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. Check out all of my food and drink coverage here.
… Casalegno’s Country Store in Soquel will reopen its doors this weekend. The Casalegno family originally founded the historic outpost on Old San Jose Road in 1929, and descendants Matt and Marissa Kotila took over earlier this year. The Kotilas updated the store with coffee, produce from nearby farms and other essential items to support their neighbors and anyone traveling through the Santa Cruz Mountains. I spoke to them in August about their plans.
They’ll open this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 8 a.m. On Saturday, there will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. followed by live Italian mandolin music until 1 p.m.
… In the wake of country music star Dolly Parton’s death in August, Pacific Cookie Company released a special Dolly Parton cookie, a lemon-flavored sugar cookie rolled in bright pink sprinkles. All of the proceeds from the cookie were donated to the Santa Cruz chapter of the Imagination Library, Parton’s foundation that gives free books to children from birth to age 5.
By the end of the fundraiser on Sept. 25 – Dolly Parton Day – Pacific Cookie Co. sold 3,925 cookies and raised $6,280, Pacific Cookie president Cara Pearson told me in an email. I think Dolly would be proud!
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… Cafécto food truck — its banana latte and chilaquiles were one of the best things I ate in May – has moved from its home on Water Street in Santa Cruz. You can find it temporarily behind Wheel Works at 220 Front St. while owner Sal Murillo looks for a new permanent home. Cafécto is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and weekends from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and closed on Tuesdays. Murillo has a second truck in Watsonville at 200 Westridge Dr.
… In other food truck news, Hot Birds, which has two food trucks in the Watsonville area, is opening a brick-and-mortar location in downtown Watsonville. The restaurant at 15 E. Beach St. — the former Kong’s Burgers — will offer its fiery fried chicken as burgers, tenders, wings and loaded fries, with several different heat levels.
The soft opening is Tuesday from until 6 p.m., with $2 chicken tenders all day. A grand opening will be held this Saturday.
… Meal delivery service Village Foods, founded by Santa Cruz mom and entrepreneur Kelly Langstaff, has several new partnerships with local food artisans, offering local goods at the Live Oak storefront. (I wrote about Langstaff and Village Foods in April.) Visitors can find collagen marshmallows from Gelatin Glow, sourdough bread from Melo Bread in Watsonville, fresh produce from area farms and bottled matcha lattes – a collaboration between Santa Cruz Matcha Co. and Village Foods. The storefront at 2-1245 East Cliff Dr. is open Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
… The Felton farmers market in downtown Felton is canceled Tuesday afternoon due to an extreme heat advisory, the market announced. It will return on Oct. 13 from 1 to 5 p.m., when it will host the annual pumpkin-decorating bonanza, with live music, market hunt and prizes from The Penny Ice Creamery. This market runs through October.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
The county released the 2025 crop report last week, and it was a banner year for strawberries. The value of Santa Cruz County’s highest-grossing crop increased 27% to nearly $279 million. Here are the highlights on local agriculture.
EVENT SPOTLIGHT
Open Farm Tours returns this weekend. Inspired by the Open Studios Art Tour, 12 farms throughout the county will open their doors for tours, workshops, tastings and activities. On Saturday, visitors can stop by eight farms in South County, and on Sunday, four farms in the northern part of the county will be open. A $25 car pass for each day includes entry for up to five passengers to all farms.
On Sunday at 5 p.m., Pajaro Pastures ecological ranch in Corralitos will host the second annual Open Farm Dinner, and chef Jessica Yarr will prepare the meal. Tickets are $150.
LIFE WITH THE BELLIS
Despite the heat, I feel late summer coming to a close. Our vegetable garden is a shadow of its former self, with scraggly half-dead tomato vines eking out the last few small bright fruits. The bok choy has gone to seed, and aphids took the artichokes before we could. Surprisingly, I’m still finding small, finger-length eggplants hidden in the soft purple leaves.
Over the past weeks, I’ve turned to more preservation. The chile peppers are fermenting, almost ready to be blended into hot sauce, and I roasted the sweet Jimmy Nardello peppers, peeled them and stored in olive oil, garlic and rosemary. As soon as this heat breaks, I’ll simmer the tomatoes I froze at their peak into sauce, and the rotisserie chicken carcasses I stashed in the freezer are turning into bone broth in the slow cooker, ready for fall soups and sniffles.
What do you do to preserve the summer season and prepare for fall? Email me at lily@lookoutlocal.com.
FOOD NEWS WORTH READING
➤ Driscoll’s expanded blueberry production to China and is now embroiled in more than 20 lawsuits against Chinese businesses. The Santa Cruz County-based company alleges that Chinese competitors began copying its growing techniques and swiped patent-protected varieties. (The Wall Street Journal/$)
➤ Restaurant owners are replacing expensive, high-end concepts with more affordable, casual models. Inflation and changing dining habits make luxury restaurants harder to sustain, with diners seeking value and operators looking for ways to lower costs. (Eater)