Quick Take
New Leaf Community Markets will open a new, larger grocery store on 41st Avenue in the King’s Plaza Shopping Center in Capitola on Nov. 9. The old location in the nearby Begonia Plaza will close Nov. 8.
New Leaf Community Markets will open its storefront on 41st Avenue in the King’s Plaza Shopping Center in Capitola on Nov. 9, the grocery store chain announced Wednesday. The new store is located two blocks away from the previous location in the Begonia Plaza, a space the market has had for 30 years. The old location will close on Nov. 8.
The new 41st Avenue store, in the former Lucky supermarket location, has an expanded footprint and ample parking, and will offer more organic produce, wellness products and made-to-order foods, including a fresh sushi and self-serve poke bar. In line with New Leaf’s community and environmental relief efforts, including its Envirotoken reusable bag program, it will also introduce reusable glass bottles for house-made juices and smoothies that can be returned to the Capitola store.
Other improvements include expanded coffee, juice and pastry menus, more products from local vendors throughout the store, bulk food bins, self-checkout stations, and hot and cold food bars with vegan and vegetarian options made with organic ingredients.
The new store will host a celebration on opening day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with free samples, games, giveaways, locally printed reusable tote bags, interactive stations with local businesses like Lakeside Organic Gardens, and an in-store scavenger hunt for kids. New Leaf and local winery Alfaro Family Vineyards will release a new pinot noir collaboration called The Village, a nod to Capitola Village.
New Leaf was founded in Santa Cruz in 1985 and currently operates five locations — in Santa Cruz’s Westside neighborhood, Capitola, Aptos, Half Moon Bay and the Silver Creek neighborhood of San Jose. A sixth location in downtown Santa Cruz closed on Tuesday, ahead of a move to a larger space one mile away in the Gateway Plaza on River Street in 2025.
In 2013, New Leaf stores were sold to Oregon-based New Seasons Market. That company was purchased in 2019 by Good Food Holdings, a subsidiary of a global South Korean retailer. The parent company, Emart, is Korea’s oldest and largest discount store chain. In addition to New Leaf and New Seasons, Good Food Holdings also owns three other grocery chains: California-based Bristol Farms and Lazy Acres Natural Markets, and Washington-based Metropolitan Market.
New Leaf Community Markets in Capitola will be open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
