Business

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville will soon see its first cannabis dispensaries set up shop after two businesses received planning commission approval at Tuesday night’s virtual meeting. Berryessa Holdings, LLC and Charlie Mike, Inc. both got the green light by a unanimous vote. The former will serve customers at...

RIO DEL MAR—Nearly 11 months after a fire gutted the historic Seabreeze Tavern and severely weakened the structure, demolition of the building began Tuesday. The work is being conducted by a private contractor, Santa Cruz County spokesperson Jason Hoppin said. It is not clear what...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Community Hospital has a new chief executive officer.  Steven Salyer, who has 14 years of leadership experience in hospitals throughout the U.S., started the position on July 6. The hospital announced the move on July 14. Salyer previously served as chief operating officer at UP...

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...

WATSONVILLE—Three organic Pajaro Valley farms will be featured in the 2020 EcoFarm Conference bus tour Wednesday—and a handful of seats are still available. Participants will visit Lakeside Organic Gardens, JSM Organics and Coastal Sun Cannabis/Moon Berry Farm during the tour, which kicks off the...

On March 7, Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Cruz County hosted one of the organization’s most popular events of the year.

WATSONVILLE—The developer behind a 150-unit housing project off Ohlone Parkway is asking the Watsonville City Council for a one-year extension on the project’s approval. First approved by the council in 2018 as Sunshine Vista, Hillcrest Estates was set to transform an 11-acre junkyard at 511...

WATSONVILLE—A new coffee shop has opened on Aviation Way, rounding out the Watsonville Hangar business complex that has been growing steadily the past couple of years. Honeylux Coffee is a specialty coffeehouse offering its own signature blend of java, as well as espresso drinks, teas,...

WATSONVILLE—If Dino Saavedra had it his way, he would open his new Watsonville restaurant this weekend. “My dad just wants to start cooking already,” Saavedra’s daughter, Andrea Saavedra, said. “I think we’re all excited to open up.” Dino and Andrea Saavedra will have to keep a...

WATSONVILLE —  For more than 30 years Nicholas Diaz spent long workdays buried in the back of televisions and other broken appliances. He was living his dream of being a neighborhood repairman. That dream came to a horrific close Sept. 1 when he died in a car...