This year, Historic Folsom's biggest business news comes from shops that were already here. Ruby's Books bought a building across Sutter Street. Fat Elephant Records, Books & Music is adding a second store at Folsom Premium Outlets and keeping its first one near Sutter Street. A salon's operators bought a building in the Historic District. In each case a small local business is putting more money into the district it started in.
This fall's restaurant changes around Folsom are landing at Palladio, Natoma Station and Blue Ravine Road. Sutter Street's calendar runs from now through the first week of December, and it sits on top of a district whose shopkeepers are signing up for the long term.
A Bookstore That Plans to More Than Double
Ruby's Books opened in 2020 at 724 Sutter St. in a space of about 2,000 square feet. According to Folsom Times, owner Stacy Gould bought the former Fire and Rain Gallery property at 705 Sutter St., next to the historic Folsom Hotel. Folsom Times, citing real estate records reported by the Sacramento Business Journal, said the building sold in April for $1.67 million.
The plan turns that building into a two-story store of more than 6,000 square feet. About 4,500 square feet of it would be retail, more than double the floor space shoppers browse at 724 Sutter today. Gould described the project to the Sacramento Business Journal, as Folsom Times reported:
"We purchased the building at 705 Sutter Street in April. We are working with a great team of architects and contractors to expand the building by adding an additional 2000 square feet upstairs. we are very excited that we will more than double our store size."
The detail that matters most to families is the children's department. The plan calls for a dedicated area for young readers that could be roughly as big as the entire current store.
Nothing changes this fall, though. The move is tentatively aimed at 2027, possibly summer or later. It still depends on city review, historic-district approvals and construction. Until then, Ruby's stays at 724 Sutter.
Fat Elephant Is Adding a Store and Keeping Its First One
Fat Elephant Records, Books & Music has grown the same way, by adding space while staying put. The shop opened in Historic Folsom at 303 Riley Street, according to local coverage from August 2025. Owner Charles Lago told The Sacramento Bee that he first ran the business in Rancho Cordova and moved it to the Historic District. He said business "exploded" in 2025 and that he started booking live music.
The second store is at Folsom Premium Outlets. The Bee reported an Oct. 16 opening, and Fat Elephant's own website lists the outlets store with the line "Open Oct 1!" The two sources don't agree on whether the store is open yet, so call the shop before making a trip. The Historic Folsom store is still listed with hours of 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day, and the phone number is 916.790.8144.
The outlets store is built differently from the Riley Street one, according to the Bee:
- Inventory: mostly pre-owned records and CDs with a focus on vintage albums, plus some new releases
- The Beat connection: leftover stock from The Beat, the independent record store that closed in 2013 after 30 years
- Pricing: vinyl at $3 to $10 depending on rarity, which Lago tied to the outlet center's prices
- Hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday
- Live music: four performances planned for November
The November show dates haven't been posted yet. The shop's events page currently lists events on Oct. 20 and Oct. 23.
At the same outlet center, Game Getaway is closing after 13 years. Its owner, Ron Petersen, announced the closure months after the shop moved to Suite 212 at the outlets in February, the Bee reported. The Bee's story did not give a final day of business.
A Third Owner Who Bought a Building
The Sacramento Business Journal reported in late September that Salon Bravissimo's operators bought a building in the Historic District and opened a new branch there. The part of the story available without a subscription doesn't give the street address.
That makes three businesses this year: a bookstore, a record shop and a salon. Two of them bought their buildings outright, and the third added a location without leaving the first. For people who live in Folsom, this means the familiar storefronts on and around Sutter Street are more likely to stay where they are, because some of their owners now own the buildings too.
Where the Restaurant Turnover Is Happening
If you've noticed restaurant names changing around Folsom, those changes are mostly at the city's shopping centers. Here is where each one stands as of mid-October 2026:
| Location | Change | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Palladio | Journey to the Dumpling replaces Red Robin, which closed Jan. 25 | Owner targets late 2026 |
| Natoma Station, 400 Iron Point Road | Estelle Bakery & Pâtisserie moves into the former Mariachi Mexican Bar & Grill | Expected in October, no date set |
| 25005 Blue Ravine Road, Suite 140 | Folsom Tap House closed after a 12-year run | Closed July 9, no replacement announced |
| Alder Creek Parkway and East Bidwell Street | Alder Creek Marketplace with Safeway, Chipotle, Jersey Mike's, Paris Baguette and others | First openings forecast for the first half of 2027 |
ABC10 reported that Red Robin's exit was part of Palladio management's plan to refresh the center's restaurant lineup. General manager Gloria Wright said dumplings were "a niche we don't offer here at Palladio." The Elk Grove-based restaurant's third location will be its largest at more than 5,000 square feet. It will have a full bar and some menu items found only at this location. The late-2026 opening is the owner's estimate, and no specific date has been announced.
At Natoma Station, Folsom Times reported that Estelle Bakery & Pâtisserie, which Esther Son founded in 2011, expected to open this month but hadn't announced a date. On Blue Ravine Road, Folsom Times reported that Folsom Tap House served its last night on July 9. No new tenant has been announced. In Folsom Ranch, Folsom Times listed Alder Creek Marketplace's announced tenants in April and forecast the first openings for the first half of 2027.
All four are national brands, regional chains or new centers. None of the year's changes on Sutter Street look like that.
The Sutter Street Calendar, Week by Week
The businesses described above are the backdrop for the season's events. Here is what's scheduled between now and the first week of December, according to Historic Folsom and the City of Folsom.
Every Saturday: The Historic Folsom Farmers Market runs 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 915 Sutter St. Remaining fall dates are Oct. 17, 24 and 31 and Nov. 7, 14, 21 and 28.
Saturday, Oct. 17: Spirits, Brews & Bites runs 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. in Historic Folsom. Witches on the Lake is the same day from 4 to 7 p.m. at Black Miners Bar.
Saturday, Oct. 24: FestiFall trick-or-treating runs 2 to 5 p.m. on Sutter Street, with a children's costume contest at the Zittel Family Amphitheater. Cynthia's Dance Center gives a free Mary Poppins performance at the amphitheater from 3:30 to 4 p.m. A Very Spooky Circus follows on the same stage, with doors at 5:30 p.m. and the show at 6.
Sunday, Nov. 1: A Sherlock Holmes holiday fundraiser runs 6 to 8 p.m. at the Zittel Family Amphitheater.
Saturday, Nov. 7: The Historic Folsom Ice Rink opens for its 2026/27 season, which runs through Jan. 18. Opening-day hours are 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 11: The city's Veterans Day Parade starts at 9 a.m. It begins on East Bidwell Street and ends at the Community Center, away from Sutter Street.
Saturday, Nov. 28: Small Business Saturday runs all day on the 600 through 900 blocks of Sutter Street. Ruby's current store at 724 and its future home at 705 are both on that stretch.
Friday, Dec. 4: The Christmas Tree Lighting runs 6 to 9 p.m. at the Ice Rink Plaza and along Sutter Street.
Sunday, Dec. 6: The Christmas Arts & Crafts Fair runs 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the 600 through 900 blocks.
When a bookstore owner buys a building on Sutter Street, it can make you wonder what other buildings in the district are worth, your own house a few blocks away included. If you'd like a straightforward, local answer, Danny Tejeda can put together an evidence-based number for your Folsom home. Get your free home valuation and see how your street compares.
