Business

WATSONVILLE—A little more than a year ago, Perla Pineda said she had a thought in the back of her mind that would not let her get a good night’s rest. “I felt like something else was calling me,” she said. She remembers waking up in the...

CAPITOLA—A new branch of Outdoor Supply Hardware (OSH) is slated for a Jan. 6 opening in the former Orchard Supply Hardware store on 41st Avenue. Ryan Odell, store manager at the Napa OSH branch, said the company will run a soft opening in the first...

WATSONVILLE—Staff of Life grocery store has for a half-century been a backbone of healthy eating and living in Santa Cruz County, selling organic food and natural products long before those concepts hit the mainstream. Founders Richard Josephson and Gary Bascou launched the business as a...

Owner Jim van Lanen said the move comes as an adjustment to the market, especially in that “more people and buying goods online.”

George Couch was an ambitious 25-year-old when he came to Watsonville in 1973 and negotiated a deal to purchase a small Anheuser-Busch distributorship. It would not stay small for long. His company Couch Distributing, which he runs with his brother Geoff, has since 1973 delivered...

PAJARO—The tiny town of Pajaro, nestled on the most northerly corner of Monterey County, just got its first pizzeria. Thanks to a dream of Pajaro native and resident Eric Ramirez, fresh homemade pizzas are prepared in-house and baked in a brick oven at Idle Hour...

WATSONVILLE—For nearly four decades, El Frijolito restaurant has been serving traditional Mexican fare in its sit-down dining room at 11 Alexander St. Now in its 38th year, the place is perhaps best known for its walk-up window on the 400 block of Union Street, which...

Todd Guild Freedom Meat Lockers One of my favorite things to do for lunch in Watsonville is head over to Freedom Meat Lockers, which in addition to its high-quality selection of carnivores’ delights, also offers a deli counter. Normally when I hear the word ‘deli’ I cringe,...

WATSONVILLE—When the nonprofit Defend Our Health tested bottle caps from 141 beverage brands, they found potentially harmful chemicals in more than a third of them. Two Martinelli’s products were among these brands, but the Watsonville-based apple juice and cider company says it is now...

WATSONVILLE—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a plan to purchase properties on Westridge Drive in Watsonville, and to relocate several county services there. The move, which will consolidate five separate departments into a building at 500 Westridge Drive, is expected...