By Sara Beth Williams–
A new cafe featuring live music opened on Friday to a crowd of customers during a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Live musical performances also followed, with a band playing oldies. The cafe is located on Greenback Lane just past Sunrise Vista Drive.
“It was amazing to experience,” Sweet Music Studio Cafe owner Evelyn Guizar said of the ribbon cutting, adding that her entire family was there with her to celebrate the occasion.
Square and round tables line the interior in two rows, along with long benches against the wall. Navy blue walls feature multiple pieces of artwork.
A large handwritten chalkboard showcases the menu, which includes sandwiches, pastries, a variety of coffee drinks, and beer and wine.
The music cafe’s opening took two years to come to fruition, Guizar said, after she acquired the space.
“This whole building has some stories,” Guizar said, adding that she and her whole family helped run her parents’ store and restaurant and that she took her kids to get their hair cut at the salon that once resided in the very space she’s now occupying.
“We had such an amazing relationship,” Guizar said of the former owner of the salon. “He still comes by,” she said.
Family and friends helped with construction, which helped offset some of the cost of remodeling. Due to a fire that damaged the inside of the building prior to her taking ownership, the interior had to be gutted and completely rebuilt, Guizar said.
The concept for a combined music studio and cafe atmosphere came to Guizar after she and her husband visited an underground jazz club in Los Angeles called The Baked Potato. Another source of inspiration was Nicholson’s, a former music cafe in Folsom, which Guizar called “a real gem.”
Guizar plans to schedule live musicians at least three to four times per week at the cafe, as well as offer one-hour time slots on Mondays for musicians or other artists who need a place to practice or jam together. Patrons can reserve timeslots online. The cafe will not be offering recording services.
To find out more information and look for updates, visit the studio cafe’s website. Company news and updates can also be found on the studio’s Instagram page.
Hours of operation for the music cafe are listed as Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sundays. The cafe will be closed to the public on Mondays.
Sweet Music Studio Cafe is located at 8040 Greenback Ln., Suite G.
