Business is booming again at Red Rabbit Kitchen and Bar in downtown Sacramento, but the new year has somewhat stumbled for its staff. The culprit: Saturday’s strong storm. The one that rampaged through Northern California on New Year’s Eve. In the early evening, the crew could not wait for the night ahead. Their celebration had just begun, and guests who had made reservations — braved the weather outside — to be warmly welcomed inside. “We were so ready for the day,” Red Rabbit server Macey Howeson said. “It was great. The vibes here are great. Everyone was really pumped, everyone was in a great mood.” But then came a holiday party of epic proportions. A major power outage hit downtown. “All the lights were out. The kitchen stopped working. It was pretty wild,” Howeson said. “It was pitch black here … the whole block was blacked out. In fact, several blocks were blacked out.”Just down J Street, Harlow’s nightclub had a line out the door that night. “We haven’t had a New Year’s the last two years, so we were really looking forward to this one,” said Harlow’s owner and operator, Jim Cornett. “Now we’re down to three.” The club was preparing to host a New Year’s Eve party for the first time since the pandemic shut down parties. “We brought in balloons. We spent $1,200 on balloons, rented glassware and bought a lot of champagne,” Cornett explained. “About 15 minutes to the ‘door,’ exactly, we’re out of power.” For both locations, after surviving years of COVID-era setbacks, they’re quickly bearing the brunt of the outage. “There’s been speed bumps all over the whole time, so it’s just another bump in the road for us ,” He said. “We’re not that upset about it.” They are grateful, again, for the understanding of customers. “People were definitely angry, but people were also really cool,” Howeson said. “I think the mood was good that night.” And they’re not letting this blackout set the stage for the coming year — they hope. “The year just ended with a bang,” Howeson said. “I think we had to get the worst out of the way until something better came along.” Electricity was out for several days in several locations in the city center. The storm also knocked out their phone and internet service, which was not restored until Thursday. In all, Harlow’s said he lost a week’s worth of business. Red Rabbit staff told KCRA 3 they are out $35,000 due to the termination.
Business is booming again at Red Rabbit Kitchen and Bar in downtown Sacramento, but the new year has somehow slipped away for its staff.
The culprit: Saturday’s heavy storm. The one that ravaged Northern California on New Year’s Eve.
Early in the evening, the crew could not wait for the coming night. Their celebration was just getting underway, and guests who had made reservations — braving the weather outside — were to be warmly welcomed inside.
“We were so ready for the day,” Red Rabbit server Macey Howeson said. “It was great. The vibes here are wonderful. Everyone was very pumped, everyone was in a great mood.”
But then came a holiday party of epic proportions. A major power outage hit the center of the city.
“All the lights were off. The kitchen stopped working. It was pretty wild,” Howeson said. “It was pitch black here… the whole block was blacked out. In fact, several blocks were blacked out.”
A little down J Street, Harlow’s nightclub had a line out the door that night.
“We haven’t had New Year’s the last two years, so we were really looking forward to this one,” said Harlow’s owner and operator, Jim Cornett. “We’re about three now.”
The club was preparing to host New Year’s Eve for the first time since the pandemic shut down parties.
“We brought balloons. We spent $1,200 on balloons, rented glassware and bought a lot of champagne,” Cornett explained. “Exactly about 15 minutes to the ‘door’, our power went out.”
Both locations, after surviving years of COVID-era obstacles, are slowly taking the brunt of the outage.
“There’s been speed bumps the whole time, so it’s just another bump in the road for us,” he said. “We’re not that upset about it.”
Again, they are grateful for the understanding of customers.
“People were definitely blown away, but people were also really cool,” Howeson said. “I think the mood was good that night.”
And they’re not letting this blackout set the stage for the coming year– they hope.
“It just ended the year with a bang,” Howeson said. “I think we had to get the worst out of the way until something better came along.”
There was no electricity in the city center for several days. The storm also knocked out their phone and internet service, which was not restored until Thursday.
In all, Harlow’s said he lost a week’s worth of business.
Red Rabbit staff told KCRA 3 they were out $35,000 due to the malfunction.