Tag archives: business

State Street Revisited
By Jeff Harding   |   March 26, 2024

We all want a thriving, vibrant State Street, but we don’t have one. I first wrote about the decline of State Street in 2017. As I look back to those articles not much has changed.  State Street isn’t actually dead, but it has been dying for years. I know that some folks deny this, but […]

Stratus Produces Water from Nothing. Questions?
By Jeff Wing   |   February 6, 2024

James Margolles is a tall guy. When he stands next to his company’s groundbreaking “water cooler” and companionably places his hand atop it, there is a sudden but fleeting C3PO/R2-D2 vibe. But Margolles is not a droid (to say the least); he is an entrepreneur. Like many a brilliant and initially understated startup in the […]

Larry Nobles has Found his Family. We Should all be so Lucky.
By Jeff Wing   |   January 30, 2024

Happiest Man Alive is a tough claim to quantify – but when they decide to hand out an honorary statuette for the title, Larry Nobles will be a red-carpet nominee. “The way the stars aligned to make all this happen is just unbelievable,” he exults. Nobles and I are sitting at the gorgeous off-hours bar […]

The San Ysidro Ranch’s Plow & Angel Becomes a Speakeasy
By Gabe Saglie   |   January 23, 2024

The newest spot in town for a sexy sipper is, actually, a perennial favorite. The Plow & Angel, the famed watering hole at the San Ysidro Ranch that, for decades, has been a classy yet approachable place to sip, unwind and be seen, reopened last month as a Prohibition Era-inspired watering hole. No secret password […]

Prestige Hand Car Wash on Milpas Street Closes Unexpectedly
By Joanne A Calitri   |   January 9, 2024

The Prestige Hand Car Wash located at 524 N. Milpas Street in Santa Barbara has closed down unexpectedly, leaving employees and customers surprised. The car wash, opened in 1999 under previous ownership as Zipp Car Wash, was shut down just before Christmas on December 23rd. The 26 employees, including popular detailer “Woody,” were apparently not […]

Deck the Hills with Vows of Dali Another Not-at-all-Surreal Gift-Giving Compass
By Jeff Wing   |   December 19, 2023

Here at the MJ we’ve taken great pains (not literally – this is a self-congratulating figure of speech) to throw light on your seasonal gift-giving panic; to add a spark to this season of beneficence. Gifting anything to a loved one – be it an original Van Gogh or a silken beach stone made lovely […]

A Holiday State of Affairs
By Jeff Wing   |   December 12, 2023

Changes to Santa Barbara’s State Street – recently reborn as a cozy, sun-soaked pedestrian promenade – have transformed the palm-lined commercial-and-arts district into an almost park-like destination for calming and convivial holiday shopping, the salt-scented, sparkling beach mere blocks away. Seriously. How do we love State Street over the holidays? Let us count the ways… […]

Winter Shopping in the Land of Summer
By Jeff Wing   |   December 5, 2023

It’s that time of year again. We have communally checked the Large Flightless Bird box and stumbled right over the line into “The Holidays.” Yes, your bone-dry and otherworldly delightfully moist and aromatic Thanksgiving turkey was an absolute hit. Your Aunt Marge’s startling “Pea Mush” was likewise well-received, producing the usual bug-eyed attempts to swallow […]

Home for the Holidays: Lower Coast Village Road
By Kelly Mahan Herrick and Jeff Wing   |   November 28, 2023

by Kelly Mahan Herrick and Jeff Wing The first in a four-part series on shopping locally in Montecito, we’re throwing some light (and a lot of love) on our shade-dappled Lower Village: Montecito’s Coast Village Road and beyond, which has long been a shopping and dining destination for locals, visitors, and lucky accidental tourists. We […]

Jemma Montecito 
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   October 24, 2023

Last week it was quietly announced that a new restaurant called Jemma Montecito is in the works for the Las Aves complex near the Bird Refuge; the complex traded hands last year for $19M, selling to a Los Angeles-based investment group, the Runyon Group, which has big plans to revitalize the complex and bring in […]

Carlyle Salon Expands 
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   October 10, 2023

Carlyle Salon and Style Bar, a popular hair salon in downtown Santa Barbara, has expanded with a new venture: the Corner Room at Carlyle. Located adjacent to the established Carlyle Salon, the Corner Room is a private suite primarily dedicated for bridal parties, yet also available for an array of innovative and exclusive events. The […]

Lemondrop Closes in Upper Village
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   September 5, 2023

Roughly two years after opening their doors to the Montecito community during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lemondrop, Montecito’s only shop catering to pre-teens or “tweens” has closed. The shop was owned by Montecito mom of four, Ana Rudnicki, who opened the shop in 2021 to give parents a place to take their pre-teens to try on […]

Coast Village Association Meet & Greet
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   August 29, 2023

Earlier this month, the Rosewood Miramar Beach hosted the Coast Village Association for another Meet & Greet; an opportunity for merchants in the Lower Village to gather and discuss ideas and concerns.  Over 40 merchants from retail stores, art galleries, restaurants, markets, and services joined together to meet the Rosewood’s guest services’ department as well […]

In Business: Dorso Inc. 
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   August 29, 2023

Local entrepreneur Robb Ferer and Santa Barbara Chiropractor, Hunter Ford D.C., along with mechanical engineer Grant Draper, have invented a new product, called a Dorso Mount, that connects percussive massage devices to massage canes. The device has had positive traction online, selling to patients as well as to sports teams, gyms, and physical therapists across […]

Storefront Shuffle on Coast Village Road
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   August 22, 2023

There have been a handful of storefront and office space changes on Coast Village Road as of late, including the impending relocation of one of the street’s most prominent clothing boutiques.  Angel, which has been in its coveted 1221 Coast Village Road space for 25 years, is moving to the Villa Fontana complex, next to […]

Big Box Thoughts
By Montecito Journal   |   August 8, 2023

I just read Jeff Harding’s piece on the addition of Restoration Hardware in the Vol. 29 Issue 30 edition of the MJ. While I generally agree with a lot of what Jeff had to say, I feel like the piece requires some clarification. The reason these formulaic retailers he mentions are on Coast Village is […]

Society on the Summerland Businesses’ Block Party
By Joanne A Calitri   |   August 8, 2023

The 38 businesses on Lillie Avenue in Summerland joined together for a block party and to invite the local adjoining towns to get to know them. The event took place Saturday, July 29, from 11 am to 5 pm, all along the avenue. Walking the approximated 7/10th of a mile route, you’ll find a variety […]

Montecito Natural Health Opens in Upper Village 
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   August 1, 2023

As a follow-up to a story we’ve been following since April, Montecito Natural Foods, which was located in Montecito Country Mart for nearly 60 years and closed its doors in June, has reopened a small storefront in the Upper Village, next to Josephine’s Antiques. The store, now dubbed Montecito Natural Health, opened in mid-July, and […]

Re: Restoration Hardware/Big Box Issue
By Jeff Harding   |   August 1, 2023

The Montecito Association is considering recommending to the County a ban on “big box,” “formula” retailers in Montecito. I oppose such a ban. My wife and I have lived in Montecito since 1978. We are members of the Montecito Association. We have been active in the community over the years. Recently I was a promoter […]

An Odyssey of Spirit and Character(s) Amy Cooper Brings Her Vision to the Indescribable Summerland Experience
By Jeff Wing   |   June 27, 2023

Handily sandwiched between this world and the next, we have the picturesque village of Summerland, California. This quaint California idyll derives its name from ‘The Summerland’ – a term Theosophists apply to the heavenly sphere that surrounds our yearning planet Earth. Summerland was indeed founded by Spiritualist H.L. Williams in 1883 as a colony for […]