Welcome to Lily Belli on Food, a weekly food-focused newsletter from Lookout’s food and drink correspondent, Lily Belli. Keep reading for the latest local food news for Santa Cruz County – plus a few fun odds and ends from my own life and around the web.
… Is downtown Santa Cruz entering a renaissance of food and drink businesses? In addition to Switch Bakery (more below), Ashby Confections and the pop-up Death Box inside the former Alderwood running through the end of the month, Mane Kitchen & Cocktails aims to open in the former Betty’s Eat Inn on Pacific Avenue by Halloween.
Chef Desmond Schneider, who most recently headed the kitchen at Pete’s in Capitola, and his business partner Julianna Mireles, currently a bartender at the Redroom Cocktail Lounge in downtown Santa Cruz, have been working around the clock to transform the burger joint into an Art Deco-inspired restaurant and lounge with an oyster bar, with elevated cocktails and bistro-style dishes made with local ingredients.
When I spoke to Schneider yesterday, he told me that he thinks that the downtown area feels vibrant in a way that it hasn’t in a long time. “I think people are really starting to get drawn back down to the downtown scene, and hopefully [Mane] will influence that more,” he said. Here’s what these two industry vets have planned.
… Husband-and-wife team Joshua Bradley and Amanda Frazier, founders of Switch Bakery, are opening their first brick-and-mortar café in downtown Santa Cruz, expanding beyond their popular farmers market stalls.
Not only are all of their breads, pastries, cakes and treats gluten-free, all of the ingredients are carefully vetted for chemicals and allergens that can cause inflammation, particularly for people with autoimmune diseases like celiac and Crohn’s disease. Everything is celiac-safe and free of gluten, soy and corn.
The new location in the former Café Limelight will feature sandwiches, salads, fine pastries, bread and desserts, plus alcohol-free cocktails. They aim to open before the holiday season. Read the story here.
… A year after opening, Adorable French Bakery obtained a liquor license to serve wine and beer at its Scotts Valley bistro. It has begun offering a selection of wines by the bottle and glass, along with beers on tap. Adorable French Bakery is extending the restaurant’s hours until 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, in addition to bakery hours starting at 7 a.m. Tuesday through Sunday for freshly baked bread and pastries such as eclairs and galettes.
… An exciting update: I’m thrilled to share that I’ll be the interlocutor for cookbook author Joshua McFadden’s book signing at the Cowell Ranch Hay Barn on Oct. 21, hosted by Bookshop Santa Cruz. McFadden, who won a James Beard award for “Six Seasons: A New Way With Vegetables,” and I will discuss his newest release, “Six Seasons of Pasta,” which focuses on how to use store-bought dried pasta to create seasonal dishes at home. Each $48 ticket includes admission and a copy of the book. More info here.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Santa Cruz coffee entrepreneur Eddie Alaniz turned his pandemic-born business, Coffee Conspiracy Co., from a small East Cliff Drive cart into a backstage staple for some of the world’s biggest touring acts thanks to persistence, lucky breaks and a Santa Cruz connection with Live Nation. In 2025, his coffee cart served at 17 major concerts for artists like Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar and Metallica, providing both financial stability and a springboard for expanding his café and brand. Read the story here.
EVENT SPOTLIGHT
Award-winning chef and food activist Alice Waters is coming to the Rio Theatre in Santa Cruz on Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. to share her newest book, “A School Lunch Revolution,” a multigenerational cookbook that empowers a relationship between children and organic food. This event is hosted by Bookshop Santa Cruz with The Humanities Institute at UC Santa Cruz. Each $45 ticket includes a book and a donation to Waters’ Edible Schoolyard Project and Santa Cruz-based Life Lab, a nonprofit that offers garden-based education.
LIFE WITH THE BELLIS
My family went over to dinner at my friend’s house on Saturday night and I brought a huge salad with red leaf lettuce and tomatoes from our garden, plus crisp organic radishes and a homemade ranch-style dressing. My friend loved the dressing, and insisted that my readers would, too. “You have to put that in your newsletter!” she said. It’s so simple, and an easy one to add to your repertoire.
Mix ½ cup Greek yogurt and ½ cup mayonnaise with ¼ cup each chopped fresh parsley and dill. Add ½ teaspoon garlic powder and salt, the juice of half a lemon, plus a few cracks of black pepper. Adjust the acid and salt to taste.
FOOD NEWS WORTH READING
➤ When the U.S. Department of Agriculture abruptly ended key farm-to-school funding earlier this year, small farms lost crucial buyers, forcing them to leave crops to rot in the fields. The cuts have rippled through schools and communities nationwide, threatening both local agriculture and kids’ access to fresh, healthy food. (The New Yorker)
➤ A medical publication has retracted a study that linked apple cider vinegar to weight loss, citing concerns about the quality of the work. “An apple a day may keep the doctor away,” said one health expert, “but apple cider vinegar as a superfood? If only.” (NPR)