Firefly Brings the Magic to Long Vacant Walnut Avenue Space

April 30, 2023 – When 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall shuttered on March 19, 2020—an early victim of the state’s mandatory COVID-19 restaurant and bar closures—no one could have predicted that the space on Walnut Avenue in downtown Santa Cruz would sit vacant for the next three years.

“It was this iconic place. It’s such a great location and I really wanted to pay homage to 99 Bottles by revitalizing the venue,” says Hans Losee, who co-owns the newly opened Firefly Tavern, with business partner April Wilkerson.

His self-described “inviting, upscale public house,” quietly opened Saturday, April 30, in the renovated space, generating an impressive amount of business within the first half-hour. It will be open daily from 11:30am to 8pm Monday to Thursday, 11am to 10pm Friday and Saturday, and 11am to 5pm Sundays.

Firefly Tavern offers a full menu of modern American dishes, some with Southern and Southwestern influence, including chopped salad, a double cheeseburger, a chicken Chili Verde bowl, and red beans and rice. A dedicated weekend brunch menu will feature dishes like waffles and fried chicken and cheese grits with Andouille sausage and collard greens.

Losee—who was born and raised in Santa Cruz—is also the owner of Firefly Coffee House, which he purchased in February 2020. An avid home cook, Losee says his primary objective for Firefly Tavern, besides offering low-key, genuine hospitality is emphasizing local and craft dishes, many of which will be made in-house by chef Jose Ortega.

“From pickles and sandwich buns to biscuits, and cured salmon, it will all be made here, and we’ll be sourcing as much local product as we can, including from the Wednesday farmers market on the next block,” says Losee. “I also have a couple of acres on my property, and we’ll be growing some of our own produce, as well.” 

Losee’s decision to hire Ortega, formerly of HOME and Discretion Brewing, aligns with this vision. Ortega has experience making artisanal foods and working with local growers, and he was also a butcher at Shopper’s Corner for three years. 

The bar program is where Losee’s talent shines, and because the tavern is currently limited to beer and wine, he wanted to exercise as much creativity as possible. In addition to local and international offerings and housemade sangria, Losee has created a curated, seasonally changing menu of what he calls “elevated” wine-based cocktails. 

“We have an amazing sour made with agave wine, fresh local apricots, bitters and egg white,” he says. “We also have an agave wine spritzer with guava, lemon, simple syrup, and egg white, topped with sparkling wine and Armagnac wine-based cocktails.”

The 50-seat space is warm and inviting, with black exposed brick, rich colors, wood-paneled booths, and Chinoiserie wallpaper; upstairs there is a cozy, living room-like lounge area with an array of velvet and leather chairs and paintings. “We did a lot of interior redesign, with the help of Stripe Design Group across the street,” says Losee.

Losee has, in many ways, been preparing to open Firefly Tavern for over two decades. “I tended bar for 20 years and had pretty much topped out in the industry,” he says. “I’d always envisioned having my own place, and I just needed to take a step back so I could find that route. Being able to buy the coffee house was a stroke of luck that helped me learn to run a food and beverage operation on a smaller scale.” Losee also launched Artisan Elixirs, a ginger beer and organic soda company in 2009, which he eventually shuttered citing market saturation.

Even as the enthusiastic owner of an established coffee establishment, Losee never lost his love for “late nights and channeling the creativity necessary to create standout cocktails.” But, just one month after he purchased Firefly Coffee House, the pandemic forced him to lay off his staff and close the business during lockdown. “I remember standing alone in the café, wondering, ‘What the hell have I done?’” he says. 

Rather than concede defeat, Losee used the time to overhaul the menu, spruce up the interior, and make minor operational tweaks. “I put all of my energy into improving the business, and when we reopened, the feedback was incredible,” he says. 

The experience of running the coffee house at such a precarious time—with the attendant supply and staff shortages—also gave Losee the opportunity to learn every aspect of small business ownership, from hiring and cost control to routine maintenance.

In January of this year he happened to see a For Sale sign on the butcher paper-shrouded window of the former 99 Bottles space at 110 Walnut Ave. The site had, in fact, been purchased by Tony and Alba’s Pizza and Pasta owners Dave and Terri Terwilleger in 2021, and they were mid-buildout for a project named Twig’s Taphouse when Dave passed away after a brief illness in May 2022. 

Now that Firefly Tavern is open, Losee is contemplating programming. He’d love to get a full liquor license at some point, and a use permit for live music and other events. 

“Ultimately, I’d love for this to be a hub for the community,” he says. “A place where you can drop in any time of day and know you can grab a coffee or a beer. You walk by and see friends inside, and it’s okay to hang out for a bit and then take off. A welcoming place you can visit any time of day.”