Quick Take

A key piece of Santa Cruz's music culture is under new ownership, Jessica M. Pasko reports in her weekly look around local business. She also spotlights a new site that aims to be a repository for children's activities in the area.

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.

The column will take a pause on Feb. 25, returning March 4.

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

Santa Cruz Rehearsal Studios to continue on under new owners

Lisa Lincoln and Eric Peterson have purchased Santa Cruz Rehearsal Studios, a longtime music rehearsal space on Coral Street in Santa Cruz’s Harvey West area. Peterson, a drummer, has rented space there from previous owners Paul and Jenn Gallacher, and he and his wife are big supporters of local music. 

The Gallachers announced at the end of last year that they were putting the business up for sale to focus on other things, but they sought new owners who would carry on their vision for the business. 

Read more here. 

Santa Cruz mom launches Activity Ally to help parents find kids activities

the logo for Activity Ally
Credit: Activity Ally

As a busy single mom, Amelia Samuels regularly found herself trying to find activities for her young son, which could sometimes feel like a wild goose chase. Her son would hear about a karate class his friend was taking or a rock climbing event, and she’d have to chase down the flyer or ask around for the details trying to figure out what it was. 

“I felt like I couldn’t keep up,” she said. “And I realized it wasn’t just me; all parents were struggling to keep up.”

That sparked an idea: What if there was one central repository for all of these activities, in a place that made it easy to search for and find them for your kids?

Samuels had spent years working in marketing and operations in Santa Cruz and Silicon Valley. About a year ago, she was between jobs and decided to use her free time to start building a website to help connect parents with organizers of youth activities. 

Activity Ally went live last month, offering a way to search for different activities by multiple categories: age, date, type of activity, etc. It’s basically like a virtual, interactive community bulletin board. Parents can use it to find sports leagues for their kids to join, activities during school breaks and more. On the flip side, businesses and organizations such as dance schools, athletic leagues and martial arts studios can list their events on the website. For event organizers, there’s also an option to enable parents to pay for/sign up for the activities directly through Activity Ally. 

While initially focused on Santa Cruz County, Samuels hopes to eventually expand to more areas. She’s currently bootstrapping the project herself, with some small investment from friends and family. Using Santa Cruz County as her proof of concept, she hopes to eventually launch a fundraising campaign to boost Activity Ally.

“My goal [for the site] would be, at any point in time, if I need to find something for my kids, I’ll be able to find something,” she said. “I want it to be extremely inclusive.”

Samuels will talk about Activity Ally at a Santa Cruz Works event on Wednesday, March 4, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Chaminade Resort & Spa.

ICYMI: Road closures, loss of parking during downtown Santa Cruz library construction taking toll on surrounding businesses

An aerial view of construction on the downtown Santa Cruz library and affordable housing project on a lot bounded by Cathcart, Cedar (right) and Lincoln (lower left) streets. Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

The mixed-use housing and new library project that broke ground last summer is already taking a toll on businesses in the area. Business owners told Lookout that the resulting loss of nearby parking spaces has been a challenge, and that they’re seeing declining foot traffic as the construction continues. 

Not only did the construction project on Lot 4 between Cathcart and Lincoln streets eliminate a parking lot, but crews are using a smaller, adjacent lot for staging. The project also has temporarily eliminated some of the nearby metered street parking. Lillian Schrock-Clevenger spoke to some local business owners to learn more about the effects they’re seeing. Read her piece here.

Ch-ch-changes

  • Visit Santa Cruz County opens new neurodivergent-friendly visitor center: The county’s tourism marketing organization has a new visitor center at 705 Front St., adjacent to the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History in downtown Santa Cruz. The new center also includes a sensory-friendly space designed for travelers with autism, which includes weighted blankets, fidget toys and a quiet environment. Visit Santa Cruz County staff members have received specialized training to become what’s known as certified autism travel professionals through the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards. The visitor center also features a welcome desk made from a reclaimed redwood tree, a room where an augmented reality video will showcase activities in the county and all sorts of digital and physical resources for those visiting Santa Cruz County.
Megan Bell at Margins Wine tasting room in Santa Cruz.
Megan Bell at the Margins Wine tasting room on Santa Cruz’s Westside. Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz
  • Margins Wine to close in April: After a decade in operation, Santa Cruz-based winery Margins Wine will close. As the San Francisco Chronicle reported, owner and winemaker Megan Bell cited significant debts as a major factor in her decision to shutter the business this spring. Many of those debts were accumulated while working to open her postage stamp-sized tasting room on the Westside, a byzantine process that Lily Belli detailed here. Bell started the winery in 2016 while working as an assistant winemaker at Beauregard Vineyards and earned wide acclaim for her natural wines.
  • New Mexican restaurant opens in Boulder Creek: Corazon de Leon has taken over the former Casa Nostra in Boulder Creek. It’s the brainchild of Marco Rocha, who owns the El Rey Leon food truck. The business had its soft opening earlier this month. Casa Nostra’s Boulder Creek location closed in late 2023; its Scotts Valley spot shuttered the following year.
  • Save the Redwoods hires conservation finance director: California nonprofit Save the Redwoods League has appointed Cecilia Cordova as the organization’s new conservation finance director. Cordova brings more than a decade of experience designing and executive conservation finance strategies and large-scale land transactions to the organization, which has worked to protect thousands of acres of redwood forests in Santa Cruz County and elsewhere.
  • Santa Cruz creative firm acquired by global company: Hovercraft Ventures, a global events company, has purchased Visual Endeavors, a Santa Cruz design and creative solutions company. Visual Endeavors, headquartered on the Westside, has been involved with a number of major musical projects including the Backstreet Boys and Zac Brown Band residencies at Sphere in Las Vegas.

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

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Save the date 

  • Thursday, Feb. 19: The Aptos Chamber will hold its February luncheon with guest speaker Jenn Capps, the new president of Cabrillo College. The event takes place at Seascape Golf Club from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tickets and registration here.
  • Tuesday, Feb. 24: The Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce and Workforce Santa Cruz County will host a hospitality roundtable from 2 to 3 p.m. at Cruzio’s headquarters, 877 Cedar St., Suite 150. Details and registration here.
  • Wednesday, Feb. 25: Santa Cruz Works will host its next CEO Works Luncheon on the topic of how nonprofits can scale with AI. The event will feature Ravi Gauba, the CEO of LiveImpact, a company that helps nonprofits with its AI-based platform. He’ll be joined by Eric Ressler, founder and creative director of Santa Cruz-based Cosmic. The luncheon takes place from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 110 Cooper St., Suite 201 in Santa Cruz. Registration and more details here.
  • Thursday, Feb. 26: Santa Cruz Core Fitness & Rehab will host a “mix and mingle” at its Watsonville location at 50 Penny Lane from 5 to 7 p.m. with refreshments and a chance to meet with staff.
  • 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. 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.
  • Thursday, Feb. 26: The Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce will host its next business after-hours event at United Way Santa Cruz County, 4450 Capitola Rd., Suite 106, Capitola, from 5 to 7 p.m. Details here.
  • 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.

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

Business news worth reading

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Jessica M. Pasko has been writing professionally for almost two decades. She cut her teeth in journalism as a reporter for the Associated Press in her native Albany, New York, where she covered everything...