Lily Belli

Java Junction’s River Street café will remain open after a local restaurant owner agreed to purchase the business, preserving staff and operations. The deal reverses a planned closure driven by steep rent increases, construction disruptions and declining sales.

Live Oak School District celebrated the first full harvest year of its campus farm, which produced 4,800 pounds of organic fruits, vegetables and herbs used in school meals and educational programs across seven schools. The project, built on a former baseball field, combines nutrition, hands-on learning and food access, with students helping prepare fresh meals while the farm also donates surplus produce to local families.

After years of uncertainty tied to a proposed senior housing development, the longtime Silver Spur restaurant will relocate to the former Jeffery’s Restaurant site at Soquel Avenue and Capitola Road this fall. Co-owners Juan Valencia and Daniel Govea say the expanded space will keep the same menu and staff while adding more seating, remodeled interiors and beer, wine and mimosas.

Lily Belli dishes on the fate of Jeffery's Restaurant, a dream come to fruition in Live Oak School District, Second Harvest Food Bank seeking community input on food insecurity and much more in her Tuesday newsletter.

Nearly 30 restaurants across Santa Cruz County participated in the county’s first Vegan Chef Challenge in April, offering special plant-based dishes aimed at attracting diners and encouraging restaurants to expand vegan options. Corralitos restaurant Circle & Square Bistro won the competition. Participating chefs said the event brought in new customers and inspired interest in keeping some vegan dishes on their menus permanently.

Fawn Pizza & Vinyl Bar, which opened in February in Aptos’ Deer Park Marketplace, blends thin-crust pizzas, hearty appetizers and salads with DJ-curated vinyl sets. The space is inspired by Japanese listening bars, a trend that’s gaining traction nationally along with a rise in the popularity of records. Owner Carlos Perez, a former Bay Area DJ and chef, hopes to build the restaurant into a community gathering place centered around music, food and family-friendly nightlife.

In her Tuesday newsletter, Lily Belli takes readers inside a new Aptos restaurant and notes the standouts from April's Santa Cruz Vegan Chef Challenge, plus menu updates at Dos Pescados.

Downtown Santa Cruz's Gabriella Café and the beachside Dream Inn both have new chefs at the helm, Lily Belli reports in her Tuesday newsletter.

For decades, Pajaro Valley apple farmers relied on S. Martinelli & Co. as their primary — and often only — buyer, but the company’s decision to stop renewing some grower contracts has left longtime orchardists scrambling for alternatives and questioning the future of local apple farming. As multigenerational families tear out orchards and lease land to berry growers, many fear the region is losing not only a historic industry, but also the infrastructure and cultural legacy that sustained it for more than a century.

What the loss of Martinelli's contracts will mean for area apple growers, a chance go behind the scenes at an upcoming vegan food festival and a dynamic food presence leaving downtown Santa Cruz – get all that and more in this week's newsletter from Lily Belli.