RIP Franchises of our youths

[Greg]

Most of my young cousins had their first job at the Melrose Party City in Massachusetts.

[Drunk Monk]

Weird

Like how many young cousins are we talking about?

[Greg]

My cousin Christopher has eight daughters. At least three of them worked for Party City. It was sort of a right of passage. The older daughters would get the younger daughters their first jobs there.

[Drunk Monk]

8 daughters! Wow!

[Drunk Monk]

O’Neill Surf Shop in downtown Santa Cruz announces closure
Other locations to remain open

After 25 years in business, the O’Neill Surf Shop in Downtown Santa Cruz recently announced it will close for good Jan. 14. (Aric Sleeper/Santa Cruz Sentinel
By Aric Sleeper | asleeper@santacruzsentinel.com
PUBLISHED: January 3, 2025 at 4:37 PM PST

SANTA CRUZ — Although its locations in Aptos, Capitola and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk will remain open, the O’Neill Surf Shop on Cooper Street and Pacific Avenue in downtown Santa Cruz recently announced it will permanently shutter its doors later this month after more than two decades of business.
According to O’Neill Surf Shops Retail Division General Manager Tanner Beckett, “O’Neill Surf Shop will be closing its downtown store location as it seeks to consolidate operations in an evolving retail landscape.”
“We have enjoyed being a part of the Downtown Santa Cruz community for the past 25 years and look forward to seeing our customers at our other O’Neill Surf Shop locations,” Beckett said in a statement to the Sentinel. “Our relationship with our customers and employees is important to us, and we plan to offer our Downtown location employees employment opportunities at our other Surf Shop locations.”
According to Beckett, the O’Neill downtown retail location’s last day of business will be Jan. 14.
“O’Neill Surf Shop will continue to offer the world’s best wetsuits and all of your other beach and streetwear needs at our other store locations on 41st Ave. in Capitola, at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and in Aptos Village,” Beckett added. “We hope to see you soon.”

Although the other O’Neill Surf Shop locations in Santa Cruz County will remain open, the downtown Santa Cruz location will shutter permanently later in January. (Aric Sleeper/Santa Cruz Sentinel)

I was just there to pick up a Cruz bicycle sticker for a stocking stuffer.

FYI, the reporter Aric is my dojo mate who I spent NYE with...

[thatguy]

25 years is still post-Loma Prieta, post-Cooper House…I am old..sigh…

—tg

[Drunk Monk]

Like with Vallco Fashion Mall, I remember when ground was firsts broke for this, and when the new rides like the Tidal Wave and the Edge were launched. I saw the Monkees play there, and Starship (with Greg if memory serves) - maybe a few others. We went back years ago with Tara when she was a kid and was sad to see how dilapidated it had become. 

Great America cuts back as timeline for permanent closure drags on
By Katie Dowd, Managing editorJan 5, 2025
[/url][url=https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sfgate.com%2Flocal%2Farticle%2Fgreat-america-cuts-permanent-closure-20016421.php%3Futm_campaign%3DCMS%2520Sharing%2520Tools%2520(Premium)%26utm_source%3Dt.co%26utm_medium%3Dreferral&text=Great%20America%20cuts%20back%20as%20timeline%20for%20permanent%20closure%20drags%20on&via=SFGate]


FILE: Entrance area of California's Great America in Santa Clara.
Andrei Stanescu/Getty Images
The nebulous timeline for the closure of Great America, one of the Bay Area’s biggest theme parks, may be coming into focus: In 2025, the park will close at the end of October, instead of its usual January closure date, the Los Angeles Times reported.
In 2022, Cedar Fair, the amusement park giant that owns and operates Great America, announced it sold the Santa Clara property to developer Prologis for $310 million. As part of the deal, Cedar Fair had 11 years to wind down operations and shut down the park, but no concrete timeline has been publicized. The 112-acre property shares a parking lot with Levi’s Stadium and has been in operation since the 1970s. 
Great America shuts down seasonally — its last day of operation for the winter season is Sunday — but this year’s calendar is substantially curtailed. The Times reported a message to passholders sent in December indicated the 2025 calendar will run from April 5 to late October. That means WinterFest, an annual holiday event with ice skating, sparkling lights and live entertainment, won’t happen in 2025. The last day with opening hours on Great America’s 2025 calendar is Oct. 25, seemingly indicating it won’t be open for Halloween either. According to the message to passholders, Great America won't be holding any special seasonal events in 2025.
WinterFest at California’s Great America featured light displays and holiday activities on various dates in November, December and January. 
WinterFest
When SFGATE inquired about the future of the park in November, Prologis referred us to Cedar Fair. A spokesperson for Six Flags, which merged with Cedar Fair in 2023, told SFGATE that there was “nothing new to report regarding a future plan.”
As the Times notes, Great America has closed for the season in October before. But seasonal cutbacks at least indicate that park operations are winding down. Prologis has yet to announce what will be built on the property someday. 
For now, Bay Area residents with happy childhood memories of running wild at Great America might want to grab tickets while they can — and an all-day dining plan, if they dare. 

[Greg]

I think my father took the family during its first month of operation. The Nickel root beers were the best.

[Drunk Monk]

There was a dormouse event held there with DM & ED. The Edge on X was the best.

[King Bob]

I remember seeing X there. I think TG might have been there too. It wasn't in an amphitheater or anything, just on an empty stretch of pavement. As I remember, the show ended early when someone lit something on fire.

[Drunk Monk]

I remember seeing X there. 

I remember doing X there.

It wasn't in an amphitheater or anything, just on an empty stretch of pavement. 

Yeah, it was like a corner of the parking lot that they cordoned off. They didn't really have a concert amphitheater. Those shows were weird.

[thatguy]

I remember seeing X there. 

I remember doing X there.

It wasn't in an amphitheater or anything, just on an empty stretch of pavement. 

Yeah, it was like a corner of the parking lot that they cordoned off. They didn't really have a concert amphitheater. Those shows were weird.

I was there...The Three O'Clock opened. I think Dave Alvin was on guitar at that point.

I recall an awesome IMAX show about the space program.

My friend used to play in the Dixie Land Band Bandstand regularly. He was on trombone or tuba, I think...

When it first opened, my friend and I would save all our money all year and then take the bus to Great America, trying to get there right when it opened, then we'd spend the entire day at the park.

Willard's Whizzer was my fav, till they closed it and replaced it with The Demon.

IMHO, it all went down hill when they dropped the Looney Tunes mascots.

--tg

[Drunk Monk]

I saw god there.

Or maybe that was the edge on x. 

That was a Xtraordinary day.

[King Bob]

TG is correct, it was Dave Alvin on guitar. I had forgotten that. It would have been around the time of the Knitters, probably before See How We Are came out, since they picked up Tony Gilkyson for that one.

[thatguy]

I drove past the Cupertino Britannia Arms and noticed there was no signage on the building any longer. I took my mom there once to see Pete Donohue's band (mostly, just to get out of the house). So divey. The whole place smelled like an old wet bar rag. According to the internet, it was the first of 3 and the most authentic. Not sure if I buy that, or just missed its heyday.

--tg