A coy fish mural painted by Elijah Pfotenhauer now hangs in Little Shanghai. The mural is the first step in the restaurant’s ongoing restoration and its proceeds support Pfotenhauer’s charitable efforts in Haiti.

A vibrant new koi fish mural at Little Shanghai will simultaneously usher in a new era for the Santa Cruz restaurant and support the artist Elijah Pfotenhauer and his charitable work in Haiti.

Pfotenhauer is a Santa Cruz native who has been giving back with his artistic talents through teaching and creating pieces for local organizations like Barrios Unidos and the Santa Cruz Teen Center.

“It’s just who I am, everyone’s an artist,” Pfotenhauer said. “Some people just stop and switch to different things.”

Little Shanghai is hosting a weeklong event from Jan. 28– Feb. 2 in which several of Pfotenhauer’s pieces are displayed inside. Up for sale are mixed-media pieces with prices ranging from $25–$1,000. During this event beers are two dollars each and one dollar from every purchase of apricot basil chicken, the artist’s favorite dish, will be donated to him.

Various Paintings by Elijah Pfotenhauer are prominently featured at Little Shanghai restaurant to support his work
in Haiti.

Pfotenhauer works with Burners Without Borders, a non-profit that volunteers its time addressing cultural and societal issues. Created by regular attendees of the Burning Man festival, the organization first came together in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina to help rebuild demolished communities in Mississippi. The organization grew and has since organized dozens of projects globally in places including Japan, Peru and Haiti.

Pfotenhauer departed last Monday to Jakmel, Haiti — a southern coastal town devastated by the 2010 earthquake. He hopes to teach art to the populace while simultaneously helping them set up a sustainable silkscreen shop.

Apricot Basil Chicken, Elijah Pfotenhauer’s favorite dish. For each one ordered Little Shanghai donates a dollar to support his work in Haiti.

The opening of the silkscreen shop is an effort to rebuild Haiti emotionally and economically. Currently there are no silkscreen shops along the south coast of Haiti, and this effort would provide a new source of revenue to the town and its resident artists. Pfotenhauer will also be volunteering at the Jakmel Expresyon art center, teaching the first of 10 month-long classes covering illustration, design and printing.

John Chiao, the new owner of 26-year-old Little Shanghai and son of the previous owners, says he’s happy to help support Pfotenhauer’s efforts, a cause he believes in. Besides the koi fish mural, Chiao has plans to further renovate the restaurant into a more modern and artistic space.

“I’m planning on renovating everything from the outside in to create an environment that is more of a spot people want to come to rather than simply another restaurant,” Chiao said.

Aaron Arkin, a student at UCSC, said he was already impressed with the food and is now glad to see the atmosphere keeping pace with it.

“I’ve been a student here now for three years and Little Shanghai is definitely my go-to Chinese spot,” Arkin said. “The new artwork definitely brings the restaurant more to life — I hope to see them keep adding more nice pieces”.

Chiao has known Pfotenhauer since high school and regards him as one of Santa Cruz’s premier artists. Chiao said through teaching and creating art, Pfotenhauer’s work will continue to leave a positive impact on the Santa Cruz community.

“I consider this a win, win, win,” Chiao said. “The community wins, Elijah wins, my family wins … it’s good for everybody.”

Photo by Daniel Green

Photo by Daniel Green

On Jan. 10, the Santa Cruz branch of Friends Outside hosted a fundraiser at Santa Cruz Mountain Brewery. A portion of the drinks purchased between 12–10 p.m. went to the California-based nonprofit, which is dedicated to providing support not only to those who are incarcerated, but also to their families.

For the past few years, Santa Cruz Mountain Brewery has been supporting local nonprofits such as Friends Outside by hosting fundraisers on certain Thursdays, where the bar charges one dollar per pint.

Among the patrons attending the fundraiser was Mike, a middle-aged man sharing drinks and laughs with three of his friends. He declined to give his last name.

“We’re here to support the fundraiser and to have a good time,” Mike said. “I’ve seen the difficulties incarcerated people face when re-entering society. It’s a cause I support.”

Lupe, a fundraising volunteer for Friends Outside who also declined to give her last name, said it was important that the organization reincorporates recently incarcerated people back into society.

“Our goal is to offer better aftercare for clients,” Lupe said. “Re-entering into society after incarceration is difficult, so we provide them with a variety of things ranging from bus passes, to food, to helping them find housing.”

Diana Adams, program director for the Santa Cruz branch of Friends Outside, said the organization also helps during the incarceration period.

“We have jail visitors, some of which are UC Santa Cruz students, who go into the jails and meet with inmates who requested Friends Outside visitors,” Adams said. “We help them, from contacting family members, relaying messages, picking up property, even helping them out with papers or explaining the process in how the family can get involved and help.”

Adams said the services Friends Outside provides are particularly important for first time offenders and their families.

“Most people who have family members in jail, it’s their first time so they don’t know what to do,” Adams said. “So we can help them in taking the right steps.”

Friends Outside not only assists those currently incarcerated, but also their families to cope with the trauma of arrest. The organization is also working on the Family Reunification Project, a project focused on reducing foster care and increasing kinship care, something they see as the best alternative for children unable to be cared for by their parents.

According to a 2007 report done by the Sentencing Project, a research and advocacy group for reform in crime and punishment, there were an estimated 1.7 million parents in prison who had a minor child, an 82 percent increase since 1991. In the same report, it reveals that one in 43 American children had a parent in prison.

Friends Outside strives to keep families intact, a central tenet of the nonprofit’s philosophy.

Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing wholeheartedly supports Friends Outside and their mission.

“Everyone knows someone who’s been incarcerated,” said Anthony Carlson, the sales and distribution manager at Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing. “Re-entry is pretty difficult for incarcerated people, so we support Friends Outside’s mission.”

City on a Hill Press: How did you become a brewmaster? 

Pepe Palacios: Well, I’m a lucky, lucky person. When I was working for Bonny Doon Vineyard, Chuck and Emily [owners and co-founders of SCMB] were driving down from Ben Lomond, many years ago before they opened, and they needed to find a place to open the brewery, right? So they were driving around Santa Cruz, and then they saw my friend and me playing soccer, right where we are sitting now. And then they went, “Hey, see that guy?”— that guy was me — they said, “See that guy playing soccer over there? I think that could be the place for us.”

A while later, I had this friend named Dan, and he had just started brewing in Capitola. And when they finally opened this place, pretty much everybody in town was brewing with them. So Dan introduced me and then things just went from there.

And then, when I started working here, they recognized me and told me they opened the brewery here because of me. Isn’t that exciting, dude? And then after that day we were pretty much great friends, Emily and Chuck and I. They’re not my parents, but they’re my brothers. I’m happy we can grow together — their experience and my experience.

And so now, you know, together we’re making good beer.

CHP: What’s your favorite part of brewing beer?

Palacios: When you brew beer, it’s like making a nice big cake for somebody special. It could be my best friend’s wedding, or my customer, too, but either way it’s very special.

So when you brew the beer, one of the best experiences is during the boiling process, when you add the hops. You know that? It’s just like all these crazy intense aromas that you just have to go, ‘Whoa, dude.’ Like I wish to have a keg over here [points towards the corner of the brewery] that’s boiling beer, you know what I mean, and then when my customers are here I’ll add the hops, so that way they can know.

But that experience man, its like being in heaven. Nobody knows. You have to make beer with your heart. So when you love that, dude, that makes you feel really, really good. So that’s probably my favorite part.

CHP: What’s your process for coming up with a new beer?

Palacios: So me as an employee of the brewery, I work very hard, but then I am always waiting for my boss to let me know when it’s my chance to try something new. And then a few weeks ago, right before I did the last three IPAs, my boss, she went up to me and she’s like, “Pepe, you’ve been too quiet.”

And I say, “Well, I saw you guys brewing a lot of beers and there’s no more tanks, you know what I mean, because our place is so small. So how can I brew another beer if there’s no space?’ And she’s like, “Pepe, you bring me new beer and don’t worry about that. If there’s no space, we’ll figure it out. Your job is to bring me new beers.” And then you know what I said? “Emily, thank you so much, because you know what? I’ve been thinking about it. Give me a minute. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

And then you know what I did? This is the way we work under stress with the community. I call my buddies, and I say, “Hey, I have to make new beer.” I wanted to make a Red IPA, and then one of my good friends is like, “Pepe, let’s go to the Herb Room.” And I say, “Yeah! That’d be awesome.”

So we’re at the Herb Room and my friend is like, “What do you think about this flower, this flower,” and so on, you know? Until we hit the hibiscus. Then I said, ‘“Oh my god! I know this flower! And it’s even red. This is perfect!” See? But that’s the way I come up with my beers. I talk to my friends, I tell them my ideas, and they help me out. That’s my job, dude.

CHP: So how has your time at SCMB been overall?

Palacios: It’s been really fun — intense. I feel like I cannot believe my life right now, you know what I mean? I get a lot of support and I really love connecting with people in Santa Cruz. It’s been really good. Santa Cruz Mountain Brewery forever!