Moon Zooom and Vintage Roots

05/07/2025

By Mat Weir

There’s no denying it, Downtown Santa Cruz is changing. A lot. With so many new buildings going up, it’s important to support and cherish the businesses that have been with us through the thick and thin. 

Businesses like local favorite vintage store, Moon Zooom. 

For over 30 years it has been the place for locals to find the perfect accents for a Halloween costume or everyday fun attire. 

Afterall, where else in town can someone buy a handmade, Chinese wedding dress from the 1800s, along with a pair of Levis from the 1960’s, a Cure tour t-shirt from the 1980s and an art deco money clip from the days of Prohibition? 

“You can go treasure hunting,” explains Moon Zooom’s proprietor–and clerk three days a week–Nick Canavarro. 

“People have kept these things, loved them, taken care of them. They have some kind of inherent, funky power,” he laughs. 

And for those wondering how they got their name, the Moon Zooom was a 1950’s metal snow disc sled. 

One of the things that makes the store so special–and sets it apart from other used stores like the Goodwill–is everything in the shop is curated by Canavarro. It’s a life Canavarro was born into. 

“I’ve been a vintage clothing dealer my whole life because my mom was a vintage clothing dealer,” he says. “She’s from a native village in Alaska so we were very poor.” 

Canavarro would accompany his mom as she hunted for cheap, old clothing at flea markets and  often picked through things people would throw away.

“She was also a seamstress and porcelain doll maker,” says Canavarro. “But we would often wait until the flea market was closed–again, we were very, very poor–and go through the trash to see what people had left behind to resell it.” 

Those humble beginnings gave Canavarro the tenacity for work, the eye for what’s cool or worth some money compared to junk and the love for the hunt. It continues to be a family affair as his sister sells at the Santa Cruz Antique Fair in Downtown every second Sunday of the month, and his step dad can often be seen on the corner of Pacific Ave. and Elm St. selling vintage and used clothes in front of Streetlight Records. 

“The flea market kept our family alive for 30 years so when it closed down it was very hard for everybody,” he reflects in a somber tone.

Canavarro started working at Moon Zooom in 2014 and purchased the store from the original owner who was going to close it in 2020 after two decades of operation. Despite being in the middle of the Covid-19 lockdowns, Canavarro decided to buy the business for two reasons. 

“If she shuts it down and the world does go on, I’m going to be out of a job and the whole place will be gone,” he remembers. “Or if we all die then what good is it having my money in my savings account?” 

One of the things we love about Moon Zooom is they are constantly updating their inventory. While many of the pieces do come from estate sales, flea markets, and in-store purchases from locals, a significant portion also comes straight from Canavarro’s own collection. Often many of the band t-shirts clothing hunters can see on any given day have been things Canavarro has collected over the years from Guns ‘n Roses and the Sex Pistols to the Cure and Samhain. 

One of our favorite locations in the store is the jewelry and oddity nook just left of the checkout counter. Inside you will find an array of curio goodies like gold tie clips from the 1920s, hand painted devil candlestick holders, a psychic’s crystal ball from the 1930s with an ornate base and vintage jewelry. 

And for the bargain hunters, don’t miss the discount room in the back of the shop that Canavarro keeps fully stocked with everything $19.99 or less. Moon Zooom also keeps a $10 and under rack in front of the store on Pacific Avenue, weather permitting. 

“When you’re a vintage dealer,’ he says. “If you’re looking at the same thing for a couple weeks, you want to make room to bring in all the new stuff.” 

While some things in the store are high end items–like the handmade Chinese wedding dress which goes for $1400 retail–most items are within the $26 to $32 range. However, Canavarro prides himself in being the cheapest vintage store in Downtown Santa Cruz and is always willing to work with customers. 

“Virtually all the stuff on the walls is–kind of–negotiable in price,” admits Canavarro.

 He pauses, then smiles. 

“A lot of it is ‘I don’t want to sell it’ price.” 

Yet, despite doing as much as possible to keep the business going, Moon Zooom  has been impacted by the same turmoil as countless small businesses across the country. Not only did Canavarro purchase the business in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, but even after the store re-opened, business was nowhere near where it was in 2019 or before. Then, of course, there was an economy of high inflation followed by our current uncertain times. 

Even if people have the money for extra expenses, many are cautious to spend it. 

“Times are tough especially right now,” he says. “The margins are very, very tight.” 

Even traditionally lucrative holidays like Halloween aren’t what they used to be thanks to the internet and Amazon’s next day shipping policies. Canavarro says the Halloween season used to begin for Moon Zooom at the beginning of October and sales from that month would keep the store afloat during the slow winter months. 

“Now the last two days before Halloween are our best days because people get all their stuff on Amazon and when it arrives they realize it sucks,” he states. “It’s total crap so they come in here asking ‘Oh my god, do you have something?’ and of course we have what they want.” 

He also wants online shoppers to know that unlike his store, sometimes “vintage” online doesn’t actually equate to vintage in the real world. Like other online markets, there are plenty of scammers involved in the vintage trade. Even if a customer does find something online that’s  truly vintage, the size range is vastly different than modern clothing. Depending on when and where the item comes from, a Large sized shirt from the past might only be Medium by today’s standards. 

“Plus it might be $2 cheaper on the price but after tax and shipping it might be $15 more,” Canavarro says. “If you like this store, why not come in and support us?”

There’s also the added bonus of knowing where your money goes. 

Unlike shopping online, every dollar spent in-store at Moon Zooom stays in the community. It ensures the lights stay on, employees are paid and the vibrant, “weird” vibe Santa Cruzans love remains downtown while so much changes around it. Afterall like the poet said, “the times they are a-changin’” and it’s up to us to decide what kind of Downtown we want to thrive. 

Canavarro agrees. 

“People don’t realize we’re  just a hair away from closing but I’ll live in the backroom and live there if I have to,” he says.“I think people would really miss us if we were gone.” 

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