The Post Montecito Opens: New Views Next to the Bird Refuge

While attending a men’s fashion fair in Florence, Italy, David Fishbein and Joseph Miller, co-founders of Los Angeles-based real estate collective The Runyon Group, received a call. A property in Montecito was quietly hitting the market, “and no one really knows what to do with it,” said the man on the other end. “It’s kind of an off-location, but I think you guys would really be into it.” 

The pair received a brochure showing the Las Aves complex across from the Andrée Clark Bird Refuge. And recognizing the space’s potential, they knew they had to have it. “It was like love at first sight,” Miller recalls. So, they left Italy to see it, and over $19 million later, the property at Los Patos Way and E. Cabrillo Boulevard was theirs. 

Now, almost three years later, on December 14^th, they’re opening The Post Montecito, a boutique retail center featuring a variety of tenants, including curated retail, a coffee shop, a restaurant, and a hair salon. To celebrate the grand opening, The Post is hosting its first Holiday Fair from December 14^th to 15^th, 10 am to 4 pm. The fair will feature food pop-ups and activities for kids like ornament decorating.

Upon opening The Post, Fishbein and Miller carefully selected storefronts that they felt reflected the Montecito and Santa Barbara communities. “Our focus here at the property was really to create a neighborhood spot that was really focused on things that you would want to do during your week living up here,” says Fishbein. 

For some tenants, The Post is just one of a few physical locations. For renowned accessories label Janessa Leoné, this will be their second location, the first being at Fishbein and Miller’s Culver City property, Platform. The same goes for Teller, a women’s clothing store owned by Fishbein’s wife Jamie Fishbein. The Post will officially open with a select few stores, and additional stores will open gradually over the following weeks. 

Fishbein and Miller embrace a trial-and-error approach, constantly refining their ideas – this applies to details both big and small. At the time of my visit, Fishbein, who was in town from Los Angeles, surveyed potential black and white striped umbrellas, tables, and chairs for the wrap-around deck. If something doesn’t work, they’ll scrap it and move on to the next, he says. 

This section of the deck will be the sitting area outside Little King Coffee, a coffee shop owned by restaurateurs Ryan Dobosh and Grace Gates. It will be the shop’s second location, the first in Buellton. While slated for opening in March, a small coffee cart will be available on the patio in December. 

They envision the deck as a magnetic draw, captivating passersby and inviting them to discover the property. “When we first came down to the site two and a half years ago, we were like, ‘How amazing would it be to come and have your coffee every single morning with the view?” Fishbein recalls as he stares out at the bird refuge.

Fishbein and Miller opened their flagship property in Culver City, Los Angeles, nine years ago. They turned an old car dealership into Platform, a shopping center with various restaurants and stores. A few years ago, they began brainstorming their next venture. Their shared love for Santa Barbara made it the obvious next step. Initially, they planned to develop a site in the Funk Zone at Garden and Yanonali, but they fell in love with the Las Aves Complex. 

They also have plans for the buildings next door, including the Montecito Athletic Club and the former French restaurant Stella Mare’s, which they recently purchased. In 2025, Stella Mare’s will be home to a new restaurant headed by Mexico City-based Grupo Palmares. Fishbein and Miller, fans of the restaurant group’s Mexican restaurant Loreto in Los Angeles, approached the owners about opening a restaurant in Montecito. After a site visit to Stella Mare’s, they agreed.

For their new restaurant, Fishbein and Miller wanted to create a space that reflected the Santa Barbara community while paying homage to Santa Barbara’s deep cultural ties to Mexico. The result is Bogavante, which translates to “lobster” in Spanish; however, they say the more meaningful translation is “the feast of the ocean’s heart.” At Bogavante, you can expect dishes that honor the Vaquero culture while sourcing fresh local seafood and “cowboy raised meats.” 

Before Fishbein and Miller acquired it, The Post was a family-owned business. Built by the late husband of the former owner, the complex previously housed various medical practices. However, Fishbein and Miller learned from the owner that her husband always dreamed of making it a retail center. “And so when we met [the previous owner] for the first time, I think she connected with us as potential owners,” says Fishbein. “Because we were going to take this beautiful asset that had been in her family for so many years and then shine it, bring in this vitality, and maintain the character.” 

Fishbein and Miller aimed to create a timeless space by preserving elements of the original building, such as the old lighting fixtures. By and large, the most prominent item they kept was the original water fountain at the courtyard’s center. Eccentric tiles are haphazardly placed around the fountain, laced with expressive faces formed by those tiles. It’s the kind of piece that you might find in one’s home. 

Fishbein shares that while the fountain stands out from the surrounding space, community members wanted it to stay, and stay it did. “The most important thing for us is that we feel like good neighbors and that the community feels like this is their space,” he says as he twirls the wisteria overhanging from the building’s second story. Like the fountain’s nod at the former owners, he wants the original green vines to grow freely. 

In the past, while driving along Cabrillo and then Los Patos Way, the Las Aves Complex may have passed in the peripheral without much thought. Maybe you didn’t know it was there or had no reason to stop by. Now, however, the space is sure to pull you in.

Driving past you may spot the wrap-around deck and people sitting outside enjoying a coffee on the patio. You might be curious enough to check it out. Maybe you peruse lifestyle brand Save Khaki United (S.K.U.) or stop by the home store Shoppe Amber Interiors. Maybe you’ll sit down for a meal at the Italian restaurant OSPI, owned by Jackson and Melissa Kalb. Or, perhaps you prefer to relax in the courtyard with a latte from Little King Coffee. 

Either way, you’re enjoying yourself, which is exactly what Fishbein and Miller hoped for when taking on this project. “We have our own way of doing things,” admits Miller. “But we kind of see things where others might not…and when we saw this, we knew exactly that it was a very special spot.”