February 22, 2025 – An epic Western has a sequel on the way.
Santa Cruz institution Silver Spur will add a second location in Watsonville’s East Lake Village Shopping Center, debuting Tuesday, March 4.
A pair of plot developments help make that a reality.
One, the original Silver Spur, which opened in the 1960s, found new leadership with old ties to the local institution.
That happened in 2023, when longtime SS cook Juan Valencia acquired the restaurant with his son Danny Govea. For a decade he ran the kitchen for original owner Linda Hopper (also of Linda’s Seabreeze Cafe fame.)
Valencia promptly reinstalled the founding menus, to the delight of locals.
Two, East Lake Village is realizing its ambitions of becoming a multifaceted foodie magnet.
The cast bulges with flavorful protagonists already.
Note the specialty coffee-breakfast snack spot (Coffeeville), craft beer (Fruition Brewing), wood-fired pizza (Ozzy’s Pizzeria), Chinese (Hong Kong Gardens II) and natural foods grocery-deli (Staff of Life).
One conspicuous absence was a full-service breakfast star.
That’s where Silver Spur gallops in, stage left, to occupy a space with a nice patio and overall capacity of up to 100 diners. Hours will be 6am-2pm daily.
Clark Codiga curates tenants as managing partner for East Village landlord Oaktree Property Company, and sounds audibly excited—and relieved—that a far-ranging search for the right piece is finally complete.
“It’s just a great fit,” he says.
The second Spur won’t mess with the successful script at 2650 Soquel Drive in the Live Oak neighborhood of Santa Cruz.
It prioritizes made-from-scratch pancakes (including a daily pancake special), traditional egg bread French toast, country-fried steak and eggs, and three-egg omelets like the Western, the Cowboy and the Whole Hog with ham, spinach, tomato, cheese and sour cream.
Specials that change daily also rope in a lot of regulars. A recent white board, for instance, stacks eight offerings ranging from calamari steak and eggs to turkey-spinach-avocado Benedict to apple-walnut pancakes.
Danny Govea and his father will each oversee a restaurant.
“At first we were hesitant because having two restaurants is not easy,” Govea says, “but we have a great family—a united family—where we can all work together, and we have an excellent restaurant running without us here at all times.
“We’re very excited to go into a new town with new clientele, a lot of good plates and good foods,” he adds, “something different Watsonville doesn’t have yet.”
More at Silver Spur’s Instagram page.
About the author
Mark C. Anderson, Edible Monterey Bay's managing editor, appears on "Friday Found Treasures" via KRML 94.7 every week, a little after 12pm noon. Reach him via mark@ediblemontereybay.com.
