March 7, 2023 – Jessica Yarr wants you to know what her soon-to-open Felton eatery, The Grove, is not. “Somehow, it’s been touted as a vegan bakery, and that’s not true,” says the pastry chef, caterer, and founder of the Eastern European-influenced Chicken Foot pop-up.
Yarr, who was born and raised in Felton, describes The Grove, which opens on March 10, as a “community-focused daytime café with local, seasonal, organically driven, plant-forward food.”
She’ll indeed be baking bread and pastries in-house for use on the frequently changing menus and some items will be vegan or gluten-free, but Yarr isn’t one to be pigeon-holed.
An alum of Penny Ice Creamery (as is her pastry chef) and Gabriella Café, Yarr has made a name for herself in Santa Cruz with her creative, locally sourced California cuisine, some of which draws on her Ukrainian heritage and family recipes.
Chicken Foot has been a farmers market staple for the past two years. Last December, she turned it into a part-time residency at Ulterior in downtown Santa Cruz. Three nights a week, diners can experience an elevated, sit-down version of Chicken Foot through dishes like beet and citrus salad, cheese-stuffed pelmeni with vadouvan curry butter, and seasonal charcuterie boards.
On Sundays, the space evolves into The Brunch Shift, which showcases Yarr’s deft hand with homey breakfast fare like biscuits and gravy, Texas Toast with marmalade, custard, almonds and “a slab of butter,” and tofu scramble with tater tots and curry ketchup.
With The Grove, Yarr finally has her own brick-and-mortar space, a cozy indoor eatery with a 20-seat patio that will also serve as venue for Chicken Foot and other dinner pop-ups.
Working with local growers is key to The Grove’s concept, especially with a menu that’s less than 20% meat, says Yarr. “To me ‘plant-forward’ is a term that doesn’t necessitate being vegetarian, vegan or a carnivore. It’s simply a way to reduce the consumption of animal proteins, which in turn reduces our carbon footprint and is better for our health.”
The busy chef has cultivated close relationships growers and ranchers over the years and The Grove will feature ingredients like Pajaro Pastures eggs and pastured pork, as well as produce from Live Earth Farm and Groundswell Farm. Yarr will also offer catering and wedding cake design at The Grove.
The café launches with a seasonal menu of staples including brioche tarts (think blood orange, kumquat, lemon curd and custard or Florentine), porridge breads made with organic, California-grown grains, and rustic bread with redwood tips, which are plentiful in the surrounding forest and redolent of rosemary. While The Grove won’t retail loaves of bread, a grab-and-go program will offer picnic fare to be enjoyed in and around Felton.
Other specialty items will include quick breads (vegan ginger-carrot and caramelized banana are but two), knishes and daily soup toast specials.
“I love toasts,” says Yarr, citing examples like avocado on Japanese milk bread with furikake, pickled radish, tamari-marinated egg and pea shoots, and mountain rye with carrot-harissa spread, carrot top-almond pesto and lemon tahini sauce. “It’s a way for us to showcase local food artisans, and I’m really excited about it.”
Yarr is also enthusiastic about her little grab-and-go retail freezer, which will be stocked with seasonal fruit pops and ice cream sandwiches, as well as the café’s “slow beverage” program.
Working with local blender CC Apothecary, Yarr has developed a curated offering of what she calls “enthusiast level” teas and The Grove will also offer occasional high tea events, check Instagram for dates.
Coffee drinks are limited to pour-overs and cold brew by Coffee Conspiracy, but there will be made-to-order juices, and a significant non-alcoholic beverage menu featuring libations like butterfly pea flower tea spritzer with Meyer lemon and tonic water, and golden coconut milk with toasted brown rice horchata.
Once The Grove’s beer and wine permit is approved, guests will be able to purchase glasses and retail bottles of low intervention wines (sourced in collaboration with Yarr’s friends at Apéro Club) from various “obscure regions” around the world, as well as craft beer from Santa Cruz and Monterey County breweries.
So, how should people think of The Grove, when it’s a little bit of something for everyone? “We’re here to serve the local community first, but it’s also a destination offering things you can’t find elsewhere,” says Yarr. “I want folks to find the thing that they love and need to have, daily.”
The Grove • 6249 Highway 9, Felton • 831.704.7483
About the author
Laurel Miller is a food, spirits and travel writer and the former editor of Edible Aspen. She grew up on a California ranch and has been writing about regenerative agriculture for over 20 years. When she’s not tethered to her laptop, Miller enjoys farmers markets and any trip that requires a passport. She’ll take a Mission burrito over a Michelin star, any day.
