A Pacific Northwest Mexican restaurant chain has picked Redding as its first California location.

Muchas Gracias is expected to open in the former Arby’s building in the Raley’s shopping center on Lake Boulevard within in the next two months.

Evelyn Torres, the company’s chief financial officer, recently told me that Redding’s location makes it a natural gateway into California for the company, whose Oregon locations include Medford, Grants Pass and Roseburg.

“We felt we wanted to be in the California market and we felt the smartest move was to go from there and jump into Redding,” Torres said.

My Place Hotels also picked Redding for its first California location for some of the same reasons.

Muchas Gracias will move into a building that had been vacant since Arby’s closed in late 2019. The building had become an eyesore and in recent months a fence went up around it.

Fred Katz, principal of building owner Katz Kirkpatrick Properties, said it’s a relief to get the building leased out. The company had continued to collect rent from Arby’s through Dec. 31, 2023.

“We talked about different potential uses for that space and once the rent stopped, we had to make a decision and we decided on Muchas Gracias,” Katz said.

Established more than 20 years ago, Muchas Gracias has 16 locations in Oregon and nine in Washington. Torres, who works with all the franchise owners, told me the company wants to open its first Nevada location in Las Vegas.

The franchisee for Redding, Ana Cortez, also owns locations in Medford, Grants Pass and Winston, Oregon. Torres said Cortez is one of the company’s oldest franchise owners. “She has been a franchise (owner) since the inception of Muchas Gracias,” Torres said.

Torres, who works with all the franchise owners, told me the company envisions opening a second location in Redding.

In Redding, Muchas Gracias will join a competitive Mexican food market. There is already a Mexican restaurant in the Raley’s center, Raliberto’s Taco Shop, and Julianita’s Mexican Food recently opened in Shasta Lake. Google “Mexican restaurants in Redding” and more than 30 brick-and-mortar locations and food trucks pop up.

Torres said they welcome the competition.

“We have never had a franchise (owner) fail at any of our locations; we have never defaulted on any lease,” she said. “We also do everything fresh. If you order a chicken burrito, the chicken is fried on our grill” after the order is placed.

Grand openings are an event for Muchas Gracias. Torres said she attends each grand opening, which are serenaded by a live mariachi band.

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“We do 50% off on all our meals. It is a big, big day,” she said.

Green energy project near Cottonwood?

Supervisor Chris Kelstrom, whose district includes the Anderson-Cottonwood area, has teased in recent board meetings that a big project is in the works in southern Shasta County.

After the most recent supervisors’ meeting, I asked Kelstrom for an update. Kelstrom told me he recently spoke to the company. “And I asked them if they are ready to go public and they still aren’t,” he said.

Kelstrom said he would like to identify the company, but at this point he cannot. “I would like them to come here and do a presentation,” he added.

He did tell me that it’s a green energy project involving forest management.

A cogeneration plant that produces electricity? Kelstrom is confident that it will happen.

“They got the funding and it’s green energy and so that mitigates a lot of nearby complaints, so to speak. It’s kind of a win-win for everyone involved. It’s jobs, it’s green energy, actually even forest management. Everything is positive about it,” he said.

County Resource Management Director Paul Hellman told me that his office has not received any paperwork for the project, which would include building plans.

“When a prospective applicant discusses a proposal with County staff prior to submitting an application, we do not disclose the content of such discussions; I can tell you that County staff has not had any discussions with any prospective applicant regarding such a project,” Hellman wrote in an email.

Stay tuned.

Once Upon A Child grand opening

This is a big weekend for Redding’s newest children’s clothes, toys and accessory store, Once Upon A Child.

After two months of stocking its shelves — with the help of local residents bringing in used items such as clothes, shoes, furniture, highchairs and books and selling them to the store — owners Emily and Andrew Marr are welcoming customers.

Once Upon A Child is next to Sherwin Williams Paints in Village Plaza on Athens Avenue.

The festivities started Thursday and run through Sunday.

Gift card raffles, a balloon artist and double rewards points for all purchases Sunday are part of grand opening weekend. The festivities begin at 9:30 a.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday.

The Marrs were living in Toronto when they discovered Once Upon A Child. They had just had twins and were looking for an affordable kids’ retail store. They moved to the North State in 2022 and discovered there was not a Once Upon A Child store in Redding.

Once Upon A Child has some 400 locations across the country. The closest store to Redding is in Chico at the North Valley Plaza on East Avenue.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Once Upon A Child is owned by the Winmark Corporation, a franchisor of sustainable resale brands.

And to keep those store shelves stocked, the Marrs are still paying cash for “gently used items.”

A big thank you for celebrating 20 years

I’ll leave you this weekend with a big shout out to those who attended the May 9 “Buzz on the Street” 20th celebration in the IOOF Hall downtown.

A lot of good questions came up. Damon Arthur and I did our best to give you the answers.

Like I told the audience, Damon and I started at the Record Searchlight when the Cascade Theatre was a multi-plex movie house and there was still a roof over downtown. A lot has changed in Redding and in the industry we work in.

Damon and I have a combined 60-plus years of experience at the paper and we feel that institutional wisdom is important.

We might not have the staff we did when we started, but we continue to work hard to bring readers local news.

So, thank you for reading.

David Benda covers business, development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly “Buzz on the Street” column. He’s part of a team of dedicated reporters that investigate wrongdoing, cover breaking news and tell other stories about your community. Reach him on X, formerly Twitter @DavidBenda_RS or by phone at 530-338-8323. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: The Buzz: Pacific Northwest Mexican food chain expanding to California