Appliance Repair in Atwater, CA

Some long-awaited restaurant arrivals are coming to the Eastside:

• Eagle Rock’s Capri Club is finally opening this Friday, after a two-year pandemic delay. Eater LA has a sneak peek of the new aperitivo bar that still has some of the venue’s 1960s Italian charm.

• Brian Dunsmoor plans to open his namesake restaurant in Glassell Park at the end of the month. Dunsmoor will blend southern cuisine with pierogies and wood-fired meats, says Eater LA.

• In the same building as Dunsmoor, Bub and Grandma bakery’s restaurant is nearing completion, Eater LA reports. “Almost done” says an Instagram post.

• Dal Milanese of Milan will open its first U.S. location in Los Feliz in September 2022 in the former home of Puran's on Hillhurst Avenue, reports What Now Los Angeles.

• Los Angeles Ale Works is expanding to Boyle Heights, overtaking Indie Brewing, reports Eater LA. What Now Los Angeles anticipates that they will open in the coming weeks.

• Glassell Park’s Bub and Grandma bakery’s restaurant is almost finished, Eater LA reports. “Almost done” says an Instagram post.

Picnic, the popup sandwich maker, will be at Hey Hey in Echo Park each Thursday from June 16 through the end of July. They will be serving up hero, baguette and other sandwiches.

Laveta in Echo Park plans to expand beyond coffee into beer and wine. The Glendale Boulevard restaurant has applied for a permit to serve beer and wine. Laveta, which opened in 2019, was hailed for its minimalist approach.

Belle’s Bagels in Highland Park is pairing up with Quarantine Pizza Co. to bring pizza and drinks to the bagel joint’s patio this Friday, June 17.

Speaking of bagels ... 1802 Roasters in Cypress Park is now also home to Saint-Raf Bagels, hand-rolled and baked on the premises.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stopped by the original Guisados in Boyle Heights last week, reports Eater LA.

Historic Filipinotown’s Genever and Thunderbolt in Echo Park landed on North America’s 50 Best Bars List by the World’s 50 Best Bars team. Thunderbolt also received a nod from the same team as the Best Bar in West USA of the year.

Pastry Chef Hannah Ziskin of Echo Park’s Quarter Sheets spoke with Taste Cooking about how she creates deserts that are full of flavor but not overly sweet. She describes them as “intellectual comfort food desserts.”

By Jaymin De la Cruz

Looking for a place to celebrate Father’s Day? From an all-day Happy Hour to mariachis and delicious menu items, here are a few Father’s Day deals for you and your dad at local neighborhood restaurants.

Atwater Village

The Village Bakery and Cafe | Father’s Day Specials: Brisket Hash topped with 2 eggs any style and choice of toast; Hot Italian Sandwich served with soup or salad; Decorated Father’s Day cookies

Boyle Heights

Eagle Rock

Max City BBQ | Father’s Day Special: Father’s Day BBQ Feast, reserve favorite foods by June 16th via email: catering@maxcitybbq.com

Echo Park

Sage Plant Based Bistro & Brewery | Father’s Day Special: A Sage Brew for every dad with the purchase of an entre on Sunday

Downtown Atwater will look a bit more festive this holiday season with the addition of a new outdoor ice rink at the corner of Fourth Street and Cedar Avenue.

The rink is a first for Atwater, and Mayor Paul Creighton said the community is buzzing about about its Nov. 1 opening day.

“It’s going to be so nice,” Creighton said. “It will make (Atwater have) more like a small town feel again, kind of like a Hallmark movie.”

Construction of the rink, which is being built with real ice, has been underway in recent weeks.

The ice rink’s inception was spurred by Old Town Atwater, a downtown-based organization that pushes for positive change through restoration and projects within the heart of Atwater. In the works since January, organization officials say the nearly completed project represents Old Town Atwater’s mission of restoring downtown.

“We’ve had people driving by (with their) thumbs up, people walking by and checking it out, people wanting to actually come in the site and see what’s going on,” said Brad Kessler, president of Old Town Atwater.

The organization’s plan to create something positive for the community this holiday season was bolstered by local support and funding, Kessler said. The Old Town Atwater Skate Center is community-funded in its entirety, with Razzari Auto Centers as the main sponsor.

Help from the community allowed Old Town Atwater to provide the city’s local students with the opportunity to skate for free. Old Town Atwater handed out free ice skating tickets to over 7,600 local kindergarten through middle school kids — about a $114,000 value, Kessler told the Sun-Star.

These Atwater students will get first rights to the ice on the morning of Nov. 1, Kessler said, before the rink opens to the rest of the public that afternoon.

“It’s been quite an undertaking but we’ve gotten a lot of community support, and businesses and individuals have come through and really helped us make this happen,” Kessler said.

Once the rink opens, ice skaters can also enjoy food, hot chocolate and “all the accoutrements of a little Norman Rockwell” town, including a possible visit from Santa Claus during Christmas time, Creighton said.

“I think Atwater has needed something like this for a long time,” Kessler said.

The rink will be open through Jan. 16. General admission is $15, including the price of renting skates. Discounts are available for members of the military and first responders plus their families.

This story was originally published October 28, 2021 5:00 AM.

It was a special season for Atwater High junior Colton Dukes.

The Falcons guard surpassed 1,000 career points and helped lead the Falcons to a second consecutive Central California Conference championship.

Dukes can add another accolade to his resume.

The conference coaches selected Dukes as the CCC Most Valuable Player.

“That’s great for him,” said Atwater coach Kanoa Smith. “He’s done so much for us. He rarely comes out of the game. He led us in points, rebounds, steals and deflections. Besides assists and taking charges, all those big things we look for, he does that.”

Dukes averaged 19.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game that helped the Falcons win a share of the CCC championship with Merced and El Capitan.

“He made it hard for me to take him out of the game,” Smith said.

Dukes says earning the respect of the other coaches in the conference is an honor.

“It means a lot to me,” Dukes said. “It means they view me as the best player in the league. It shows all the work I put in paid off.”

The Falcons had to win their final three CCC games to earn their share of the championship.

“It’s definitely something we talked about and was one of our goals since the beginning of the season,” Dukes said. “It was special last year to win our first title in forever. To win back-to-back is amazing. It shows we can be more of a basketball school. It shows we can produce winners.”

The all-CCC first team selections were Atwater’s Tyler Parr, El Capitan’s Brody Collins, Will Bain, Golden Valley’s Mateo Tangaan, Merced’s Jaylen Thao-Booth and Seth Mays-Meneley and Patterson’s Precious Nnaji.

Merced’s Adrian Sanchez was chosen as the CCC Coach of the Year.

The second team was comprised of Atwater’s Cameron Frazier, Buhach Colony’s Brock Richards, Central Valley’s Jordan Powers, El Capitan’s Edrian Figueroa and Patterson’s Kwame Appiah.

Judah Flores (BC), KJ Ross (Atwater), Gage Mastropierro (CV), Greg Mack (EC), Isaiah Taylor (GV), Roman Buendia (Merced) and Jacob Guevarra (Patterson) all received honorable mention.

The all-sportsmanship team was comprised of Parr, Richards, Yoshi Kumar (CV), Tyler Minor (EC), Braden Castleton (GV), Javis Saeteurn (Merced) and Guevarra.

The Atwater Elementary School District celebrated the first step in construction of a 50,000 square foot Transitional Kindergarten through Sixth Grade school on a 10-acre site next to Joan Faul Park in Atwater with a groundbreaking ceremony at Juniper Avenue and Bridgewater Street.

Juniper Elementary, the ninth elementary, will be the first new school in the district since 1995 and is anticipated to open its doors during the second week of August in 2023. The school, which is the result of the passage in 2018 of a $20 million bond, Measure E, will have 25 classrooms (4 for TK/Kinder and 21 for grades 1 to 6), a multi-purpose building and offices for administrators.

Those wearing hard hats and joyfully digging into the dirt with their shovels to proclaim the imminent construction were Atwater Elementary School District Superintendent Dr. Sandra Schiber, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Aaron Delworth, School Board President Jessica Reed, and Board members Larry Whitney, Scott Lee and Mary Ellen Arana.

Dr. Schiber introduced and thanked the Board of Trustees members and other local dignitaries, including two hard-working proponents of Measure E, Penny Weaver and Sylvia Nelson, and retired finance administrator Linda Levesque.

After the ceremony, Dr. Schiber told the Times the school is being built to alleviate overcrowding in the district and will pull from Shaffer, Thomas Olaeta, and Elmer Wood.

She envisions students walking to school from the neighborhood across the street.

She exclaimed, “It will primarily be a walking school. What better place to build a school than next to beautiful Joan Faul Park! Joan Faul has been such a friend who loves education and has made education her life.”

School Board President Jessica Reed, who has a son in eighth grade at Mitchell Senior and is a teacher in Delhi, spoke at the ceremony, and quoted Hazrat Khan, a Sufi teacher, as saying, “Some people look for a beautiful place, while others make a place beautiful.”

Reed exclaimed, “Our staff will make this place beautiful! The kids and staff will be happy.”

Delworth told the Times, “We approved the site in early 2019. As we were going through the bond process, the Board visited three properties we owned and others for sale, and this one felt like home.”

Describing the building schedule, he told the Times, “Mobilization on the site will begin February 21, and you will see construction trailers and heavy equipment brought in. Grading will start at the beginning of March. In July 2023, the majority of the construction will be completed, and by August 1, 2023, it will be fully done.”

The speedy construction is the result of an innovative decision.

Delworth said, “The pre-engineered buildings will be constructed off site, and they will come in pieces. The cafeteria, assembly and multi-purpose facilities will be stick built. This saves not only money but time as well, because they will do the offsite work while the onsite work is being done.”

The school district is responsible for the remaining $12 million needed for the $32 million project.

Another innovative idea being used on this project is lease-leaseback, in which the school district leases the school site to a contractor for a token amount. After the lease period, the property’s ownership reverts back to the school district.

Delworth explained that at least 50% of the sub-contractors were chosen from the local area, something the Board felt was important.

Naming the builders, Delworth told the Times, “C. T. Brayton is the general contractor, the classroom construction contractor is Meehleis Modular, and our architect firm is Teter, LLP.”

Present at the ceremony from Meehleis Modular were Pete Cullen, Von Davis, and Atwater alum Carmen Campo, and from Teter, Dustan Bagliere, Dana Stahl and Robert Dinuzzo.

With more than 80,000 lights adorning the Quintero home on the corner of Crystal Drive and Travertine Way in Atwater, it’s easy to see why the family home was recently announced as the top home in ABC’s “Great Christmas Light Fight” — yes that’s a national TV show!

The incredible display depicts a serene scene of a meadow, complete with deer, rabbits, mushrooms, a waterfall, mountains and more. An additional 35,000 lights that accent the lawn consist of hand-painted lights, with 8,500 handmade flowers that help to light up the corner.

The special display is drawing in residents from across the Central Valley, and those who are visiting the area from further away are making detours to see the home that won the $50,000 grand prize, according to Evelyn Quintero, the creative mastermind behind the display.

Quintero started her Christmas decorations around 20 years ago prior to moving to the Atwater area from Vacaville.

“I bought two deer, 20 years ago, and then two Christmas trees,” she begins.

From there, Quintero says the nature scene continued to develop complete with geese, rivers, and clouds.

Quintero says while she was excited to win the nationwide contest, it wasn’t something she ever thought would happen when she bought her home in Atwater four years ago.

She notes that her home was purchased with the decorations in mind, as she wanted to make sure she both had the room to fully decorate as well as giving those who made their way to their home the ability to comfortably view the display.

With several hundred estimated to be making their way to the now famous display of lights on a weekly basis during the holidays, that extra room is being put to good use as residents make their way along the sidewalk to take in the majestic sight.

For those who would like to see the home, they can do so once it gets dark up until 10 p.m. With so much to view, many residents are then getting a more detailed view by getting out on foot after finding an area to park. If your planning on making a trip out to see the lights, make sure to check the weather, as the lights will not be on display in the event of rain.