Santa Marians bid farewell to smoothie and sandwich shop California Fresh on Jan. 13, after eight years of business on the Central Coast.
To say goodbye to customers, California Fresh owner Chad Jordan held a barbecue at his shop’s relatively new location on Industrial Parkway. Jordan moved his business from a storefront on Betteravia Road last year.
The idea for California Fresh came to Jordan in 2004 while his wife was pregnant and they were living in Santa Barbara.
“I was at lunch with my wife and she craved a smoothie, and I wanted a sandwich. I thought it would be great if there was a place where you could get both,” he said.
Jordan and two other friends who were tired of the “corporate grind” began working on the California Fresh concept. The friends established the California Fresh business in 2004 and opened restaurants in Santa Maria and eventually in Templeton.
Business picked up for California Fresh, and in 2009, state officials approved a business plan for a franchise. Then, in 2011, a rare opportunity presented itself.
“A group from the Middle East found out about us and came here to try our food,” Jordan said. “They decided that they would like to open our store in the Middle East.”
Since then, California Fresh has expanded and is now located in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Kuwait, Doha, and Qatar.
“We are hoping to open 10 to 15 more [restaurants] in the Middle East, focusing on the Doha and Qatar locations,” Jordan said.
For the last eight years, the business has been responsible for serving premium deli sandwiches and smoothies, and catering various events for the people of the Central Coast.
Despite his initial success and a thriving business in the Middle East, California Fresh hasn’t been doing as well in recent years.
Jordan decided not to renew his lease on the restaurant. He admitted that the current state of the economy and the increasing number of chain restaurants in Santa Maria over the last eight years influenced his decision.
“In the last three to four years, we have seen a decline in our business because of the national chains that have come in to Santa Maria,” he said.
According to Jordan, when the business first opened, Santa Maria was a smaller town and there weren’t many chain restaurants to choose from. But now California Fresh has to compete with such national chains as Panera, El Pollo Loco, Panda Express, and Starbucks.
California Fresh also brings in most of its income by catering events for local companies, such as picnics, staff lunches, barbecues, and breakfasts.
“Job cutbacks affected us because companies could not afford to use our business anymore,” Jordan said.
He said he’s a proponent for local businesses and encouraged community members to support local eateries like Papa Napoli’s, an Italian deli on Betteravia Road.
Jordan remains optimistic about the future of the restaurant and admitted that people from bigger markets have contacted him with promising opportunities. But, for now, Jordan has decided to shift his focus elsewhere.
“We’re a local family, and we used everything we had to start the business. I would love to see it continue, but I have three small children, all less than 8 years old, so it is time to focus on family,” he said.
Jordan will continue to cater weddings and corporate events. In the meantime, he’ll be working full time for a computer company in San Luis Obispo, and will remain involved in the community through the church and various community groups.
“All in all, it’s been a great eight years and we’re grateful that the business brought us back here to our home community,” he said.
This article appears in Jan 19-26, 2012.