Downtown Santa Cruz has welcomed 29 new businesses since January 2025, with locally owned shops and restaurants helping revive a commercial district that struggled with nearly 40 empty storefronts post-pandemic. New housing, increased foot traffic and city programs designed to attract businesses are helping fuel the growth, with 11 more businesses on the horizon.
The future of downtown Santa Cruz
A Lookout series on the business and politics of development in downtown Santa Cruz.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
If nobody goes to downtown Santa Cruz, who are all these people?
Downtown Santa Cruz isn’t empty — and both the numbers and the visuals prove it, writes Matt Huffaker, the city manager. New businesses are opening, vacancies are falling and millions of people are showing up to shop, eat, study and spend time downtown. Maybe, he writes, it’s time to stop asking what’s wrong with downtown and start noticing what’s working.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
The secret math of ‘affordable’ housing in Santa Cruz (and why the fancy new housing isn’t the villain)
Affordable housing isn’t a matter of opinion — it’s math, writes Doug Erickson, founder of Santa Cruz Works. Here, he explains why developers of new market-rate housing aren’t the villains they’re often made out to be, and why affordable and market-rate homes play different but complementary roles. Understanding the economics behind both will help us navigate Santa Cruz’s housing crisis, he writes.
Posted inBusiness & Technology
Bookie’s Pizza claims first retail spot at downtown’s Anton Pacific complex
Bookie’s Pizza, an acclaimed Detroit-style pizzeria founded by chef Todd Parker, will relocate to a larger restaurant at Anton Pacific on Pacific Avenue, becoming the first retail tenant in the mixed-use downtown Santa Cruz development. The move marks an early milestone for Anton Pacific’s commercial leasing as developers work to fill new ground-floor retail spaces.
Posted inBusiness & Technology
This week in Santa Cruz County business: Planning commission weighs next steps for Front & Laurel project; apple farmers face shift as Martinelli’s cancels contracts
This week in local business, Jessica M. Pasko has the latest on a proposed mixed-use development in downtown Santa Cruz, a seismic development for South County apple growers and names, numbers and dates to know.
Posted inHousing & Development
Road closures, loss of parking during downtown Santa Cruz library construction taking toll on surrounding businesses
Multiple downtown Santa Cruz businesses say foot traffic is down since the city broke ground on the new public library and affordable housing project last August, eliminating a parking lot for customers and visitors.
Posted inBusiness & Technology
Residents ‘vehemently oppose’ proposed Catalyst project as developers, city officials present plans
A Thursday meeting hosted by representatives from the City of Santa Cruz and the developer and architect of a proposed project that would demolish downtown music venue The Catalyst met with frustration and skepticism from residents and nearby business owners.
Posted inBusiness & Technology
This week in Santa Cruz County business: Meeting scheduled for proposed housing at Catalyst site; national retailer marks Santa Cruz debut
The Santa Cruz community gets a chance next week to learn more about the development proposed for the site of The Catalyst nightclub, Jessica M. Pasko reports in her weekly look at local business. Meanwhile, home decor and retail chain Anthropologie is set to open on Pacific Avenue on Wednesday.
Posted inHousing & Development
Are we there yet? As 2026 dawns, downtown Santa Cruz is still in the middle of a long process to transformation
As 2025 morphs into 2026, Santa Cruz’s downtown is still deep in the middle of a major transformation. A new proposal for The Catalyst building has many up in arms, while fans of the new library quietly wait for 2028. Here’s an overview of where all the projects stand.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
What The Catalyst means to Santa Cruz’s music scene, its culture and its sense of itself
With The Catalyst in the news as the possible site of a new downtown housing development, maybe it’s time for a reminder of just how influential and central this performance venue has been to Santa Cruz’s musical subcultures.
