visiting the local haunted house... (rio del mar, aptos)

this video is a response to an article in yesterday's local paper.


Rio del Mar's Sea Breeze bar owners prepare for a comeback
By Soraya Gutierrez
Sentinel staff writer

The new owners of the Sea Breeze tavern say they are working as fast as they can to host a "soft" reopening of the storied watering hole just steps from Rio del Mar State Beach.

Sarah Unger, one of the owners of the two-story landmark, which is designated as a site of historical interest, said they plan to run a casual bar and serve "beach food," including burgers and sandwiches.

"It has beautiful, natural light and awesome views," she said of the sand-colored Sea Breeze.

The tavern, at 101 Esplanade, was the first building constructed in the Rio flats in 1927 as a business property.

During the 1970s, the beach bar was a favorite with locals, but it also drew college students and tourists. Former owner Georgia May Derber shut the business in 1988 but continued to live in seclusion on the second floor and was rarely seen. She died in June 2004 at age 61. Derber wrote her own obituary. She said she had no children or close relatives and had never married, according to county officials. Estates with no heirs are administered by the county's public administrator, who works out of the Distict Attorney's Office.

The Spanish-style building was listed for sale shortly after Derber's death, with an asking price of $1.275 million.

The new owners purchased a property that was showing its age. The "Cocktails" sign adorning the front of the old bar was missing a letter and painted over. The windows were broken and boarded, and the balcony was trashed.

After much work, Unger said, it's now "a very clean, comfortable establishment"

Before the first visitors can take a seat at the bar, the owners have several hurdles to clear with county planners, including securing building and use permits. She did not know when the process would be complete.

At nearby Cafe Rio, the staff is looking forward to the extra foot traffic they hope the Sea Breeze will bring to the esplanade.

"Everyone's dying for them to open," said bartender Kristi Magers. "The nostalgia, the remodel inside is great, people are going to be really excited to see it"

She said the interior was kept much like the old style, with splashes of sea foam green and red on the walls. It features a bar and restaurant in the front section, she said, and a second bar near the back.

"It was a dive, and now it's actually a classy place," Magers said.

The owners are hosting a "I raced to open the Sea Breeze" 5k run or walk at 10 a.m. Saturday on the esplanade. A tour of the restored tavern will be given to registrants after the race.

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/cgi-bin/p/psafe/psafe.cgi?http://www.santacr...

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• aptos
• haunted
• house
• sea
• breaze
• breeze
• mystery
• spot
• santa
• cruz
• witch
• curse
• of
• cocktails
• rio
• del
• mar

[CyBoz1]

Georgia wrote her own obituary which follows in her own words,

"There will be no service but I ask that any "Bar Folk" who might consider a memorial, to conduct it at "The Mediterranean" with much fun and story telling, but also with what I hoped would be proper respect for the "PO’d" at being departed in that all the exaggerations and outright false hoods be kept to a minimum. Wakes and memorials are to humor the departed, not tear them down".

[CyBoz1]

She enjoyed the Theatre, and Music, especially Big Band and music from the Fifties. She strived to be a very independent business woman.

She has no survivors, but she leaves behind many friends from throughout the years.

[CyBoz1]

She attended San Francisco State College, Foothill College and De Anza College. She worked for Stanford Research Institute and for Lockheed as an assistant engineer, compiling data for Defense contracts.

She moved to Santa Cruz in 1970 and purchased the "Sea Breez", a tavern in Rio Del Mar on the Esplanade which she owned and operated until she retired in 1988.

[CyBoz1]

from the Santa Cruz Sentinel newspaper

Article Launched: 06/20/2004 12:00:00 AM PDT

Georgia May Derber passed away on Tuesday, June 8, 2004 at her home in Rio Del Mar due to complications with Cancer. She was 61 years old. Born on May 1, 1943 in Columbus, Georgia, she moved to New Orleans, Louisiana in 1950 where she was raised, she then moved to San Diego and graduated from La Jolla High School in 1960.

[CyBoz1]

Georga May Derba and i went to grammar school together in New Orleans...

We both graduated from Our Lady of Lourdes in 1956...

+RIP Georgia, Bertram 10-6-2010