December 14, 2025
More food news: Santa Barbara Fish Market has reopened after a remodel; special supermarket hours for seniors; Barbareño's new "bodega" selling grocery items; 16-ounce cocktails to go at Harry's; Sides Hardware alums opening Solvang restaurant; Flor de Maiz donating all gift card revenue to staffers.
Other news: California has more than 1,800 cases, but that's likely low due to limited testing; people calling 911 to report a lack of social distancing; Cottage Health has a drop-off zone for donations of medical supplies; cannabis shops allowed to remain open.
March 22, 2020
More food news: An updated list of which restaurants are staying open; Handlebar decided not to close, and will add a grocery component starting tomorrow; freezing Buena Onda empanadas for later; packaged cocktails at Sama Sama Kitchen; Poe & Co.'s meal delivery service.
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March 21, 2020
The week's other top price reductions: Seven-bedroom mansion on Santa Barbara Street; adorable California cottage on Eucalyptus Hill; matchy-matchy in Montecito's Hedgerow; 56 acres in Toro Canyon.
More food news: Blackbird and Onus Donuts have closed; Satellite delivering dinners; Hook and Press is still open; discount for using Restaurant Connection for delivery; California temporarily allows to-go-cocktails.
Other local news: Santa Barbara has just 907 hospital beds; Cottage Health curtailed almost all visits to the hospital; the Four Seasons Biltmore and Ojai Valley Inn have closed; Santa Barbara Airbus suspended service.
March 20, 2020
Plus: Montecito lingerie boutique for sale; Santa Barbara Botanic Garden has closed; 15-acre rose farm for rent; the Riviera Theatre is offering online rentals of a film set in Wuhan; snuggle with an owl.
Plus: Checking in on the underground lair being built in Pepper Hill; Santa Ynez farm marketed as Covid-19 hideout; UCSB Arts & Lectures canceled its season; cops expect more domestic disturbance calls due to cabin fever; a chillier welcome on Riven Rock Road.
More food news: Café Ana has closed, but it's hoping to reopen next week; Santo Mezcal has closed, but Los Agaves is still doing takeout and delivery; new hours and bean discounts at Low Pigeon; a day with sea urchin diver Stephanie Mutz; petition to aid the restaurant industry.
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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
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