Tag archives: Pierre Lafond
Most towns with an “Upper” and “Lower” Village release the buildup of civic tension by staging occasional rumbles – West Side Story style. We all remember with great fondness the finger-snapping Pierre Lafond crew pirouetting in tight formation as they surrounded international master jeweler Daniel Gibbings – and the high-kicking Grande Battement with which Gibbings […]
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 […]
Montecito hedge fund titan Graham Duncan is the new owner of the late Pierre Lafond’s Wine Bistro in the Upper Village. Duncan, co-founder of East Rock Capital, a multi-family investment office, bought the former Montecito home of Lisa Hearst Hagerman, granddaughter of legendary publisher William Randolph Hearst, for $19.4 million in March 2021. The property, […]
Montecito’s Pierre Lafond Wine Bistro restaurant, which has been closed since the pandemic, is having a new lease on life. The Charter Oak Restaurant in St. Helena in the heart of the Napa Valley run by chef Christopher Kostow, also of the Michelin 3-starred The Restaurant at Meadowood (TRAM), has just allegedly signed a lease […]
The Village 4th is coming! Yes, on July 4th, the Montecito community will be treated to the third annual Rolling Motorcade Parade. Entries are reflective of the community, so you’ll see the Montecito Community Foundation, Montecito Bank & Trust, Adam’s Angels, MERRAG, Montecito Fire, our sheriffs including Sheriff Brown, CHP, Bucket Brigade, and Friends of […]
Pierre Lafond passed away this past Sunday at the age of 92, after 60 years in Santa Barbara enterprise overlapping a 25-year career in architecture. Pierre Lafond and his wife, Wendy Foster, developed a number of shops in Montecito and in greater Santa Barbara. And they were vintners and early adopters of Central Coast viticulture, […]
If you recently moved into the neighborhood and you want to fit right in, these few tips should assist in the transition from city slicker to Montecitan. Despite almost a half-century of living here under my belt – and summer forays in my youth with my best friend whose grandparents had a second home in […]
Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s detectives are investigating four recent burglaries at local businesses where the suspects forced entry overnight and stole items. The first incident was Friday, July 23, 2021 in the 5800-block of Hollister Avenue at Old Town Coffee. A suspect smashed a window to gain entry, stole various items from inside the business, […]
Some of Santa Barbara’s finest takeout options aren’t coming from established restaurants. The best gourmet grocers, delis, and bodegas are sprinkled throughout Santa Barbara’s diverse culinary neighborhoods. From classic sammies, subs, grinders, heroes, and hoagies (the subs’ Italian cousins), local deli owners continued to serve beleaguered foodies during the pandemic, combining the traditional art of […]
Where Are You From and What Do You Do? I’m from Colorado, originally. I’ve been in California for 10 years and Santa Barbara for six. Growing up in a small town in Colorado, I didn’t think that existed in California. I thought it was all big city and hustle-bustle. I’ve been with Wendy Foster/Pierre Lafond […]
It was summer 1995, and our predecessor, Montecito Life, had stopped publishing the year before. I waited six months to see if publisher Jesse Roth would be able to resuscitate his ten-year-old paper and when it became clear he was not going to, I began to put together the first 16-page issue of “The Gold […]
Everyone likes a TED talk. You learn something interesting every time you tune in, so it’s little wonder that when the opportunity to hear the Ted talk presents itself, locals listen. Edwin Knowles – better known to Montecito neighbors and friends as “Ted” – is a veritable font of wisdom and charming anecdotes culled over […]
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 […]
Pierre Lafond Wine Bistro was the setting as friends remembered two great Montecito residents. Josie Gower, 69, who I had known for 11 years since moving to Santa Barbara from Los Angeles, was one of the first victims of the January mudslides, with her East Valley Road home swept away and her body carried more […]
Two videos on the 93108fund.org website were brought to my attention. Both ladies profiled currently work for Pierre Lafond, and they say in the video that they have missed up to 90 hours [of] work due to the fire/flood and are now receiving checks from the 93108fund.org to make up for lost hours. I’m wondering […]
A virtual army of nearly 6,500 firefighters, along with 30-plus helicopters, various other aircraft, fire trucks, bulldozers, and more are, as we write this, working in the back country, mostly out of sight, securing fire lines and control points by a combination of controlled backfires, soaking unburned vegetation, creating breaks where no dry foliage is […]