Upper Crust Pizza & Pasta — Restaurant in Santa Cruz

Went there to eat pizza while doing laundry next door and before I could even get my clothes out of my car on the hottest day this year after I parked my car and trailer on the lot for upper crust who had e cars on it and a dozen empty spaces .I was told I could not park there while I do laundry even though I had planned on having pizza while washing .I explained I was only doing a few loads and W was going to eat pizza from there and they again said SORRY PARK ON STREET which had no spaces available and no shade for my 2 dogs and was too far to carry my laundry with a broken hand so I decided to leave and apparently did not keave fast enough because as I was loading my 3 bags of clothes back up and about to put my dogs in the hot car the Manager came out to tell me to leave again but startked my dogs with his hostile approach when he aggressively and with attitude walked to the back of my car where I was getting my dogs .but when he came at us so hostile and loudly complaining I was taking too long ranting at me where I stood at back of my car against laundromat wall on the farthest corner of the near EMPTY LOT as he lunged in between my car and the one next to us and it freaked my normally playful affectionate dogs out ( who were tethered to the back with hatchback open due to the extreme heat that afternoon ) and startled them so abruptly that one snapped at him and stopped him dead in his tracks, she almost nailed him andand he would have deserved it if she had for the unprovoked harrassment against me A FAIRLY NEW CUSTOMER WHO JUST ARRIVED and wanted to do clothes AND EAT but she didn't bite him she just let him know he was out of line (and he WAS VERY OUT OF LINE) and she just held her ground and he REQLLY GOT ANGRY after that and then he threatened to call the POLICE on us as I said I WAS LEAVING WHY ARE YOU COMING AT ME THAT WAY and his exact iwords NOT FAST ENOUGH...really ??? I am TOTALLY BAFFLED AND DO NOT HAVE A CLUE WHY HE TREATED ME THAT WAY IM NOT A BAG LADY and even if I was. extremely hostile and completely unprovolked . HE SHOULD NOT TREAT THE PUBLIC LIKE THAT so I simply replied that I hope he called the police because if he didn't I just might call but since he did I waited almost 45 minutes they never showed up why any manager of a pizza place in a tourist town with travelers from all around the world coming in and out then WHY ON EARTH would you come at an old woman in a decent car who came there to do laundry and have a slice of pizza and get her dogs out of a hot car while doing it. Is so mind boggling I had to write about it just to bring my own stress level down Ive never in t8 years gone thru anything so absurd in July life and I hope you don't eat there because the one time I did it was DISSAPOINTING AT BEST I only went there because of the laundromat and location of pizza place being on the same lot never expecting anyone to be so hostile at paying customers he was actually waving his hqmds and lunging at us thankfully being a woman alone i I was traveling with my 2 big dogs who will protect me from hostile abusive rude men who forgot how to talk to ppl and more importantly forgot that not all tourists and customers are VAGRANT VERMIN TO ABUSE . that was the service as for the food and atmosphere .... they are expensive the place is dull and depressing inside the staff is mediocre its not even very clean and the pizza is nothing but soggy thin crust . I know they have had their share of problems with transients but I did nothing to deserve such oppressive hostile treatment I am an old lady I have a cleaning business and wanted to spend my hard earned money there and was asked to leave the minute I got there when I had only eaten there but once before . I am not a VAGRANT nor am I a black student in 1960s ALABAMA trying to be served at Woolworths but after my visit there last week thats how I felt .I would suggest getting a better pizza at Dominoes or pizza my heart where they appreciate ALL CUSTOMERS NOT JUST...

This place has looked the same since the 80s. It makes it so special and awesome to me, because it hasn't changed since I was a kid. Old school bricks and arches. There's a mural on the side of the building that is a big deal. I hope they don' let it fade away. In the movie The Lost Boys, in the opening scenes, they were driving along West Cliff and they pass a billboard that had a mural of "Santa Carla" and it was a recreation of the mural that is on the side of Upper Crust. It greets you when you first arrive in Santa Cruz when traveling South on Highway 1. I have driven this pizza 500 miles to deliver to my Mom and other family. Every time Im in SC, I grab a couple of pizzas to take home. You want to get the square, traditional Sicilian pizza when you go here. You can get their pizza by the slice, too! The pizza is amazing when you get a fresh one, though. This family is from Sicily and now kids are running it. Literally my favorite pizza. It's been awesome for decades. They have a big screen with sports on at the bar. The staff is always friendly, attentive, and working hard. The food is always delicious. Try some of their other stuff like homemade pasta (if they didn't sell out) and...

I made it a point to stop on in to try the pie and say "Hi!" on referral of the owner's Ohio relatives. Being from Ohio (Cleveland area) myself, I have been blessed to have experienced some of the best pizza that anyone could dream of. Ed, Carmen, Patrick, Brad, and myself stopped in for lunch. We all agreed that we enjoyed the atmosphere and ambiance of Upper Crust. Uncle Ed had the homemade pasta and Brad ordered a pizza with Feta and Sausage. I opted for a simple slice of cheese pizza and a salad. Pat had the advertised Sicilian Muffaletta. (It was amazing!) Aunt Carmen had the daily soup (Clam Chowder) and declared it to be "Delicious"! Overall, we had a great experience on this Saturday afternoon. I only hoped that the owner, Joe, was in to share stories of our Cleveland connection and talk about our beloved Cleveland Browns' struggles. Santa Cruz overall has a lot of great offerings for both locals and visitors. Upper Crust, in my opinion, holds a top spot on places to visit in this beach town community. Great food, great value, great experience..... what more could you ask for? A big "shout out" to Joe and Pam for recommending Upper Crust and making my California...