Business

APTOS—As a young man, Bapcha Murty moved from his native Chennai, India to attend UC Los Angeles and become an engineer. He went on to a career in the Silicon Valley tech industry that spanned more than two decades in several companies. But when Murty...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Planning Commission at its Tuesday meeting unanimously approved an application from Habitat For Humanity to fill a vacant portion of a large building on the 500 block of Main Street.  Formerly home to a bounce house business, the 555 Main St. location adjacent...

After nine years, Wargin Wines will be moving its production and tasting room out of Watsonville—at least for the time being. The winery, which was established in December of 2012, was one of the first wineries to settle in the Pajaro Valley in recent years....

WATSONVILLE—A project seven years in the making, the 112-room Hampton Inn & Suites opened its doors Monday morning on Lee Road in Watsonville. The four-story hotel flanks a new Starbucks coffee house and a newly opened Arco gas station and AM/PM mini market, all under...

El Pájaro Community Development Corporation (El Pájaro CDC) has entered into a partnership with Staff of Life, a natural foods market that recently opened its new store in the East Lake Shopping Center. El Pájaro CDC, which aims to support small business entrepreneurs by...

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...

WATSONVILLE—When Santa Cruz-based natural foods store Staff of Life opened its second location in Watsonville in March, employees from Sambrailo were pleased to see their products featured front and center. Fresh, organic vegetables and fruit in the store’s produce aisle were nestled inside Sambrailo’s sustainable...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on May 11 voted unanimously to delay a 25-cent fee for disposable cups at businesses in the unincorporated parts of the county until January 2022. County officials crafted the ordinance to reduce the amount of disposable...

WATSONVILLE—Roaring Camp Railroads has struck a deal with Progressive Rail to provide freight services for Watsonville businesses. Santa Cruz Big Trees and Pacific Railway, a subsidiary of Roaring Camp, announced the deal on April 30 in a press release. Roaring Camp CEO Melani Clark said the...

WATSONVILLE—Dozens attended Tuesday night’s Watsonville City Council meeting to rebuke reported complaints lodged to the City Manager’s office about mobile food vendors. This included about a half-dozen food truck operators gathered on one device that took turns grilling the City Council and staff holding the...