The Neighborhood Bar Has Closed
More food news: Checking out the Mesa's new ice cream shop; Loquita's newish chef; the Organic Soup Kitchen retail counter; L.A. chefs popping up in Los Olivos, Lompoc, and New Cuyama; jazz trio at Revolver; Juice Ranch's Solvang outpost aims to soft-open this week. 11
A Huge Probation Office Is Proposed for Downtown
Plus: An itty-bitty hotel in the Funk Zone; Leadbetter Beach restroom to get refurbished; a survey about the State Street Promenade; the makeover of the Vons Montecito is said to finally be on; Alameda Park gazebo renovation; new show at My Pet Ram gallery. 1
Two New Restaurants Could Be Opening This Weekend
More food news: Outstanding in the Field dinners with Bettina and the Dutchess; Kin Bakeshop's pop-ups are ending as it works to open its own place; Coast Village Road ice cream shop is changing concepts; Acme Hospitality is opening a restaurant in Orange County; Validation Ale is now making hard seltzer; UCSB student moonlighting as a sushi chef for hire; Isla Vista's Buddha Bowls has been renamed; Goleta IHOP opened. 5
The Biltmore’s Neon Sign Is Not in Danger
Plus: The Aloha Fun Center roller rink sure looks iffy; a new personal training gym on Coast Village Road; hair extension and bridal accessory shop coming to State Street; hotel on Upper State Street sold for $17.55 million; "Ghost Adventures" investigates the strange goings-on inside a Montecito mansion. 5

























Recent Comments
Renaming the post office and spending $500 k to do it. Is another great example tax payers money being wasted. — Dan Kolodziejski
Hallelujah! The return of that Southbound on-ramp is long overdue — Tammy
You've done a great thing for the hapless men of Santa Barbara with this series. Stopping by half of these stores. — Andy
The post office renaming will cost roughly $500,000 paid for by the USPS internal funds from stamps and fees. — Derek
Thank you, Erik, for reminding your readers to support local businesses; it is one of the critical ways to help our communities thrive. (I laughed… — Pat
I agree about the skimpy wine pour. However, we loved the shared entrees (chicken and salmon) with their special rice. Yes there were leftovers but… — ElizabethW
That 5% would go to all employees proportionate to their hours I would presume compared to tips where more skilled staff take a higher percentage,… — Don
Geo , you know absolutely nothing about the restaurant business. — Roy
What if, and bear with me here because this is complicated, restaurants just paid their staff normally and charged prices that reflected those expenses, i.e.… — Rich
Little Mountain just isn’t organized. Everyone is very nice and the atmosphere stylish, but there is something wrong with it. The food is weird, portions… — Joan