Barn transforms riverfront
By Carolyn Jung
For decades, the west bank of the Sacramento River was a watery ghost town, a former industrial area of canneries and rice mills long shuttered. It was, as West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon calls it, “the other side of the tracks, the place your mom said don’t go after dark.”
But now, droves are flocking here regularly, drawn by an architectural marvel built last summer. Known as the Barn, the striking shingled 8,000square-foot waterfront structure is all undulating curves, meant to evoke the ripples of the river.
This indoor-outdoor events venue won’t fully open until summer, when Drake’s Brewing Co. of San Leandro debuts a 125-seat full-service pizza restaurant and beer garden.
But since last spring, throngs of visitors already have come to check it out, especially on Friday nights, when Off the Grid food trucks congregate regularly. Even more people are expected to converge here when several surrounding planned housing developments are completed, the city’s farmers’ market moves here this spring, and the Center for LandBased Learning establishes an urban farm with an on-site farm stand.
“The Barn is a flag on the waterfront for what we’re trying to create here,’’ says Cabaldon, who lives a block away from it. “It’s a dynamic and inspired place that has a soul to it. It’s really captured the hearts and minds of the whole city.”
The Barn, which took about two years to complete, was designed by award-winning Dutch landscape architecture firm Melk at a cost of $6 million, which included $2.6 million from the city of West Sacramento, and the remainder from developer Fulcrum Property of Sacramento. An additional $1 million in private funds will pay for other additions, including restrooms.
John Martin, the owner of Drake’s, couldn’t be more excited to be a part of the Barn. Plans call for a small brewery on the premises, a distilled spirits bar, and an outdoor area with 10 fire pits with seating, and regular live music. The menu will be similar to that of Drake’s Dealership in Oakland, with its chef Taylor Smith overseeing it. Assorted food trucks will continue to make pit stops here, giving those who don’t want a sit-down meal more options.
“People have to have a good reason to jump in their car and come here,” Martin says. “That’s what we want to create — a lot of good reasons for them to show up and have a good time.”
The Barn: 985 Riverfront St., West Sacramento. http://barn.thebridge district.com