In recent weeks, several restaurants in Davis have opened, closed and even expanded. The Jamba Juice located in Davis Commons is closing and, Whole Foods will be expanding into that space.
“We are very excited to be expanding our store; we will finally be able to satisfy consumer needs for more indoor seating,” said Kristen Tantarelli, the marketing team leader of Whole Foods in Davis.
Tantarelli was excited about these expansions and stated that it will be attractive to prospective customers. Considering the fact that the Whole Foods in Davis is relatively smaller than the average Whole Foods store, it is very beneficial for the shopping center to be gaining more seats.
Contrary to what was reported in a recent Davis Enterprise article, Tantarelli said Whole Foods did not outbid Jamba Juice for the lease.
“A landlord from Fulcrum Property said the lease was available. Whole Foods was not ever sharing the lease; it was based on property,” Tantarelli said.
The general manager of Jamba Juice had a private discussion with the general manager of Whole Foods.
This December, Krush Burger, a burger joint that also operates several food trucks, will be coming to The Marketplace in North Davis near West Covell Boulevard. It will be located at the space once held by Rostini’s Italian Kitchen. The location of the original Krush Burger, is on 10th Street in Sacramento.
“We have tested the market and Davis has a good community with more families and will provide steady business,” said chief burger flipper Davin Vculek.
Vculek is optimistic about business in Davis. He said that even though Davis is a college town, the business will be able to thrive without college students. The current locations in Sacramento are in an urban, industrial location that only gets thriving business during lunch hours from workers; therefore, the restaurant hits a number of slow periods. Furthermore, because of this, they are unable to stay open for standard business hours.
The restaurant will offer 12 microbrews, which will be “satisfying to people looking to have a good time and wanting to relax.” According to Vculek, Krush Burger’s success is due to the options they offer customers — different concepts and mix-and-match options instead of one burger.
Huong Lan’s Sandwiches on 213 E St. closed down a month ago, and Judy’s Fine Grinders and Burgers will be taking its place. The restaurant’s grand opening was on Nov. 5.
There is another location of Judy’s north of Davis in Woodland, which has been open since 1997.
“We are looking to expand and open more restaurants because of our past success,” said representative of Judy’s Damon Silva.
Judy’s has won the Best of Yolo County award several times, and for four consecutive years.
In the past week since the grand opening, the restaurant has been bustling with customers during lunch and dinner hours.
“There are a lot of burgers places in Davis, but people keep on coming back to us because of our extensive menu, different sized burgers, and good service; we also have reasonably priced food, considering our quality,” Silva said.
So far, the most popular items on the menu have been the Texas Gold Cheeseburger and the Philly Cheesesteak.
Furthermore, The Melt, a casual eatery featuring grilled cheese sandwiches, soups and a variety of other items opened in the Davis Commons on the corner of First and E streets on Nov. 12.
There are several other Melt locations at Stanford, Berkeley and San Francisco.
“We are trying to inch ourselves into the Sacramento market; however, moving to Davis will be nothing new because we are already open in other college towns,” said Chief marketing officer and member of the Board of Executives of the Robert Mondavi Institute at UC Davis Paul Coletta.
Coletta said that while The Melt does not need to do business differently in separate locations, the business nonetheless tries to connect with the local community.
“We appeal to a younger audience because they appreciate the technology that we use, like our order and pay system, status boards and free Wi-Fi at every location which doesn’t require signing in,” Coletta said.
With any purchase, The Melt also gives out free fountain drinks to anyone with a valid UC Davis ID, Coletta said. The Melt served over 2,000 people on its opening day last year at Berkeley, so they are optimistic about future business.
“We are looking forward to bring grilled cheese happiness to Davis,” Coletta said.
