The music stage of the Studio Music Café and rehearsal space features a grand piano. Photo by Thomas J. Sullivan

CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - Let there be sweet songs to fill the air. 

Sweet Music Studio Cafe, a new family-owned music venue at 8040 Greenback Lane in Citrus Heights will celebrate its grand opening on Friday, Jan. 23 with a morning ribbon cutting ceremony sponsored by the Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce.

“It’s a long-time dream of mine, and it’s now about to come true,” said co-owner Evelyn Guizar, providing a pre-opening walk through.

The months of hard work in transforming a once vacant, fire-damaged commercial interior space into something fresh and welcoming are now done.

Just days before the public grand opening, Guizar provided a tour of the 1,600-square-foot Sweet Music Studio Café, its front windows still masked by construction paper.

Guizar visualizes the Sweet Music Studio Café to soon be a place for everyone to come together and create social cohesion through art, music and culture. She also looks forward to featuring local artists and musicians ready to take the stage.

Once open, the Sweet Music Studio Café, situated in a small commercial plaza on Greenback Lane just before Fair Oaks Boulevard, will serve as both a live musical performance venue and a casual eatery, offering customers desserts, coffee and artisan beer and wine. Photo by Thomas J. Sullivan

“I’m hoping that local musicians in the surrounding area will come to call the Sweet Music Studio Café their favorite and a very special place to play,” Guizar said.

Guizar will oversee daily operations while her husband, Javier, a sound engineer who will be behind the controls managing the live audio once the café is open to customers.

The café performance stage is up front, just to the right of the entrance, where a black grand piano, speakers and a drum kit are set up from a previous rehearsal.

Their son, Daniel, a member of a local band, Tastes Like TV Static, will serve as musical director for the café, she said.

The Sweet Music Studio Café which will offer small bites, desserts, local coffee, artisanal beer and wine, has a capacity of 82 people and will be closed on Mondays where it can be utilized by local musicians, including her son, either as a dedicated rehearsal space, or for private rental.

Across the main counter where patrons will order beer, wine, coffee or tea, there’s a cozy nook with a small sofa and plush chairs, which Guizar describes as one of her favorite spots in the café.

“We’re starting with a staff of eight, including our head barista,” Guizar said. Coffee and tea will be sourced by The Mill Coffee Roasting & Tea Studio of Sacramento. Guizar said she was also finalizing her choice of a local pastry provider before the upcoming Friday opening date.

Once open, the Sweet Music Studio Café, situated in a small commercial plaza on Greenback Lane just before Fair Oaks Boulevard, will serve as both a live musical performance venue and a casual eatery, offering customers desserts, coffee and artisan beer and wine, Guizar said. Tentative business hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday.

The drum kit of her son Daniel, a member of a local band, Tastes Like TV Static, will serve as musical director for the café sits ready to play. Photo by Thomas J. Sullivan

The plaza is home to Matthews Mattress and Clearance Center, Valencia’s Meat Carniceria – Taqueria which her parents own, and the nearby Royal International Market and Restaurant.

Inside the café, insulated high black interior walls with an open industrial-style ceiling give the café a spacious feel. Contemporary vertical lighting fixtures spaced along the walls leading to a combination bar and barista station, give the café a sleek modern design.

“We’re still in the process of putting up artwork throughout the café before the grand opening,” Guizar said. “We’re also looking to have a muralist paint some of the interior as well.”

Guizar fondly recalls growing up in Citrus Heights, graduating from Bella Vista High School and working in her family’s taqueria just doors down from where the café will open.

Marriage and building a family might have slowed her dream of opening a music café from becoming a reality for a time, Guizar said.

“I’ve been thinking about doing this for 10 to 15 years,” Guizar said. “It’s finally here.”

Guizar has worked full time as a clerk in the Placer County Recorder’s Office. Yet having both a husband who is a sound engineer and a talented son in a band who outgrew his family’s home rehearsal space made Guizar realize it wasn’t too late for her own dream to come true, trading administrative work for the day-to-day operations of the café.

“Our family is excited to create something very special within these four walls,” Guizar said, picturing a thriving music scene soon taking root at the café where an appreciative audience makes all performers, artists and musicians feel welcome.

Guizar anticipates offering live musical performances such as solo instrumentalists, jazz artists, flamenco artists and spoken-word performances. Besides food and music, the space might also offer music lessons and workshops.

The Sweet Music Studio Café at 8040 Greenback Lane in Citrus Heights will be open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Closed on Mondays. For more information about upcoming live music or to book rehearsal time, email [email protected].