December 6, 2016 – Pacific Grove’s Central Coast Juicery is opening a shop in downtown Santa Cruz. Owner Mark Kaltenbacher has signed a lease on a Locust St. location, just off Pacific Avenue and will soon begin building the interior using reclaimed redwood from Big Sur.
Nutritious cold-pressed juices are made using produce from 20 local farms including Lakeside Organics, New Natives, Prevedelli, Lonely Mountains and Oya Organics in Hollister—where they compost pulp left over after the juice is pressed.
Kaltenbacher started out making juices overnight using Happy Girl Kitchen in Pacific Grove, and he sold out of there for two years before moving into his own shop on Forest Avenue, just off Lighthouse.
But the UC Santa Cruz grad says he always loved Santa Cruz and has been looking for a reason to move back. Like the Pacific Grove store, the new Santa Cruz outpost will have a cozy, earthy decor.
“With Trump becoming president everyone is talking about safe places and safe havens, well that has always been our intention,” he says. “We’re a place where you can come in and be comfortable, everything about it has soul.”
In addition to making and selling juices, Kaltenbacher partners with New Earth Superfoods, a San Luis Obispo company that makes coconut-based probiotic yogurts. “It’s very difficult to make non-dairy active cultures and their products are very much in demand,” he says. “Probiotic foods, that’s the cutting edge.”
Barring unexpected delays, Central Coast Juicery number two is expected to open by April 1.
About the author
At Edible Monterey Bay, our mission is to celebrate the local food culture of Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey Counties, season by season. We believe in sustainability, and we believe everyone has a right to healthful, clean and affordable food. We think knowing where our food comes from is powerful, and we hope our magazine, website and newsletters inspire readers to get to know and support our local growers, fishers, chefs, vintners and food artisans.
