Quick Take
Nearly 20 years after establishing a seafood market in the Santa Cruz Harbor, H&H Fresh Fish Co. is planning to open a second location in Santa Cruz’s Westside neighborhood this summer. Co-owner Hans Haveman said the decision to open the satellite location was motivated by concerns about how the Murray Street Bridge construction project will affect H&H's original market in the harbor.
Santa Cruz fish market H&H Fresh Fish Co. is setting sail from the Santa Cruz Harbor and opening a second location on Santa Cruz’s Westside later this summer.
The new satellite location will be in the former home of Eothen boutique in the Swift Street Courtyard, between 11th Hour Coffee and The Swift Stitch. When it opens – perhaps as soon as June – the 400-square-foot H&H Fresh Fish West will offer a similar selection of sustainable seafood from Monterey Bay and West Coast fishers as the harbor market.
“All of the local fish and seafood that our fishermen bring in will be available at the shop, so people can grab a piece of fish, take it home and cook it,” said Hans Haveman, who co-owns H&H Fresh Fish with business partner Heidi Rhodes.
The idea to open a satellite location was motivated by the Murray Street Bridge project, a three-year-long construction project on the bridge over the harbor that will close westbound traffic over the bridge through a planned completion in early 2028. Haveman said he is “terrified” of how blocking the traffic on the crosstown artery will affect his business, and movement throughout the city.
When the space in the Swift Street Courtyard became available last fall, they jumped at the opportunity to open in the heart of the buzzy Westside neighborhood. The thriving business district is already home to more than two dozen locally owned businesses within about 1 square mile along Swift Street, Ingalls Street and Fair Avenue, and extending over to the nearby Old Wrigley Building.
Haveman and Rhodes founded H&H Fresh Fish in 2003 and opened the fish market in the harbor – located on the ground floor of Johnny’s Harborside restaurant – in 2006. The new Westside shop will have more options for ready-to-eat, grab-and-go items such as ceviche and poke, and they hope to be open late on the weekend for fresh oysters and other raw items, perhaps partnering with nearby wineries for pop-up events in the courtyard.
The project is currently awaiting final approval for a building permit from the city. If construction moves quickly this spring, H&H West could open as soon as June. “We’re trying to get there as fast as we can,” said Haveman.
The hours at H&H West are still being determined, but Haveman said they hope to be open every day, like the original location in the harbor.
402 Ingalls Street #15, Santa Cruz; hhfreshfish.com.
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