(Jared Ames picks up his morning coffee at Coffeeville in the East Lake Village Shopping Center on East Lake Avenue. Photo by Tarmo Hannula/Pajaronian)
WATSONVILLE — East Lake Village Shopping Center has long drawn shoppers from throughout Watsonville, with a grocery store, a hardware store and several restaurants.
This is in addition to Bud’s Barber Shop, East Lake Food-Liquors and a business that specializes in metal detectors and antique coins.
Hungry patrons can choose between Chinese food, pizza, sushi and barbecue.
Now, with plans to open a brewery and to move a successful coffee shop to a larger, more visible space, the property managers are positioning the center to be a commercial hub and a community gathering space that could help the city keep pace with its North County neighbor.
“Watsonville has an undercurrent of what Santa Cruz used to be,” said Clark Codiga, managing partner of Oaktree Property Company which manages the center. “We’re just looking for some good outdoor energy and bringing things to Watsonville that people want.”
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Fruition Brewing
Fruition Brewing, which is expected to open in the fall, is a project of David Purgason and Tallula Preston.
The 4,400-square-foot space will have a seven-barrel brewery, an indoor space and an outdoor patio area. A kitchen will also allow the brewery to offer a small menu.
Purgason has had a passion for brewing beer since college, when he learned to make small home batches. It became such a part of his life that he did his thesis at UC Santa Cruz on the sustainability of craft beer.
“Drinking a glass of something you made yourself is incredibly rewarding,” he said.
Purgason has worked for Boulder Creek Brewing Company and Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing Company, and is currently the distiller for Venus Spirits in Santa Cruz.
“It’s all I know how to do,” he said.
Purgason said he found the South County location after a three-year search. The decision was cemented when he heard Codiga’s vision for the plaza, he said.
Santa Cruz already has its share of craft brewers, but also comes with high rent, Purgason said.
The East Lake Village Shopping Center, on the other hand, offers a unique retail space surrounded by neighborhoods, which will draw foot traffic as well as by car.
“We want to make a space where people can come and have a good time,” Purgason said. “Watsonville can always use another place for the community to get together.”
Fruition Brewing will be located at 916 East Lake Ave. For information, visit www.fruitionbrewing.com.
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Coffeeville
Workers are in the final stages of construction for Coffeeville’s new location in the same plaza.
The shop moved from its Santa Cruz location on Ocean Street last year, and has since built a loyal following of customers and scads of top-notch accolades on review sites such as Yelp!.
“This community is exactly why we’re in coffee,” said owner Kendra McQueen. “It suits us perfectly.”
Currently set in a tiny, somewhat behind-the-scenes location, the store will soon open in a larger, newly renovated space that will offer more space for customers and a kitchen that will allow for home-baked goods.
McQueen also hopes to offer her own small-batch, homemade ice cream made with local ingredients.
See the Coffeeville Facebook page at facebook.com/coffeevillesantacruz.
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Super Max Discount Foods
Super Max Discount Foods will be closing at the end of May, manager Gerald Maldonado confirmed.
“We’re just a friendly neighborhood market,” he said.
Maldonado said the store has served the seniors that live in nearby Bay Village and Pajaro Village senior communities. Many, he said, come by electric wheelchairs.
“They rely on us as their local market,” he said. “A lot of them don’t drive, and we’re within walking distance.”
Codiga said that Oaktree Property Company offered a new lease, but the owners decided to retire.
He said he has been in contact with a handful of grocery stores to fill the space, but declined to say which ones.
Super Max began its life as Lambert’s Market, which in turn started as a small store abutting Taylor’s Hot Dog Stand. Owners Carl and Clive Lambert moved the market to its current location in 1964.
According to Watsonville resident Charles Birimisa, who describes himself as a longtime shopper, the store became Fairway Mart in the ‘80s, and in the late ‘90s it became Super Max Discount Foods.
Customer Jeannie Ramirez said she was sad to hear news of the impending closure.
“I’m definitely going to miss this place,” she said. “I mean, not only did my husband work here, this is our market. It’s so convenient; we just live around the corner. They’ve always had a good selection and the people here have been so nice.”
