Siteline Santa Barbara
menu
  • About Siteline
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Email Newsletter
  • Instagram
  • Legal

December 17, 2025

  • Email Newsletter

Newsletter: December 17

December 17, 2025|by Erik Torkells

FOOD STUFF
••• The end of the Isla Vista Food Coop Downtown Market.
••• The Grand on State update (above).
••• Status of the Chick-fil-A in Noleta.
••• The Copper Coffee Pot has opened.
••• Ghirardelli debuts next weekend.
••• Owners of The Harbor Restaurant are suing the city.
••• “Jet set après ski dining experience” coming to town.
••• Himalayan Kitchen closed for maintenance.
••• Pacific Pickle Works profile.
••• Merci’s chocolate caramels.
→ Read the post.

·················

·················

HOT PROPERTY
Last week’s sales: Bluff-front Hope Ranch estate for $22 million off the 2017 asking price; East Valley Road off-market; Loma Alicia townhouse; West Mesa midcentury; mini-compound near the APS roundabout; classic Barry Berkus on the Riviera; Mission Canyon spec reno; Summerland for a loss; and more. See what sold—and for how much.

·················

·················

CLOSING DOORS
Bar Lou is closing this week: Despite a flurry of interest after it opened in November 2024, the restaurant never gelled with local diners.

·················

·················

ODDS & ENDS
••• Another small hotel proposed for downtown Santa Barbara.
••• An effort to reduce freeway noise.
••• New vintage shop in the Oreña Adobe.
••• Farewell to a beautiful overpass (above).
••• Give directly rather than to charity muggers.
••• More changes to the Biltmore.
••• New volunteer opportunity at Bellosguardo.
••• The big apartment complex under construction on E. Haley Street.
→ Read the post.

·················
Please forward this to anyone who might enjoy it. Click here to subscribe.
·················

Email Newsletter

Or email [email protected] to be manually added.

Just Listed

  • Megaterranean on 10 Acres in Carpinteria’s Rancho Monte Alegre
  • A Stunner on a Montecito Cul-de-Sac
  • Jeff Shelton’s Pistachio House in Downtown Santa Barbara
  • Chic New Construction Off Picacho Lane
  • Contemporary Drop-Down in Toro Canyon

Recent Comments

They can't even get the metro link linked! — Christine!A

Exactly this. I haven't heard any realistic alternatives yet. — BrR

The land is privately owned and zoned for development. What operates on it today exists at the discretion of the owners, and that can change… — BrR

Those tract homes are tacky and not good enough for precious Carpinteria. Carp deserves much better than those eye sores. — KK

It’s not vacant parcel: it’s a beautiful co-op organic farm, Farm Cart Organics, that feeds our community, and a farm school, Carpinteria Children’s Farm, and… — Sarah

Respectfully, there was never a version of development on this site that Carpinteria was going to welcome with open arms. That's the problem. Even if… — EM

My comment on your post here last June: https://www.sitelinesb.com/nearly-200-housing-units-proposed-for-the-carpinteria-bluffs/ “the developer is saying it’ll use the density bonus to accommodate the housing instead—and retain the… — SkyG

I’d definitely prefer a hotel with restaurant, farm, grounds, etc. than Orange County tract homes. — BW

For anyone curious, the "farm resort" initially proposed—and intensely resisted by Carpinteria residents—is described in this post: https://www.sitelinesb.com/99-room-farm-resort-proposed-for-the-carpinteria-bluffs/ — Erik Torkells

The state is going to force housing on communities that don't plan for it. Carpinteria can either shape what gets built here or wait for… — BrR

Restaurant News

  • A New Restaurant Space in Carpinteria
  • Rincon Brewery’s Funk Zone Outpost Is Closing
  • Yetz’s Bagels Opens in Goleta Tomorrow
  • Carpinteria’s Food Liaison Is Closing Its Cafe
  • Bluewater Grill Is Said to Be Closing Next Month

Popular Posts

  • ICE Agents Caught Lying to Oxnard Police 8k views

  • A New Restaurant Space in Carpinteria 7.7k views

  • Rincon Brewery’s Funk Zone Outpost Is Closing 6.8k views

  • Carpinteria’s Food Liaison Is Closing Its Cafe 6.8k views

  • La Ligne Is Opening at the Montecito Country Mart 6.4k views

  • Yetz’s Bagels Opens in Goleta Tomorrow 6.1k views

  • Jeff Shelton’s Pistachio House in Downtown Santa Barbara 5.6k views

Walk With Me

  • The Manifold Splendors of Mid-State
  • The Westmontish Region of Montecito
  • The Arty Heart of Downtown Santa Barbara
  • A Five-Block Adventure in Downtown Ventura
  • East Meets West on Mountain Drive
  • On Summerland’s Western Fringe
  • Higher Education on the Mesa

Burning Questions

  • How Long Will This Big Pipe Be at East Beach?
  • Is Cabrillo Boulevard Going to Be Widened Under Highway 101?
  • Was There a Fisherman Inn in Downtown Santa Barbara?
  • What Are Those Old Buildings at the Corner of Castillo and Montecito Streets?
  • When Will the Coast Village Road Medians Be Completed?
  • What’s This Scaffold Structure on Las Positas Road?
  • Why Does Street Striping Take So Long to Happen?

Get Out of Town

  • The City That Never Spits
  • The Original Sim City
  • That’s Life in Death Valley
  • An Old West Town in Wine Country
  • The Glorious Isolation of Santa Barbara Island
  • Hiking From Hotel to Hotel in the Dolomites
  • A Ramble Through the English Countryside
Siteline Santa Barbara
  • About Siteline
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Email Newsletter
  • Instagram
  • Legal
© 2026 Siteline, LLC | Accessibility | Site created by NDIC