Business & Tech

Fresh Choice Replacement Won't Honor Old Gift Cards

California Fresh, the restaurant that took the place of Fresh Choice in Capitola, is offering foods made in house. Some customers are upset that their old gift cards can't be used at the new restaurant.

The transition in Capitola from Fresh Choice to California Fresh has been a bit rocky for some locals who had grown loyal to the buffet-style restaurant.

Fresh Choice closed late last year, six years after the company filed for bankruptcy.

By late January, California Fresh opened in its place, serving a similar, but updated menu.

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Initially, owner Sandy Boyd had planned to change the restaurant from buffet to a la carte, with patrons paying per item or per ounce (at the salad bar). But the demand for buffet in that location won out.

According to Brown Ranch Marketplace General Manager Bob Rivers, California Fresh is making more of its items in-house rather than at a commissary, improving the food quality from the Fresh Choice days.

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"Generally, people have responded positively," Rivers said. "On a personal level, I like it better [than Fresh Choice]."

The one known problem area for customers at California Fresh is the inability to use Fresh Choice gift cards at the new restaurant.

Multiple Patch readers have reported being turned down by California Fresh when trying to pay with unused Fresh Choice gift cards. Some are crying injustice, especially because California Fresh is under the same ownership as Fresh Choice was, and they were given no warning to use the cards before the restaurant closed.

"They are not affiliated with Fresh Choice, therefore customers can't use the gift cards," Rivers said. "That's where we're at and I know people won't be happy about it."

Rivers said last he heard, Owner Sandy Boyd was "trying to work something out" regarding the gift cards, but that for the time being, they are not being considered valid at California Fresh.

Boyd did not return Patch's calls for comment regarding the gift card situation.


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