Santa Cruz County food & drink changes & closures, as of April 11, 2020

Hi there. During Shelter In Place, here’s the latest status of many local restaurants and other businesses. Hope it helps you simultaneously support local businesses and nourish yourselves—it’s current as of the end of the day yesterday, April 11 (as far as I know—please understand there will be some mistakes as things are constantly changing). Note that some updates have been made for menus, etc. under restaurant listings.

Please email me at tara@santacruzfoodie.com if you have information to share, or corrections for me, for future articles.

Restaurants & other food vendors

Get info for more downtown SC restaurants, & downtown SC food/drink venues, at https://downtownsantacruz.com/downtown-delivered. See menus for some restaurants at the Instagram account whatsopensantacruz & the site whatsopensantacruz.com—they also have some info on other services that are open (I’m not affiliated with these–just sharing resources).

Grocery stores

Note: Several local stores offer delivery service for a fee through InstaCart. These include Costco, Lucky, New Leaf, Nob Hill, Safeway, and Target. Visit https://www.instacart.com.

• Aptos Natural Foods has reduced hours of 10 am to 7 pm with senior hours of 8-10 am (65 years and up, and 10 percent discount during this time), aptosnaturalfoods.com
• Black Point Market: still open for business, groceries and ready-to-eat food, 831- 713-5842
• Costco: Effective April 8, Costco has a new priority policy for healthcare workers & first responders. During all open hours, Costco members who are healthcare workers and first responders (such as police officers, EMTs and firefighters) will be allowed to move to the front of any line to enter the warehouse. Effective March 30, hours were reduced (closing earlier): 10 am-6:30 pm weekdays, 9:30 am-6 pm Saturdays, 10 am to 6 pm Sunday. Seniors and vulnerable customers can shop Tues through Thurs 8-9 am—note, “official (published) hours to non-seniors” don’t start until 10 am weekdays, but unofficially, on Tuesdays Wednesdays and Thursdays Costco is letting non-seniors in right after the senior hour ends at 9. Updated gas station hours are 7:30 am-7 pm weekdays, 7:30 am-6:30 weekends, 831-469-0961, https://www.costco.com/
• Deluxe Foods: open for business, see deluxefoodsofaptos.com
• Food Bin & The Herb Room: open 8 am to 8 pm, call 831-423-5526 (Food Bin) or 831-429-8108 (Herb Room) or visit https://www.foodbinherbroom.com
• Grocery Outlet: hours are 8 am to 9 pm daily, https://groceryoutlet.com/store-locator
• Lucky: general hours are 6 am-10 p.m. daily except from 6-9 am Tuesday and Thursday: these are exclusive hours for seniors and guests with compromised health; 831-462-6917, www.luckysupermarkets.com
• New Leaf Community Markets: reduced hours 9 am to 8 pm daily, 8-9 am is for pregnant, senior, and immune-compromised individuals. Extended senior discount (formerly Wednesday, now Monday-Friday). There are now temporary store capacity limits and new waitlist technology that gives customers the option to join a waitlist queue via text with their mobile phone upon arrival at the store. New Leaf asks that families elect one member to do the shopping whenever possible and to limit store visits to 30 minutes or less to help minimize potential wait times, https://www.newleaf.com/stay-healthy
• Nob Hill: open, visit raleys.com/stores/nob-hill-foods-bay-capitola-california
• Safeway: reduced hours & senior early morning hours on certain days depending on location, https://www.safeway.com/
• Shopper’s Corner: as of early April, they changed their hours: now 8-10 am for seniors and those at high risk, and 10 am – 7 pm for the general public, http://www.shopperscorner.com/
• Staff of Life: reduced hours 9 am-8 pm, seniors 60 & older can shop at 8 am from Monday-Friday, online shopping with pickup/delivery is coming soon, https://www.staffoflifemarket.com
• Target: reduced hours at stores including Capitola & Watsonville (8 am-9 pm), starting this week the 8-9 am slot on Tuesdays and Wednesdays is for vulnerable populations only (65 and older, those with underlying health concerns, and pregnant women), https://www.target.com/store-locator/find-stores
• Trader Joe’s: both Santa Cruz and Capitola locations are open with reduced hours: 9 am to 7 pm daily. On March 30 they began hosting an early shopping hour from 8-9 am for seniors and disabled, https://www.traderjoes.com/
• Whole Foods: reduced hours 9 am-8 pm, seniors 60 & older can shop at 8 am https://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores

Farmer’s Markets

The Wednesday Live Oak, Saturday Westside SC and Sunday Live Oak markets from Santa Cruz Community Farmers Markets are currently open with normal hours. They are following strict safety guidelines. I went to the Live Oak market April 12 (my first time at a farmers market since the pandemic) and was pleased with all the 6-foot markers (tape on ground, etc.), and masks/gloves on various vendors. Read more athttp://www.santacruzfarmersmarket.org/sc-community-farmers-markets-and-covid-19(content was updated April 11).

The Saturday Aptos/Cabrillo College market, also open with regular hours, is utilizing safety measures such as hand sanitizer and hand washing stations. Farmers and vendors are wearing gloves. Keep up to date via their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/MBFarmersMarket/.

Breweries

• Discretion Brewing: online ordering (toasttab.com/discretion-brewing) and parking lot pick up from 11 am to 4 pm daily
• Humble Sea Brewing Co. is to-go only. Hours are daily noon to 6 pm. Visit humblesea.com.
• Sante Adairius is offering to-go sales, from noon to 6 pm daily. Visit rusticales.com.

Wineries

• Alfaro Family Vineyards has curbside pick up at the winery by appointment, and on Saturdays between 1-3 p.m. For mail orders, they offer discount shipping ($2 per bottle) and select discounts on purchases over $250. Visit alfarowine.com or call 831-728-5172.
• Integrity Wines is offering in-home wine tasting with winemaker Mark Hoover. The next date is April 19. Cost is $30 for one person or $45 for two and includes tasting kits that are shipped to your home or picked up at the winery (135 Aviation Way) plus a Zoom video link to watch and interact with Hoover. Visit integrity.wine/Buy-Wines/Winemaker-Led-Tastings. Also, Integrity has a “Survival Wine Pack” for $159. Visit www.integrity.wine.
• Pelican Ranch Winery will offer delivery in Santa Cruz County from April 8-14, to those who buy three or more bottles from the Wine Flight list. Wines available are 2017 Chardonnay ($25), 2018 Gewürztraminer ($20), 2018 Zinfandel Rosé ($18), 2017 Pinot Noir Santa Cruz Mt ($36), and 2016 Zinfandel ($21). Call or text winemaker Phil Crews at 831-332-5359. He is offering free shipping to the rest of the U.S. for orders of $75 or more.
• Silver Mountain Vineyards is holding Saturday hours (noon-3 p.m.) for both its tasting rooms, Santa Cruz and Los Gatos, to buy and pick up wine. Also, they are extending the “Irish Green Sale” for five wines including 2015 Chardonnay, Tondré, and 2011 Pinot Noir, Tondré. Call (408) 353-2278 or visit http://www.silvermtn.com.
• Wrights Station Vineyard & Winery has complimentary shipping with any 2 bottle or more purchase, and 25% off any four bottles or more. Pick up can be arranged at the winery by appointment, 408-560-9343, wrightsstation.com

Seafood

Local vendors offering fresh fish for delivery include H&H Fresh Fish and Ocean2Table.

• H&H’s weekly subscription program: choose between one or two meals and pause subscriptions when you need to. See hhfreshfish.com/community-supported-fishery. They have a retail shop at 493 Lake Ave. (below Johnny’s Harborside).
• Ocean2Table: order seafood to be delivered as frequently or rarely as you choose. They recently expanded so that people can add limited amounts of local vendors’ eggs, chicken, and produce to their fish delivery. See getocean2table.com.

Other

• Blossom’s Farmstore and Coffeeshop, 2904 Freedom Blvd. (Watsonville/Corralitos), has reduced its hours to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday (closed Mondays). Products include fresh, organic veggies and fruit from their own and other local farms; Dirty Girl Tomato sauce; fresh bread, seasonal homemade soups, salads and frittatas; Kombucha; coffee, and organic and biodynamically grown tea. They also carry immune system boosting herbal supplements and probiotics/ferments, essential oil sprays and salves (antibacterial and anti viral), and respiratory system healing tonics (all made from Blossom’s Farm herbs), 831-319-4048 or facebook.com/blossomsfarmstorecorralitos.
• Deke’s Market on 7^th Ave., with In Mah Belly Deli, is open. Contact 831-476-5897 or dekesmarket.com
• EatLocal.Farm, an online marketplace for local goods, recently launched. The second week of pickups and deliveries is April 8. Customers buy seasonal produce and items from farms and vendors like Aptos Farm, Borba Family Farms, Fogline Farm, New Natives Nursery, and Wild Poppies Olive Oil. Visit https://eatlocal.farm/.
• Love Cultivated has several Spring Collection gift boxes including one with homemade jams and marmalades (others contain soaps, etc.) If you buy one in April or May, they will donate a gift bag to a heroic community member (essential workers who put themselves at risk to help—medical workers, custodians, postal carriers, grocery store workers, and delivery drivers—they are taking nominees if you know someone). As always, they are donating 5% of sales (not just gift box proceeds) to the Center for Farmworker Families. Visit www.love-cultivated.com. Interested in supporting Center for Farmworker Families? They are doing a fundraising drive for grocery gift cards for farmworkers as the regular April supply distribution was cancelled.  Donate at farmworkerfamily.org/donate.
• Mutari Chocolate is open for delivery and pickup Wednesday-Sunday noon to 7 pm; visit mutarichocolate.com and check their Instagram @mutarichocolate for promotions/discounts
• Sushi Market Sprouts: still open, they carry prepared packaged sushi (same family that runs Kaito Restaurant) & a few Japanese groceries & housewares, also refrigerated miso dressing from Hakouya, https://www.yelp.com/biz/sushi-market-sprouts-santa-cruz
• Toque Blanche: store hours are 11am-6pm daily. They are offering curbside pickup at our Santa Cruz store, and shipping to customers with flat rate $9.99 shipping for orders over $50, or free shipping for over $99, (831) 426-1351, https://www.mytoque.com/pages/toque-blanche-and-the-coronavirus
• The Vitamin Center in Capitola is taking phone orders and offering curbside pickup. Call 831-462-4697 after 10 am daily except Sunday.

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