For all its small-town charm, Carpinteria has lacked a center, but no longer: Linden Square is open, and as I mentioned the other day, it feels great—both from the street, where it has curb appeal unmatched by anywhere else in downtown Carpinteria, and on the premises. DMHA worked on the shell, while Kevin Moore Architect and AB Design Studio handled the interiors, and Jodi G designed the public spaces.
At its core is a broad courtyard open to one and all; there’s also some interior communal seating, and the restaurants each have their own dedicated seats. The photos in this post were taken during the ribbon cutting, which is why people are standing around like that.
Linden Square has assembled a murderer’s row of Santa Barbara establishments—Third Window Brewing Co., Tina’s (from Bettina), Corazón Cocina, and Dart Coffee Co.—which is a little more exciting for Carpinterians than Santa Barbarans who might wonder why should make the trip. Third Window has the primest position, in an airy space on Linden Avenue with garage door–style windows.
Corazón Cocina Sur is relatively small, with much more seafood on the menu than at the other Corazón establishments. (This is the soft-opening menu, and it will change over time.)
Tina’s Pizza is off the street, with a long counter of dedicated seating. (As with all of these places, you can also eat in the public areas.) The main way Tina’s differentiates from its big sister—besides that it’s counter-service with runners bringing out the food—is that there’s a provisions shop with wine, Italian specialities, tinned fish, chocolate, and more. The refrigerated case is a work in progress; eventually, it will have salad dressings and grab-and-go options, along with the chili oil pictured below.
We’ll have to wait on Dart Coffee Co., which opens next month. And the rooftop bar has yet to be leased—although I understand there’s a letter of intent—which means that people are allowed to hang out up there for now.
Go check it out! Channel Island Surfboards is also open, while The Shopkeepers, Mācher, and Olada Yoga & Pilates will debut later. You can use the handful of parking spaces in back on Cactus Lane, but as someone who likes poking around Carp, I recommend parking a few blocks away and exploring.
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Lantern Tree Books was supposed to be in there too, I wonder what happened
I believe there was split in the marriage….
I heard they couldn’t afford to hold off as long as this development took (since it was pushed back so many times). Would love to know what happened for real though because we were all looking forward to seeing them again!
We were there this morning. It looks great and has a really buzzy atmosphere. I hope this continues.
It’s all great for now that it’s summertime let’s see how things are in the winter. I wish all these establishments luck because they will need it come November.
Roy
Great spot, but why beach towns ignore parking beats me. Ridiculous.
Walk
I stopped by yesterday and could not find parking. They have a total of 6 spaces in the back. How is that even possible?? How was this project approved with only a few parking spaces??
Roy
🤔 hmmm there is a public parking lot at Amtrak Train stop about 1 block away, probably less than a block. Smart & Final has a big parking lot but not sure if there is a parking attendant.
You answered your own question. It’s a beach town fgs… walk a few steps…
This is basically to draw tourist and has similar restaurants already in town with 4 pizza places (now 5). I hope it is able to thrive and sustain itself during the off tourist season times. Bring back a restaurant and setting like the Palms!!!
Giovannis, Rusty’s, & Little Caesars are to pizza what McDonalds is to steak (and I’m a vegetarian).
Ohhh poor Ken! He’s a vegetarian.
the point was even a vegetarian recognizes the difference between cheap burgers and steak. Too complex for you?
Giovannis, Rusty’s, Pizza Man Dan, Little Caesar’s, Nutbelly, Dom’s, Mollie’s, we have cheap pizza and gourmet pizza all over the map. We definitely did NOT need another one. Would’ve been great to have Greek, French, Indian instead of the same old stuff.
Killer place but no real attempt to provide bike parking.
It blows my mind how people complain about missing parking spots in this town. Maybe they should stick to drive-throughs instead of walking a block or two…
Will the Lantern Tree bookshop be opening soon at Linden Square? They were slated to be there.
I’ll try asking but I suspect not, as the leasing map shows the bookstore space as for lease.
We went to Linden Square around 4:30 yesterday to check it out and it was hopping. I’ve never seen Carp this vibrant! It’s a beautiful space and I think it’s going to be a huge success.