Spring Lakes Park is at 225 Mount Hermon Road. Graham Plaza is next door at 219. On Saturday mornings since late June, the plaza's upper parking lot has held farm stands, an espresso bar and ready-to-eat food. Since August, its Suite F has housed an Italian bakery and restaurant that opens at 8 a.m. and serves dinner until 9. That's a lot of change for a strip of dentists' offices, a florist and a gift shop.
Meanwhile, a few minutes down the road, the City of Scotts Valley is still negotiating the large mixed-use Town Center it has planned for years. This year's two new arrivals landed at the address next to Spring Lakes, each for its own reasons and without any larger plan behind them. Together they give the plaza the steady foot traffic a town center needs.
The market's first season on Mount Hermon Road ends Nov. 21
The Scotts Valley Farmers' Market had operated at the Boys and Girls Club site. When the club announced plans to renovate that property, the market needed a new home. According to the Press Banner, the Scotts Valley City Council approved the move to Graham Plaza in May, and the market opened in the plaza's upper lot on June 27.
Nicole Zahm, communications and programs manager for Santa Cruz Community Farmers' Markets, told the Press Banner that news of the renovation "put a fire under us to find a new spot." She also said local businesses welcomed the idea of bringing the market to Mount Hermon Road. Her organization called Graham Plaza a "new long-term home," so the move wasn't a one-summer arrangement.
The market runs Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon. The Santa Cruz Farmers Markets page lists the season as "May 2 through Nov. 21," and the Press Banner described it as running through Thanksgiving. That makes Saturday, Nov. 21, the last market day of this first season next door. The organizer's seasonal list for Scotts Valley runs into late fall with winter squash, sweet potatoes, citrus, mushrooms, microgreens, flowers and honey, along with eggs, baked goods and preserves.
The market accepts EBT and runs Market Match, which matches EBT spending on fresh fruits and vegetables dollar for dollar up to $15. The organization keeps only its Downtown, Westside and Live Oak markets open year-round. After Nov. 21, the closest Saturday farmers market to Spring Lakes is back over the hill in Santa Cruz until Scotts Valley's next season.
The kitchen that moved in two months later
Two months after the market arrived, a tenant moved in that keeps the plaza busy after noon and on weekdays.
La Placa Italian Cuisine opened in mid-August at 219 Mount Hermon Road, Suite F, in the former Casa Nostra space near Zinnia's. The Santa Cruz Sentinel reported the opening on Aug. 18. Owner Leo La Placa combined two businesses in one room. The first was La Placa Family Bakery, which had closed its original spot on Highway 9 in Ben Lomond earlier that month. The second was Bedda Mia, his former restaurant on Water Street in Santa Cruz. Lookout Santa Cruz food correspondent Lily Belli called the result "an all-day Italian experience."
Lookout reported a menu with two halves:
- From the bakery case: espresso and Sicilian pastries, including bombolini, amaretti and tiramisu
- From the kitchen: antipasti, homemade pasta, pizza and heavier mains such as chicken Milanese
The Sentinel also mentioned wine.
The market only shows up once a week, but La Placa's own hours page lists six open days. The restaurant serves from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and again from 4 to 9 p.m. on Monday and Wednesday through Sunday. The kitchen closes between 2:30 and 4. The bakery stays open straight through, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., on the same days. Both are closed Tuesdays.
Who's open at 219 Mount Hermon Road once the market closes
After Thanksgiving, the plaza runs on its storefronts. These are the posted hours for the food, gift and flower shops in and next to the plaza, according to each business's own website:
| Business | Address | Posted hours |
|---|---|---|
| La Placa Italian Cuisine, bakery | 219 Mt. Hermon Rd., Suite F | Mon, Wed–Sun 8 a.m.–8 p.m.; closed Tue |
| La Placa Italian Cuisine, kitchen | 219 Mt. Hermon Rd., Suite F | Mon, Wed–Sun 8 a.m.–2:30 p.m. and 4–9 p.m.; closed Tue |
| Zinnias Gift Boutique | 219 C Mount Hermon Rd. | Mon–Sat 9 a.m.–6:30 p.m.; Sun 9 a.m.–5:30 p.m. |
| Flower Outlet | 219 Mount Hermon Rd., Suite E | Mon–Fri 9 a.m.–6:30 p.m.; Sat 9 a.m.–5 p.m.; Sun 9 a.m.–4 p.m. |
| Scotts Valley Cycle Sport | 203 Mt. Hermon Rd. | Mon–Fri 10 a.m.–6 p.m.; Sat–Sun 10 a.m.–5 p.m. |
Put together, the hours show how the plaza works in winter. The bakery opens first, at 8. Zinnias Gift Boutique and Flower Outlet open at 9, which covers the December gift and centerpiece errands. Scotts Valley Cycle Sport, a couple of doors down at 203, opens at 10. La Placa's dinner service runs until 9 p.m., long after the other storefronts close. On Tuesdays, both La Placa counters are closed.
The rest of Graham Plaza is mostly services. The landlord's tenant directory lists dental and orthodontic offices, an optometrist, an Edward Jones office, Faust Salon, Purely Dance Inc. and a Tutoring Club, along with the shops above. Services like these keep weekday parking busy, and that steady traffic is the kind any café or florist depends on.
A December calendar that starts next door
For anyone starting from Spring Lakes, the plaza now works as a starting point for a winter weekend. Here's one way to string it together:
- Saturday, Nov. 21, 8 a.m. to noon: the farmers market's final day of the season in Graham Plaza's upper lot.
- Any open afternoon: espresso and a pastry at La Placa's bakery counter, which keeps serving through the kitchen's 2:30 to 4 break.
- Wednesday through Sunday, noon onward: Coin Drop Arcade at 3111 Scotts Valley Drive, which opened on Halloween. Owner Kacey Lewis told Lookout Santa Cruz that she sees it as a gathering place for all ages, with no door fee or membership. Lookout reported her planned schedule as Wednesday through Sunday, noon to 9 p.m., plus children's parties from 10 a.m. to noon and, eventually, a pinball league.
- Friday, Dec. 11, 5 to 8 p.m.: the Scotts Valley Parks & Recreation Crafts & Cocoa Event at the Scotts Valley Community Center, 360 Kings Village Road. Tickets cost $10 and include crafts, cocoa and cookie decorating, and sales are capped at 100. This year the event starts an hour earlier than before.
The Town Center down the road is on a 2027 clock
The city's own plan for a downtown is still in the deal-making stage. The Scotts Valley Town Center Specific Plan was adopted on Dec. 17, 2025. On June 17, 2026, the City Council chose San Jose-based Swenson for exclusive negotiations on the 58-acre Town Center area, according to Santa Cruz Local. Swenson's proposal includes at least 300 homes, a significant below-market-rate share and retained commercial space.
City Manager Mali LaGoe told Santa Cruz Local that the city expected negotiations to wrap up by the end of 2026. After that, Swenson could submit an application, and LaGoe expected Planning Commission and City Council meetings in 2027. Councilmember Derek Timm said the city had secured land rights and finished cleaning up the site.
So for now, the Town Center is a set of public meetings still to come. Graham Plaza already has the pieces those meetings will spend 2027 planning for: a regular market day, a kitchen that serves three meals and a row of shops open on weekends. Each piece arrived on its own, one after another. The market moved in because the Boys and Girls Club needed its space back. La Placa came because a Ben Lomond bakery and a Water Street restaurant needed one shared room. They ended up next to each other at 219 Mount Hermon Road, next door to Spring Lakes. The market returns with the next season, and La Placa's bakery keeps opening at 8 a.m. six days a week in the meantime.
The EF Homes team keeps track of Scotts Valley's corridors, Mount Hermon Road included, because the businesses that open next door are part of what a neighborhood is like to live in. If you'd like to talk through what's changing near Spring Lakes Park or anywhere in Scotts Valley, contact us. We're glad to share what we're seeing.