Cruz

[Drunk Monk]

FOOD & DRINK
Saturn Cafe Closes Its Downtown Santa Cruz Location
Owners say they are looking for a new Santa Cruz location

SATURN CAFE IS LEAVING ITS LOCATION AT LAUREL STREET AND PACIFIC AVENUE IN SANTA CRUZ. PHOTO: TARMO HANNULA

BY[b]MAT WEIR
POSTED ON APRIL 16, 2021[/b]
If you’ve felt like the Covid-19 pandemic has done a number on businesses in downtown Santa Cruz, then prepare to see stars, because the latest casualty is out of this world. 
Saturn Cafe, known for its all-vegetarian and vegan comfort food, announced on its Facebook page it will close its doors at the Laurel Street and Pacific Avenue location for good. 
“Sadly, we will not be reopening our 145 Laurel Street location, which has been our home for over twenty years,” the post reads. “We will be relocating to our new neighborhood in Los Angeles.”
Once a bastion for late-night burgers, nacho fries, non-dairy shakes and maybe a nightcap beer or two, the Santa Cruz Saturn Cafe was the chain’s original location, opened in 1979 by Don Lane—who would later become mayor and a prominent local politician. Over the years it went from its hippie-vibe roots to an eclectic space theme in the late 1990s to early 2000s to its latest, more mellow incarnation.
But throughout it all, it was always known as a staple in town, gaining love and notoriety from locals, tourists and college students alike, as well as national publications like the Washington Post. 
However, in more recent times, the downtown restaurant was closing earlier and earlier, even before the pandemic hit. While it continued to stay open and serve food throughout 2020, Santa Cruzans paying attention may have noticed the lights have been dark for several months. 
According to the restaurant’s Facebook page, food was served at least until Nov. 28. It was its last remaining location in the Bay Area, having closed its Berkeley restaurant in July 2019 after almost a decade. Their Los Angeles location, in the Eagle Rock district, opened last July 25—in what many took as a sign of hope for the business. 
But for anyone needing their Diablo Burger fix, don’t despair! The closure announcement comes with a hope tastier than their tomato soup. Owners say they are currently looking for a new Santa Cruz location, although no details on when or where they will open have been given as of yet.
“We are also in search of a local partner or two who will help guide Saturn Santa Cruz through this next era,” the announcement says. 
So while we anxiously wait to dig our teeth into our next Space Cowboy Burger—with shoestring fries, the best fries—we find comfort in knowing this won’t be the end of Saturn in Santa Cruz, just another period of adjustment in a long line of Covid-19 torment. 
“Saturn without Santa Cruz has been so hard for us to take in,” the announcement says. “And after over forty years, who wants to think about Santa Cruz without Saturn?”

Major bum out. Saturn was always a tad overpriced, but their shakes rocked and given my and my families dietary practices, we have to support veg joints. I did like Saturn's color, very Cruz. And some of their burgers were good.

In Saturn Cafe’s next life, it will be a Drunk Monkey — only now, ‘we can basically do whatever we want’

BY MAX CHUN
Source:  Lookout Santa Cruz 

Quick Take

Popular food truck Asian fusion fare will morph into new things as the Cruz Kitchen & Taproom takes shape at the historic site of the former Saturn Cafe at Pacific and Laurel in downtown Santa Cruz.

Published 15 Hours Ago 




Santa Cruzans were stunned when the Saturn Cafe closed its doors for good in April. Founded in 1979, the vegetarian restaurant was an establishment that seemed invincible — but the COVID-19 pandemic had other plans. While the space has been empty for about six months, the hollow shell of what used to be the Saturn Cafe will be coming back to life in the near future.

Lost in space: After more than 40 years, the Saturn Cafe announces its permanent closure
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Dameon Deworken of Drunk Monkeys food truck, along with business partner Mia Thorn, will be taking over the spot and opening a new Asian fusion restaurant to be named Cruz Kitchen and Taproom.
Deworken’s burnt orange food truck with illustrations of grinning faces could be found roaming around the Westside for the better part of the past decade, until the itch to try something new kicked in and he put the truck up for sale last month.
Thorn, future co-owner and operator, said that taking over the Saturn Cafe location became a great backup plan after the first location they had their eyes on fell through.
“I live in Felton, and every time I came home I saw the [url=https://localwiki.org/santacruz/Trout_Farm_Inn]Trout Farm and got really curious about it,” Thorn said — and so she soon contacted longtime friend Deworken, who was immediately interested in the idea.
“It was really easy to join forces with Dameon,” Thorn said. “I was like, ‘Hey, do you want to play in a restaurant with a pool?’ and he said yes, so we had to find an investor and do a whole search for that.”
While the duo’s poolside restaurant dreams didn’t materialize, they had sparked a conversation with downtown property veteran George Ow, whose family used to own the Saturn space, and a great backup option emerged. And during their original search, Thorn and Deworken learned that they enjoy working together.

The Saturn Cafe.
(Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz)

“We’re good friends and speak the same language,” Thorn said. “We continued to look at a few more places and talk about some plans.”
Now with a revamp of the site at Laurel Street and Pacific Avenue coming together, they have a vision for a quick-service model that builds on the Drunk Monkeys style of food.

“Dameon has to let his freak flag fly and do his food, but we also want to offer other things like salads, sandwiches, and burgers,” Thorn said. “We want to do a pretty easy grab-and-go thing where people can have that casual ‘in and out’ meal.”
Deworken says the menu is still under construction, but he is looking forward to expanding his horizons.

More seafood will likely be coming to Cruz Kitchen and Taproom.
(@drunkmonkeyssantacruz / Instagram)

“With the name change we’re not pigeonholed anymore,” he said. “It’s cool because we can basically do whatever we want.”
Specifically, Deworken is looking to venture into more seafood.
“It’s hard to sell fish out of a food truck for some reason,” he said.
Additionally, Thorn says they are committed to molding a business that invests back into the community.
“We’re going to have local art featured on the wall, serve local beer, and even feature local musical artists,” she said. “It’s really about uplifting the local community and letting our people shine.”
Currently an oncology nurse, Thorn will be pivoting to focus on this project for the time being.

Asian fusion cuisine will be carrying over to the new spot.
(@drunkmonkeyssantacruz / Instagram)

“I’m going to be a nurse until I die, but I’m on a sabbatical and really want to focus on being the owner and operator here,” she said. “It’s just kind of a shift to living the celebratory life for a little while.”
Don Lane, former Santa Cruz mayor and founder of the Saturn Cafe, was understandably sad to hear that the eatery had closed, but has been looking forward to something moving in for a while.
“I’ve been watching to see what happens there and was excited when the windows all got covered up,” he said. “I saw people in there working on stuff with the lights on more recently, so I was glad to see that something was coming.”
Lane opened the Saturn Cafe just a year after he graduated college back in 1979. The restaurant’s interesting food options and self-assured identity helped it grow into a Santa Cruz favorite and cornerstone of the town’s culture.
For decades, the retro-futuristic, space-age-themed diner was filled with the hustle and bustle of locals, visitors and college students eager to dig into their favorite vegan and vegetarian comfort food.
Lane, now a part-time public policy instructor at UC Santa Cruz, still finds students excited when he mentions that he founded Saturn. He is looking forward to the new establishment emulating the same exciting, vibrant energy the Saturn brought.
“The Saturn changed a lot over its 40 years,” he said. “I expect they’ll bring a lot of good energy to that place.”