Tag archives: local business

Sushi|Bar, located inside the Montecito Inn, is the second location of Monarch owner Phillip Frankland Lee’s critically-acclaimed omakase restaurant. Omakase – a Japanese phrase that means “I’ll leave it up to you” – is a free-form, interpretive take on the traditional sushi counter experience; this new location will have a heavy emphasis on Santa Barbara […]

Southern California-based clothing and accessory brand Johnny Was has opened its 15th store in California (44th nationwide), in the historic Costa Villa building on Coast Village Road. The boutique opened for business on Friday, April 5.  “With our roots in Southern California and a brand DNA that seems well suited for Santa Barbara, opening a […]

Saturday, March 30, marked the quiet grand opening of Coast Village Road’s newest retailer: Baske California, a locally-owned boutique that caters to both women and men. Created by husband and wife team Dave Sumares and Nana Baek, Baske – which represents a combination of their respective last names as well as evoking a feeling of […]

Bucking the trend of bookstores closing, our rarefied enclave has welcomed another bibliophile bastion, Lost Horizon, to our Eden by the Beach. Owners Jerry Jacobs and Angela Perko have set up shop on San Ysidro Road, just a tiara’s toss from Richard Gunner‘s development, sharing store space with friend Diane Stewart‘s fine art store. Lost […]

Social gridlock reigned when developer John Price and wife, Janna, and business partners Tod and Audrey Berlinger, opened The Villas at Olive Mill, nearly 15 years after first submitting their building application and going through 28 hearings between 2004 and 2017. The Spanish colonial-style, three-story mixed-use property on the corner of Coast Village Road and […]

Nearly 15 years after first submitting an application to build, developer John Price, along with his wife, Janna, and business partners Audrey and Tod Berlinger, are getting ready to welcome over one hundred members of the community to a grand opening celebration at their brand new mixed-use building on the corner of Coast Village Road […]

There’s a new kid on the block. That would be Giuliana Montecito. Before, it was named Giuliana Haute Couture. It’s a charming boutique in the upper village near Via Vie restaurant and next door to what was Lana Marme’s at 1485 East Valley Road Ste 3. The new family owned shop creative director Mandana Mir […]

Los Arroyos, the popular Mexican eatery on Coast Village Road, is celebrating 20 years in business. Owner Tony Arroyo opened his first location in downtown Santa Barbara on West Figueroa Street in 1999 and launched his outlet in our rarefied enclave in 2004. The chain now has branches in Camarillo and Goleta, with a nosheteria […]

Earlier this month, Phillip Frankland Lee and Margarita Kallas-Lee, owners of The Monarch and Chaplin’s at the Montecito Inn, announced the closure of Chaplin’s Martini Bar, which opened in September. The duo, who has found great success with their all-day eatery, The Monarch, as well as their newest concept, Silver Bough, have plans to open another eatery […]

We’ve all said it, as athletes, as armchair cheerleaders and quarterbacks. That this is the year of my physical and salutary glory. I’m going to work out. I’m going to eat right, mold my body like a statue, make the stars on film look like hogs. I’ll get back into shape, and with sheer motivation. […]

Glamour House owner Ann Picciuto Gehrke is fresh back from a trip to Paris, France, where she was recognized as a North American Ambassador to Eurovet, a world-wide body fashion network and host to the Salon International de la Lingerie, the premier event for companies doing business in the lingerie and swimwear sector. Ann was […]

After 32 years in business, Giovanni’s on Coast Village Road closed its doors earlier this week. Owner Alex Noormand, who has spent six days a week at the pizzeria for the last 32 years, tells us the closure is “heartbreaking,” and he will miss seeing his loyal customers day in and day out.  The space […]

Though the weather might not remind you of Christmas, one glance at the calendar sure will. We pulled together a few of our favorite independent boutiques around the area to help you narrow down the search for the perfect holiday treats. Allora by Laura Owner Laura Dinning of Allora by Laura in Montecito, along with […]

Dadiana Salon owner and professional ballroom dancer Diane Meehan has opened a dance studio, California Gold Ballroom Dance Studio, on Carpinteria Avenue, just months after Montecito’s Dance Fever Studio closed its doors in Coast Village Walk. Dance Fever owner Vasily Golovin, who has been dancing with Meehan for years, is now the master instructor at […]

Outside Wendy Foster‘s signature store in Montecito’s upper village, the tables were completely occupied, but I was lucky enough to find a spot under a tree dressed in the colors of the fall season. From my perch, I could appreciate the park’s green lawn, the tables nearby under which a few furry friends had made […]

Earlier this fall, one of Santa Barbara and Montecito’s most popular restaurants expanded north, opening a location in Solvang in the Santa Ynez Valley. “The Valley has needed a Los Arroyos for years, and we are happy to finally have made it happen,” said co-owner Maria Arroyo, who sat down with us recently to show […]

Vicenta’s is the latest eatery from prolific restaurateur Carlos Luna, who opened his first nosheteria in 2008 aged just 27, and now includes five branches of Los Agaves and Santo Mezcal on State Street. The 160-seat Mexican restaurant in Goleta was quite bustling when I went for lunch with my trusty shutterbug, Priscilla, and dined […]

The State Street locale that was home to Downey’s for 35 years has been quietly operating as a fresh new concept since May of this year. Owned and operated by Jim Mishler, Roost offers a fresh and simple menu for both lunch and dinner. Mishler has been a mainstay in the local restaurant scene for […]

Four months after opening for business in Montecito Inn, the owners of The Monarch restaurant announced November 1 that they have expanded their operations to include brunch, which is now available seven days a week.  The menu, which is available from 7 am to 2:30 pm, includes breakfast items that will be offered for the […]

Synergy One Lending, a recently acquired subsidiary of Mutual of Omaha, has opened its doors on Coast Village Road, in the space formerly occupied by Shine Blow Dry Bar. The nationwide mortgage lending company, which is based out of San Diego, was founded by Westmont grad Torrey Larson. “We really are a homegrown company, taking […]