By Edita McQuary
We all know the saying, “All good things must come to an end.” Oftentimes it is a bittersweet ending. After 50 years doing business at 808 River St. in Santa Cruz, Central Home Supply is closing its doors, the result of eminent domain. After a long and arduous lawsuit and court proceedings, the Santee family decided to sell the remaining parcel of their land to the City of Santa Cruz.
Reed Santee, Owner
“It is not for lack of business or engagement or desire to do business in Santa Cruz that we are leaving,” explained owner Reed Santee. “There have been many years of back and forth in court until the Santee family has regretfully conceded to sell the remaining parcel of their property to the City of Santa Cruz. We are heartbroken to announce our last day of business at the 808 River St. location will be Oct. 31, 2024.”
In 1974 Reed’s grandparents, John and Ann Santee, bought the land in a perfect location: The corner of Highway 1 and River Street. They had one truck and no forklifts — all the heavy lifting was done by truck and hardworking hands in those days!
Using the college savings fund they were granted by Rusty choosing to serve in the Air Force Academy, the family reinvested in equipment and grew. Central Home Supply continued to operate the business at that location until in 2008 when the family began to “see the writing on the wall” and decided to open a second location at 180 El Pueblo Road in Scotts Valley to serve the people in north Santa Cruz County and beyond.
“Only a 6-minute drive northeast, the 180 El Pueblo Road location has a premier showroom where customers can see the most extensive displays of patio, driveway, or hard-scaping material for their landscaping needs,” Reed says. “There are four display courtyards available to tour from all major vendors. We have a great staff of long-time employees such as JR Perez and Jamie Pennington that you knew from the River Street location to help you here.”
The company has many delivery trucks of all sizes, as well as forklifts and dump trucks. They have a large inventory of pavers, stone, construction hardware, rock, gravel, retaining walls, pre-cast concrete and concrete products, masonry block, tools, lath and plaster, bricks, erosion control equipment, drainage items, soil, compost, mulch and even barbeques and turf. In fact, they offer more than 2,500 products including 100 types of natural stone! And if you don’t see what you desire, they will track it down and order it for you.
Central Home Supply has been in business for 3 generations of Santees and 50 years! They sell pretty much everything to do with cement products as well as masonry building materials and all types of landscape supplies. They sell every type of brick product, pavers, flagstone, retaining walls, and the coolest boulders and big rocks you can imagine! If it can be found, Central Home Supply will have it on hand or order it especially for you. In the rare event they do not have what you need, they oftentimes can tell you the best place to find it.
Besides having a great staff that can coach clients through the process of their landscaping project, they have a trusted referral service to local contractors who will advise you on how to meet your needs and stay within your budget.
Today Central Home Supply happily delivers your landscaping and building materials anywhere within a few hundred miles of Santa Cruz County and occasionally beyond! They have a fleet of many different sized vehicles, so no job is too small or too large for their experienced drivers!
Reed’s beloved uncle, Rick Santee, who had the foresight to work with Scarborough Lumber and establish the Scotts Valley location, sadly passed away from a long battle with autoimmune disease in 2019.
In case you are wondering what happened to Rusty, when the grandparents used his college fund to start the business, he rose to the rank of major while serving in Desert Storm and many other vital operations as a C5 Galaxy pilot in service of our great nation. Upon the early loss of his father John Santee (a World War II Navy veteran) to cancer at only 55 years old, Rusty returned to Santa Cruz to assist in the family business and help it thrive.
Always a community-minded operation, Central Home Supply has supported Habitat for Humanity for many years. They also support the Homeless Garden Project in re-skilling and re-establishing work and life skills for the unhoused community. Not long ago, they were instrumental in the renovation of Harbor High School’s baseball dugouts and field. Central Home Supply donates to nearly every school’s garden projects as well as many local Eagle & Girl Scouts on their beautification projects!
Reed says, “We want everyone to know how deeply grateful we are for having been able to serve the Santa Cruz community at the River Street location for 50 years.”
He adds, “Now we are still here to help with only a 6-minute drive from our old spot in Santa Cruz to our location just down the block from Scarborough Garden Center at 180 El Pueblo Road, Scotts Valley… Don’t settle for 2nd best, we have the largest selection and friendliest service in Santa Cruz County! Thank you for reading, with gratitude, the CHS Team looks forward to seeing you soon!”
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Central Home Supply is at 180 El Pueblo Road, Scotts Valley (behind Scarborough Lumber), 831-440-0763, www.centralhomesupply.com. Winter hours: Nov. 1 through March 31, Monday-Friday 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.