Capitola Village ready for peak season as it recovers from January storm

CAPITOLA — Waves breaking against the Capitola shoreline are scarcely heard above the lunchtime chatter at Zelda’s on the Beach.

And while the scene might appear ordinary by typical restaurant standards, it is a triumphant departure from what has been experienced in the longtime coastal staple for nearly four months straight.

In Capitola, a picturesque seaside village on the Santa Cruz County coastline with a population of 10,000 people, huge waves from atmospheric river storms tore a 40-foot hole in the Capitola Wharf in January and smashed oceanfront restaurants and other businesses.

On Jan. 19, President Biden visited Capitola to survey the damage. He toured the wrecked businesses and visited Seacliff State Beach, where a historic wooden pier and 60 campsites were destroyed after waves breached a sea wall. Biden promised federal aid to counties across California that were battered by the storms, which killed at least 20 people.

A roughly 600-pound log was thrust through the window at Zelda’s along with piles of ocean debris and waves of seawater.

But after months of recovery efforts, the familiar sound of hungry customers has finally returned to Zelda’s and several of its neighbors that have successfully reopened their doors.

“Everybody wants to take pictures of the beam,” said Josh Whitby, the kitchen manager at Zelda’s and husband to Jill Ealy, who co-owns the business with her brother, John.

He said the building’s foundation is solid, but much of the flooring and walls had to be replaced and temporary glass windows have been installed while he waits for permanent replacements.

“The hardest part was every time I touched anything to fix a little thing you found four other things that were wrong behind it,” he said, adding that repairs and replacement of equipment and fixtures have already cost more than $400,000.

He said he has applied for reimbursements with the U.S. Small Business Administration, but the review process has been slow going because of a misidentifying of his paperwork that has since been corrected by the agency.

Still, he’s glad to be open just before the peak season, which typically stretches from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Anthony Guajardo is the president of the Capitola Village Business Improvement Assessment – a coalition of local business owners that promote the village’s many offerings. According to Guajardo, most businesses in the village are able and ready to welcome in customers.

“We want to welcome everybody back for this summer season and see everybody come out in droves so the recovery effort can fully round its way out,” he said.

The massive damage to the coastline had a trickle-down effect for other retailers and hotels, according to Guajardo, as out-of-town visitors hesitated to book a trip thinking the entire village was closed.

“This coming season of visitors and locals showing up is important because this is an aspect of the village surviving,” Guajardo said. “We’ll get through it, but it’s everybody’s livelihoods at stake.”

Capitola Mayor Margaux Keiser also emphasized that the village is open for business.

“It definitely feels more reminiscent of spring break of last year, prior to the storm,” said Keiser. “The village is open and there are places to stay and eat and shop.”

Keiser said spring and summer events typically held in the village are also planning to launch soon, including the Capitola Sip and Stroll in May and the Capitola Rod and Customer Classic Car Show in early June.

My Thai Beach restaurant, located only a few doors down from Zelda’s, held a soft opening recently after it was shuttered by January’s heavy storms.

In addition to the building receiving major damage to its floors, furniture, walls and pipe infrastructure, owner Dominick King says he is also hiring workers as a significant portion of his staff had to depart during the closure period. The restaurant is operating at about 70% capacity for now, but King is just glad to finally fire up the stovetop.

“That was our goal – let’s get up and running at all,” King said. “So we’re pretty happy with it.”

It hasn’t been an easy road. Like Whitby, King said he was constantly finding new problems as he sought to address old ones, and the state and federal processes for securing loans were difficult and unfruitful, forcing him to operate on “a shoestring budget” as he rushed to get the lights back on.

“If we can have a decent summer, I’m pretty sure we’ll survive and then we can start buying the less-necessary things as we go,” he said.

He credited Community Foundation Santa Cruz County and its storm recovery fund for quick assistance along with charity dinners and general support from city officials and the neighborhood as a whole.

He has also kept a sense of solidarity with the businesses that are still working to reopen and said he thinks a larger grand opening celebration should wait until everyone is ready to welcome in customers.

But the friendships and neighborly solidarity aren’t the only things that have been unveiled during the long road to recovery.

A series of old posters and business signage lying beneath decades of plaster and drywall were discovered during the rebuilding process. The well-preserved relics include an advertisement for a jazz vibraphonist concert in Watsonville in 1949 buried in the walls at Zelda’s and three generations of painted business headboards resting above the sidewalk.

As the plaster begins to dry over this latest chapter of village history, city leaders say some remnants of the recovery will remain visible, but the gates are officially open.

“All of these places have been hit really hard and everybody’s excited to be back,” Keiser said. “There might be some construction dust nearby, but it shouldn’t deter people from coming down and having fun.”

— Staff writer Paul Rogers contributed to this report.