Pajaro Valley Magazine | Dec. 27, 2019

THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF THE PAJARO VALLEY

A supplement to The Pajaronian

DECEMBER 27, 2019

PASSION PROJECT Homegrown pizza shop at the cutting edge of city’s downtown P4

THE MIXING BOWL P6 | TRY THIS P8 | ZAMEEN AT THE HANGAR P9

MAGAZINE

21 Brennan St, Suite 14, Watsonville, CA 95076 Phone: 831.761.7301

EDITOR’S NOTE

DECEMBER 27, 2019 -JANUARY 2, 2020 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

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or years the Watsonville community—particularly my generation— has been yearning for a downtown restaurant like the Slice Project, the subject of this week’s front page story. Brothers and Watsonville natives Brando and Kristian Sencion, both under 40, have their fingers on the pulse of the Millennial generation, and that is apparent with the look, feel and taste of their pizzeria. There’s nothing else quite like it in downtown, and I can imagine that’s both exciting and intimidating for the Sencion family.

If city leaders have it their way, there will be other similar restaurants popping up in downtown over the next few years. They’ve already reworked their alcohol ordinance to attract more bars, brewpubs and wine tasting rooms.

They’re also trying to make structural changes with a pair of plans that could produce a more walkable district. But those plans are at least two years away from being solidified and not a single alcohol-related business has decided to dive head first into downtown Watsonville yet.

The Sencion brothers are at the forefront of a changing downtown.

I don’t know what the corridor will look like in five or 10 years, but I do know that in order for the Slice Project to be around in five or 10 years it’s going to need an entire community’s support. So Watsonville—especially my Millennials out there—here’s my call to you: show the naysayers that businesses like the Slice Project can succeed in our city.

You’ve wanted a place to go and things to do for years. They’re here.

And, hopefully, there are more on the way.

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Cover Story

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The Mixing Bowl

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Try This

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The Buzz

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Business

10 Live Music 12 Photo Gallery CEO & Executive Editor Dan Pulcrano Publisher Jeanie Johnson Managing Editor Tony Nuñez Contributing Writers Johanna Miller Tony Nuñez Sarah Ringler Advertising Account Executives Tina Chavez Lupita Ortiz Design Director Kara Brown Production Johanna Miller Cover Photography Tarmo Hannula

Published by WatsNews, LLC, Watsonville, CA. Entire contents © 2019. All rights reserved.

Reproduction in any form prohibited without publisher’s written permission.

TO PLACE AN AD Email:

tchavez@pajaronian.com Phone:

831.761.7301

The Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture Presents

A Roaring 20s Gala Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds Saturday, February 1, 2020 5:00pm - 10:30pm

Lifetime Achievement: Harold “Hal” Hyde Man of the Year: Bob Culbertson Woman of the Year: Barbie Gomez Organization of the Year: SC Fairgrounds Foundation Event of the Year: Corralitos Lumberjack Breakfast

Live Music and Dancing with The Ramblers following Awards!

DECEMBER 27, 2019 -JANUARY 2, 2020 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

Business of the Year: K&D Landscaping

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ALL HANDS ON DECK Brando Sencion (left) works alongside his team assembling pizzas

on their busy opening day Dec. 20.

TAKING A

SLICE Homegrown pizza shop at the cutting edge of city’s downtown PHOTOGRAPHS BY TARMO HANNULA

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n five years brothers Brando and Kristian Sencion predict their new, hip restaurant, Slice Project, will be one of several of-this-generation eateries that will be scattered throughout Watsonville’s downtown.

“It’s only a matter of time and we welcome that,” Brando said. “The more good food options the better.”

But for now their monochromatic, Instagram-worthy pizza shop at the corner of Main and Maple streets is an outlier in a downtown ➝ 07 that is littered with empty storefronts, pawn shops and

DECEMBER 27, 2019 -JANUARY 2, 2020 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

TONY NUÑEZ

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Photo by Tarmo Hannula

DECEMBER 27, 2019 -JANUARY 2, 2020 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

THE MIXING BOWL

Cashew coconut meatballs with creamy tomato sauce SARAH RINGLER

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ike many recipes from Christopher Kimball’s cookbook, “Milk Street Tuesday Nights,” the flavors in these meatballs are subtle and original. Ground

cashews and chopped cilantro mixed with ground beef form the base of these meatballs. Indian flavors from garam masala and coconut milk add the highlights as the meatballs finish cooking in a delicate tomato sauce.

Garam masala is a spice mixture common in the Indian subcontinent and South Africa. An ancient kind of medicine practiced in India for around 2,000 years called Ayurveda—meaning knowledge ➝ 07

MEATBALLS

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Directions Toast coconut over medium heat in a 12-inch frying pan, stirring until golden in about 2 minutes. Put in a large bowl and set aside.

In the same frying pan over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of oil. When oil shimmers, add onion and garlic and cook until golden, stirring often, for about 7-9 minutes. Put onto a small plate and set aside.

In a food processor, pulse cashews until finely ground. Set aside ¼ cup. Then add 1 ½ cups of the cilantro and pulse until finely chopped. Add to the bowl

with the toasted coconut. Add 1/3 cup of the onion mixture to the same bowl.

Then add the beef, ¼ cup coconut milk, the egg, the egg yolk, 1 teaspoon garam masala, 2 teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper. Mix well and shape into 16, 2-inch diameter meat balls and place on a large plate. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

In the same frying pan, heat remaining 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat. When shimmering, add meatballs in a single layer and cook until brown on their bottoms in about 2-3 minutes. Add remaining onion mixture, coconut milk, garam masala and 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper and all of the tomato sauce. Stir gently making sure meatballs are not stuck to the pan.

Bring to a boil over medium high heat, cover, reduce heat to medium low and cook gently until done in about 12-15 minutes.

Transfer to a serving plate can top with the rest of the cilantro and cashews.

Sarah Ringler is a retired schoolteacher. She worked as a cook for 8 years before being a teacher, and also taught a cooking class at Pajaro Middle School for several years. She comes from a long line of serious cooks and passed the tradition on to her children, grandchildren, students and, hopefully, her readers.

THE RIGHT RED Homemade sauce is spread on a fresh pizza at Slice Project

in Watsonville.

PIZZA

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restaurants that boast delicious dishes but are trapped in a time before cell phones and cameras were the first to eat at the dinner table.

Slice Project opened to great acclaim on Dec. 20, welcoming in a steady stream of customers during its six-hour launch.

The Sencion brothers served their tasty New York-style slices and pies to a wide range of clientele, including many people from outside of Watsonville that had never visited the city’s downtown, but had to make the trek into the historical corridor to finally taste the pizza that had made their mouth water over social media for the past 11 months.

“These are people that said, ‘I’ve never been to Watsonville, I’ve always just driven by,’” Brando said.

Added Kristian: “And then they see how beautiful it is. They see the park and the lights. And they say, ‘what’s going on here?’”

A renaissance, the brothers hope.

NEW LIFE IN AN OLD SPOT Watsonville’s downtown was once a vibrant center of

business, entertainment and foot traffic, but it has struggled to recover from the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and the mass exodus of purchasing power as a result of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which took a large chunk of the city’s middle class jobs from the canning and cold storage industry and moved them south of the U.S.-Mexican border. Today, many of the corridor’s pivotal properties lay vacant, including the historic Fox Theater that shares the building at 300 Main St. with the new pizzeria.

The theater has sat empty since 2009, but it’s storied history stretches back to 1923, when the California Theatre was built in place of an old saloon.

Owner Hank Garcia converted the theater’s lobby into a pizza restaurant after the building was damaged in the earthquake, and The Fox thrived for years before it closed in 2005 and again in 2008 after a short-lived resurgence.

The Sencion brothers, both raised in Watsonville, said they did not have much of a connection to the building from their youth other than ➝ 10

DECEMBER 27, 2019 -JANUARY 2, 2020 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

Ingredients ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut 3 tablespoons of neutral oil 1 large onion, chopped 5 medium garlic cloves, minced 1 ¼ cup unsalted roasted cashews 2 cups lightly packed cilantro 1 pound ground beef ¾ cup coconut milk, divided 1 large egg plus one egg yolk 2 teaspoon garam masala, divided Salt and pepper 14 ½ ounce can crushed tomatoes

‘Curry leaf is from a tree that like bay leaves, are added to a dish then removed before serving.’

Photo by Tarmo Hannula

of life and longevity in Sanskrit—credits consuming garam masala with warming the body. Although like many spice blends around the world that differ regionally, common ingredients are fennel, peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon, curry leaf, cumin and coriander.

Curry leaf is from a tree that like bay leaves, are added to a dish then removed before serving. I have not found curry leaf locally but found Exotica Rare Fruit Nursery in Vista, California, where you can buy Murraya koenigii starter shoots or trees.

They also carry turmeric plants, Thai lime trees and other “exotics,” but there are travel restrictions on importing some of these.

I served the meatballs with a raita made with chopped cucumbers and yogurt.

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THE BUZZ

TRY THIS

Hindsight is 2020 Watsonville Bike Party will hold its December 2019 community bike ride tonight from 6-7:30 p.m, starting at 25 East 5th St. Join organizers as they take a look back at 2019 and set intentions for 2020. Please where reflective gear and/or light on your bicycle, helmet or person. Events rolls out rain or shine. Party hats, sparkle glasses and noisemakers are welcome and encouraged.

Rockabily Mafia Dolls meet & greet The Rockabily Mafia Dolls will hold a special meet and greet event at Fruition Brewing, 918 East Lake Ave., on Sunday from 5-7 p.m. Come learn more about the organization and meet current members at the Dolls’ annual Christmas gathering. For information email rockabillymafiadollsscc@gmail. com.

DECEMBER 27, 2019 -JANUARY 2, 2020 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

First Day Hike in the Forest

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Bring the ‘20s with a walk into forest history—and prehistory— while hiking to the abandoned Loma Prieta town site and discovering marine fossils deep in the redwood forest. Pets cannot join us on this speicifc hike. Bring water, snacks and layered clothing.

Free event. Vehicle day-use fee is $8. Limited parking; car pools encouraged. For more information, call 685-6444. Event made possible by Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks and California State Parks.

January First Friday The Museum of Art and History in Santa Cruz will host its monthly First Friday Art Tour. Three floors of exhibitions, live music and drop-in activities will be offered to the public free of charge at the museum, 705 Front St., Santa Cruz. Museum is open 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Live music in Abbott Square will feature Papiba & Friends from 6:30-9 p.m. For information visit santacruzmah.org.

My Mom’s Mole at Fruition Brewing Stop by Fruition Brewing, 918 East Lake Ave., Watsonville to enjoy local craft beer and delicious mole served up by My Mom’s Mole.

Food truck will operate 3-8 p.m.

A weekly column that celebrates local businesses — especially eateries, watering holes, coffee shops and the like.

FOOD Slice Project: Lil Pep Square Pie The first day the Slice Project, 300 Main St. in Watsonville, opened up TONY I was there twice, once as a reporter NUNEZ and again as a customer. I had two slices throughout the day and my wife and I shared a square, Detroitstyle pie of Lil Pep. Until Friday, I had not experienced much Detroit-style pizza, but Slice Project’s rectangular pie surprised me in all the best ways. It’s thick, crispy crust and soft inside made for an enjoyable bite, and the small but savory cupping pepperoni completed the package. For now, this pie ($22) is my favorite thing on the menu, but I will be back for more very soon and that could change.

FUN Brew Year’s Eve at Alvarado Street Brewery I wasn’t always a fan of going hog wild to celebrate the new year. Most of the time, people get too rowdy and that energy—mixed with alcohol—leads to some unwanted problems. But a couple years ago some friends invited my wife and I to Brew Year’s Eve at Alvarado Street Brewery in Monterey, and I was thoroughly impressed with their event. It wasn’t too packed.

It wasn’t rowdy. Nobody wanted to start problems. And, most importantly, it was tons of fun. I believe you can still snag some tickets on Eventbrite for $20. The event runs from 9 p.m. to 1 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. KRML's Steb Montez will be the DJ, as the restaurant in downtown Monterey will turn the dining room into a dance floor and the beer garden into a silent disco. It will also have drink specials and a complimentary toast at midnight. All attendees must be 21.

FUN Boardwalk Bowl My wife is a teacher, and as such she is always busy. This includes evenings and weekends.

TODD And so I often find myself takGUILD ing our sons on outings so she can catch up on work.

A perfect activity for us is visiting Boardwalk Bowl, 115 Cliff St. in Santa Cruz. It is relatively inexpensive, especially if you can find free parking, which I strongly suggest. Paying $10 to leave my car just so I can pay more money to be entertained just rankles me.

Once we get there, the staff is helpful and the games are reasonably priced, and the lanes have never been too full while we’ve been there.

After bowling we usually hit the Neptune’s Kingdom arcade next door. With its maddening cacophony of electronic noise, it takes me back to my own childhood of wandering among video games with pockets full of quarters.

Hours vary.

For information visit boardwalkbowl.com or call 426-3324

BUSINESS

Zameen at the Hangar celebrates soft opening Popular mid-county Mediterranean restaurant expands to Watsonville

By JOHANNA MILLER

NEW ADDITION Owners of Zameen Mediterranean Cuisine Ed Watson (left) and Alexis Snowden talk about expanding

to Watsonville at Zameen at the Hangar on Aviation Way. brothers told them about a building project at Watsonville Municipal Airport and asked if they’d be interested.

“At the time, I thought it was too much,” Watson said. “We were just opening our second location— thinking of a third already was crazy. But once we saw the space, and the community feel of the project… we knew we wanted to be involved.”

The Dueck’s complex, “The Hangar,” saw the opening of its first business, Beer Mule Bottle Shop and Pour House (an expansion of Beer Thirty in Soquel), in March. In October Mr. Z’s Crepes and Teas opened its doors.

More is planned, including Aloha Hola Tacos and Ritual Ride Cycle

Studio.

Snowden, whose mother Mimi Snowden helped design the Aptos Zameen location, joined Watson almost seven years ago. She was working in San Francisco when her mom told her Watson was looking for a partner to manage the restaurant as it grew.

This included sizing down the menu slightly for Zameen at the Point, as it was going into a substantially smaller building. The menu will be the same for Zameen at the Hangar, Snowden said.

“It’s sort of a truncated version of the Aptos menu,” she explained.

“It’s easier to replicate that way, and it makes service quicker.”

For Snowden, expanding to Watsonville has been an exciting

experience.

“Watsonville as a community… they really show up for each other,” Snowden said. “The social media buzz here is incredible. They’re on top of it.”

Watson guessed that it might be due to the age demographics of South County.

“I was surprised how young the crowd is here, compared to a place like Aptos,” he said. “The more we’ve gotten to know the people of Watsonville... the more exciting this project has become.”

Zameen at the Hangar will have a grand opening event sometime in January. For updates follow Zameen Meddetarian Cuisine on Instagram (@zameencuisine) and Facebook.

DECEMBER 27, 2019 -JANUARY 2, 2020 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

Photo by Tarmo Hannula

Earlier this month, Zameen at the Hangar celebrated its official soft opening—quietly, and with little fanfare.

This was a deliberate move, said restaurant owner Ed Watson.

“We wanted to get people in gradually,” Watson said. “To make sure we knew what we were doing before announcing it to the world.”

But not advertising has not stopped eager customers from finding out about Zameen at the Hangar through word-of-mouth and social media. There has been a steady flow of customers to the restaurant since opening Dec. 3.

“People have been so perceptive,” Watson said. “[People] from local businesses, or even just walking down the street. They say they’re dying for a different type of food.”

Zameen at the Hangar is an expansion of Zameen Mediterranean Cuisine, a popular and well-reviewed restaurant that has two locations in mid-county. Watson, who is originally from Newcastle, England, opened the Aptos location 13 years ago.

Watson said his love for the food came initially from his father-inlaw, who is Persian.

“When we first opened Zameen in Aptos, it was a very Persian menu,” he said. “We did kebabs and other traditional dishes. But as we’ve grown we’ve become more Mediterranean, with falafel, gyros, things like that.”

When working on the Pleasure Point location a few years ago, Watson and business partner Alexis Snowden met Kevin and Brian Dueck of EKB Partners. The

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PIZZA

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DECEMBER 27, 2019 -JANUARY 2, 2020 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

a couple of movie nights during its brief reopening, but Brando, working mostly in downtown Watsonville as a program coordinator for Santa Cruz Community Ventures, could not get the location out of his mind. One day he poked his head in the kitchen window, saw the giant commercial pizza oven and started doing some research on the property.

He quickly found out Garcia was the owner and made a call to his other local business, the Green Valley Cinema, to ask if he was interested in leasing the location. To his surprise, Garcia picked up the phone at the cinema’s main line and three days later they were walking through the Main Street property, still nearly untouched since the Fox Pizza and Grill closed. Garcia said everything—oven, refrigerators, tables, chairs—was included with the lease, but he had no clue if any of it was still functioning after having sat unused for more than a decade.

“Almost everything worked,” Sencion said. “It was a gut instinct that led us to this spot...Everything aligned.”

Added Kristian: “It was like it was meant to be.”

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TASTE & FEEL The first time Kristian—the brains behind the look and taste of the pizza—cooked, he hated it.

He was stuck preparing hot dogs, fries and burgers at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. He had applied to be a ride operator to make some easy cash.

“I remember thinking, ‘I’m going to quit,’” he said. “But I just stuck with it, and, after a while, I got into it.”

His passion for cooking grew from the deep fryer to the barbeque. He saved up his pennies to buy a small smoker, and started making his own sauces and burger buns and patties. Eventually, he decided to make a career of it and enrolled in Cabrillo College’s culinary program. After graduating in 2012, he squeezed his way into an unpaid apprenticeship at Dio Deka, a Greek restaurant in Los Gatos that at the time held a Michelin star.

SAT

12/28

SUN

12/29

APTOS ST. BBQ 8059 Aptos St, Aptos

Blues Mechanics Free 6-8p

Mojo Mix Free 6-8p

BLUE LAGOON 923 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz

Nightmare After XXXmas (Costume Party) 9p

The Box: Gothic/ Industrial Free 9p

BRITANNIA ARMS 110 Monterey Ave, Capitola

Karaoke 9-12:30a

CAPITOLA WINE BAR 115 San Jose Ave, Capitola

Mark Creech Free 7-10p

THE CATALYST 1011 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz

Micro Mania Midget Wrestling $20-$99 8p

Vinny Johnson Free 2-5p

MON

12/30

Broken Shades Free 6-8p

TUES

12/31

Jimmy Dewrance Free 6-8p

WED

1/1

James Murray Free 6-8p

NYE Dance Party 9p

THU

1/2

FRI

1/3

T-Bone Mojo Free 6-8p

Kid Anderson & John “Blues” Boyd Free 6-8p

Comedy Night w/ Chree/Retro Dance Party Free 9p

Club 2000 Dance Party 9p

Alex Lucero & Friends 8p

Karaoke 9-12:30a Kip Allert Free 7-10p

= Beats Antique w/ David Starfire & Motion Potion $49.50 9p

THE CATALYST ATRIUM 1011 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz CILANTROS 1934 Main St, Watsonville

KPIG Happy Hour 5:30-7:30p

CORRALITOS CULTURAL CENTER 127 Hames Rd., Corralitos

Acoustic Open Jam 3-5p

THE CREPE PLACE 1134 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz

Cheap Horse w/ Mondo Chaga $7 9p

CROW’S NEST 2218 E. Cliff Dr, Santa Cruz

Viva Santana $7 9:30p

THE FISH HOUSE 972 Main St, Watsonville

Southsiders 8p

Open Mic 7-10p NYE Party w/ the Inciters & Infamous $10 9p

Live Comedy $7 9p

Hippo Happy Hour 5:30-7:30p

Fulminante & more $5 9p

FishHook $20 9:30p Blue Ocean Rockers 8p

KUUMBWA JAZZ 320-2 Cedar St, Santa Cruz

It was there where he learned the ins and outs of the kitchen, the breakneck pace at which popular restaurants operate and the skyhigh expectations that top chefs set for everyone on staff. He eventually was hired at Dio Deka and spent a year on the line before the hourlong commute over Highway 17 proved too much. The ensuing job hunt landed him at Lafayette Bakery & Cafe in Carmel. He responded to a listing on Craigslist asking for someone who had baking experience. He had none.

“But I was so eager to learn that they took me in,” Kristian said.

“That’s where I learned everything about baking that I know now.”

That eagerness helped him stick at Jeninni Kitchen + Wine Bar, where he worked under his now-mentor, Jeffery Wise, the author of the internationally-recognized book Charcutería the Soul of Spain. Kristian went to Jeninni for dinner with his wife, and asked the owner for a job after they finished their food.

“He asked, ‘when you can start?’ and I said, ‘right now if you want me to,’” Kristian said.

He was there for nearly five years and also started his own business, Niño Gordough, selling baked goods at the Marina and Monterey farmers markets until

early 2018, when Brando, who had found a passion for homebrewing, asked him to be the other half of a pizza and taphouse restaurant.

Brando’s homebrewing, called Watsonville Ale Project, won’t be on tap any time soon, but Slice Project will feature beer in the near

SAT

MICHAEL’S ON MAIN 2591 Main St, Soquel

12/28

SUN

12/29

MON

12/30

Peppino D’Agostino Not So Young: Neil Young $15/$17 2p Grateful Tribute $10 8:30p Sunday Free 5:30p

TUES

12/31

WED

1/1

NYE Celebration w/ the China Cats $30/$35 9p

MOTIV 1209 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz

1/2

FRI

1/3

Dave Holodiloff Band $12/$15 7:30p

Mike Hadley Band $10 8:30p

Libation Lab w/ King Wizard & Chief Transcend 9:30p

Eden Roc 9:30p

The Mother Tides, the Coffis Brothers $50/$55 8p

Rosebud $8/$12 8p

Zion I $16/$20 8p

Bump NYE Party 9p-1a

Alex Lucero 6-9p

The Takeover 9:30p The Mother Hips, Trip Tides $28/$30 8p

THU

Hi Ya! By Little John 9:30p

MOE’S ALLEY 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz

Con Brio, Mestizo Beat $15/$20 8p

PARADISE BEACH 215 Esplanade, Capitola

Gravity Pool 2-5p

RIO THEATRE 1205 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz

The White Album Ensemble $25-$40 8p

THE SAND BAR 211 Esplanade, Capitola

Skylar Lutes 9p

Don Karuth 7:30p

SANDERLINGS 1 Seascape Resort, Aptos

Scotty Wright 8-11p

The Golden Shred 8-11p

SEVERINO’S BAR & GRILL 7500 Old Dominion Court, Aptos

Ten O’Clock Lunch Band 8-11:30p

Don McCaslin & the Amazing Jazz Geezers 6-9p

Spun 8-11:30p

SHADOWBROOK 1750 Wharf Road, Capitola

Claudio Melega 7-10p

Ken Constable 6:30-9:30p

Joe Ferrara 6:30-9:30p

Live Again w/ Alex Lucero 2-5p

UGLY MUG 4640 Soquel Ave, Soquel

Live Again 7:30p

DJ Springtime w/ Big L 9p

Bobby Love & Sugar Sweet 8p

Open Mic w/ Steven David 5:30p

VINOCRUZ 4901 Soquel Drive, Soquel ZELDA’S 203 Esplanade, Capitola

The Summit Boys 9p

Ryan Price 5-8p Live Again 9:30p

— Felipe Hernandez

Soulwise 9:30p

white-on-black, minimalist scheme with industrial elements. A vivid neon sign of their logo is emblazoned on one wall and a handful of custom skateboards—an homage to the brothers’ skateboarding days—with different pizza logos are strapped to another. A giant flat

screen television is bolted to another wall, but only passively plays food programs on mute, not to deter the conversations ongoing at each table and the “gathering-place” vibe typically found in cities with experiential, farm-to-fork dining.

“There’s small things all over that really represent everything about us,” Brando said.

THE FUTURE During the Slice Project’s opening day Watsonville City Councilman Felipe Hernandez, who oversees downtown, said more restaurants of the same ilk are in the pipeline. He pointed to the city council’s decision from earlier this year to loosen its stringent alcohol ordinance, and the ongoing efforts to change the layout of downtown with the city’s Complete Streets and Downtown Specific plans.

“I really believe that this business is going to be the precursor of the future of Watsonville’s downtown,” Hernandez said. “They’re going to

be the catalyst.”

The Sencions don’t take the moniker of “catalyst” lightly. They both said they understood what it would mean to the community to see their business succeed. If two young locals who don’t come from money can triumph in Watsonville’s downtown, the possibilities could be endless and the inspiration overwhelming.

Of course, there is a possibility the business doesn’t catch on, but that hasn’t crossed either of their minds much. They started the business because they heard the call from the community, a call which they understand all too well as Watsonville natives. Both grew up with few places to hang and even fewer things to do, so they decided to give their community both and put their faith in the people of Watsonville.

“I don’t think there’s any pressure, we’re just going to keep doing a good job,” Brando said. “We’re setting the tone for downtown, setting new expectations for what can come here...We want to create a downtown environment with good food, good businesses and good service.”

DECEMBER 27, 2019 -JANUARY 2, 2020 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

future—they will have 10 beers on tap and are working on deals with local and regional breweries such as Fruition Brewing and Corralitos Brewing Company.

Brando, instead, threw all of his creative juices into the look and feel of the restaurant, which features a

‘I really believe that [Slice Project] is going to be the precursor of the future of Watsonville’s downtown...

They’re going to be the catalyst.’

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PHOTO GALLERY

DECEMBER 27, 2019 -JANUARY 2, 2020 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

Have a recent photo you’d like to share? Send it to us for consideration by emailing it to tnunez@pajaronian.com or mailing it to 21 Brennan St., Suite 14, Watsonville, CA 95076. Please include a brief description of the photo as well as the name of the photographer.

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LAST MINUTE TOUCHES A worker for Watsonville Park and Community Services keeps the Christmas lights display tuned in at Watsonville’s City Plaza.

Photo by Tarmo Hannula

Photo by Tarmo Hannula

QUALITY TIME A family strolls along Union Street past a mural created by Aptos artist

Arturo Thomae.

Main Street in Watsonville.

at Lighthouse Filed in Santa Cruz.

Photo by Johanna Miller

Photo by Tarmo Hannula

RUBBING NOSES Miley the Siberian husky is curious to meet a small Boston Terrier

WALL OF WORDS An inspirational quote adorns a wall at Zameen

at the Hangar, a new restaurant near Watsonville Airport.

DECEMBER 27, 2019 -JANUARY 2, 2020 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

Photo by Roger Vail

SHADOW SHAPES Shadows are cast through a store window on

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