Quick Take
Downtown Santa Cruz isn't empty — and both the numbers and the visuals prove it, writes Matt Huffaker, the city manager. New businesses are opening, vacancies are falling and millions of people are showing up to shop, eat, study and spend time downtown. Maybe, he writes, it's time to stop asking what's wrong with downtown and start noticing what's working.
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I’ve seen it in social media comments more times than I can count.
“Nobody goes downtown anymore.”
Usually from someone who probably hasn’t tried finding parking on Pacific Avenue on a Friday night.
Not long ago, my family and I went downtown for breakfast. We expected a quick morning out. Instead, we found ourselves waiting for a table, weaving around pedestrians on Pacific Avenue, browsing a few shops and spending far longer downtown than we’d planned.
Which got me thinking …
For a place where “nobody goes downtown anymore,” there sure were a lot of people there.
Now, let’s be honest. Downtowns across the nation have had a tough few years.
The pandemic changed nearly everything about how people use our city centers. More people work from home. Online shopping continued to grow. Restaurants, retailers and small businesses have had to rethink how they operate. Communities everywhere, not just Santa Cruz, have been asking the same question:
What does a thriving downtown look like now?
Santa Cruz hasn’t been immune to those challenges. We’ve had businesses close. We have vacant storefronts. We continue to have difficult conversations about homelessness, safety and the future of downtown. Those conversations matter, and they will continue.
But here’s where I think we sometimes get stuck.
Narratives have a funny way of lingering long after the facts begin to change.
Once an idea takes hold, we keep repeating it, even when the evidence starts pointing in a different direction.
As city manager, I spend a lot of time reviewing reports, economic data and development updates. I also spend a lot of time downtown.
In this case, the numbers and my own experience tell the same story.
People are here. Businesses are investing.
Since the beginning of 2025, 26 new businesses have opened downtown, including 12 already this year. Walk Pacific Avenue today and you’ll find new neighbors like Anthropologie, Gran Gelato Caffè, Rock Salt Pilates, The Alley Oop, Switch Bakery and Palmetto Superfoods joining long-standing local favorites that continue to define the character of downtown.
And there’s more on the way.
Another 12 food and beverage and specialty retail businesses are currently in the pipeline, moving through construction, permitting or lease negotiations. Bookie’s Pizza will become the first retail tenant in Anton Pacific. Hone Piercing is preparing to open in RiverRow, with more tenants working through lease negotiations. Downtown Pops! continues activating storefronts while permanent tenants get ready to move in.
The vacancy picture has changed dramatically as well.
Just over a year ago, Pacific Avenue had 17 vacant storefronts. Today, that number has been cut nearly in half.
Even when accounting for newly constructed retail spaces that have yet to open, there are just nine vacancies. Excluding new development, there are only seven. For the vacancies we do have, the city’s new vibrancy ordinance has encouraged landlords to fill empty storefronts faster and made permitting easier. It has also pushed landlords to create fun, decorative window coverings to improve the look and feel of empty spaces
So far this year through the end of July, downtown has welcomed approximately 1.7 million people, an increase of 2.2% compared to last year. We have also seen a 1.8% increase in repeat visits to downtown, with visits totaling 6.7 million this year. Those numbers are continuing to trend upward, and they’re reflected in what businesses are seeing.
Family apparel sales are up more than 55% for the first quarter of 2026 compared to the first quarter of 2025, while restaurants and retailers continue attracting both residents and visitors. Bookshop Santa Cruz, Trader Joe’s, Urban Outfitters, Free People and Anthropologie are among downtown’s strongest sales tax producers.
Of course, statistics only tell part of the story.
The real story is the family introducing their kids to the farmers market for the first time.
The students studying over coffee.
The visitors discovering downtown Santa Cruz after a day at the beach.
The longtime resident who decides to pop into a new business because they’ve been meaning to check it out.
The musician drawing a crowd on a sunny afternoon.
The small business owner who believes enough in our community to sign a lease, hire employees and open their doors.
Those moments don’t always make headlines, but together, they create something far more important than a statistic.
They create a downtown that people actually use and enjoy.
Does that mean our work is finished? Absolutely not.
Cities are never “finished.” We still have work to do to ensure downtown remains welcoming for everyone.
And that work is happening every day.
So, let’s not confuse “still improving” with “declining.”
Those are very different stories.
The next time someone tells you nobody goes downtown, I won’t ask you to believe a city report.
I’ll suggest something much simpler.
Come downtown on a Wednesday afternoon for the farmers market. Or a Friday night at Abbott Square. Or maybe Saturday morning for breakfast and some shopping.
Walk Pacific Avenue.
Visit a business you’ve never been in before.
Count the shopping bags. Listen to the conversations. Watch kids pull their parents toward the candy store. See how many people you recognize, and how many are visiting for the very first time.
If you still think nobody goes downtown, I’d love to know where everyone came from.
Matt Huffaker is the city manager of the City of Santa Cruz.
