This week in Santa Cruz County business: Business owners’ input sought ahead of 2026 sporting events; Seabright Social files for bankruptcy

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.

County seeks input from local business owners sought ahead of 2026 Super Bowl and FIFA World Cup

With two major sporting events coming to Santa Clara County next year that are expected to bring thousands of visitors to the region, local agencies on this side of the hill are looking for ways to capture some of the spinoff tourism and spending. Santa Cruz County leaders are seeking input from local business owners for insight on how to help with promotions during these events. County Supervisor Justin Cummings, on behalf of the board of supervisors, launched a new survey seeking ideas on how the county, local chambers of commerce and nonprofit tourism marketing organization Visit Santa Cruz County can showcase local businesses as either locations to watch the games or just places for people to go while visiting the area in conjunction with these events. The Super Bowl will be held on Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium, which will also host World Cup matches on June 13, 16, 19, 22, 25 and July 1. The survey is open until Nov. 1.

Two months after closure blamed on Murray Street Bridge project, Seabright Social files for bankruptcy

Following the closure of Seabright Social, the owners of the Santa Cruz business have filed for bankruptcy. 

Seabright Social, which took over the former Seabright Brewery in 2020, shuttered at the end of August, with its owners citing the Murray Street Bridge closure as the fatal blow. Co-owner and general manager Jon Bates told Lookout the restaurant and bar saw a 30% drop in business after the bridge was closed in both directions this summer. Nineteen employees were let go when the restaurant shuttered. 

Earlier this month, the business filed for what’s called Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the Northern District of California. Under Chapter 7 proceedings, businesses can sell off assets in order to pay off creditors, but they typically don’t continue operations. Those assets can include everything from equipment to intellectual property, which can encompass recipes, brand names, logos, state-issued liquor licenses and more. 

According to the filings, Seabright Social owes more than $345,000 to entities including the Small Business Administration, food supplier Performance Food Group and uniform supplier Cintas.

In forms filed with the court, Seabright Social’s estimated liabilities are listed as just under $346,000, with assets estimated to be around $117,000, including the business’ liquor license and kitchen equipment. 

Seabright Social’s other co-owners, Keiki and Jason McKay, also own Cantine Winepub in Aptos. 

Watsonville-based mushroom company awards 36 scholarships to employees’ children

Monterey Mushrooms leaders announced this month that the company has awarded $110,000 in scholarships for the 2025-26 academic year to 36 children of its employees throughout the country. This year, the scholarship program was renamed the Shah Kazemi Scholarship Foundation in honor of the company’s founder and former CEO.

Since 1992, the Watsonville-headquartered company has provided children of full-time employees with the opportunity to receive up to $5,000 annually for four years. Scholarships are given to students attending accredited colleges, universities or vocational schools, and applications are based on academic records, career goals, extracurricular activities and other criteria. 

Kazemi founded Monterey Mushrooms in 1971, and the company now operates across several states, including California, Texas, Pennsylvania and Tennessee, with additional facilities in Mexico.

Ch-ch-changes

• Santa Cruz Port District launches new game to support harbor businesses: The Santa Cruz Port District has a new campaign aimed at helping support harbor businesses impacted by the Murray Street Bridge closure. Harboropoly kicked off earlier this month and continues to the end of the year. Free gameboards are available at the harbor office, participating businesses or online; participants collect stamps by shopping, dining or otherwise patronizing harbor businesses in order to win prizes. More details here.
• Center for Farmworker Families hires new community engagement lead: Linda Bravo is the new community engagement lead for the Center for Farmworker Families, a Felton-headquartered nonprofit organization. Bravo, who comes from a family of agricultural workers, studied the environmental and health impacts of agricultural work on the land and the people who do those jobs as a student at UC Berkeley.
• Anthropologie’s downtown Santa Cruz debut draws near: A new Anthropologie store slated for the former New Leaf Community Markets location on Pacific Avenue could open as soon as January 2026. The home decor and clothing retail chain signed the lease for 1134 Pacific Ave. earlier this year, following the departure of New Leaf, which moved to River Street. Decals announcing that the store would be opening soon went up in the building’s windows recently. Anthropologie’s parent company, URBN, also owns the Urban Outfitters and Free People stores on Pacific Avenue.
• New vice chair for Driscoll’s board of directors: Starting in January, Brie Reiter Smith will serve as vice chair of the board of directors for Watsonville-based berry company Driscoll’s. Smith is the daughter of J. Miles Reiter, the company’s former CEO and current executive chairman of the board. Smith has been with the company for 14 years. She and her husband started as blueberry farm workers and later became growers in Chile. Smith also served as managing director of the company’s operations in Chile and helped establish the company’s presence in Peru.
• Watsonville brewery closes amid financial strain: Watsonville Public House, a nonprofit craft brewery and community gathering spot that opened in February 2024, closed last weekend. As Lily Belli detailed, owner Robby Olson posted a heartfelt message on the brewery’s Instagram, citing construction cost overruns and investor pressure for the closure. The last day in business was Saturday. It’s been a tough time for craft breweries around the country, and sales fell 4% last year, according to the Brewers Association, the lobbying arm for small and independent brewers. According to a recent New York Times article, for the first time in 20 years, there have been more brewery closings than openings over the past 18 months.

• 114-year-old dry cleaning business shutters: Classic Vapor Dry Cleaners closed its Santa Cruz and Capitola locations last week, after more than a century in business. Manager Vanessa Johnson told Hillary Ojeda that many customers’ habits changed post-pandemic, resulting in fewer trips to the dry cleaner amid a move to more casual wardrobes. That contributed to a declining bottom line for the business, which Johnson’s mother has owned since 2009.
• Bay Federal Credit Union promotes longtime employee: Brooke Morley was named senior vice president, chief lending and product officer at Bay Federal Credit Union. Morley joined the Santa Cruz County-based credit union in 2008 as an assistant vice president, left for a few years and then returned to Bay Federal in 2021 as vice president of asset management. In her new role, she will focus on the credit union’s consumer, mortgage, indirect, deposit, card and servicing portfolios. 
• Cionic’s neural sleeve named to Time magazine’s best inventions list: A mobility device invented by a biotech company with roots in Scotts Valley has been selected as a special mention on a new list of the year’s best inventions. Cionic is a biotech company focused on creating devices for people with limited mobility, including its neural sleeve, a wearable fabric device that uses sensors and electric signals to help stimulate muscle movement. It recently released the second generation of this device, the Neural Sleeve 2.
• Encompass CEO resigns after six months: The leader of the county’s largest health and human services nonprofit has stepped down after six months. Shellee Stopera announced Friday she was stepping down as CEO of Encompass Community Services. Kim Morrison, the organization’s chief financial officer, was appointed interim CEO, a role she served in earlier this year after longtime chief executive Monica Martinez was elected to the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors. Read more here.
• California lawmakers extend temporary direct-to-consumer shipping bill: California’s distillers will be able to continue shipping directly to consumers for the near future following the extension of temporary rules enacted during the pandemic. Being able to ship directly to consumers during the pandemic-era closures was a lifeline for small distillers like Santa Cruz-based Venus Spirits, and many have pressed for state lawmakers to make the rules permanent, though doing so faces a number of hurdles. The rules, which were set to expire at the end of this year, have now been granted a one-year extension, as noted by industry publication The Spirits Business. Under the newly passed Assembly Bill 1246, effective Jan. 1,  local craft distillers can continue shipping in California, and out-of-state craft distillers will be able to ship to California by obtaining a permit.

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

What’s new on the Lookout Job Board

• Membership Growth Manager at Lookout Local
• Dining Unit Manager at UC Santa Cruz
• Clinic Nurse II at The County of Santa Cruz
• Engineering Technician I/II at Scott’s Valley Water District
• Superintendent/President at Cabrillo College

Want more? Browse all openings on our job board. | Hiring? Post your job today!

Save the date 

• Wednesday, Oct. 22: Dientes Community Dental will hold a ribbon-cutting and grand opening for its fifth clinic, at 55 Penny Lane, Suite 103, Watsonville. The event takes place from 5 to 7 p.m. 
• Tuesday, Oct. 28: Santa Cruz Works and the UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute are hosting a “genomics rooftop mixer,” that will bring together local researchers to discuss their work and conduct demonstrations. A subset of molecular biology, genomics focuses on the study of genomes, an organism’s full set of DNA. That includes things like gene mapping and gene sequencing, which can be used to understand diseases and create new treatments. The event will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. on the rooftop of the Anton Pacific apartments, 800 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. Register here.
• Thursday, Oct. 30: The Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce will hold the Women’s Leadership Summit at Mission Springs Conference Center in Scotts Valley from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Speakers include state Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, Santa Cruz Regional Transportation Commission Executive Director Sarah Christensen, Capitola Police Chief Sarah Ryanv and Judi Oyama, Hall of Fame skateboarder, among others. Tickets are $125 for chamber members and $150 for non-members. More details here.

• Thursday, Oct. 30: Access2Employment is hosting a job fair at The Grove, formerly known as the Cocoanut Grove, in Santa Cruz from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Registration is here. Businesses that plan to hire in the coming months are invited to sign up to participate; more details here.
• Wednesday, Nov. 5: The Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce will hold its next business after-hours event at Cruzio Internet at 877 Cedar St., Suite 150, in Santa Cruz from 5 to 7 p.m. This will be the chamber’s annual business friendsgiving networking event, featuring seasonal refreshments and an update on Cruzio’s ongoing efforts to expand broadband access throughout the county. At the event, the chamber also will be collecting donations for the Community Foundation’s Equal Access Santa Cruz County fund, which supports affordable internet access for underserved households. Tickets are available here.

Add your business or networking events to Lookout’s free public calendar, BOLO. Click here to add your event.

Business news worth reading

• He tried to bring flying taxis to Uber. Now he’s at Joby to finish the job. (Business Insider)
• Developer New Leaf assures Watsonville officials its battery storage project would meet safety standards (Lookout)
• If the economy is good, why do some Americans still feel like everything is ‘falling apart’? (Marketwatch)

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