Two new businesses have found their way to Boulder Creek in the early part of 2012.
Son serves up pizza-centric pub
The former Round Table Pizza in downtown Boulder Creek has dropped the franchise tag and become an independent restaurant called Boulder Creek Pizza and Pub.
When Jeffrey Acton, former owner of Round Table, decided not to continue with the franchised restaurant he had opened in the mid-1980s, his son Justin Acton jumped at the opportunity to take over.
“I thought it would be cool to localize the place,” said Justin Acton, the new owner of the restaurant.
So far, he has installed five high-definition, big-screen TVs; expanded the menu to include pasta and more salads; and added several local beers and wines.
With nine beers on tap and some local vintages, he said he’s created a dynamic menu built on local ingredients.
“I’m working with my produce company on more options,” Justin Acton said. “I’m trying to source my veggies locally. They’re actually delivered every day of the week.”
To complement those vegetables, he’s created house-made sauce, pizza dough and salad dressing recipes.
“Every day for two months, we came in the morning and did a taste test and taste party,” he said.
The restaurateur has also joined the Santa Cruz Mountains Gourmet Dinner Club, where he enjoys meeting people and swapping ideas.
“I grew up in the business, and I really like food,” he said.
The pizzeria is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily at 13200-B Central Ave., in Boulder Creek.
For information: www.bcpizzapub.com or 338-2141.
Bookstore opens inside taqueria
An eclectic used bookstore with a stock of 3,000 volumes and rising has opened in a side room in Taqueria Los Amigos in downtown Boulder Creek.
Buck’s Books opened less than a month ago after owner Buck Buchner, a 13-year resident of the town, found success selling books on the sidewalks in front of businesses in downtown Boulder Creek.
“I’ve been selling in front of the (San Lorenzo Valley) water company since July,” Buchner said, displaying several books on the sidewalk as a draw to customers.
When Santa arrived in Boulder Creek the day after Thanksgiving, Buchner did especially well, and he asked the Taqueria if he could rent a room to open a permanent bookstore. He constructed shelves that hold books of many genres, including Sherlock Holmes tales, magazines and biographies of famous figures. He also sells unique books with secret compartments and books signed by the authors.
Many of the used-book store’s volumes are priced at a dollar, with some more expensive.
Buchner, a former general contractor, hopes the bookstore enterprise will help him publish his book, preliminarily titled “The Secret History of Tsunamis.”
“All history revolved around tsunamis,” he said. “But there are no books, as far as I can tell, on the history of tsunamis.”
He said he’s found proof that tsunamis have been the cause of many wars and the rise and fall of empires, the reason religions formed, and the driving force behind the construction of major landmarks, such as the great pyramids in Egypt and the Great Wall of China. He has read many books of history in an effort to research the book, which he says is about 15 percent written.
Buchner sells some books online via AbeBooks.com, but most go to walk-in customers.
“They sell faster in the store than online,” he said.
The store is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily at 13070 Highway 9 in Boulder Creek.
