Humble Sea Tavern reopens with SC Bread Boy as pop-up in residence

After closing suddenly last summer, there are signs of life at the Humble Sea Tavern in Felton. Popular pop-up SC Bread Boy is now cooking out of the kitchen at the restaurant three days a week, while Humble Sea Brewing Co. operates the bar and front of house. 

On Fridays, Saturday and Sundays, chef Lance Ebert of SC Bread Boy serves up a short menu of American burgers and decadent takes on French classics, like a croque monsieur sandwich smothered in creamy bechamel sauce and topped with a fried egg. The list, which last Saturday included a Midwestern butter burger, borders on hedonistic; guests can add an extra patty for $3, or Golden Kaluga caviar for $26. 

The vibe is more casual than the former Humble Sea Tavern, a sit-down restaurant that served elevated takes on pub classics from February 2021 to August 2023. Now, guests order food at a counter, purchase drinks at the long wooden bar and seat themselves in the dining room or on the wide covered and enclosed deck that runs around two sides of the building. At the bar, Humble Sea offers a selection of its beers on draft and in cans, a wine list with a mix of natural and traditional wines, and nonalcoholic beverages.

After a successful launch Jan. 12, which sold out every night of opening weekend, SC Bread Boy is now the “pop-up in residence” at the tavern. The pop-ups will continue on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and the plan is to open for additional days soon. Both parties told Lookout that the pop-ups will be ongoing as long as both parties feel it’s a good fit. Humble Sea Tavern is closed during the rest of the week. 

Ebert says he and the tavern team will continue to add more to the space every week and expand the menu. He is planning on opening a pastry and bread program through the restaurant’s exterior to-go window, and to add more appetizers, share plates and dinner options. The menu will always feature smash burgers and a few other staples, Ebert said via text, but it will be constantly changing based on “what’s running, flying, swimming and growing around our little coastal city.”

“We’re completely stoked to have Lance and his amazing crew serving up their awesome food! Their expertise in the kitchen is really allowing us to focus on our beverage program,” said Lee DeGraw, head of marketing for Humble Sea. “We’ve been busy curating a killer natural wine list as well as getting back on track with artisanal cocktails.”

Similar partnerships between independent kitchens and bar-focused businesses have been successful throughout Santa Cruz County. Sugo Pasta Bar serves classic Italian food inside Discretion Brewing in Soquel, Thai pop-up Hanloh is the “culinary artist in residence” at natural wine bar and bookstore Bad Animal, and chef Todd Parker serves Detroit-style pizzas at Bookie’s Pizza inside Sante Adairius Rustic Ales’ Santa Cruz Portal, to name a few. In these situations, both consider the relationship to be symbiotic, with each business able to focus on what it does best while offering a complete dining experience to customers. 

Ebert launched SC Bread Boy in 2020 by selling focaccia and hand-piped cannolis from the back of his Vespa. Recently, he has pivoted to savory enterprises with a particular focus on smash burgers, often rotating or combining them with classic French cuisine, like a smash burger au poivre with a rich pepper sauce. For the past year, he has held smash burger pop-ups on Mondays and Tuesdays inside Avanti Restaurant on Mission Street in Santa Cruz. 

Ebert says he will pause the pop-ups at Avanti while he occupies the kitchen at Humble Sea Tavern.

Humble Sea Brewing Co. was founded by Taylor West, Frank Scott Krueger and Nick Pavlina, all Santa Cruz Mountains natives. Its first taproom opened on Santa Cruz’s Westside in 2017, adding a second location in Pacifica in 2021, followed by a third location in Alameda in late August. It also operated a pop-up beer garden on the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf last summer, which it plans to reopen this spring. 

That seemingly meteoric growth was marred last year with the closure of Humble Sea Tavern. An Instagram post at the time didn’t give a precise reason for the closure, saying that, “We’re all about the beer, and while we did our best to balance both food and bevs, we realized that maybe someone with more of a culinary soul could bring a stellar food vibe to compliment all the rad businesses that are already crushing it in Felton.” It has been searching for a tenant for the space since at least December. 

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FOR THE RECORD: This story has been updated with comment from Humble Sea Brewing Co.