Come In for a Hairdo and a Brew

John Sedar is a master builder of custom homes and a general contractor with a specific set of high-demand skills. Sedar, 77, started building homes in 1976 and was renting office space from

Serrano developer Bill Parker when the two met. It was an encounter that ultimately launched a decadeslong partnership. The Parker Development Company (PDC) team was initially drawn to Sedar because he was an experienced home builder who shared their vision to bring new home communities to life in the Sacramento area. So, they hired Sedar to put together the

“A” team and, for the next decade, he and his team helped build hundreds of homes throughout the

Greenhaven, Riverlake, The Parkway and Serrano development projects (known as the Destinations series). Having Sedar on the PDC team also helped them earn numerous awards not only at the local level, but at the state level as well. Having Sedar on the Serrano team was an easy decision, Parker says. “John is a problem solver and always does things that are above and beyond,” he says. “He’s a quality guy who does quality work.” When PDC stopped building new home communities, Sedar turned his love of building toward build to-suit custom homes in Serrano and elsewhere. Sedar has constructed numerous custom homes in

Serrano, including what is generally regarded as one of the top 10 finest homes, not only in Serrano but in the Sacramento region—the French-and Italianinspired estate located on Greenview Drive in El

Dorado Hills. The home combines the best of French and Italian design elements on two acres. The main home is 9,560 square feet with an adjacent pavilion. There are four-bedroom suites, each with a separate bathroom on a little more than two acres. In total, the home has five bedrooms and five-and-a-half bathrooms.

The home, named Balancia, sold earlier in 2021 for $4.3 million. It is now valued at $4.82 million. Dick Bregard is Balancia’s first owner. Bregard is a retired senior executive with Aerojet (now Aerojet Rocketdyne) as the company was merging with

Rocketdyne in 2013. He already owned a home in

Serrano, but when he retired after the merger, he decided to stay in Serrano, but he wanted to design and build a house just the way he wanted. “When consulting with the architect, (Kevin

O’Brien), John Sedar’s name kept coming up, and he soon went to the top of the list,” Bregard says.

“I looked at some of his work around Serrano and elsewhere without him knowing it, and when we met him, we knew he was the one to build it.”

With a long career in aerospace engineering, Bregard is very familiar with one-offs, exact specifications and the extreme level of detail and craftsmanship required to pull the plan off. Launching the plan was hard work for all parties involved, he says, but there was only one formal change notice.

“John was on the site every day, and he runs one of the best work sites I’ve ever seen,” says Bregard, who downsized three years ago to a Serrano condo a couple of blocks away. “It was clean, had plenty of erosion control, safety plans and managed entry and exit points. Just incredible.”

Sedar says he doesn’t swing a hammer anymore, but he stays actively involved in his custom projects. He lives in Gold River with his wife of 53 years, Karen, and stays focused on one home at a time now, rather than dozens. He says he doesn’t want to retire, but he just wants to avoid being over-committed.

He’s survived the roller coaster of the housing and building markets for the better part of six decades by staying true to the designs, his clients and his own exacting standards. Quality withstands upheaval, market swings be darned.

“We’ve had our Ruth Chris days, and we’ve had our McDonald’s days,” he says. “But I’ve always been fortunate to work with great people.”

His imprint is on more than 425 homes developed by the Parker Development Company, but the stunning home on Greenview Drive remains his favorite.

“No one walked away after we finished that project,” Sedar says, “without puffing out their chests.”

“John keeps threatening to retire, but his love of the profession and the public’s demand for his expertise keeps him doing ‘just one more home,’”says Jim Parker, Parker Development Company Vice President. “We’re hoping he’ll continue to work his magic in Serrano just a little while longer.”

Balancia

by MARK BILLINGSLEY portrait by CHARM PHOTOGRAPHY/CHARLENE LANE

come in for a hairdo

by BILL ROMANELLI photography by CHARM PHOTOGRAPHY/ CHARLENE LANE

&a brew

A hair salon connected to a taproom. A salon and a saloon. It’s a concept that its owner, Stacy Moenig, agrees sounds crazy when you first hear it.

“When you walk in, it all makes sense,” Moenig says. “Taprooms and salons both get tons of foot traffic, each one will benefit the other. It can be a fun, welcoming experience for men, women and couples to enjoy together. I’m really excited to get our doors open!”

Nectar at the Villa

The vision is a 1,700- Stacy and Chris Moenig, owners of Nectar at the Villa Salon square-foot taproom with TVs and a large outdoor patio, serving up to 20 different Moenig and her husband, Chris, conceived the idea one day beers, lagers and ciders from local while they were sitting in another taproom and thinking they breweries, all available could do it so much better. They’d always dreamed of owning a right next to a full salon with saloon when Chris retired from his job with the state someday, 11 styling stations, four but then decided that retirement was a time to relax, so why not salon suites, a hot tub open the taproom now. and—possibly in the The vision is a 1,700-square-foot taproom with TVs and a large future—a sauna. outdoor patio, serving up to 20 different beers, lagers and ciders from local breweries, all available right next to a full salon with 11 styling stations, four salon suites, a hot tub and—possibly in the future—a sauna. For her part, Moenig has owned and operated salons in and around El Dorado Hills for years, most recently Twisted Scissors, where she will continue as a partner. The Nectar at the Villa Salon opened in July and is already thriving. The taproom was supposed to open in September, but it was held up by permitting and supply chain delays. “Our hope is the taproom will be open in time for March madness,” Moenig says. “Our