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Reed Santee and Central Home Supply
After 50 years doing business at 808 River Street in Santa Cruz, Central Home Supply is closing its doors—so long but not goodbye
By Edita McQuary
We all know the saying, “All good things must come to an end.” Oftentimes it is a bittersweet ending. After 50 years doing business at 808 River Street in Santa Cruz, Central Home Supply is closing its doors, the result of eminent domain. After a long and arduous lawsuit & court proceedings, the Santee family decided to sell the remaining parcel of their land to the City of Santa Cruz.
“It is not for lack of business or engagement or desire to do business in Santa Cruz that we are leaving,” explained owner Reed Santee, “There have been many years of back and forth in court until the Santee family has regretfully conceded to sell the remaining parcel of their property to the City of Santa Cruz. We are heartbroken to announce our last day of business at the 808 River St. location will be (was) October 31, 2024.”
In 1974 Reed’s grandparents, John and Ann Santee, bought the land in a perfect location: The corner of Highway 1 and River street. They had one truck and no forklifts – all the heavy lifting was done by truck and hardworking hands in those days! Using the college savings fund they were granted by Rusty choosing to serve in the Air Force Academy, the family re-invested in equipment and grew. Central Home Supply continued to operate the business at that location until in 2008 when the family began to “see the writing on the wall” and decided to open a 2nd location at 180 El Pueblo Road in Scotts Valley to serve the people in north Santa Cruz County and beyond.
“Only a 6-minute drive northeast, the 180 El Pueblo Road location has a PREMIER SHOWROOM where customers can see the most extensive displays of patio, driveway, or hard-scaping material for their landscaping needs. There are four display courtyards available to tour from all major vendors. We have a great staff of long-time employees such as JR Perez and Jamie Pennington that you knew from the River Street location to help you here.”
The company has many delivery trucks of all sizes, as well as forklifts and dump trucks. They have a large inventory of pavers, stone, construction hardware, rock, gravel, retaining walls, pre-cast concrete and concrete products, masonry block, tools, lath and plaster, bricks, erosion control equipment, drainage items, soil, compost, mulch and even barbeques and turf. In fact, they offer more than 2,500 products including 100 types of natural stone! And if you don’t see what you desire, they will track it down and order it for you.
Central Home Supply has been in business for three generations of Santee’s spanning 50 years! They sell pretty much everything to do with cement products as well as masonry building materials and all types of landscape supplies. They sell every type of brick product, pavers, flagstone, retaining walls, and the coolest boulders and big rocks you can imagine! If it can be found, Central Home Supply will have it on hand or order it especially for you. In the rare event they do not have what you need, they oftentimes can tell you the best place to find it.
Besides having a great staff that can coach clients through the process of their landscaping project, they have a trusted referral service to local contractors who will advise you on how to meet your needs and stay within your budget.
Today Central Home Supply happily delivers your landscaping and building materials anywhere within a few hundred miles of Santa Cruz County and occasionally beyond! We have a fleet of many different sized vehicles, so no job is too small or too large for our experienced drivers!
Reed’s beloved uncle, Rick Santee, who had the foresight to work with Scarborough Lumber and establish the Scotts Valley location, sadly passed away from a long battle with autoimmune disease in 2019. In case you are wondering what happened to Rusty, when the grandparents used his college fund to start the business, he rose to the rank of Major while serving in Desert Storm and many other vital operations as a C5 Galaxy pilot in service of our great nation. Upon the early loss of his father John Santee (WW II Naval Veteran) to cancer at only 55 years old, Rusty returned to Santa Cruz to assist in the family business and help it thrive.
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Always a community-minded operation, Central Home Supply has supported Habitat for Humanity for many years. They also support the Homeless Garden Project in re-skilling and re-establishing work and life skills for the unhoused community. Not long ago, they were instrumental in the renovation of Harbor High School’s baseball dugouts and field. Central Home Supply donates to nearly every school’s garden projects as well as many local Eagle & Girl Scouts on their beautification projects!
Reed says, “We want everyone to know how deeply grateful we are for having been able to serve the Santa Cruz community at the River Street location for 50 years.” Now we are still here to help with only a 6-minute drive from our old spot in Santa Cruz to our location just down the block from Scarborough Garden Center at 180 El Pueblo Rd, Scotts Valley… Don’t settle for 2nd best, we have the largest selection and friendliest service in Santa Cruz County! Thank you for reading, with gratitude, the CHS Team looks forward to seeing you soon!
Please contact
reed santee
reed@centralhomesupply.com
831-440-0763
central home supply
180 El Pueblo Road, Scotts Valley (behind Scarborough Lumber)
www.centralhomesupply.com
CLCA Central Coast Chapter
We are a non-profit trade organization of state-licensed landscape and landscape-related limited specialty contractors.
CLCA's membership, which totals approximately 900 individuals statewide, includes suppliers to contractors, landscape architects, educators, public officials and students.
The Central Coast Chapter was founded in 1973 and currently includes 105 members in Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Benito and Santa Clara counties.
To find a CLCA landscape professional, click here.
State CLCA Mission Statement
CLCA’S mission is to serve and protect the interests of its members, promote professionalism and advance public awareness of the landscape industry.
Chapter Purpose
We are committed to empowering the Green Industry on the Central Coast, provide leadership and education for our members instill stewardship, promote outreach in the community and support chapter events throughout the year.