Quick Take
Woodstock's Pizza is adding a square bar and a cocktail program to its downtown Santa Cruz location, and will expand its patio and arcade areas as part of an extensive remodel. The San Diego-based chain has made similar updates to its Chico and Davis restaurants. The Santa Cruz location plans to reopen in early June.
In June, Woodstock’s Pizza in Santa Cruz will reopen after a monthlong remodel with a new look and a new central feature: a four-sided bar with its own cocktail program.
Since it opened on Front Street in 2007, the 200-seat pizza parlor has served only beer and wine, but the San Diego-based chain has begun to add bars with liquor to its restaurants in Davis and Chico and seen positive results, says marketing director James Glover.
“When you add full liquor, it allows a whole group to come in,” Glover said. “Now, instead of switching to a bar, you can go to Woodstock’s and have something for everyone. That’s been beneficial in our other markets, we’ve found.”
It will also become one of the only dining options after 9 p.m. in the city, and the only one in the city to also serve alcoholic drinks. The restaurant is extending its hours until 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights and until midnight the rest of the week. It will serve food the entire time and plans to offer deals like $4 pizza slices after 9 p.m.
The expansion into cocktails is notable, because alcohol consumption overall is down nationally post-pandemic, and Gen Z in particular leans sober. But cocktail culture is thriving locally, with new restaurants like Hook & Line and Obló Cocktails & Kitchen (across from Woodstock’s in the former Café Mare spot) putting their bar programs front and center. Other downtown establishments like Ulterior, located upstairs at Pacific Avenue’s Motiv, and After Hours inside 11th Hour Coffee on Center Street are catering to a younger crowd. Cocktails will also be a cornerstone at Mission West owner Max Turigliatto’s upcoming Alley Oop Lounge in the former Poet & Patriot space next to Kuumbwa Jazz Center.
Woodstock’s cocktail menu will have eight to 10 house cocktails and shooters, and is aiming to be approachable and not too fancy. “You’re not going to always get a sprig of rosemary on every drink here, but it’s going to be quality ingredients. Well-mixed and consistent,” said Glover.
The square bar is the most notable new feature of a complete remodel, with seating on all four sides, including one side that faces the patio. Other additions include an expanded patio with a design cohesive with the interior of the restaurant. New accordion-style floor-to-ceiling windows run along an exterior wall and can be completely pushed aside to open the interior of the restaurant to the outside seating area.
“It’ll be one of the few if only spots you can go belly up with your dog at the bar in the patio area,” said Glover.
A matrix of four 80-inch TVs will face the outside patio for patrons to watch sports, and can be combined to watch important events like the upcoming 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. The arcade area will also be extended with new games, and guests will be able to add money to a card to play, rather than use cash and coins.
Glover says adding a bar program is about “having something for everyone” and leaning into a post-pandemic culture of going out in the evenings. “It’s cool to see life coming back. We’re seeing a lot of stores open,” said Glover. “We’re invested in Santa Cruz and the downtown area. Hopefully [Woodstock’s] is a good example and will give other people confidence to do the same.”
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