September 27, 2016 – After more than two years at the helm of Assembly in Santa Cruz, opening chef Carlo Espinas has moved on to work at Oakland’s much-lauded Camino Restaurant—a temple of wood-fired grilling.
“It was a slow transition, he gave us four months notice and phased out over the summer,” says Zach Davis, who owns the downtown eatery, the Penny Ice Creamery and the Picnic Basket with business partner Kendra Baker.
Davis says sous chef Trent Lindgren has stepped up to fill vacancy together with GM Trace Barnes, who has kitchen management experience. Baker—a former pastry chef at Manresa—is also playing a bigger role in menu planning and development.
“There’s a lot of collaboration going on right now, as they are working on a new fall menu,” he said. Davis assured diners that popular dishes—like the West Coast burger—will remain on the menu, but be supplemented by daily seasonal specials.
“Carlo was never planning to live in Santa Cruz forever, he wanted to get back to the city,” says Davis, adding that they are not actively recruiting a replacement, but, “If somebody came along who was a perfect fit, we would consider it.”
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