Business Journal: Davis Styrofoam Ban, Iceland, Burger Patch

Restaurants in Davis will soon have to stop using Styrofoam boxes and use recyclable or compostable products instead. The Sacramento Business Journal's Digital Editor Sonya Sorich says the Davis City Council this week approved a ban on containers made out of polystyrene.

"These are basically the cheap foam food containers used for to-go orders," says Sorich. "The ban is due to the fact that the containers are difficult to recycle. Polystyrene takes several years to biodegrade and it can break into little pieces that fish and other animals mistake for food."

The ban takes effect on Sept. 1. Restaurants that don't comply could be fined $100 for the first offense. Davis is the first city in the Sacramento area to ban the containers, but about 100 California cities and counties have passed bans to cut down on waste that can't be recycled or decomposed. The Davis City Council also decided that restaurants can only give people straws upon request.

Iceland - the historic ice-skating rink on Sacramento's Del Paso Boulevard - may be getting a roof soon. The group running the 77-year-old rink plans to re-build the roof that was destroyed by a fire in 2010. It would allow the rink to be open year-round. Right now it can only operate during cold winter months. Sorich says the project may help bring new energy to a stretch of Del Paso Boulevard that's been overlooked in the past.

"Now it looks like interest and investment are returning," says Sorich. "There are a variety of other notable projects in the works in that area including a former roller rink that's being turned into a live music venue and music studios."

The new interest in Del Paso Boulevard is attributed to economics. Real estate along the stretch is affordable compared with spaces in downtown Sacramento.

A fast-food restaurant coming to midtown Sacramento will serve things like bacon cheeseburgers and chicken tenders made entirely with meat substitutes...and no beef, chicken or pork products. Sonya Sorich says the restaurant is called Burger Patch.

"It comes from Phillip Horn who also works for the Sacramento Kings but this project is not associated with the basketball team," says Sorich. "Horn and his wife have been working on this concept for years. And actually they practice what they preach. Personally, they've been avoiding animal products for about a decade."

The restaurant will hold a preview on May 13 in a temporary site at 1801 L Street with proceeds donated to the Food Literacy Center. Horn is still looking for a permanent location which he hopes to open by the end of the year.