Honoring the Legacy of Randy Paragary
September 14th, 2026
Lighting the Way for Midtown’s Hospitality Scene
Walk through Midtown today and it is easy to experience the kind of neighborhood Randy Paragary spent decades helping to create. One where restaurants spill energy onto the sidewalk, neighbors gather over a meal or happy hour and visitors discover a place they have never tried before, maybe even deciding to stay the night nearby. Long before Midtown became the dining, nightlife and cultural destination it is today, Randy saw this potential.
For more than five decades, the Sacramento restaurateur, entrepreneur and community leader helped shape not only where people gathered, but how they experienced the city. His influence can be found throughout Sacramento’s hospitality industry and especially in Midtown, where his investments, ideas and commitment to creating memorable places helped transform the neighborhood.
Now, a new project called Paragary Pathway will illuminate a path through the neighborhood Randy helped shape while honoring the legacy he left behind.
A Legacy Built Around Bringing People Together
Randy’s career in hospitality began in 1969 with the opening of the ParaPow Palace Saloon. What followed was a career spanning more than 50 years and numerous restaurants, bars and gathering places that helped move Sacramento’s dining scene forward. Along the way, Randy introduced ideas that were new to the city, from wood-fired pizza and restaurant gardens to an early emphasis on fresh, locally sourced ingredients.
But Randy’s influence extended well beyond the places that carried his name.
His restaurants became training grounds for generations of Sacramento hospitality professionals. He mentored people who would go on to open businesses of their own, helping create a network of chefs, restaurateurs and industry leaders whose influence continues throughout the region.
Randy also believed deeply in Midtown itself. He was a founding member of Midtown Association and invested in neighborhoods including Midtown Sutter and R Street, helping bring new energy to areas of Sacramento that had yet to become the destinations they are today.
That ability to see what a place could become is part of what made his impact so lasting and ever-evolving. Beyond restaurants, Randy’s vision for hospitality extended into the opening of a six-story, 105-room hotel, the Fort Sutter Hotel, in 2021. Perfectly situated in the Midtown Sutter district he helped form, The Fort Sutter Hotel is steps away from Cafe Bernardo, Paragary’s and Centro Cocina Mexicana, three staples from the Paragary Restaurant Group.
A Path Through the Place He Helped Shape
After Randy passed away in 2021, the idea for Paragary Pathway was announced at his funeral, with family and friends contributing to help support a lighting project that would honor his legacy and lasting influence. The location of the project has a very significant meaning.
Paragary Pathway follows 28th Street and a portion of 29th Street between J and O streets in the Midtown Sutter district, along the path Randy traveled to and from work and through an area where he helped build lasting projects. The project will use ambient LED lighting in trees to create a more welcoming environment, with commemorative plaques planned near Paragary’s, the Fort Sutter Hotel and Centro Cocina Mexicana.
Installation is set to begin at the end of 2026 and is expected to be completed by the end of Q1 2027.
The project is both a tribute and an investment in the future of the neighborhood. Midtown Association has pursued Paragary Pathway as a way to honor Randy’s extraordinary contributions while improving visibility and creating a welcoming public amenity for the people who live, work and spend time in Midtown Sutter.
In that way, the project reflects much of what defined Randy’s relationship with Midtown: investing in a place, imagining what it could become and creating an environment that invites people to be part of it.
Help Carry the Legacy Forward
Bringing Paragary Pathway to life has been a community effort, supported by public and private partners, organizations and individuals who believe in the project and the legacy it represents. There are a number of ways that you can support and be recognized for your contributions:
Adopt a Tree Program
Community members and local businesses have an opportunity to become part of the pathway through the Adopt a Tree Program, which offers levels of support starting at $1K through plaque recognition near an illuminated tree of their choosing within the project area.
Learn more about the Adopt a Tree Program here.
Illuminate: A Paragary Pathway Benefit
October 22 | 5–7 p.m. | Paragary’s (1401 28th Street) | $250 per guest
Join an intimate evening of food, drinks and entertainment in celebration of Randy’s lasting influence on Midtown and the community he helped shape. Hosted on the patio at Paragary’s, the gathering will offer an opportunity to reconnect, learn about the progress of Paragary Pathway and help bring this tribute to life, with all proceeds directly supporting the project’s installation.
The patio’s olive trees will be wrapped in ambient lighting to offer a glimpse of the experience envisioned for Paragary Pathway. Throughout the evening, guests will hear from Stacy Paragary and Midtown Association about the inspiration behind the project, its progress and opportunities to support its completion, including through the Adopt-a-Tree program.
Learn more and purchase a ticket here
Paragary Pathway: Merry & Bright
December 2 | 5–7 p.m. | Café Bernardo (2730 Capitol Avenue) | $65 per guest
Celebrate the holiday season in Midtown with a festive evening at Café Bernardo as part of Midtown Association’s annual 12 Days of Midtown. Guests are invited to enjoy light bites, beer and wine, holiday décor, and a festive atmosphere while discovering the story behind Paragary Pathway and the legacy that inspired it.
Designed as a welcoming introduction for longtime supporters and those learning about the project for the first time, the evening will bring together the spirit of the holidays and the sense of community Randy Paragary helped cultivate throughout Midtown. Guests will also receive a festive Lightbulb Sipper takeaway featuring a signature cocktail, a playful connection to the lighting project taking shape in the Midtown Sutter District.
Proceeds from the event will support Paragary Pathway and help bring the project to life.
Learn more and purchase a ticket here
When Paragary Pathway is complete, the lights will mark more than a route through Midtown Sutter. They will help tell the story of someone who spent decades believing in Sacramento, investing in Midtown and creating places where people could come together. It is a fitting way to remember Randy Paragary: by illuminating a path through the neighborhood he helped shape and carrying his influence forward for those who will experience Midtown next.