Alderwood Closes Permanently in Santa Cruz

January 21, 2025 – Alderwood on Walnut Avenue in Santa Cruz was many things, including much discussed and much debated.

It was smart, modern and seafood-driven when it opened in 2018, and for an extended stretch from there. 

It even earned placement in the Michelin Guide, the only in the area to draw that shine besides David Kinch-pedigreed Mentone in Aptos. 

The teaser in the Guide still stirs an appetite: “The menu stars responsibly-sourced oysters and choice cuts of aged beef. Get going with a crispy crab sandwich offered with cool tartar sauce and piping-hot fries. Then, tuck into wood-roasted shrimp with leeks and pancetta, before calling it a night with the raspberry dream sundae.”

It proved understandably polarizing and alienating after an ugly, violent and racist incident led me to report, mid-COVID, “The brawl on June 18 may have triggered the end of Alderwood as we know it.”

Not long after that, it added a sleek sister spot on Pacific Avenue, though that closed suddenly within a few months.

Then opening chef-partner Jeffrey Wall departed abruptly last year.

But the original Alderwood, also demonstrated it was resilient, even resurgent, hiring locally sown and fine dining grown exec chef Mikey Adams to restore its savory glory.

But now comes news that merits no debate.

Alderwood Santa Cruz shuttered quietly—and permanently. 

Edible Monterey Bay confirmed with Adams that Sunday was the final day of service. “We had a good run, and developed food that really worked for our audience,” Adams says.

Now what ultimately occupies that key corner at Cedar and Walnut in Surf City—and how Adams continues his epicurean odyssey in the area, which he notes is already underway—will be much discussed, and deservedly so.