The Jacquelyn - A New Energy in the City

 Marcus Alden Meredith

Post started March 25, 2024

The Jacquelyn

A New Energy in the City

Every writer, I suspect, has his favorite place away from the home or the office where they like to work. For many years before and after my retirement began, mine has been a nice little coffee shop appropriately titled Temple Coffee in the heart of Sacramento. For those not familiar with my City, anyone who has lived in Sac will tell you that “Midtown” is the REAL heart of the City where walking is a more gentile pastime and the housing is more old style with class, the trees are wonderful to watch in all the seasons, the pace is just right for escaping the bustle of “Downtown” near the Capitol building, and the Farmer’s Markets on the weekends are delicious and delightful. The people in Midtown love walking around, visiting the shops and the markets, while plenty of people are coming from further afield on bikes and rented scooters making the vibe border on the Cosmopolitan. While classified as a medium sized city by most demographers, Sac, as it’s residents affectionately call it, is a kind of “Goldilocks” city. Yup, you got it, not too big but not too small. And if I were pushed to zero in on ‘the spot’ to call the absolute center of life in the City, it is where Temple Coffee sits at the corner of 22nd and K streets. 

For years I have seated myself on the corner looking out the shop windows in the cool winters or sitting on the mornings/early afternoons outside the shop watching the most fascinating collection of different people walking by, sitting down with their drinks and snacks, talking in a dozen different languages, coding on laptops, discussing politics, studying for med school, and generating a buzz of activity and friendships. It’s not been uncommon to see the police chief or the district attorney find a place to sit and discuss the business of the day with staff while in the presence of university students sweating over the next exam. Then one day… slowly…across from the shop on 22nd street, the old parking lot that had been there for years was torn up and construction crews began working on a foundation. What was going on? For months we listened to the bangs a rattles of tools on metal while the skeleton of a new building took shape. One floor, then two, and finally three appeared. The summer came and went. Then another. This beautiful white facade appeared on the new building. A glass box portion of the building became manifest and fascinated onlookers. Slowly over time, the proto-interior began to come into being with beautiful blue hues and gold accents. Without fanfare, one day in late autumn, a sign appeared in black letters with gold accents: JACQUELYN. Lots of ideas floated around town about who this was or what this could mean. “Is it the name of a new store?” some speculated. “It must be a new restaurant in Midtown,” was another idea. “You know, Sac has never seen a place look quite like this. It’s beautiful,” one woman commented to me on the street while walking her small dog. Jacquelyn. It instantly reminded me of our family friend Jackie from my teen years. I had good feelings about the name. “I hope it’s a cool place when it opens,” came one of my first thoughts, “I really like how it looks.” 

After several weeks, I was walking in front of The Jacquelyn again. But this time, there were photos and renderings placed in the windows of what the interior sections of the building would look like: The Glass Box, The Library, The Gallery, The Cellar, The Black Box. “How intriguing!” I thought. In the next week a sign came up: “Tours of The Jacquelyn” and a QR code to get more information. “Oh hell, I have GOT to check this place out,” I said. At home and online, I wrote to the staff about my interest in seeing The Jacquelyn and received an invitation for a tour. “Cool! This should be so fascinating.” On a bright Saturday in December the tour group gathered in The Cellar (the restaurant) and we started the tour in The Glass Box, the Bauhaus inspired members entrance. Yes… Members entrance. This was going to be a private members-only club dedicated to meeting new people, to giving a new venue and support to the art community of the City and the region, and a place dedicated to the feminine spirit. Then we got the backstory of the name. The Jacquelyn derives its name from a woman named Jacquelyn Anderson, a photographer and wife of Jim Anderson whose family had made its name in the building and lumber industry on the West Coast. As the story goes, Jacquelyn was preparing to have her first opening of her photography, when she developed cancer which quickly took her life at 68 years old. Her husband of decades was devastated and so were her friends. But, in the aftermath of the loss of Jacquelyn, her family and friends endeavored to honor her memory and her love of the arts… The Jacquelyn was born. It was to be a place imbued with the spirit of Jacquelyn Anderson. A place to honor and nurture the arts of all kinds, to bring people of many backgrounds together to develop new friendships, develop and practice wellness in food, spirit, and mind. It was also to be a place where women could feel safe and welcomed and so many aspects of The Jacquelyn follow that theme. The interior is inspired by the Paris apartment of Gertrude Stein, especially The Cellar and The Library. Maren, the CEO of the club, gave us the rundown: Jacquelyn had been her good friend and The Jacquelyn would not only have her namesake’s spirit, but due to her untimely passing, it was going to be dedicated to wellness, friendship, a place to find your center and rejuvenate your body and soul. “Blue Zones” would be the inspiration for the cuisine. There would be yoga, meditation, a micro salon, high tea, and the list goes on. You come to The Jacquelyn to feel better, to feel good, to recharge with friends, or to make new friends. I was sold….

When I got home, I immediately filled out the membership application on-line and continued to watch the growth from across the street. Slowly but surely, the staff was hired, the details began to be filled in, the restaurant was getting ready to open. The facade was being finished with dragonfly motifs. Then the ‘soft opening’ happened in March. Memberships increased. Tour after tour went forward. The word was slowly getting around Sac about this classy looking new place in Midtown with great atmosphere and fantastic fare. It is becoming apparent that a new energy has come to Sac, my City, so that even before the official opening in April, the heart of the City has a new beat to it, a new place for great and small spirits alike to find  sanctuary and inspiration. What might the founding of The Jacquelyn mean in the far future? I can’t say with certainty but if a glimpse of the future can be seen in the infancy of this place, it is very, very promising indeed.