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SUPPORT THIS: YOUR FAVORITE SEABRIGHT OR HARBOR RESTAURANT
In the local food and beverage realm, this week’s news was dominated by one truth: Businesses in the Seabright neighborhood and around the Santa Cruz Harbor are seriously struggling.
About half of the area’s business owners spoke at a city council meeting on Tuesday night. The message was clear – the area feels abandoned by the city, which they feel has done little to support them during the dramatic loss of vehicle and foot traffic to the area. Seabright Social will close at the end of the month, and other owners expressed real fear about whether they would be able to survive the three-year-long construction project.
Since the Murray Street Bridge closed both ways at the end of June, businesses throughout the area have seen sales plummet. The loss comes at the height of summer, when many bars and restaurants near the water make the bulk of their annual revenue that they can draw from to get them through the leaner winter months, when there are fewer tourists.
For many of us, getting to Seabright or the harbor takes intention, but if you’ve been missing Seabright Deli’s smoked brisket sandwich, La Posta’s tender seasonal pastas or Tramonti’s eggplant Parmesan, head there this weekend. Don’t forget that Engfer Pizza Works – one of the only two woman-owned pizza joints in the county – makes a mean broccoli, feta and tomato pie, and Brady’s Yacht Club’s bloody marys are in the running for the best in town.
It’s also your last chance to indulge in Seabright Social’s decadent shrimp and grits. The neighborhood hub will close on Sept. 1.
BEST OF THE WEEK AHEAD
Below, find a curated list of the best food and drink events in Santa Cruz County for the coming week. At the top, I share my picks of unmissable local happenings.
NEWS OF THE WEEK
ICYMI – here are the food news stories from Lookout that you might have missed, plus important news from beyond our borders picked by yours truly.
- Pop-up crab traps aim to save Central Coast’s struggling fisheries and its threatened whale population (Lookout)
- Murray Street Bridge closure delivers fatal blow to Seabright Social (Lookout)
- Betty’s Eat Inn in downtown Santa Cruz to close Sunday, citing challenging environment (Lookout)
- California grocery prices could rise if this self-checkout bill passes, grocers argue (CalMatters)
