I didn't grow up in Sacramento, but I did grow up in an area with Farrell's and went as a kid. I have a generally favorable memory of the place, but I don't have intense feelings like many Sacramentans seem to have about the place.

First the news, by Janelle Bitker in the Sac Bee.

But Farrell's is returning to Sacramento. The new location's grand opening [was] Thursday at 11 a.m. near the busy intersection of Watt Avenue and Arden Way...

The new Farrell's is the first in Northern California - with the exception of shops that previously closed - and will feature the classic American fare, ice cream concoctions, parties and old-time candy the chain is known for. Same decor and employees in pin-striped vests who can sing 22 birthday songs, too.

Read the story in the Sac Bee.

And here's Rob Turner of Sactown Mag's ode to his childhood favorite.

Those of us who celebrated birthdays there (like my newly minted six-year-old self, captured above in a state of unabashed sugary bliss in 1973) remember well its red velvet walls, endless glass jars of colorful candies, patriotic bunting and Victorian splendor that must have seemed terribly square to the groovy, disco-loving teens and adults of the day. But if it was out of step with the times, we preteens were immune to its cultural anachronisms and embraced each and every moment (and bite) of this wonderfully manufactured nostalgia. It was, in fact, as close as we could get to Disneyland’s Main Street without leaving Howe Avenue.

But most of all, we remember the outsized drama of the presentation of the fabled “Farrell’s Zoo.” Suddenly, an alarm would sound and two skimmer-hat-wearing servers would burst forth into the room, running one in front of the other, balancing between them long wooden poles in each hand that supported a tray holding aloft what surely must have been the world’s largest ice cream sundae. (Picture two ancient Israelites—or Indiana Jones and his trusty sidekick Sallah—carrying the Ark of the Covenant and you’ll have some sense of the majesty involved here.)

Read the entire post in Sactown Mag.

And if that's not enough for you, watch stories about the return of Farrell's on CBS 13 (on the banana split song) and KCRA.

More News:

Sacramento bartenders put their best glass forward during Midtown Cocktail Week - Sacramento-area bartenders are an inventive bunch, and they take advantage of the week to showcase their mixological prowess...Midtown Cocktail Week turns 6 this year and organizers predict the 2013 festival will be well attended. They expect to see some traffic from the Bay Area, where June’s San Francisco Cocktail Week was canceled because of scheduling conflicts and problems with the state’s department of Alcohol Beverage Control. Benjamin Mullin in the Sac Bee.

Hot Italian chef rolls out his own line of pizza dough - If you, like us, love Hot Italian pizza, then you’ll soon have one more item to add to your grocery list. That’s because Hot Italian’s energetic chef and co-owner Fabrizio Cercatore is embarking on a retail venture to create a line of pre-made pizza dough, crust mix and frozen pizzas, all coming soon to a grocer near you. Toni Masucci Cummins in Sactown Mag.