Tag archives: local business

Kathryne Designs on Coast Village Road currently has a limited time offering of Suzani tapestries and textiles, featuring a collection from Uzbekistan. Suzanis are one-of-a-kind hand embroideries using silk threads on cotton, silk, or linen foundations. The designs are inspired by ancient Ottoman, East Indian and some classic Chinese motifs. They reflect the beauty in […]

The Montecito Country Mart (MCM), located at 1016 Coast Village Road, is home to 21 boutique shops anchored by the Vons grocery store and Union Bank. MCM owner Jim Rosenfield acquired the mall in 2010, reconstructed its original 1960s façade and added outdoor patios to make it an upscale Montecito shopping destination. “I am so […]

In the film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, the candy mastermind’s base of operations first appears as a nondescript, smoke-stacked factory with no obvious hints outside as to what goes on inside. But something does; and passersby want to know what. Carpinteria’s Airplant Alchemy is like that. Owned and operated by Brian Kollenborn, a […]

Guy Hamilton and his wife, author Cynthia Hamilton, have lived in Summerland for 33 years. He wouldn’t live anywhere else. Guy recently reached out reminding me that he owned Chanticleer (now the site of Lucky’s) back in the late 1970s-early ‘80s and suggested he could offer a “little different perspective on things.” “Wouldn’t it nice […]

Conner Rehage, President and CEO of Harbor Hills Financial Advisors, has recently opened a branch of his company in Montecito’s upper village; the office is the second location for the locally-grown business. “I’ve always wanted to be here in Montecito, as I’ve been involved in the community for many years,” Rehage said during a recent […]

A new skincare boutique has opened on Coast Village Road, featuring a skin analysis system that is new to the industry. Seda Custom Skincare, located at 1125 Coast Village Road, develops personalized skincare products for women, men, and children. Customers learn which personalized skin care products are best suited to their individual profile through an […]

In response to the staggering loss of local business related to the coronavirus pandemic, the City of Santa Barbara, in late May, authorized the use of “parklets” as an innovative way for restaurant owners to add physically distanced gathering spaces to public streets. The parklets are intended to be located in the parking lane adjacent […]

So. The stay-at-home order gave you time to organize and clean out your home? Good for you! Oh, what’s that? You stopped mid-way because all that stuff gave you more anxiety than the virus itself? Or, maybe you just thought about cleaning up but never got around to it? It’s ok, my friend. You are […]

Though Raoul Textiles can be found across the nation and across the pond, this company is as Santa Barbaran as you can get. “Our family is from here, we all live and work here, and the store is our most personal reflection of our aesthetic and how we live in Santa Barbara,” designer and founder […]

Calling all Montecito business owners and employees! Clothing boutique Johnny Was is seeking to donate hundreds of face masks to local business owners and workers as part of a larger donation program taken on by the retailer. “Like many retailers, we began to pivot when the pandemic began, and started manufacturing face masks,” said Montecito […]

Malia Mills “We are so damn lucky to have a store in the little bit of paradise that is Santa Barbara and Montecito,” designer Malia Mills said. She compares her store’s intimate, welcoming feel to the vibe of SB and Montecito. “Plus, we’ve got one of a kind pieces that are hard to find anywhere […]

When Did You Start Your Business in Montecito? “I’ve been here for twenty-six years. I used to work at the café at the Montecito Inn. I can’t remember the name now, it was so long ago. But I came to Montecito and was working there for a while and there was a little flower stand […]

Montecito may oddly benefit from California’s post-COVID grand reopening. Coast Village Road may be one of the few dining, shopping, and hotel areas that is elegant, energetic, and well designed for the next new normal. You know the Pandemic New Normal – that’s the normal after the Debris Flow New Normal and that other new […]

Roxy Lawler had already been in the grocery business for nearly 15 years when she and her family took over Montecito Village Grocery in January 2017. But in the last three years alone, the store has experienced not one but two once-in-a-lifetime (or perhaps once-per-millennium) disasters: the devastating January 9, 2018 debris flows and this […]

It was the little idea that could: born out of a mid-April brainstorming session – via Zoom – with Montecito business owners, stakeholders, and MJ CEO Gwyn Lurie and COO Tim Buckley.The overarching question from all: “What can we do?” Do to survive, do to help, do to show some love to the local businesses […]

It may be the longest, most anticipated pizza parlor opening in Summerland history: five years in the making. At long last Rusty’s Pizza is finally open in Summerland at the former Stacky’s Seaside spot on Lillie Avenue. The day I spoke with Tyler Duncan, CEO of the family business launched by his parents in Isla […]

When Brandon Ristaino and his partner and wife Misty Orman started The Good Lion bar on State Street, no one believed there was a market in Santa Barbara for a stand-alone drinkery featuring the fine art of mixology. Five years later with three local establishments, including Test Pilot in the Funk Zone and Shaker Mill on […]

Lucky’s, the achingly trendy eatery on Coast Village Road, is living up to its name. The Paso Robles winery, PharaohMoans, has donated 100 bottles of their highly acclaimed 2017 Rhone-style wine, with 100 per cent of the proceeds going directly to the restaurant to help support the staffers affected by the coronavirus lockdown. Each bottle […]