CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - A new multi-purpose banquet hall is planned to open in the Citrus Town Shopping Center in Citrus Heights.

Application permits have been filed by owner Sam Hameed with the City of Citrus Heights and are pending approval to open at 7942 Arcadia Drive just across from the Mitchell Village residential subdivision.

The 6,000-square foot brick façade building, which features a prominent round glass-block turret, was built in 1975 and formerly operated as The Sand Bar, a bar and nightclub featuring live music and entertainment before its closure years ago.

Hameed said he’s signed a lease agreement to occupy the building, and he hopes to begin interior demolition and new construction soon.

The building’s general interior is largely gutted inside. Hameed said he’s early in the city’s permit review process and is still finalizing interior architectural designs. He visualizes the new banquet hall filling an important need in the greater Citrus Heights community.

“I’m hoping to make the hall available and affordable for a wide range of celebratory personal and public events, including business gatherings and corporate functions,” Hameed said.

Hameed said he’s been in the banquet hall business for the past 11 years and has been involved in the operations of his uncle’s Fleur de Lis Banquet Hall in Modesto where he helped him turn his venue there into one of the most successful ones in Stanislaus County.

With his family’s help and support, and seeking to build on their ongoing success, Hameed said he looks forward to going out on his own with his new banquet hall in Citrus Heights.

Once open, Hameed said he hopes to host multiple events at the banquet hall each month with a typical capacity per event of 200 guests. Most events would likely end by 10 to 11 pm. The planned facility has a parking capacity of 100 spaces under a shared parking agreement with Citrus Town Shopping Center, Hameed said.

The general branding and marketing of the banquet hall remain on his mind as he sees the new banquet hall in the Citrus Town Center an important facility where all can “celebrate special occasions and make lasting memories.”