This week in Santa Cruz County business: An El Pajaro CDC milestone and Harts Fabric on the move

Each week, we’re taking a closer look at the movers and shakers, the growth of industries, and what’s really driving the Santa Cruz County economy. I’ll be spotlighting some of the biggest areas for opportunity, updates on local development and all things underpinning the regional business scene, each Wednesday.

Got ideas? Send them my way to news@lookoutlocal.com with “Business News” in the subject line.

El Pajaro CDC’s incubators drive entrepreneurship

The El Pajaro Community Development Corporation’s kitchen incubator has helped launch more than a 110 small food businesses in the past 11 years, including local food truck Scrumptious Fish & Chips, frequent farmers market vendor Dos Hermanos Pupuseria and catering company Cuevas Express Foods, among many others. 

Under the leadership of program manager Césario Ruiz, 35 small food businesses currently operate out of the commercial kitchen space on Riverside Drive in Watsonville. It’s not just a commercial kitchen, however; business owners also gain help from El Pajaro CDC’s team with everything from obtaining permits and food safety handling certificates to creating a scalable business plan. 

The kitchen incubator is just one program that El Pajaro CDC runs to help small businesses and entrepreneurs access funding, training, technical support, business counseling and other resources. This week, it will mark 45 years in existence with an evening of tacos and tapas, much of it provided by local businesses that got their start through its commercial kitchen incubator.

In fact, Ruiz originally sought help from the organization for his own small business, My Mom’s Mole, before coming on as a manager.

The center, which opened in 2013, gets interest from all levels of experience; some come in with an idea but have never worked with commercial kitchen equipment; others have spent their lives working in restaurants and yearn to branch out on their own. After an initial assessment, participants are provided with different workshops and training. 

“We work with them to scale and ensure they take advantage of what we offer in the best way for their needs,” said Ruiz. “Business plan classes are a core part of what we do; you have to have a solid plan in place first.” 

It’s one thing to make salsa at home for your friends and family, for instance; it’s quite another to produce gallons and gallons at a time. 

Incubator participants also gain value by learning from other business owners working out of the space, some of whom have been there for over a decade. El Pajaro CDC has cultivated partnerships with local farmers markets to help its small businesses bring their products to consumers. Ruiz said the organization is also working with the Museum of Natural History in Santa Cruz to bring its vendors to the museum’s events.

“That access to market opportunity is huge [for our businesses],” he said. 

El Pajaro CDC started in 1979 as a way to help organize business owners in the lower Main Street area of Watsonville to lobby to protect their interests and influence local government policy when it affected them. At the time, proposed development efforts would have displaced many Latino-owned businesses. Since then, the organization has focused on fostering entrepreneurship and promoting equal access to economic opportunity. Hundreds of small businesses have received everything from loan application assistance, to information technology support, to business coaching through El Pajaro CDC. 

Another program El Pajaro CDC runs is Plaza Vigil, a retail business incubator opened in 1996 with 16 small retail spaces for low-income Pajaro Valley-based entrepreneurs. Applicants have to attend entrepreneurial training and submit a business plan; once accepted, they are provided with business training, consulting and marketing support. A similar program is focused on helping establish small child care businesses. El Pajaro CDC also runs the Regional Women’s Business Center, which promotes female and minority entrepreneurs in Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito counties, with assistance in accessing capital, education, training and business coaching. It’s one of about 100 such facilities around the country that have been designated as a United States Small Business Administration women’s business center.

Last week, the Latino Community Foundation named El Pajaro CDC one of six inaugural participants in its new Latino Capital Accelerator. The 18-month program will provide strategy and marketing consulting, a $75,000 grant to support the organization’s microloan initiatives and other support. 

Aptos Chamber announces 2024 award recipients

Outgoing Santa Cruz County Supervisor Zach Friend is this year’s recipient of the Aptos Chamber of Commerce’s outstanding achievement award. 

Other honorees include business-of-the-year winner K&D Landscaping and organization of the year Live Like Coco. 

The Santa Cruz Sentinel’s director of operations and advertising, Steve Bennett, was selected for the man of the year award; Tricia Wynne, who’s worked with organizations including Friends of the Santa Cruz Public Libraries and Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Cruz County, was chosen as woman of the year. 

The Willowbrook County Park memorial to Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller was selected as the chamber’s 2024 community enhancement winner. 

The Chamber of Commerce will present the awards at its annual dinner on Nov. 15 at Seascape Beach Resort. More details here.

ICYMI: Meeting airs Silver Spur’s fate in face of development

Soquel’s Silver Spur restaurant faces potential relocation or closure to make way for a proposed housing complex, Wallace Baine reported last week. Developer Lori Greymont, who owns the property the restaurant occupies, has put forth a plan to build 189 units of housing on the site and adjacent properties. 

Greymont’s plan will be outlined at a public meeting Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Silver Spur at 2650 Soquel Dr.

Ch-ch-changes: Openings, closings and other developments

• New Leaf Community Markets shutters downtown Santa Cruz store: The New Leaf grocery store on Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz closed for good Tuesday night after almost 20 years. The closure comes as the company prepares to open a new larger store on River Street next year. The new store, located in Gateway Plaza, will be 29,000 square feet, compared to just 9,000 square feet on Pacific Avenue, and will offer more prepared food, a larger produce section and an expanded meat and seafood department. Lindsay Gizdich, a spokeswoman for the company, said employees of the Pacific Avenue store have been offered other jobs within the company during the transition. 
• Terra & Self closing retail store: Specialty skin care and beauty product shop Terra & Self will shutter its brick-and-mortar store on Soquel Avenue in Santa Cruz on Oct. 29. The business, started by Kenne Johnson in 2020, will continue online sales. Johnson opened her first physical location in 2023 on Pacific Avenue through the city’s Downtown Pops! program, which helps businesses open downtown through subsidized rents and short-term leases. She later moved the business to the Soquel Ocean plaza at the corner of Soquel Avenue and Ocean Street.
• Shared Adventures CEO gets regional accolade: Foster Andersen, CEO of Shared Adventures, is the 2024 recipient of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Foundation’s Sea Star in the business, recreation and tourism category. Shared Adventures is a nonprofit organization that promotes inclusionary outdoor activities for people with different abilities. Andersen heads up the organization’s annual “Day on the Beach” event that helps people with special needs partake in activities such as kayaking, diving, canoeing and more.
• Slew of new local hotel hires named: Sky Dominiques is now the general manager at the Four Points by Sheraton in Scotts Valley, while Brendan Shelton has been hired as general manager at the Fairfield Inn in Santa Cruz. Hilton Santa Cruz Scotts Valley has named Terry Azevedo the interim director of sales. Eddie Diano is taking the reins as director of sales and marketing at the Hotel Paradox in Santa Cruz, replacing Julie Jimenez, who is moving to the Chaminade Resort & Spa.
• United Way CEO departing Santa Cruz County: Keisha Browder, who’s headed up the United Way of Santa Cruz County for the past six years, has accepted the CEO position at a different United Way. Browder came to United Way Santa Cruz in 2012 as director of development and became the first Black woman to serve as the organization’s CEO. Read more here.
• Harts Fabric moving around the corner: Harts Fabric on Seabright Avenue in Santa Cruz will soon take over the former Midtown Surf Shop at 1126 Soquel Ave., potentially as soon as this week. The store’s 1620 Seabright Ave. location closed earlier this month in preparation of the move. Harts first opened in 1969 and remains family-run and independently owned. Midtown Surf Shop closed earlier this year with plans to move to a different, not-yet-disclosed location in downtown Santa Cruz.

Got hires, promotions, or departures to report? Send them to news@lookoutlocal.com with the subject line “Career changes.”

Save the date 

• Thursday, Oct. 17: The Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce will hold its women’s leadership summit at Mount Hermon Conference Center from 9:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. The agenda includes keynote speakers, breakout sessions and networking opportunities focused on empowering women in their professional and personal lives. Registration and details here.
• Friday, Oct. 18: Santa Cruz Works will host a breakfast at Swellcycle’s headquarters in the Wrigley Building on the Westside of Santa Cruz from 8 to 9:30 a.m. Attendees will get a chance to learn about the company’s 3D printing processes. Register here.
• Wednesday, Oct. 23: The Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce will host its next business after-hours event from 5 to 7 p.m. at Solaire Restaurant & Bar inside the Hotel Paradox in Santa Cruz. Beverages from West Peak Sparkling Spirits and wines from Big Basin Vineyards will be served, along with appetizers and oysters from Parker Presents: Bill Oysterman. Details here.
• Wednesday, Nov. 6: Santa Cruz Accelerates will host its Demo Day, when its sixth cohort of startup teams will pitch their innovations to a panel of judges for a chance to win up to $5,000. Finalists also will be invited to pitch the investors at Santa Cruz Ventures and HawkTower for seed funding. The event kicks off at 6 p.m. in the Pasatiempo room of the Back Nine Grill & Bar in Santa Cruz. Details and registration here.
• Friday, Nov. 8: The Monterey Bay Economic Partnership will host its 2024 annual State of the Region event from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the CSUMB University Center in Seaside. Representatives from Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito counties will speak about the region’s economic progress and other key issues. Speakers include state Sen. John Laird and UC Santa Cruz Chancellor Cynthia Larive. Register here.

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Business news worth reading

• Capitola City Council aims for Capitola Mall redevelopment (Santa Cruz Local)
• Early Santa Cruz plea deals net 3-month jail sentences in statewide cannabis retail theft ring (Santa Cruz Sentinel)
• Boeing strike has already cost the company and workers $5 billion, new analysis shows (CNN)

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