The Placer Wine Trail welcomed Smokin’ Barrel Winery to 3700 Wise Road in Lincoln. Known for their relaxed outdoor country ambiance and unique range of varietals—from complex reds to well-balanced whites—they’re open weekends from noon-5 p.m. For more info, follow them on Instagram @smokinbarrelwinery.

Savor handcrafted, preservative-free chocolate and bonbons at Choco de Bon (chocodebon.com) in Roseville. The online-based business uses high-quality ingredients to create luxurious-looking treats with fillings like pistachio, hazelnut, peanut, and caramel.

Diamond Tier Fitness (diamondtierfitness.com)—a premier studio that offers one-on-one and small-group classes (including bodybuilding and CrossFit) via varying membership packages, in addition to customized nutrition programs and an app that allows members to take their trainer anywhere—opened at 501 Vernon Street in Roseville.

A new pastry shop is coming to 1490 Eureka Road, Suite 170, in Roseville. Pastry Nouveau—owned by Julian Perrigo-Jimenez of Julian's Pâtisserie and Café (julianscafe.com) in Folsom—will serve coffee and scratch-made, French-inspired breakfast pastries.

A made-to-order, all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant with over 200 choices, It’s Sushi, is slated to open soon at 5030 Foothills Boulevard in Roseville. The eatery is owned by Fukumi Restaurant Group (fukumirestaurantgroup.com)—a locally based business that also operates Fukumi Ramen (locations in Roseville and Citrus Heights) and Fukumi Chaya in Folsom.

Downtown Roseville is welcoming a new speakeasy and steakhouse to 229 Vernon Street. Daniellos—owned by Michael McDermott of The Place—will operate as a penny candy store from its façade, but behind a large refrigerator door feature a speakeasy-style bar serving unique cocktails and tapas. Upstairs, a tasting-menu-style steakhouse with one seating per night (by reservation only) is planned.

Order from Folsom-based Something Sweet (somethingsweetdough.com) and receive frozen, ready-to-bake brown butter chocolate chip cookie dough with semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips. Pick-up and delivery are available with nationwide shipping beginning this month. Started by the Cook family after their dad unexpectedly passed away, the cookies are meant to honor him and his legacy.

Mode Brewing (modebrewing.com)—a kid- and dog-friendly neighborhood brewery with a 2,000-square-foot patio, “the getaway,” that’s shaded by oak trees and features picnic tables, a game area, and koi pond—opened at 9110 Greenback Lane in Orangevale. What's more, their in-house food truck, Pasta a la Mode, makes handmade pasta, paninis, and pizza with a globally inspired twist.

Locally owned Palette Cakes (palettecakes.com) is opening a retail bakery this spring at 7901 Fair Oaks Boulevard, Suite C, in Carmichael. Owner Kellie Velasquez plans to serve treats like individual tarts, cream puffs, cookies, cakes, and more, in addition to expanding her pre-ordering department to offer more custom cakes and desserts for holidays, birthdays, weddings, and other special occasions. 

Placer County-based coffee-shop-on-wheels, Dino Coffee Bar, serves the community fresh-brewed java and specialty espresso drinks at various events. The recently refurbished 6’x10’ cargo trailer is a unique place for community, creativity, and—of course—coffee! For more info, follow them on Instagram @dinocoffeebar.

Rocklin has a new nail spa at 5424 Crossings Drive, Suite 103. Lumi Spa specializes in rejuvenating services—including manicures, pedicures, gels, and waxing—using eco-friendly, non-toxic products. For more info, follow them on Instagram @lumi_spa_rocklin.

Expect “expertly crafted foot treatments, fragrant regional products, and a beautifully designed interior featuring comfortable leather chairs, dark woods, tin ceilings, low lighting, and old-fashioned saloon doors” at Aquazona Pedicure Parlor & Mercantile (aquazonapedicure.com). Sited in Historic Folsom at 705 Gold Lake Drive, the business is scheduled to open this spring.

Red Hot Chilli Pepper (rhcpfolsom.com), a multicultural fusion restaurant founded by chefs from India’s renowned Taj Hotels, opened at 2791 East Bidwell Street, Suite 100, in Folsom. Their eclectic menu reflects the finest in Indo-Chinese cuisine (specialties include chilli chicken, dry cauliflower manchurian, and hakka noodles) alongside innovative cocktails like their lychee martini and spiced buddha margarita.

Folsom Lake College (flc.losrios.edu) broke ground on a nearly $65 million, 75,000-square-foot building that will house the community college's science programs and include a 4,000-square-foot science center, six chemistry labs, and six biology labs. Construction is expected to be complete in November 2024.

Charm Photography (edhportraits.com), owned by Charlene Lane—who has been capturing professional images of families, children, and weddings, along with taking business portraits since 1988—relocated her brick-and-mortar, Charm Studio Loft, to 4364 Town Center Boulevard, Suite 215, in the El Dorado Hills Town Center. Along with her new location, which has triple the space as the existing locale, comes new offerings and video production services.  

Congrats to Placerville and Folsom for making MSN’s list of the “Best, Most Lively Northern California Main Streets.” Winners were chosen based on walkability, access to restaurants, cafés, shopping, and historic buildings. Placerville took the top spot, and Folsom came in seventh.

Folsom residents and business owners whose properties have a history of flooding are encouraged to avail of complimentary sandbags and materials at the city's two self-serve stations: next to Fire Station 36 (9700 Oak Avenue Parkway) and behind the Folsom City Hall (50 Natoma Street). For more info, visit folsom.ca.us/sandbags.

Congrats to this year’s Folsom Focus Photography Contest first-place winners—Donna Ruiz, Dayla Esrock, David Telfer, and Lynn Meyer-Mountjoy—and “Best of Show” winner, Lynn Sakai. Selections were judged based on visual appeal, pictorial composition, originality, and consistency with the contest category theme. Peruse the winning pictures and all the submissions through January 10 at the Gallery at 48 Natoma.

Those affected by cancer are invited to join reiki masters Alison Clement and Jennifer Fiterre on January 6 at Cameron Park’s Marshall Cancer Resource Center (3581 Palmer Drive, Suite 400) for Tranquil Journeys—a complimentary class where attendees explore self-help stress-reduction methods, such as acupressure, energy healing, guided imagery, poetry, mantras, and Tibetan singing bowls. To register, call 530-672-7050.

The city of Roseville was named 18th among the “Top Boomtowns in America” in a recent study by SmartAsset. The financial technology company analyzed data for 494 of the largest cities across topics measuring growth of the population, income, GDP, businesses, housing, and changes in unemployment.