Oliver’s Is Rumored to Be on the Ropes
More food news: Tamar has expanded its hours; Bibi Ji moved up the last day in its current space; profiles of Lilac Montecito and Beast Taqueria; the Inn at Mattei's Tavern has begun selling pantry items; chef Efe Onoglu's Aegean Neotaverna pop-up dinners; changes to Santa Barbara's sidewalk vendor ordinance; Pepperidge Farm introduced Ojai cookies. 4
New Company Offers Helicopter Tours of Santa Barbara
Plus: Lemons washing up on local beaches; 16-passenger bikes are back in the Funk Zone; road to Ojai closed because of a rock slide; Kings of Leon and Rebelution to play the Santa Barbara Bowl; updates on Vuori and RH; an amusing hat from a new brand called Santa Ynez Country Club; another look at the 250-room hotel proposed for Garden Street. 9
A Timeline of Ellen DeGeneres’s and Portia de Rossi’s Local Real Estate Transactions
Since 2006, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi have spent at least $350 million on Montecito/Padaro Lane real estate. On the occasion of their most recent flip—the rebuilt 1919 estate at 319 San Ysidro Road—here's a look at the 21 properties they've held around here over the years. 8
The House That Kitty Litter Built
Noteworthy new listings also include a Carpinteria renovation with the primary bedroom in a separate building; 1990s flashback in the Golden Quadrangle; Alta Mesa in need of updating; pretty makeovers in Montecito, above San Roque, and on the Lower Riviera; West Mesa midcentury architecture; and more. 2
The Biltmore Has Finally Set a Reopening Date
Other recent news: Cruise ship visits could be limited to 20 per year; fallen palm trees at Refugio State Beach; "beer spa" could be opening here; the effort to restart ExxonMobil's oil operations; Goleta wants to reroute pedestrian bridge funds to roundabouts; rehabbing Carpinteria's Alcazar Theatre. 15
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