Midtown Santa Cruz is an ideal place to stop and stretch your legs after a long car ride over Highway 17. It’s not the beach, but it’s a nice setting to have a meal, look at eclectic shops and soak in the Santa Cruz vibe.
Midtown, on Soquel Avenue between Branciforte Avenue and Morrissey Boulevard, boasts food landmarks The Buttery, a decadent bakery at 702, and Charlie Hong Kong, a quirky Asian organic vegan joint, at 1141.
A few steps from Charlie Hong Kong is the Rio Theatre with its towering marquee. It opened in 1949; its streamline art deco architectural style evokes another era. Restored as a performing arts center, the theater is hosting the Banff Mountain Film Festival from Feb. 27 to March 1 and singer Madeline Peyroux on March 4, among many concerts and shows with top names.
Across the street is The Crepe Place, a restaurant and bar offering live music, from jazz and funk to the Grateful Dead.
Nearby, next to the fire station, is 1111 Soquel Ave., the site of the Midtown Fridays! Summer Block Party. Matthew Swinnerton, founder of Event Santa Cruz, an entertainment hosting company, is gearing up for its sixth year. The free weekly live music and marketplace, with food vendors, happens from about 5 to 8:30 p.m. Fridays, this year from May 29 through Aug. 28.
Noting that the event attracts as many as 1,000 guests, Swinnerton says of the densely packed area, “I think this could be the entertainment hub of Santa Cruz.”
It’s also a good place to stop for a stroll. Adjacent Seabright Avenue’s interesting diversions include Yoga Center Santa Cruz, a thrift store, and the Santa Cruz Roller Palladium, established in 1950.
More on Soquel Avenue: There’s Childish, a toy store, or Home/Work, a home goods store. On a sunny day it’s tempting to keep walking north toward the Buttery for a sandwich or a blueberry cheese twist to enjoy in the outdoor garden. Pedestrians will pass a Whole Foods supermarket, a surf shop and Gilman Brewing Company, which also has locations in the Bay Area.
One stretch of Soquel being transformed is at 800 Soquel Ave., where a former Wienerschnitzel fast food restaurant has been rebuilt as Beer Run, an outdoor beer garden and sausage house. Bright yellow table umbrellas are in place, but the beer isn’t flowing yet. An employee said they’re hoping to open before the summer.
Those who are eager to get to the water will find it at Twin Lakes State Beach and Santa Cruz Harbor at the doorstep of the Pacific Ocean about a mile and a half to the west.