Change is good, but not in every instance.
At least that’s what many Seabright locals are thinking with new ownership in place at neighborhood anchor Seabreeze Café (542 Seabright Ave., Santa Cruz).
Here, tweaking the legendary cinnamon rolls would be treasonous. Messing with the house Hollandaise would approximate madness. Tinkering with the service team that extends the feeling of comfort from the food would transcend ignorance.
Blessedly none of that is happening, because new owner Marcie Bei Magdaleno…
1) Has been going to Seabreeze with her family since she was tiny, and knew the Linda the cafe was named for (and most still know it as);
2) Has been part of a restaurant family herself (at The Grille at DeLaveaga) for four decades, from busing tables as a pre-teen to running the kitchen post culinary school;
3) Has the understanding that nothing here needs fixing, so she can focus on supporting the team with errand-running and value-enhancing.
“It is a gem in Santa Cruz, this little ma-and-pa place,” says Magdaleno, who lives in the neighborhood, next door to her parents. “Why change a good thing?”
An instance of her supplementary powers arrives as this hits newsstands (Wednesday, Dec. 4): From 3-6pm, Seabreeze hosts a holiday market starring a variety of area artisans—some on staff—tabling inside with everything from jewelry to textiles to photography to children’s books.
Outside will materialize appetizers (think tasty with a chance of cinnamon rolls) and holiday punch.
Meanwhile the entire team remains in place, stove-side to table-side. So do popular plates like house-made corned beef hash, three-egg Florentine omelets, “Seabreeze spuds” with loaded home fries and melted cheese, and “Turkey in the Garden” sandwiches with homemade soup.
Old-school, unchanged—mostly.
“I want to keep [Seabreeze] like it is and add to it,” Magdaleno says. “We’ll just see where it goes. The sky’s the limit!”
More at Linda’s Seabreeze Cafe on Facebook.
WATER WORLD
Three doses of oceanfront news, in descending order of enjoyment: One, Save Our Shores hosts an open house (345 Lake Ave., Suite A, Santa Cruz) during the Lighted Boat Parade 4:30–6:30pm this Saturday, Dec. 7, with great views of the festive flotilla, light snacks and hot beverages, fundraising games, ocean-style face painting, a “sweet swag” silent auction, and mingling with the staff and exec director Katie Thompson, saveourshores.org. Two, Barack Obama swung by Monterey Bay Aquarium recently, meeting up with a squad of Girl Scouts and filming scenes for Our Oceans, now available on Netflix. Three, California Department of Fish and Wildlife recently stalled the start of the commercial Dungeness crab season in the state until (at least) Dec. 15, and all the experts I’ve talked to—CDFW officials and fisherfolk alike—would be surprised if it opened before Jan. 1, so plan holiday appetites (and emotions) accordingly…
VITAL VITTLES
Aptos Wine Wander flows this Sunday, Dec. 8, with dozens of Santa Cruz Mountains vintners pouring and a bunch more businesses providing snacks ($45/advance, $50/door), winesofthesantacruzmountains.com…Love to two flavor-focused sponsors of the Dec. 7 Downtown Holiday Parade, Pacific Avenue institutions Penny Ice Creamery and Kianti’s Pizza & Pasta Bar, now let’s float (!), downtownsantacruz.com…Santa Cruz Holiday Lights has begun at Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, rolling three-quarters of a mile long, with literally millions of lights decorating tractors, trees, lawns and celebratory buildings. Santas, reindeer, snowmen and lighted tunnels too, fairgrounds-foundation.org/holiday-lights…Gloria Steinem: “The first problem for all of us is not to learn, but to unlearn.”
