Bocci’s Cellar is for sale: Santa Cruz’s ‘oldest restaurant’ listed for $1.199 million

For almost a century, the restaurant and home at 140 Encinal St. in Santa Cruz was the site for a good meal, live music and a game of bocci. Now, Bocci’s Cellar, billed as “Santa Cruz’s oldest restaurant” by its owners, is for sale for the first time in almost 40 years. 

An elegant Victorian home in shades of blue towers above the entrance to the restaurant, located down the driveway to the right. The original owners, the Urbani family, lifted their family home and built the restaurant underneath in 1933, and it became a gathering place for the local Italian community for several decades. 

Current owners Larry and Gloria Behman purchased the building in 1985 and ran the restaurant until 1993. Since then, several business owners have kept the restaurant and bar running. Six years ago, new owners purchased the business, changed the name to Urbani Cellars, and ran it primarily as a music venue and bar for several years before closing it in 2022 and selling the liquor license. During that time, they paved over the bocci courts to create a dance floor. 

Now, the Behmans have decided to sell this piece of Santa Cruz history as they transition into retirement. The property is currently listed for $1,199,000 and has been on the market for about six months. The original asking price was $1,450,000. 

Larry Behman has fond memories of running Bocci’s Cellar with business partner and chef Roger Barnes in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s and says it was a hard decision to list it for sale. “I’ve kept it all this time because I have such a love of this building in the place. I would love to see somebody get back in and get the restaurant going again,” says Larry.

The interior of the restaurant doesn’t appear to have changed much throughout the years. Inside, a well-worn wooden bar curves along one wall, and 8-foot ceilings create a speakeasy-style atmosphere. Hand-painted frescoes depicting idyllic Italian scenes decorate almost every inch of the dark wood paneling, including the ceiling. The paintings, now faded but still full of life, were created by an Italian immigrant in the late 1930s in exchange for room and board. 

Back then, the Urbanis’ home was the only one in the area. They raised crops and livestock, and made wine on the property, some of which was served to patrons at long, family-style tables. Black-and-white photos depicting boisterous dinners and family life are still hung on the walls.

Larry Behman has taken care to preserve the historic character of the restaurant over the years and hopes the new owner will appreciate it, too. “It needs freshening up with new tables and chairs and that whole thing,” he says. “But it’d be nice to leave it a little bit the way it is, because it’s got a feeling to it.”

Now, the neighborhood around Bocci’s Cellar is an industrial area near Harvey West Park. The property neighbors Las Animas Concrete, and other nearby businesses include Joby Aviation, Shanty Shack Brewing, CannaCruz, the Tannery Arts Center and Costco. 

The property’s industrial zoning allows for a broad range of uses, including a restaurant, recreation and entertainment venue, stores, manufacturing, and mixed use with residential and live/work potential, according to the real estate listing on LoopNet. The 3,200-square-foot building includes a four-bedroom, one-bathroom home above the restaurant that could be rented out or lived in by the owner. The previous tenants were employees of the restaurant, says Larry Behman, and lived there for 28 years while raising a family. 

The restaurant is fully operational and up to code. The kitchen contains working equipment, including a three-compartment sink, stove, oven and fryer, and a walk-in refrigerator is located off of the patio. The Behmans recently installed a new heating and air conditioning system and had the fire suppression system inspected and approved by the fire department. “And I’ve been cleaning in here for the last five months,” says Larry. “The last step is for the restaurateur to be approved by the health department.”

One drawback to the property is its lack of parking. The Behmans use a combination of street parking and lease parking spaces from a neighbor in order to meet the 14 spaces required by the use permit. But they say there is ample parking after restrictions in the area end at 5 p.m.

In the past six months there have been two interested parties, but both backed out because of a lack of funding.

The couple thinks the site would be ideal for a beer garden or even a barbecue joint. “I think it’d be wonderful to do something like a combination of some type of dining fare and music. I think the music is huge,” says Gloria. Larry adds: “We’re just trying to find the right person to get back in here to open it up.” 

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