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.
… Two sommeliers from double Michelin-starred Aubergine restaurant in Carmel opened up a wine bar in Capitola Village. Last week, John Haffey and Ryan Cooley got the keys to the former Capitola Wine Bar, whose six-year run ended earlier this month when the owners moved away. Within days, they moved in nearly a thousand bottles of mostly French wines, particularly from storied regions Burgundy, Champagne and Bordeaux, along with other European and Californian producers — the spoils of more than two years of collecting in anticipation of establishing their own space.
“This is the culmination of irresponsible spending over the last two or three years,” joked Cooley, who will be managing Vin Vivant while Haffey remains at Aubergine. The wine bar is open Monday, Wednesday to Friday from 2 to 10 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 10 p.m. Here’s the full story.
… The spotlight fell on Seabright and harbor businesses last week, when the owners of area restaurants, bars and shops took the mic at a tense and emotional meeting of the Santa Cruz City Council. One by one, they expressed their frustration with what they characterized as a lack of communication by the city about the timing and duration of the Murray Street Bridge closures. They said they felt little meaningful support from the city, and now are facing the very real possibility that they could have to close the doors of their businesses.
“We are down significantly,” said Charles Maier, the owner of The Crow’s Nest, one of Santa Cruz’s most longstanding and iconic restaurants. “This whole thing is an emergency for the businesses around there, but really the whole community is suffering.” Here’s the story.
During the meeting, it came to light that Seabright Social plans to close by Sept. 1. Later, co-owner and general manager Jon Bates told me that he blames the bridge closure “100%” for a 30% decline in sales. When their lease came up for renewal this summer, he and his business partner Keikilani McKay decided they wouldn’t be able to weather three more years of decreased sales while the bridge is under construction, and pulled the plug. Read the story here.
… Betty’s Eat Inn in downtown Santa Cruz closed on Sunday after 15 years on Pacific Avenue. Owner Laurie Negro announced the closure on Wednesday on the restaurant’s Instagram and Facebook pages, citing decreased customers as the main reason behind the decision. “It’s a tough call, but like many small businesses in the area, we’ve been feeling the effects of reduced foot traffic, fewer visitors, and a downtown environment that’s been harder and harder to thrive in,” the post said. Here’s the story.
Although Negro shared that the Seabright location of Betty’s Burger is also strained, that location, as well as the 41st Avenue and Aptos spots, remain open.
… This Sunday, The Penny Ice Creamery is celebrating its 15th anniversary with a playful Hoops and Scoops birthday celebration. Everyone is welcome to show off their hula hoop skills from 1 to 5 p.m. at the original Cedar Street location in downtown Santa Cruz, alongside performances and DJ music by Redwood Records. There’s even a separate “little hoopers” area for younger kiddos. No purchase necessary to join in the fun, but if you bring your own hula hoop you get free marshmallow fluff.
… Advance tickets for Grazing on the Green, one of the area’s premier food and drink festivals, are on sale. The festival will return to Aptos Village Park on Saturday, Oct. 11, from noon to 4 p.m. Dozens of local restaurants, breweries, wineries, cideries and food businesses show off their stuff with sips and samples of gourmet bites and brews. It’s hosted by Santa Cruz Cancer Benefit Group, and proceeds go toward five cancer-supporting nonprofits in Santa Cruz County. Early bird tickets are $90, and go up to $99 on Aug. 26. More info here.
ON THE MENU
Five years ago, the CZU Lightning Complex fires swept through the Santa Cruz Mountains. When the first started in late August, wine grapes in the area were a mere two weeks away from being ripe enough to harvest, but much of it was destroyed by smoke. In a look back on the disaster, I spoke to area winemakers and winegrowers about what their CZU experience taught them about winemaking, and the lasting effects of the fires on the local industry. Watch for the story next week.
EVENT SPOTLIGHT
Cultural nonprofit Mi Gente is hosting a Hispanic/Latine Heritage Month Festival at Woodhouse Blending & Brewing in Santa Cruz on Sunday, Sept. 14, from noon to 6 p.m. Celebrate the diverse cultures that make up Latinoamérica with performances, food, local artists and makers, and live music. The event is free, with a suggested donation of $5-10 to support BIPOC and AAPI communities in Santa Cruz County.
LIFE WITH THE BELLIS
Tomatoes are here, and life is good. Within the past week, the tomatoes in our neighborhood have started coming in thick. Over the weekend, a neighbor dropped over a basket of heirlooms from his garden, with fruits ranging from thumb-sized and orange to weighty and curvaceous, and even one that was so dark purple it almost looked black. A few days later, my husband Mike’s tomatoes – baseball-sized, lipstick-red early girls – finally got ripe enough to pick. My favorite way to eat them right now is cutting them into wedges and tossing them with plenty of salt and a dash of balsamic and red wine vinegar. After letting them marinate for a few minutes, I pour them over a wide dish coated in homemade pesto, and finish it off with a squirt of the best olive oil I can get my hands on. Rinse, repeat. Ah, summer.
Oh, and thank you for your suggestions on what to do with my overachieving lemon cucumber plant. I made this cucumber gazpacho, which was lovely. But after harvesting 20-plus fruits over the weekend, I decided enough was enough and tore the whole thing out! The nearby eggplants will thank me, I’m sure, and I got some leeks at the garden store to plant in the space.
FOOD NEWS WORTH READING
➤ Helen Rosner, food critic for The New Yorker, is one of my favorite writers. In her latest piece on Farley’s, a restaurant that puts the underappreciated sloppy joe at the forefront, she wades through the onomatopoeic and culinary delight of “slop.” It’s a very fun read. (The New Yorker)
➤ While American chains like TGI Fridays, Ruby Tuesday and Applebee’s are struggling, 1990s relic Chili’s sales are up 31% in the first quarter of 2025. The restaurant chain is harnessing viral social media moments praising its classic menu items like mozzarella sticks, while trimming the menu back by 25%. (Slate)