••• Ty Warner dropped a bomb on Coral Casino members, raising the monthly dues from around $500 to $2,500, and there’s no word yet on how he’ll be pricing the popular cabana rentals. (But he has eliminated the food-and-beverage minimum and added a cold plunge pool.) With that rate hike, he can afford to lose a lot of members and still come out way ahead. P.S. Dues at the Miramar Club are said to be $2,000 per month.
••• Mad Fitness is going on hiatus. From the email sent out by owner Marianne Madsen: “Six months ago, I knew a decision was on the horizon, but I never anticipated it would come this soon. In light of my father’s accident and the immense stress, time, and travel it requires to be there for him, I’ve made the tough choice to temporarily relocate to Minnesota. This means that Mad Fitness will be put on hold as I navigate through the next few months.”
••• Downtown Santa Barbara has organized a “Shoptember” week from September 18 to 24, “inviting shoppers to explore exclusive deals offered by mentioning code ‘Shoptember’ at check-out.” Deals include 30% off everything at Catherine Gee and Lonetree; 20%-70% off select items at Domecíl; 20% off (and 40% off sale items) at Lovebird; 15% off at Idyll Mercantile and the Italian Pottery Outlet; and more.
••• Her the Label, Emily Hess’s knitwear brand, has a showroom at 708 E. Haley Street that’s “open by appointment through the week and occasionally open for drop-ins on the weekends.”
••• We haven’t heard much from Pacaso recently, but a one-eighth share at the 2084 East Valley Road house has come on the market for $1.377 million (Realtor.com) or $1.423 million (Pacaso’s website). Either way, it’s a sizable jump from the previous price of $1.294 million.
••• The city announced that construction on the State Street undercrossing revamp will start next month and be completed sometime in 2025.
••• I always love seeing the personal messages on the Arlington Theatre marquee, so I finally looked up the rate to rent it: $325 per day. You’ll want to keep an eye on what’s slated for the upper sign, though…. (I’ve posted this before but who cares—it’s so good.)
View this post on Instagram
················
Sign up for the Siteline email newsletter and you’ll never miss a post.
Initiation fee to Coral Casino around $300,000 too I believe
Maybe Ty Warner can use some of that money he is receiving from the increase in membership dues to pay his property taxes and finally pay out the 450 employees he has had on furlough for nearly 4 years. I do not feel bad for the members of the club getting hit with such a big increase in dues either. They live and play in one of the most elite zip codes in the world. You’ve gotta pay to play!!! Definitely rich people problems.
So let’s get this straight, Ty closes Coral Casino during pandemic. Then when restrictions ease up, still doesn’t open due to renovations. Then finally opens and blasts members with a $2,000 monthly dues increase? Wow, just wow. Many won’t care for obvious reasons but let’s take a look at people who have been members for many decades and can’t afford this increase. Screw them? Not everyone in Montecito nor Santa Barbara are bigilionaires. What a sad state, even if I could afford a membership, I wouldn’t join based on this pure greed, elitist play.
The Her The Brand color choices are right on the money on how the Coral Casino members must feel about the membership dues.