Quick Take
After 15 years, Betty’s Eat Inn in downtown Santa Cruz will close Sunday, with owner Laurie Negro citing declining foot traffic, fewer visitors and a challenging downtown environment as key reasons. The closure comes amid rising vacancies and struggles for other area businesses, while Negro’s Seabright location has also seen steep summer losses due to the Murray Street Bridge closure.
After 15 years, Betty’s Eat Inn in downtown Santa Cruz has flipped its last burger. The Pacific Avenue location of the local chain, which has additional restaurants in Seabright, on 41st Avenue and in Aptos, will close on Sunday.
Owner Laurie Negro announced the closure on Wednesday on the restaurant’s Instagram and Facebook pages, citing decreased customers as the main reason behind the decision. “It’s a tough call, but like many small businesses in the area, we’ve been feeling the effects of reduced foot traffic, fewer visitors, and a downtown environment that’s been harder and harder to thrive in,” the post said. Lookout could not reach Negro for additional information prior to publication.
The announcement comes at a time when the number of vacancies in the downtown corridor has drawn criticism and concern from the community. In May, Lookout counted nearly 40 empty storefronts in and around Pacific Avenue, with several long-term vacancies in large, notable spaces spanning years. Small business owners say that changing consumer habits, rising operational costs and a perceived lack of support from the city makes owning a small business in downtown Santa Cruz difficult.
On Tuesday, Negro said that her Seabright location, Betty Burgers, is also suffering from a lack of foot and vehicle traffic, due to the closure of the nearby Murray Street Bridge. Since the bridge closed to two-way traffic in June as part of a three-year seismic retrofitting construction project, she has had to decrease her employees’ hours.
“I am having a worse summer this summer than I did during the pandemic,” said Negro. “I have cut 50 hours per week [at the Seabright location] in the middle of summer. I have never done that in 20 years.” Without the support of summer income for the upcoming slower winter months, she’s worried that she might have let some employees go.
The Seabright, 41st Avenue and Aptos locations of Betty Burgers will remain open, the social media post said: “We’re beyond thankful for your support downtown over the years – and we can’t wait to serve you at our other locations.”
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