Buzzy Santa Cruz business district aims to rebrand as Westside Marketplace

The Westside neighborhood in Santa Cruz is home to one of the most vibrant business districts in the county, with more than two dozen storefronts crammed into about 1 square mile, loosely bordered by Swift Street to the west, Delaware Avenue to the south, Almar Avenue to the east and Mission Street to the north. 

Warehouses that once housed Brussels sprouts packaging facilities are now home to winemakers, artisans and merchants offering everything from baked goods, coffee and craft beer to high-end housewares and gifts. There’s a yoga studio, a salon, a cannabis dispensary, a distillery, a craft butcher, two restaurants, three coffeehouses, two bakeries, a grocery store and eight wineries. 

But according to business owners, the area lacks one important feature: a name. 

“There’s no cohesive nomenclature to promote what’s going on over here,” said winemaker Megan Bell. Last December, she opened a small tasting room for her winery, Margins Wine, around the corner from the Swift Street Courtyard, in the epicenter of the district. Despite being the most densely populated wine tasting spot in Santa Cruz County, Bell had a hard time describing the location of her tasting room. 

“A lot of people who have never been here before don’t know the difference between downtown Santa Cruz and the Westside,” said Bell. “There’s strong support from people who have been here before, but even people who live on the Westside don’t know what’s going on over here, because it’s on the far side of town.”

Bell is part of a group of about 10 Westside merchants working to change that by branding the area under the name Westside Marketplace. The hope is the new name will transform the buzzy neighborhood into a destination, similar to Tin City in Paso Robles, the Funk Zone in Santa Barbara and The Barlow market in Sebastopol. The endeavor launches on Saturday, Nov. 16, with an event called “Welcome to Westside Marketplace” that will feature around a dozen vendors, so far, offering specials and pop-ups to attract newcomers. 

“The effort is coming from owner-operators, and it’s very inclusive. Anyone who wants to be a part of this is invited,” said Bell. “We’re purposefully not defining geographical borders as much as we have defined a collective concept that everyone can come together under in the hopes that it increases foot traffic, business and sales for all of us.”

Winemaker Jeff Emery became one of his building’s first tenants when he opened Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard’s tasting room on Ingalls Street in 2008, and he said he still meets people who live nearby who are visiting for the first time. 

“People don’t know that they can park once and have access to all these different experiences: wine, food, retail, ice cream from Marianne’s and Marini’s Candies for the kids, craft beer, all of it,” said Emery. His employee Georgie Wetherill created a logo for the Westside Marketplace, and property owner Joe Appenrodt sponsored the design. 

In addition to the November event, the group – which includes Stockwell Cellars, Venus Spirits, Tanuki Cider, Sones Cellars, Cat & Cloud coffee and Fonda Felix – is crafting a marketing budget and plan, as well as a physical sign, social media presence and website. 

They’re also discussing how to improve the overall customer experience, said Madson Wines owner Cole Thomas: “Part of it is leveling up the quality of how we host people as a whole, creating an experience for people, and trying to integrate into the Santa Cruz food and drink scene.”

Since COVID, Thomas and other business owners have seen fewer customers visit the area, and some feel that the Westside has “fallen off the radar,” he said. “The hope for the Marketplace is we will increase the foot traffic from people visiting Margins, or Tanuki, and they’ll wander around the corner and end up at Madson.”

The ability for owners to have personal interactions with customers is one of the defining characteristics of the area, said Bell. “The businesses that are in the Westside Marketplace area are extremely grateful to have their storefront there. It means so much to those people to engage with customers,” she said. “It’s why we put our businesses there, to improve customer relationships because that’s what we love doing.”

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