Most people know the Crest Theatre from the marquee on K Street. Fewer know there’s a full cocktail bar running underneath it. Empress Tavern has been operating in the basement of the historic Crest Theatre building at 1013 K Street in downtown Sacramento, and it’s the kind of place that rewards the locals who find it over the people who scroll past it.
A Bar Built Around Film Culture
Empress Tavern is operated by Alchemist CDC, the same nonprofit that runs the Crest Theatre above it. The connection isn’t cosmetic: the bar is designed as a pre-show and post-show gathering spot for Crest screenings, and its cocktail and food menus rotate around whatever’s playing upstairs. Film-themed drinks, named specials tied to current screenings, and a vibe that leans more neighborhood bar than tourist attraction make it feel deliberate rather than incidental.
The cocktail program is built around creativity with accessible execution—drinks that have names and ideas behind them without requiring a lecture to order. Bar snacks (tacos, sliders, poutine) round out the food side, and the kitchen rotates through pop-ups from entrepreneurs connected to the Alchemist Kitchen Incubator, a culinary accelerator that uses the space to give early-stage food businesses a real venue to operate in. On any given Thursday or Friday, the kitchen might be running a different concept than it was the week before.
Happy Hour, Industry Night, and Trivia
Happy hour runs from 4 to 6pm and again at 10 to 11pm, which is the late-night window for people catching an evening screening upstairs. The structure is deliberately built around the Crest’s schedule: show up before the film, get a drink, go upstairs; or come back after and settle in.
Industry Night happens every third Monday: anyone who works in the hospitality industry gets a free film with the Crest, and the kitchen and bar stay open to serve them. Trivia runs on a regular schedule as well, though the night and time have shifted over the past year—check their social media before making the trip specifically for trivia.
Empress Tavern also sells cocktails upstairs at the Crest bar during screenings, so if you’re there for a film, Empress cocktails aren’t exclusive to the basement.
Who Runs This Place
Alchemist CDC is a Sacramento-based nonprofit focused on entrepreneurship and community development. The Empress Tavern project serves double duty: it functions as a real bar and event venue, and it also provides hands-on hospitality training through a partnership with Juma Ventures, which offers paid career pathways for young people entering the industry. When you order a drink at Empress, there’s a good chance the person making it is working through a formal job training program.
That context doesn’t change the experience of going—the cocktails are real, the space is real, and the happy hour deals are real—but it does give the place a different kind of weight than a standard bar. The revenue stays in Sacramento and supports something specific.
Planning Your Visit
Empress Tavern is open Thursday through Saturday starting at 4pm, and also on select Crest show nights for walk-in service. Hours have shifted as the bar has evolved, so confirm current hours on their social media or by phone before making a special trip. If you’re already heading to a Crest screening, the bar is right there—just go downstairs.
Reservations for private events and buyouts are available through the website. For large groups or specific event inquiries, email is the best channel.
The Details
- Address: 1013 K Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 (ground floor entrance; Empress Tavern is below the Crest Theatre)
- Hours: Thursday–Saturday from 4pm; also open on select Crest show nights — confirm current schedule at their social media (@empresstavern) or by phone
- Phone: (916) 662-7694
- Reservations: Walk-ins welcome; private event inquiries through empresstavern.com
- Happy Hour: 4–6pm and 10–11pm on open nights
- Industry Night: Every third Monday — free film for hospitality industry workers
- Parking: Street parking on K Street and surrounding blocks; multiple downtown garages nearby
Bottom Line
Empress Tavern is what you get when a Sacramento nonprofit decides to run a real bar on purpose. The film-themed cocktails and rotating kitchen pop-ups mean the menu is never exactly the same twice, the happy hour structure is built around the Crest’s schedule rather than arbitrary convention, and the whole operation is quietly doing something in the community beyond just serving drinks. For a downtown Sacramento bar with a reason to exist beyond real estate, Empress Tavern is worth the trip downstairs.
