Business

SANTA CRUZ—With a short welcoming greeting to a small crowd gathered outside Santa Cruz’s new REI store Wednesday evening, manager John Davis opened the doors for the first time, allowing employees’ friends and family a peek before the store opens Friday. An abbreviation of Recreational...

With most people staying close to home during the pandemic, looking for things to do and ways to stay safe, local nurseries have seen an uptick in customers. Stay-at-home orders have prompted many to find new hobbies—and gardening has been a popular choice. Sierra Azul...

The 39th annual EcoFarm Conference returned to Pacific Grove this week, and with it came the annual bus tour of local organic farms.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—California health officials on Tuesday moved Santa Cruz County into the less restrictive “Moderate” or Orange tier, meaning that several businesses can reopen and welcome in more customers. The move means that the county is seeing 1-3.9 new cases per 100,00 in population....

Rotary Club of Watsonville members John Kane IV (left), Francisco Estrada (second from right) and Murry Schekman recently presented D’ la Colmena owner Adrian Gonzales (second from left) with the winning plaque for the “Best Burrito on the Central Coast — People’s Choice” award, voted on by this year’s Burrito Bash participants.

WATSONVILLE—The City of Watsonville is cracking down on unpermitted food trucks and weighing whether to rework its rules regarding the mobile food vendors in the coming year. The City Manager’s office has received numerous complaints about food trucks from several brick-and-mortar restaurant owners over the...

CAPITOLA—Too many housing units. Not in line with Capitola’s “unique” feel and community. A fiscal “wash.”  These critiques and concerns—and several others—came to light at the Capitola City Council’s Nov. 14 meeting concerning the planned redevelopment of the hollowed Capitola Mall. The council took no action...

WATSONVILLE—Sisters-in-law Araceli Gonzalez and Laura Espindola first had the idea to open their own business more than two years ago.  Both mothers with a passion for shopping, they wanted to open a shop full of products for young children and new (and expecting) mothers.  “We had...

There is now a new way to assemble your own bouquet of roses, thanks to a pick-your-own rose venue at Birdsong Orchards in Watsonville. Owner Nadine Schaeffer said she is growing dozens of varieties of roses on her 8-acre parcel where she also tends to...