Downtown Santa Cruz businesses face mixed fortunes

Businesses in downtown Santa Cruz often come and go.”I feel like growing up, downtown was super live, and there was a lot of commotion,” said Santa Cruz resident Daisy Mankato. “It’s kind of a bummer that the fun stores that I like to go to are closing and I feel like it’s less like places to go to.”This raises the question of how small businesses manage to stay afloat.Joe Ferrar has owned Atlantis Fantasyworld, a comic book shop in downtown Santa Cruz, for nearly 50 years.”We work with so many other businesses downtown on an individual basis. The more you send the message to your visitors, the people that come in to see you, that you’re part of this community, you’re not planning on going anywhere, the more they will support you,” Ferrar said. “We’re losing some businesses, but we’re also acquiring new businesses, and the challenge is for people to understand that the economic future of downtown, I think it’s in a good place because there’s a lot of things being done to help move the needle toward a more positive downtown. As we get more residences over the next three to five years, with all the construction that’s going on, there’ll be more activity.”One of those affected is business owner Mia Thorn. Thorn is the owner of Cruz Kitchen and Taps which opened in February 2022 and closed in October of this year.”The people that I have talked to in the community are absolutely nervous for the still standing restaurants that are kind of in the middle, the $20 to $30 range and not in that upper echelon of foods or established for 30 years places,” Thorn said. “But even those ones are suffering.”She says owning a business in this economy is tough.”You get taxed on appliances that you already own, that you’ve already paid sales tax on,” Thorn said. “So you get these random little pockets of taxation that I just don’t know where that money goes or why we have to pay for it, especially in a small business moment.” Locals from the area say downtown needs a makeover to help with future success.”Maybe if it was more cute down here? I don’t know, I feel like there’s a lot of changes that could be made,” Mankato said.”I think more events,” said Santa Cruz resident Antonia Wilson. “Also, I know Albert Square does like events like First Friday, and I think little things like not bringing a lot more people down here and more people together.”