This week in Santa Cruz County business: Brew Cruz bids adieu; city seeks retail tenant

Each week, we’re taking a closer look at the movers and shakers, the growth of industries, and what’s really driving the Santa Cruz County economy. I’ll be spotlighting some of the biggest areas for opportunity, updates on local development and all things underpinning the regional business scene, each Wednesday.

Got ideas? Send them my way to news@lookoutlocal.com with “Business News” in the subject line.

Last call for Brew Cruz

After 10 years and roughly 2,000 tours, Brew Cruz is putting on the brakes as owner Annie Wolff Pautsch prepares for her last scheduled tour. Wolff Pautsch quickly became an iconic sight in Santa Cruz driving tourists and locals alike from brewery to brewery in her vintage school bus, but now, she’s ready for a change.  

“I felt like I knew when a good thing had to come to an end, at least in the care of me,” said Wolff Pautsch of her decision to close the business. “I’m trying to move on and have a different adventure; it’s been a great decade.”

Wolff Pautsch launched Brew Cruz not long after she moved from San Francisco to Santa Cruz, a place she’d spent a lot of time as a child and younger adult. Craft brewing was starting to boom locally, and she saw an opportunity to promote local breweries and share her craft beer love with the community in a new way. Her inspiration came in part from a now-defunct tour business in Boulder, Colorado, called Banjo Billy’s Bus Tours. She found a decommissioned 1989 Thomas International school bus that had been used as a band’s tour bus, spent seven months renovating it with new upholstery and pine floors, and named it after her grandmother, Betty Jane. She pounded the pavement, meeting local brewers and building relationships with them, before officially launching Brew Cruz in July 2014.

From birthday parties to anniversaries, team-building events and other excursions, Wolff Pautsch led chartered tours of local breweries, and eventually had to hire additional drivers. In 2018, Brew Cruz added a second vehicle to the fleet, a 1964 Volkswagen bus named Slowboy. By 2019, Brew Cruz was running as many as five tours a week, and Wolff Pautsch was looking to add a third vehicle and expand tours in South County. 

The pandemic forced the business into a nearly two-year hiatus, and while customers quickly came back once Brew Cruz got back on the road, business had notably shifted. Not only had some of the local breweries closed, but demand was changing. In the past couple of years, brewery tours have accounted for just about half of Wolff Pautsch’s business, with more people now hiring Brew Cruz for private events like chauffeuring wedding guests to and from locations. A lack of customer interest wasn’t behind the decision to close. Rather, Wolff Pautsch is ready for her next, to-be-determined step. She plans to hold a farewell celebration for Brew Cruz sometime in the near future.

Read the full story here.

ICYMI: Woodhouse music permit challenged by neighbor

In other local brew news, Woodhouse Blending & Brewing faces an appeal of its live music permit. Santa Cruz city officials granted approval for the business to host live events last month, following a year of efforts by Woodhouse to get the OK. Now, a neighbor planning an eventual housing development near the Madrone Avenue business has argued that the noise will negatively impact his plans. As Lily Belli reports, the city council will hear the appeal next month.

Ch-ch-changes: Openings, closings and other developments

• New board vice chairman at Santa Cruz County Bank: Kurt J. Gollnick is now the vice chairman of the boards of directors of Santa Cruz County Bank and its parent company, West Coast Community Bancorp. Gollnick is the retired chief operating officer of Scheid Vineyards and current co-owner of Rodnick Farm, a vineyard in Monterey County. He also was founding director and chairman of the board of directors at 1st Capital Bank, which is merging with Santa Cruz County Bank.
• RFP opening for new Pacific Station South project: Santa Cruz city officials are seeking proposals from qualified businesses to lease a new retail/restaurant space at 822 Pacific Ave. The space is on the ground floor of the city’s Pacific Station South project. Proposals are due Dec. 1 for initial review. Full details and submission instructions will be available through the city’s procurement portal.

Got hires, promotions, or departures to report? Send them to news@lookoutlocal.com with the subject line “Career changes.”

Looking at the numbers 

• $4.1 billion: That’s how much Halloween candy spending in the U.S. is expected to hit this year, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. It’s almost double the amount spent a decade ago and amounts to about $30.89 spent on Halloween candy per household.

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Save the date 

• Wednesday, Oct. 30: Santa Cruz Works holds its next CEO Works luncheon with Bill Underwood, CEO and founder of the Catalyst Consulting Team. He will discuss how leaders can avoid friction as they scale their businesses. The event occurs at productOps’ office at 110 Cooper St., No. 201, Santa Cruz, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Register here.
• Wednesday, Nov. 6: Santa Cruz Accelerates will host its Demo Day, where its sixth cohort of startup teams will pitch their innovations to a panel of judges for a chance to win up to $5,000. Finalists will also be invited to pitch the investors at Santa Cruz Ventures and Hawktower for seed funding. The event starts at 6 p.m. in the Pasatiempo room of the Back Nine Grill & Bar in Santa Cruz. Details and registration are here.
• Friday, Nov. 8: The Monterey Bay Economic Partnership will host its 2024 annual State of the Region event from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the CSUMB University Center in Seaside. Representatives from Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito counties will speak about the region’s economic progress and other key issues. Speakers include state Sen. John Laird and UC Santa Cruz Chancellor Cynthia Larive. Register here.
• Wednesday, Nov. 13: The Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce hosts a business “friendsgiving” network event at Cruzio Internet featuring refreshments and holiday crafts. The chamber also will be accepting donations for the Community Foundation’s Equal Access Santa Cruz County fund, which will help support Cruzio’s efforts to make low-cost, high-speed reliable internet available to everyone. The event takes place from 5 to 7 p.m. at 877 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. Register here.

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