Café Mare Changes Hands, Familiar Faces Return

November 26, 2023 – Let’s set the record straight. Chef Jean Pierre Iuliano—who has helmed Café Mare for nearly 22 years—served his last meal there on Sunday, November 26. It was a festive occasion, and marked both the end of his career in the Santa Cruz culinary scene, and the beginning of a new chapter in his life. 

He’s calling it quits because time marches on, and he wishes to spend more of it with beloved family members, including his parents in Italy, and his wife’s three daughters who live in Florida. 

“I’m old!!” he says, “I’m 58! This business is really hard on the body and on relationships. It’s hard work and demanding. Maybe I’ll try something easier!” 

It’s unlikely he’ll sit idle for long, but for now, just the thought of getting out of the restaurant rat race that has been his entire life thus far, is quite appealing. “I really don’t have a plan. I do like the idea of relocating to a warmer climate that is less expensive,” he adds.

But loyal fans of the restaurant should not despair. As of Friday, December 1, Café Mare will reopen under new ownership by familiar faces. Marco Paoletti and Andrea Loporcaro, who both worked at Café Mare in the early days and who own and operate Sugo restaurant on Soquel Avenue in Santa Cruz, will take over. 

They plan to keep the Café Mare name and menu through the end of December, after which they will close for a remodel. The plan is to reopen with a new name and menu sometime in February.  “We do not want to interrupt the business during the holidays, which is such a busy time,” says Paoletti. “There are parties and celebrations. We also want to keep the entire staff employed through the end of the year. This is very important to us.” 

Paoletti tells us that he is finalizing the name and concept, which will definitely not be traditional Italian, as Café Mare has always been. 

“If you go to Italy today, you do not find restaurants like this,” he says. “Italy is a modern country and the cuisine is progressive and innovative.” He wants to move in that direction with the new menu, currently under development. “There will be Italian influences, certainly, but much more also. We want it to reflect the modern trends in cuisine, but always, we will be keeping an emphasis on fresh, local, organic ingredients.” 

Café Mare’s longtime owner, Jean Pierre Iuliano, hails from Calabria, Italy and operated the restaurant since 2002. Prior to that, he lived in Half Moon Bay where he worked at Mezzaluna, beginning in 1993. He left in 1997 to open Star Bene in Santa Cruz, with Mario Ibarra, who owns Aroma in Ben Lomond, and Sandro Costanza, who owns Pizzeria La Buffala in Abbott Square.

So much has changed in the last three decades. He reflects on the scarcity of salmon, which was once abundant, as well as the dearth, and the dear price, of Chilean sea bass. Fortunately, he notes, there are local Petrale sole, rock fish, ling cod and in the summer, Albacore. As head chef, he’s trained lots of really talented people in the kitchen, many of them Latino, and he knows Café Mare is in good hands. 

For his part, Paoletti wants to be very clear that Café Mare will continue to be the welcoming place the clientele has come to expect, despite the ownership change and eventual name and menu updates. 

And just as importantly, Sugo will remain open, despite any rumors to the contrary.