman said. “It’s a new establishment that Lodi doesn’t have, so with what we’ve seen down at the Reynolds Ranch shopping center and the Walmart shopping center, we are seeing new businesses that Lodi has never seen before, and I think that’s good for the community.”

Also expected to open in August is Sprout’s Farmers Market, which specializes in natural and organic foods at affordable prices.

The grand opening for the store is set for Aug. 22 and Hoffman said the store has received its temporary certificate of occupancy and is currently starting to stock items.

“That’s going to be very exciting, and I think people are going to be very excited to see that business opening up,” Hoffman said.

In addition to commercial retail, Lodi is also seeing new residential development.

A new apartment complex in Reynolds Ranch is nearing completion and people are gradually moving in. At least six buildings have been finalized and one more will get its certificate of occupancy next week, Hoffman said.

The Revel Senior Apartments project, also located in Reynolds Ranch, is moving along and Hoffman is anticipating that seniors can start to move in either December or January.

According to Hoffman, the city just got the building plans in for Fairfield Inn and Suites that will also be built in Reynolds Ranch.

“It’s always exciting once you’ve approved a project through the planning entitlement process to see the project actually come in, and we get the building plans. That’s a big milestone,” Hoffman said.

He anticipates that construction will begin on Fairfield Inn sometime in October or November.

“2018 ended up being a very busy year,” Hoffman said. “We’re seeing a lot of new development, a lot of growth.”