Tag archives: local business
When Jennifer Blevins opened her first electric bike shop in 2018, she explained, “Everyone thought we were crazy, but they didn’t understand electric bikes yet.” Blevins is the owner, founder, and CEO of Montecito’s new all-electric bike shop, Mad Dogs and Englishmen. The pandemic has driven dramatic growth in unexpected categories, including electric bicycles. According […]
The pets we keep are an extension of our personalities. Dog people are often distinct personality types from cat people and when you get into reptiles, fish, and other exotic pets, it says even more about the owner. At Odd Animal Corals & Critters, unique pets are their business. Odd Animals was opened by fellow […]
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, […]
One of Montecito’s longest running businesses, Glamour House, will close at the end of the month. Owner Ann Picciuto calls the closure of the intimate apparel store a “happy ending and a new beginning.” She and her husband, Rick Gehrke, sat down with us earlier this week. Picciuto took over the long-standing Upper Village fixture […]
Two months after the closure of Read N’ Post in the Montecito Country Mart, the shopping center’s newest store, Montecito Mercantile, has opened, a sister store to owner Carrie Schei’s beloved Salt House Mercantile on Bainbridge Island. The shop, which is managed and overseen by longtime retailer and merchandiser Kelly Finefrock, has been transformed to […]
Dax and Milo may be old dogs, but they are wagging their tails for the new trick, er, brand, that has been created with their names front and center. Enter Montecito mom Amanda Tenold, who is as 93108 as they come. She grew up on East Valley, playing tennis at Knowlwood and attending Montecito Union […]
At a hearing on Tuesday, the Santa Barbara City Council considered modifying aesthetic guidelines related to the outdoor dining in the public right-of-way on State Street, and on parklets in other areas of the city, including Coast Village Road. Many in the community were under the impression that the meeting was to consider removal of […]
A new aquarium store has opened in the Upper Village, in the space formerly occupied by Stationery Collection. Aquatic Jewels is owned by longtime aquarium enthusiast Dottie Allen and her business partner Mark Amescua, who opened the shop in late April. “We’ve always wanted to open a shop here in Montecito, and when this space […]
Mayor and Councilmembers, You have an agenda item coming up June 22, agenda item No. 16, that could remove parklets in July, or impose onerous modifications on them. Please avoid doing this. It is the most business unfriendly thing you could do right now. Thanks to the quick actions of Anthony Wagner, and the blessing […]
As foodies return to dine-in service, one local eatery is commanding attention with its authentic and flavorful approach to Spanish-Mediterranean cuisine and robust wine selections. Sevtap Winery is a new tasting room in the Presidio that lures food and wine lovers on its breezy umbrella-shaded patio or inside, a naturally lit and airy dining room. […]
Tuesday marked 453 days since Governor Newsom issued the first stay-at-home order for California. It also acted as a Reopening Day, of sorts, with all tiered systems of restrictions lifted for California. Santa Barbara County barely squeaked into the yellow tier one week ago. Now all the tiers are gone. What does reopening and lifting […]
“When life gives you kids” is the catch phrase for a new store in Montecito called Lemondrop, located in the Upper Village. Owned by Montecito mom of four, Ana Rudnicki, the new shop caters to the pre-teen or “tween” set: kids between the ages of 8 and 14. “I know I am not the only […]
When a local Santa Barbara hair stylist envisioned an ideal post-COVID world, he saw back-to-back appointments for flourishing small businesses like his own. The pandemic proved disastrous for small businesses across the globe, many forced to lock their doors for months, missing out on street passersby or walk-ins that expanded clientele. With the brewing return […]
After more than a year helping many of their business constituents navigate through catastrophic blows to business, the Board of Directors of the Coast Village Association has one primary goal for 2021: To form a Community Benefit Improvement District, or CBID, in order to take control of the street’s aesthetics, safety, and marketing ventures. “We’re […]
Montecito alum Kate McHale Jensen has opened a brick-and-mortar shop in Santa Barbara to house her four-year-old sustainable clothing company, KMJ. It was nearly 12 years ago that Kate was on the cover of this newspaper after opening a Coast Village Circle studio and showroom to debut her first fashion foray, a line of fit […]
Local fashion fixture Kate McMahon is back on Coast Village Road, opening a pop-up in Montecito Country Mart to offer her full clothing collection called Covet. McMahon took a multi-year hiatus from the brick-and-mortar retail scene, focusing instead on selling her luxury knitwear — including her famous sweaters — online. “It felt like the right […]
Now that I’m fully vaccinated, after “Our Year of Perpetual and Unusual Confinement,” I’m gearing up to hit the road again. Living on travel memories has been OK, but there ain’t nothing like the real thing. I’m ready to fire up my jets and dust off my suitcase, beginning with some weekend escapes. What’s a […]
Jan Hendrickson, longtime owner-manager of Read ‘N Post in Montecito, was honored by staff members and friends during the store’s last day on Saturday, April 24. Jan was presented with two books of pictures and handwritten messages from dozens of customers and others, created by Read ‘N Post staff member Carol Finston. The beloved store […]
Ask a New Yorker about the ideal hot dog and they’ll likely say it’s a Nathan’s dog slathered in mustard and covered in sauerkraut, wrapped in tin foil. Another extreme might be the kind of exotic sausages – rabbit and rattlesnake, anyone? – served at hipster-friendly eateries like Wurstküche in Los Angeles. Whatever your passion […]
Contemporary jewelry store Gorjana has opened on Coast Village Road, bringing its popular mid-priced and fine jewelry to Montecito. Founded in 2004, the Laguna Beach-based jewelry brand is owned by wife and husband team Gorjana and Jason Griffin Reidel, who set out to build a casual jewelry line that was “quintessential California.” Originating from the […]
