QuickTake:
Former Cafe Sparrow chef and owner Donnie Suesens will open a new pop-up restaurant, Food Talk, in August at Ulterior, a speakeasy-style dining area on the second floor of Motiv, a nightclub in downtown Santa Cruz. Suesens plans to offer a menu of farmers market-driven bar food, joining a long, eclectic line of chefs who have brought their culinary approach to the unique space.
Donnie Suesens, the former owner and chef of Cafe Sparrow, is returning to the local dining scene next month as the new chef-in-residence at Ulterior, the restaurant space inside Motiv, a nightclub in downtown Santa Cruz.
Since the Aptos restaurant closed at the end of April after 38 years in business, Suesens has been catering private events. On Aug. 7, he will open Food Talk in the speakeasy-style dining area on the second story above the club’s dance hall. Guests can enter Ulterior’s private bar and seating area through a door off Pearl Alley, which runs behind Motiv, that is disguised as a bookcase and leads up a dark wooden staircase. Because of Motiv’s liquor license, all guests must be 21 or over to enter and dine.
Over the past decade, Ulterior has hosted numerous chefs for residences of varying length, from now-ended pop-ups Lionfish Supper Club to Kickin Chicken, and, more recently, chef Jessica Yarr and her breakfast pop-up Brunch Shift. Former 515 Kitchen & Cocktails chef Georgette Flores’ yearlong residency with her pop-up Kanin Co. ended this month.
For Food Talk, Suesens is shifting away from the French cuisine Cafe Sparrow was known for, and plans to offer a shortened menu of hearty bar snacks created with ingredients primarily sourced from the nearby downtown farmers market. The five or six menu items will include a grilled cheese with house-fermented kimchi, and a Nashville hot fish sandwich, made with lingcod sourced locally from H&H Fresh Fish Co. in Santa Cruz.
There will also be a burger with beef ground in-house. “We’re bringing big burgers back. No more smash burgers,” said Suesens, who also plans to bake all of his bread and buns.
His goal is to offer upscale bar food at a reasonable price, and create an escape from the daily grind. “The world is kind of weird right now. Food Talk is a way to say, let’s break bread together and talk food, instead of whatever else is going on,” Suesens said.
Starting Aug. 7, Food Talk will be open for food service Wednesday and Thursday from 5 to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 5 to 11 p.m. The bar will remain open until 2 a.m.