Entry No. 11 — the Sacramento file — filed under: art
Hawthorne's Hideout
You go looking for the door and find what one reviewer called "a mysterious door that looks like it leads to a secret gathering for the occult" beneath Stage Nine Entertainment. Descend the spiral staircase and you're in an actor-led, animatronic-populated Prohibition-and-pulp-explorer world built with Garner Holt Productions — the same shop that builds Disney's animatronics — centered on a fictional explorer named Elias Hawthorne and two totem spirits, Tika and Magma, who talk back.
The story
You'll find 102 K Street tucked into Old Sacramento, right beneath Stage Nine Entertainment. Behind a door that looks more like an entrance to an occult meeting than a neighborhood lounge, a spiral staircase drops you into a subterranean world engineered by Garner Holt Productions—the same animatronics company responsible for Disney theme park figures.
The room is built around the fictional lore of Elias Hawthorne, a Prohibition-era pulp explorer who vanished into history. Instead of quiet booths, you get custom-built mechanical totem spirits named Tika and Magma that actually speak back to guests while live actors move through the space to unfold Hawthorne's secrets over drinks.
What it's like
Do not expect to walk off the sidewalk and grab a stool at the bar; reservations are strictly required. Once you navigate down the stairs, you're seated for a structured, guided dinner-theater format where actors weave you into the story. Keep your eyes peeled between rounds of Polynesian-inspired small plates and craft cocktails, because the walls are stuffed with hidden Easter eggs and interactive set pieces.
The move: Book the guided seating (it's dinner-theater structured, not a walk-in dive) and let the actors pull you into Hawthorne's backstory over Polynesian-inspired plates and cocktails — go hunting afterward for the Easter eggs hidden around the room.
- 📍 Old Sacramento
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 102 K Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
Hours: Added 2026-07-20 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Sacramento Underground Tours (Sacramento History Museum) — Pair Hawthorne's fictional subterranean backstory with a walk through the real underground streets Sacramento raised in the 1860s right next door.
- Garden of Enchantment — Stop in across K Street before your reservation to browse occult statuary and supplies that fit right alongside Hawthorne's den.
- Shipwrecked Paradise Island — Continue the theatrical tiki storyline by heading into Midtown to explore Captain Bad Luck Bob's wrecked-ship compound.
Good to know
Do I need a reservation to enter Hawthorne's Hideout?
Yes. Reservations are required for all guests because entry is organized around structured, guided dinner-theater experiences rather than standard open bar seating.
Where is the hidden door located?
Look for the passageway beneath Stage Nine Entertainment at 102 K Street in the Old Sacramento Waterfront district.
What kind of food and drinks do they serve?
The menu features Polynesian-inspired plates alongside custom signature cocktails themed around pulp exploration and tiki culture.
Who built the animatronics inside?
The interactive animatronic figures, including the talking totem spirits Tika and Magma, were designed and built by theme park animatronics creator Garner Holt Productions.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · sacramentolivingwell.com · comstocksmag.com · Reddit
last checked: 2026-07-20