Quick Take
New Leaf Community Markets will close its downtown Santa Cruz store on Oct. 15, and plans to open a new store with a much larger footprint on River Street in 2025. Later this year, New Leaf will also open a larger Capitola location on 41st Avenue and celebrate five years in Aptos.
After almost 20 years on Pacific Avenue, New Leaf Community Markets will close its downtown Santa Cruz store on Oct. 15.
“It’s not goodbye,” brand manager Lindsay Gizdich said via email. The grocery chain, which was founded in Santa Cruz in 1985, plans to move this store to a new, larger location in the Gateway Plaza on River Street. “The new River Street store is just 1 mile away from our current store and will be a much bigger, more full-service format that can better serve our Santa Cruz customers,” Gizdich said.
New Leaf originally announced the move in October, and the new River Street location is expected to open in 2025. Its 29,000-square-foot footprint will include more prepared food, a larger produce selection, more local and organic products and an expanded meat and seafood department, beyond what the current 9,000-square-foot Pacific Avenue store provides.
“We want a bigger footprint,” said Gizdich in October. “The downtown location is currently our smallest store. Our driving force is really to be able to best serve the community.”
New Leaf’s departure leaves Santa Cruz’s growing downtown with just one grocery store – Trader Joe’s on Front Street – during a period of rapid change. Hundreds of apartments are being built in the downtown area, with more on the horizon. The city is searching for a new grocery store business to support the anticipated increase in residents, but hasn’t found one yet.
“The City recognizes the importance of maintaining and expanding food and grocery options for downtown residents and are in discussions with brokers, property owners and grocery businesses regarding opportunities,” city representative Erika Smart told Lookout in an email.
It’s not the only change coming to New Leaf Markets. It’s also currently in the process of building out a new location for the Capitola store in the King’s Plaza Shopping Center on 41st Avenue, in the space previously occupied by Lucky’s. Once the buildout is complete later this year, the larger store will boast an expanded made-to-order food service counter, a bigger selection of organic produce and more local producers on its shelves.
The new 41st Avenue location will give shoppers an idea of what to expect at the new River Street location next year, says Gizdich.
In August, New Leaf Markets will celebrate five years in Aptos with a family-friendly event on Aug. 10 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at 161 Aptos Village Way. The event includes live music, samples, kids activities and giveaways. Proceeds from local beer and wine tasting will benefit Friends of the Santa Cruz Public Libraries.
New Leaf Community Markets currently operates six locations, including downtown, the Westside, Capitola, Aptos, Half Moon Bay and in the Silver Creek neighborhood of San Jose.
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. Good Food Holdings also owns four other grocery chains: California-based Bristol Farms and Lazy Acres Natural Markets, New Seasons Market in the Pacific Northwest and Northern California and Washington-based Metropolitan Market.
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