Written by James Carlos
It is no secret that people our age love shopping, but due to global events, some of our favorite stores have been shut down or are on the brink of closing down. Santa Cruz is known for its unique and fun local businesses, so if you are looking for a small local business to support during these times here are some cool businesses you should look into.
The first business you should think about is the classic Bookshop Santa Cruz. This classic family-owned bookstore has called Santa Cruz it’s home since 1966 and is still open today even with the pandemic. This store has a broad range of literature stemming from classics to modern best sellers and is definitely worth checking out for yourself.
The next store is a very unique one and is very much a business that you would find in Santa Cruz and that is the World of Stones and Mystics. This is a quite unique business that specializes in crystals, minerals, and polished gems, all of which are believed to have spiritual ties to them. Even if you are not a believer in such things, from personal experience visiting this store, it is quite interesting and their selection of crystals and minerals would make beautiful decorations inside your home!
Let’s face it, the socks we wear reflect our personality, therefore we need a store that supplies us with the socks that will match us perfectly. Well, luckily there is a perfect place in downtown Santa Cruz called Sockshop and Shoe Company. This local shop sells a variety of socks ranging from top brands to socks with our favorite characters on them. Possibly my favorite part of this store is the selection they have with memes and jokes in the socks, which never fails to get a laugh from me.
The next store is my personal favorite in this article and quite possibly my favorite shoe store in Santa Cruz county, which is Old School Shoes. This place specializes in vans which are a staple in Santa Cruz skate culture. They have a great inventory of all the most popular colorways of vans, all at reasonable prices and if they do not have exactly what you are looking for, you can put in a special order and they can get in for you within a week. If vans aren’t your thing they also have a selection of other brands such as Nike, Adidas, and Doc Martin. Overall, Old School is a great shoe store and a solid local business.
I would not end this list without including one business from our home the San Lorenzo Valley and I don’t think any store deserves it better than the classic Masood’s Liquor and Deli. From the outside, it just looks like any average locally owned liquor store but Masood´s is home to the best tri-tip sandwich I have ever tasted in my entire life. The first time I had tri-tip from Massood’s, it was the most surprising thing I have ever tasted and five years later I have yet to have tasted a better sandwich.
The Claw 