In Placerville: new Crossings at El Dorado shopping center and Walmart remodel

 Hi everyone, this is Hayden LePore and I am here for another much needed update on the business scene in Placerville. 

The new Crossings at El Dorado shopping center has finally opened. It opened in 2025 with Boot Barn, Five Below, Ulta Beauty, and Petco. But this is the first time I have written about it being open. I have visited all three stores and it is really cool to have these stores in Placerville because I and I believe the community has been waiting a long time to see this shopping center get built with these stores. Michaels had apparently planned to come, but apparently backed out according to the leasing plan, for unknown reasons. And Chick fil A is planned according to the leasing plan. Hopefully more new stores will come to this center to improve the city's lineup of retail. Some businesses I would like to see are a Hobby Lobby or a Michaels, a Chili's, MOD Pizza, a Planet Fitness, Best Buy and HomeGoods to name a few. These are some of my ideas.

Walmart is getting its third remodel, which is crazy because I remember when it received its first remodel in 2011 and its second remodel in 2017 both of which don't seem like they were that long ago. Interesting how fast time flies. I remember waiting for Sonic Generations to come out and getting excited for that game when I was getting excited about the 2011 Walmart remodel. The Walmart in Placerville opened in 2003, and since I was born in 2001, it seems like a long time ago because some of my earliest childhood memories have involved visiting that Walmart and I sometimes have a hard time believing it was built that recent. I was somewhat hoping they would expand the Walmart into a Supercenter and am a little disappointed they didn't, which I hoped they would do in the 2011 remodel. But I think it is better for the community to support small businesses, so a Walmart Supercenter may or may not be good for the community in that regard. 

I hope you enjoyed my short brief on new businesses in the area. Thank you for reading and God bless!!

New business openings in Cameron Park in 2025

I hope you are having a great Christmas season this year. This is Hayden LePore. Cameron Park has welcomed two new businesses over the past year I think you would want to hear about. 

Habit Burger Grill. It is located where KFC used to operate at in the Bel Air Goldorado Shopping Center. The address is 3959 Cameron Park Drive. I have eaten there a few times over the past year. Mainly with my friend who enjoys eating there that I have become good friends over the past few months. I enjoy their chicken sandwich with the fries. It is a pleasant addition to the fast-casual restaurant scene in Cameron Park.

Quick Quack Car Wash. It is located across the street from ARCO and Churchill's Hardware at 2525 Cameo Drive. Quick Quack offers fast lines with a three-minute Express Wash, which cleans with a Soft-Touch Wash and Triple-Foam Wash, a 3-Step Paint Sealant Process, Tire Shine and Wheel Bright, a Cermaic Duck Coating, and Free Vacuums + Dash Wipes. They started in 2004 as an idea and a desire by a few business partners to wake up every morning feeling that their efforts were changing lives for the better. Fast forward to 2025 where they are headquartered in Roseville, California and now owns and operates more than 300 locations across Arizona, California, Colorado, Texas, and Utah. 

Into the North Bookstore, which opened 7 months ago in May of 2025, which specializes in Books, Nature, Adventure, Art, and Gifts, and R Squared Bakery and Cafe which specializes in baked goods, coffee, and canned goods (jams, dill pickles) opened on December 9th, 2025 in the Burke's Junction shopping center.

Also of note, the Sinclair Gas Station in Cameron Park has changed owners and is now Grand Gasoline. And there is a new grocery store coming soon called Cornerstone Grocery Market at the location of where Team Cycle was originially located at 2555 Greenwood Lane. 

Thank you for reading my blogpost and God bless!!

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.                                                John 3:16

UC Davis and its arboterum

 Hi everyone, I'm back. And I am here to talk about my visit to Davis last week with my friends. We walked around the campus of UC Davis and learned that they have a beautiful area that is their Arboretum, which is along the original path of Putah Creek, which is actually now a pond called the Arboretum Waterway since the creek is now diverted south of town (1). It is a 100-plus acre amenity comprised of demonstration gardens and scientific collections - The Putah Creek Riparian Reserve - managed for teaching, research, habitat, and wildlife protection (2). Along the pond they have many beautiful plants and trees along the path. Redwood trees, gum trees, oak trees, for example.

Other things we did that day were eating at the Burgers and Brew restaurant with my friends eating their delicious pastrami burger with fries (3). And walking the town in its downtown area which is very fun to visit with stores such as Bizzaro World, which is a fun store with comic books, retro board games and video games, CDs, and a full DVD/VHS rental/buying section, an operating 80s/90s/2000s time machine and a fun treat in the 2020s.(4) We visited the store Creme de la Creme gifts which is a cute shop with gifts for the home, for her, and for the baby, as the shop proudly claims (5). It was a very fun day walking around a beautiful town lined with trees along the streets, a beautiful university campus, a fun downtown to visit, and a beautiful parkway with plants and trees. I hope you had fun learning about Davis and I hope you can visit Davis sometime if you have the chance!! Thank you for reading!!

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.                                                John 3:16

More information:

(1) University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources: https://ucanr.edu/blog/under-solano-sun/article/uc-davis-arboretum-waterway

(2) UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden: https://arboretum.ucdavis.edu/visit

(3) Burgers and Brew: https://www.burgersnbrew.com/

(4) Bizarro World: http://www.bizarroworld.net/

(5) Creme de la Creme Gifts: https://cremedelacremedavis.com/

In Folsom: Out with Walgreens, in with a fun trampoline park

 

There's a new kids fun and trampoline park in Folsom. It is located in an unusual location for a trampoline park, in a former Walgreens location, which is at 1100 Riley Street right near Walmart and Kohl's and Lembi Park. The park is called Altitude Trampoline Park(1), which is part of a chain of around 60 and counting locations and is their first in the Sacramento region and one of two locations in Northern California, the other one being in San Jose. They offer their customers a basketball trampoline dunk court, a battle beam foam pit, a dodgeball court, trampolines, a kid's PlayPlace, similar to, but larger than the McDonald's and Burger King PlayPlaces(2) and a toddler kid's play area. Since this location is a bit small compared to the typical trampoline park, the offerings may be more limited than other Altitude parks and it may be good to check if they have these attractions before you visit. It is a cool addition to the city for kids and it helps compensate for the recent loss of the amazing McDonald's on Iron Point Road which recently closed and removed its PlayPlace shortly before it closed(3). If you are a customer of Walgreens and found the title upsetting, Walgreens still operates in Folsom at East Bidwell St near Home Depot. Anyways, Please give this place a try, if you have kids or grandkids that are wanting to play on trampolines and an indoor PlayPlace, and to keep business local in the area. 

Thank you for reading my blogpost and please let me know what you think of the park if you visit.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.                                                John 3:16

(1) Altitude Trampoline Park's website: https://www.altitudetrampolinepark.com/

(2) My PlayPlace article: https://haydenbusinessblog.blogspot.com/2024/01/i-like-that-old-time-fast-food.html

(3) McDonald's PlayPlace in Folsom closes: https://haydenbusinessblog.blogspot.com/2024/05/

In The Beginning There Was Coffee And It Was Good

 Hi everyone, since it is shortly after Christmas and I just wrote a blogpost about a new coffee shop in Shingle Springs, what if I told you that there is a new coffee roaster in Shingle Springs also. It is called Genesis Coffee Roasters and it is located at 4261 Sunset Lane near the Delta Bedding Store. It is owned by Alex Parker, the main boss and roaster, and her husband Kyle, who brews the coffee. Alex started the business in April of 2022 in her garage using a 1 kilo coffee roaster, which is now called Uno in the shop, as a fun hobby Alex hadn't done before and wanted to try it out. When the business outgrew the original roaster machine and the garage, they decided to open their own shop in town in September of 2024 and buy a second coffee roaster, a 15 kilo Mill City roaster. They currently vendor to 20 shops around- 10 of them are regular coffee shops, including to the Wisegals Coffee Shop I just wrote about, and 10 of them are places like the government. 

Most of their business is conducted online through people ordering on their website. But, along with their coffee roasting shop that is open on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9:30am to 1pm, they have a pop-up shop they operate once a month where people can visit and shop from 9:30am to 3pm. 

I visited this shop with my Tailor Day Services worker, where I actually met Alex and saw the coffee shop personally and how the roastery operates. I love their slogan and their name, which is based off of the book of the Bible, Genesis, and since I have been involved partly in the creation ministry, I think any business that use names and themes from the Bible is really cool and I like their slogan, which takes the themes of the book of Genesis and how the day starts with a cup of coffee in the morning, with the slogan In the Beginning There Was Coffee and It Was Good. I really enjoyed visiting this shop and if you have the opportunity to visit this shop, please let me know how you enjoyed it. And please support them or consider them when you are out in the community looking for coffee beans for your drink. 

Here's their website for more information: https://gencoffeeroasters.com/

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.                                                         Genesis 1:31

Thank You for reading my post!!

Getting coffee at the train depot

There’s a new coffee shop that has just opened at the Shingle Springs Depot. It is called Wisegal Coffee and it is run by two ladies, Rachel Bezdek and Brylee Lance. Their motto is bad jokes and good coffee, which is what these girls both enjoy and is partly why they started operating this coffee shop. I recently visited with my family, my dad had a mocha with oatmilk, and mom and I got a gingerbread vanilla latte with oatmilk. And they were really delicious!! The reason why this coffee shop is special to me is that I have known Rachel and her family from a church that I have attended and my grandparents attend. I think it is cool that Rachel is running her own coffee shop with a friend in a really cool location, in the depot of the El Dorado Railroad. They are located at 4241 Mother Lode Drive in Shingle Springs, CA. They are open Mondays and Wednesdays to Fridays from 6am to 1pm and Saturdays and Sundays from 7am to 2pm. They are closed on Tuesdays. They have a website with more information about the business: https://wisegalcoffee.com/

I hope you enjoyed reading my blogpost and God bless!!

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.                                                John 3:16