After 38 years in the heart of Aptos, Café Sparrow has bid farewell.
On April 18, the restaurant known for fine French food announced with a heavy heart on Instagram that April 28 would be the last day of service.
“Due to the inflation of the world it is not a feasible task anymore,” the message said. “We hope to see all of you at least
1 more time before next Sunday. We understand this news is sudden and it is just as sudden for us, but we just can not hang on any longer. Come support our last few days of service and come say hi. We would love to see all of you before this chapter closes. Thank you to the amazing people of Aptos/ Santa Cruz for the years of support.”
“I’ve been coming here 37 years,” the man said.
A follow-up post: “The amount of support we have seen this last week has been very unexpected and a pleasure. Thank you for letting us go out with a bang!”
Bob and Julie Montague bought the restaurant at 8042 Soquel Drive in 1989 before the earthquake and remodeled and reopened. In 2022, during the Covid pandemic, their daughter and son-on-law, Bailey and Donnie Suesens, took over.
Prices have been rising for food, electricity, and labor, and customers are facing huge increases for home insurance, leaving less to spend on eating out.
The building at 8042 Soquel Drive is historic, dating to 1895. Back in the horse and buggy days, the Aptos Cash Store was at this location. Today, the challenge for a restaurant is not enough parking close by, with much of the close parking belonging to neighboring retailers.
Shoemaker Commercial Real Estate is advertising the building for sale, priced at $1.4 million and 100% leased.
The owner is Desert Sunset Apartments in Arizona.
Rent for Café Sparrow was $3,348 with the lease expiring in May 2026.
Current tenants include Calicoastal Boutique, Allstate Insurance and Gravity Saddlemaker.
