The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill (thegreatgreekgrill.com), an elevated fast-casual eatery that serves modern interpretations of traditional Mediterranean favorites (gyros, souvlaki plates, homemade dips, customizable Greek salads or rice bowls with your choice of protein, made-to-order feta fries, baklava ice cream, and more), opened in Roseville at 2010 Blue Oaks Boulevard, Suite 140.

Family-owned pizzeria, Formaggio Pizza Express (formaggiopizza.com), is opening a second location (the first is at the El Dorado Hills Town Center) at 3377 Bass Lake Road, Suite 110. Known for their homemade pizza sauce, dough, ranch dressing, and more, the eatery serves stromboli, toasted sandwiches, calzones, wings, fries, desserts, salads, and pizza, with ample vegan and gluten-free options.

Ben’s Barketplace (bensbarketplace.com)—a local business whose mission is to educate pet owners about how to enhance and maintain their pet’s health and well-being through high-quality food and products—is opening their seventh location this month at 1950 Douglas Boulevard, Suite 6B, in Roseville. Along with in-store shopping, the outpost will offer curbside pickup and local delivery (minimum $50 purchase; free within a five-mile radius) and a state-of-the-art, self-service dog wash machine.

Language-immersion childcare center, L’Academy (lacademyschools.com), is opening a location in Folsom (1815 Prairie City Road; projected to open next month) and Roseville (13 Sierra Gate Plaza; scheduled to open in December). The programs (infant, toddler, and preschool) take on a holistic approach to teaching a second language (Mandarin and Spanish) through meaningful, play-based activities with a curriculum focused on showing children pathways to becoming confident, creative, expressive, and compassionate citizens.

Sunright Tea Studio (snrtea.com)—whose tagline is “sunny vibes and drinks made right”—opened at 1001 East Bidwell Street, Suite 102, in Folsom. The company is driven by a deep passion for the art of tea and committed to quality, authenticity, and sustainability. Stop by to sip everything from delicate white teas to bold black teas, soothing herbal blends, and enticing flavored teas—with fun, high-quality add-ins like boba, Oreos, pudding, sea-salt cheese foam, crème brûlée, and more.

2BGlass (2bglass.com)—an Orangevale-based brand beloved for their sharp, functional works of art that provide creativity and legacy to the homes they reside in—is opening their first retail location in Cameron Park (4191 Business Drive, Suites D, E, & F) this fall. In addition to “live” glass blowing demonstrations, the space will offer in-person shopping, events, classes, and more.

Tasty Taco Box (tastytacobox.com)—a local business beloved for their freshly made, creative tacos (birria, mexquite-smoked tri-tip, coconut shrimp, and more) with an existing location in Cameron Park—expanded into Pleasant Valley. Find the mobile trailer (in the coming months they’re building a full-service location) on the left side of Holiday Market near the corner of Mount Aukum Road and Sly Park Road.

Alpine Climbing Adventure Fitness (climbatalpine.com) is opening a facility at 1730 Freedom Way in Roseville. Once complete, the 30,872-square-foot building is expected to include an open gym, 60.5-foot-tall climbing wall, bouldering area, kids’ climbing zone, fitness classes (yoga, Pilates, HIIT, strength & conditioning), and more.

Rancho Cordova-based VSP Vision opened the region’s first optical retail store, Visionworks (visionworks.com) at 825 East Bidwell Street, Suite 100, in Folsom. The storefront brings health care expertise backed with a network of optometrists, technicians, and retail associates ready to fulfill vision prescription needs (glasses, sunglasses, and contact lenses). Four additional locations, including one in Roseville (1208 Galleria Boulevard, Suite 160), are scheduled to open in the next few months.

Persimmon (persimmon.life), an on-demand medical aesthetics provider that offers personalized self-care from the comfort of client’s homes—has expanded to the Sacramento region. The company offers an array of elevated aesthetic treatments, including Botox, Xeomin, SkinPen microneedling, rejuvenating chemical peels, PRP hair restoration treatments, and more; additionally, clients can host in-home Botox parties and other group events.

Award-winning senior housing operator Watermark Retirement Communities (watermarkcommunities.com) is now managing Sonrisa Senior Living, Roseville’s leading senior community with more than 200 independent living accommodations. Watermark has also begun leasing for Sonrisa Assisted Living and Memory Care, which will open this fall and create one campus with three levels of care for seniors.

Women Veterans Giving (womenveteransgiving.org)—a nonprofit committed to narrowing the gap between civilian and military relations, finding fulfillment in the professional world, encouraging a sense of belonging, and much more—presented their Beyond the Call of Duty Awards (an homage to the unwavering dedication of Sgt. Nicole Gee, an Oakmont High School graduate who selflessly served and was killed in the evacuation efforts at the Kabul Airport) to deserving military women Breona Calvert and Marge Waggoner. The awards were presented at the organization’s Summer Soirée, an annual event held as a tribute and testament to the power of unity, purpose, and indomitable spirit of service.

The Monk's Cellar (monkscellar.com)—a Roseville-based restaurant and brewery that strives to produce true-to-style, well-balanced beers, whether they’re hop forward, barrel aged, soured, lagered, malty, or stout—triumphed against more than 200 breweries to win “Brewery of the Year” at the Commercial Craft Brew Competition. The brewery took home three gold medals for their Belgium-style witbier (“Biere Blanche”), classic saison (“Mates in Belgium”), and specialty saison (“Cellmates”), and one silver medal for their dark European lager (“May the Schwarz Bier with You”). To read the complete list of results, visit castatefair.brewcompetition.com.

Congrats to Roseville-based business Choco de Bon (chocodebon.com) whose handcrafted, preservative-free, luxurious-looking chocolates and bonbons are now available at The Chocolate Market (flysfo.com/content/chocolate-market) inside Terminal G of San Francisco International Airport.

Register for “Beginning Italian (Italiano Uno) with Anna Maria,” an in-person session at Folsom’s Murer House from September 14-November 2. Classes are from 6:30-8 p.m. every Thursday and are geared toward people with little or no knowledge of Italian. To register and for more info, visit murerhousefoundation.org/language-classes.

Witness the wonder of the holiday season at Santa’s Enchanted Workshop (santasenchantedworkshop.com)—a magical one-hour experience in Rescue where children find their name on Santa's nice list, enjoy milk and cookies, play with snow, work with Santa in his workshop, add an ornament to his tree, and tell him what they want for Christmas. Sessions begin October 7 and come inclusive of hand-finished Santa portraits created by fine artists Scot and Sharon Benton and a personalized storybook album. To book “the most enchanted experience,” call 530-677-5369.