This week in Santa Cruz County business: Joby ramps up for 2026, its target year for commercial service launch; looking at businesses that closed in 2025

Quick Take

In her weekly look at local business, Jessica M. Pasko reports on where Joby Aviation stands ahead of what's poised to be a big year for the Santa Cruz-based company, reviews closures around the county and highlights names and dates to know.

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.

Joby caps the year with record number of miles flown as the company eyes 2026 for commercial service launch

As the race to be the first company to launch commercial air taxi service heats up, Santa Cruz-based Joby Aviation announced it hit new milestones and inked a new partnership.

The electric air taxi company recently completed its final international flight demonstration of the year in Japan, in collaboration with Toyota Motor Corporation. That included 14 piloted flights, capping a year in which the company has now conducted more than 850 flights across its air taxi fleet.

Joby’s aircraft have flown more than 9,000 miles in 2025 – 2.6 times the total in 2024 – for a total of more than 50,000 miles flown overall. Ramping up flight miles is key to the company’s efforts to achieve Federal Aviation Administration type certification, which is required before it can operate commercially in the U.S.

Joby aims to operate commercial passenger service similarly to Uber or Lyft, with passengers using an app to hail what’s called an electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle — basically, an electric helicopter. Joby’s air taxis are designed to carry a pilot and four passengers at speeds of up to 200 mph.

The company plans next year to begin what’s called Type Inspection Authorization flight testing, which is necessary for achieving FAA certification.

Joby officials have said commercial service will launch first in Dubai, possibly as soon as next year. Los Angeles and New York are targeted as its first U.S. markets. To meet demand, the company plans to double manufacturing capacity at its facilities in California and Ohio to produce four aircraft per month by 2027.

Efforts to accelerate the launch of electric air taxi service in the U.S. got a boost earlier this year, when the FAA announced a new federal pilot program for electric air taxis. Joby and its main competitor, Archer Aviation (which Joby is suing over alleged corporate espionage), are inaugural participants in this program.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced its new Advanced Air Mobility National Strategy, which provides a clear policy roadmap for deploying advanced air mobility vehicles, including air taxis. The strategy also lays out a path for accelerating development in this space, with a goal of conducting demonstrations and initial operations by 2027.

Meanwhile, Joby officials also announced the company has partnered with artificial company Metropolis Technologies to develop 25 vertiports (like a heliport, but specifically for electric air taxis) across the U.S. to start building the needed infrastructure for nationwide service.

The year in closures: The businesses that bid adieu in 2025

O’Neill Surf Shops closed its downtown Santa Cruz location at Pacific Avenue and Cooper Street in January. Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

It’s been a roller coaster of a year for local business, with 2025 seeing the departure of several marquee names from downtown Santa Cruz and a host of other closures around the county amid a troubled national retail landscape. Here’s a look back at some of the most notable closures (but by no means an exhaustive list).

January saw the departure of O’Neill Surf Shops from its longtime Pacific Avenue location, after 25 years in operation in downtown Santa Cruz. Company officials cited a desire to consolidate its stores; its Aptos location also shuttered this year. O’Neill’s departure from Pacific Avenue was followed soon after by the announcement that Rip Curl would close its downtown spot. Fast fashion retailer Forever 21 also closed its Pacific Avenue store as the parent company waded through an ongoing bankruptcy case that shuttered stores around the country.

The departure of three major anchor stores from downtown set off a wave of speculation over the future of downtown as new construction rapidly changes the city’s footprint.

Those closures aligned with a downward national trend, as more consumers shop online and major chains face economic troubles that reverberated locally. Rite Aid closed its last remaining locations in the county — in Felton, Aptos and Freedom — as the corporate chain struggled through bankruptcy. Two Starbucks stores closed in October as the company announced restructuring plans. Billabong closed its Pleasure Point store in April after its parent company filed for bankruptcy, a move that forced the closure of more than 100 stores nationally.

Local challenges compounded the national ones. Businesses in the Santa Cruz harbor and Seabright area faced additional challenges starting this summer when the Murray Street Bridge closed in both directions for a long-needed seismic retrofit. As business owners in the area prevailed on city officials for help, the closure proved too much for one business — Seabright Social — to hold on, and its owners later filed for bankruptcy.

In fact, 2025 proved an especially rough year for restaurants, bars and breweries around the country, as many struggled due to slow economic recovery post-pandemic, changing consumer behaviors and rising food and labor costs, among other factors.

The only restaurant in the city of Santa Cruz to be included in the prestigious Michelin Guide (Aptos’ Mentone has been listed since 2021), Alderwood Santa Cruz, closed its downtown location in January after six turbulent years. West End Taproom in Santa Cruz rebranded as Izikaya in July 2024, only to close a year later, though the business’ owners still operate East End Gastropub and Tortilla Shack. Downtown Santa Cruz lost Betty’s Eat Inn, with owner Laurie Negro citing declining foot traffic, fewer visitors and a “challenging” downtown environment. (Negro’s Betty Burgers in Aptos, Seabright and Capitola remain open.) Also gone is Obló Cocktails & Kitchen, which took over the former Cafe Mare in early 2024 but shuttered in September.

In South County, Ella’s at the Airport in Watsonville closed in June after 10 years in business and two different owners. That was followed in October by the closure of Watsonville Public House, a nonprofit craft brewery opened in February 2024, due largely to construction cost overruns.

Of course, the economy wasn’t the sole factor; for some longtime businesses, the time to close came naturally — like printing and stationery company Darco, which closed its Midtown store in August after 53 years so owner Beverly Ray could retire.

Of course, it wasn’t all doom and gloom for local businesses in 2025. Stay tuned for next week, when I’ll take a look at some of the new businesses the county welcomed this year.

ICYMI: Commercial Dungeness crab season will open Jan. 5 on the Central Coast

Santa Cruz County residents seeking local Dungeness crab have just a couple more weeks to wait. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced last week that the commercial crab season will open on Jan. 5, with some restrictions.

Fishers in the region stretching from the Mendocino-Sonoma county line to Point Conception in Santa Barbara County will be subject to what’s called a 40% trap reduction, meaning they’ll be able to use only 60% of their fishing gear.

Fishers in Santa Cruz County have faced multiple blows in the past year, with repeatedly delayed crab fishing seasons and three consecutive canceled salmon seasons.

Ch-ch-changes

California Coffee hires new marketing director: Aptos-based California Coffee has brought on Kelli Sebastian as its new marketing and community outreach director.
Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau gets state accolade: The California Farm Bureau named the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau its “county of the year” at its annual meeting in Anaheim this month. The organization received the award for its outstanding leadership in membership growth, advocacy work and community-based programs. There are 54 county farm bureaus in the state.
New operations associate for Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce: Lori Oates will take on the role of operations associate at the Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce starting next year. Oates brings more than 15 years of experience in meeting planning and association management, and previously served as the executive director of California Staffing Professionals. She replaces Shiela Locatelli Wallace, who has worked with the chamber since 2017. Wallace is stepping away to focus on her family.
Other Brother Beer Co.’s Aptos tasting room opens: Seaside-based Other Brother Beer Co.’s long-awaited satellite tasting room in the former Doon to Earth spot is now open. The brewery’s Aptos Village location officially opened Tuesday, following a few days of soft launch.
Scarborough Ace to take over former Rite Aid in Felton: The Scarborough family will be opening a new Ace Hardware store in the former Rite Aid store on Highway 9 in Felton in early 2026. The fourth-generation family-run business also owns the Ace Hardware store in Scotts Valley, Scarborough Lumber & Building Supply and Scarborough Gardens, in addition to three stores in Ben Lomond and Boulder Creek as well as businesses in Carmel, Lake Tahoe and Fort Jones. The Rite Aid store in Felton closed earlier this year as part of the parent company’s bankruptcy filings.

Credit: Climatize

Climatize gets boost with accelerator acceptance: Climatize, a Santa Cruz-headquartered company that helps crowdfund sustainable energy projects, was accepted into a prestigious business accelerator program. The company is one of six invited to participate in the Plug and Play Tech Center’s Sustainability Accelerator, beating out more than 400 other businesses. Plug and Play is a Sunnyvale-based venture capital firm that runs a number of industry-specific accelerator programs, and is one of the most active such programs in the world.
Aptos Chamber of Commerce welcomes new president: Audries R. Blake will serve as the 2026 president of the Aptos Chamber of Commerce, taking the reins from Dave Lompa. Blake is the associate director of community relations at UC Santa Cruz.

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

Dining Senior Cook at UC Santa Cruz
House Manager at Jesus Mary Joseph Home
Senior Building Maintenance Supervisor at UC Santa Cruz
Physician’s Assistant/Nurse Practitioner at The County of Santa Cruz
Office Manager / Executive Assistant at Frans Lanting Studio

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

Save the date

Thursday, Jan. 15: The Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce will hold its next business after-hours event at local security company Abbott SPI, Inc. from 5 to 7 p.m. Abbott SPI’s headquarters are located at 2030 N. Pacific Ave., Suite A, in downtown Santa Cruz. Register here to attend.
Thursday, Jan. 22: The Aptos Chamber of Commerce will host a luncheon with the county’s new executive officer, Nicole Coburn, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Seascape Golf Course in Aptos. Tickets are $35. Register here.
Sunday, Jan. 25: The 3D Entrepreneurs Club will launch its afterschool entrepreneurship clubs in 10 schools in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties this year, following successful pilot programs in 2025. An official launch event will be held at the Museum of Art & History in Santa Cruz from 2 to 4 p.m. The event will open with a panel featuring leading Santa Cruz tech entrepreneurs discussing how parents and schools can prepare students for the AI era. There will also be a mini “Shark Tank” style showcase for students to show off their 3D-printed creations. Additional details and registration are available here.
Thursday, Jan. 29: The Monterey Bay Economic Partnership will hold its 10th anniversary gala at the Monterey Bay Aquarium from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Attendees will include business leaders, policymakers and community leaders working to tackle the tri-county region’s most pressing challenges. For tickets and additional details, go here.
Thursday, Feb. 26: Santa Cruz Pride will hold a workshop for executives, business owners, human resources professionals and managers at the Hotel Paradox in Santa Cruz from 9 a.m. to noon. Rescheduled from Jan. 7., the event, titled Elevate LGBTQ+ Workplace Inclusion: The Power of Belonging, will include real stories from local businesses, networking and more. Speakers include Santa Cruz County Supervisor Monica Martinez and Sharon Papo, the CEO of LGBTQ eLearning. Register here to attend.
Friday, March 13: The Capitola-Soquel Chamber of Commerce’s annual awards gala takes place from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at Chaminade Resort and Spa in Santa Cruz. Nominations are currently open for person of the year, business of the year, educator of the year, outstanding youth and the community spirit awards. For registration, details and the nomination form, click here.
Thursday, April 16: The Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual community recognition awards event at The Grove in Santa Cruz from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Early bird registration is available through March 15.