While tourism remains Santa Barbara's largest industry, what many people don't know is that writing studies and reports for the city is now #2, and projected to eclipse tourism in 2028.....
Oh no. Here we go again. The Chamber of Commerce is the least capable, least effective, most inept org of middle managers around. I suppose there is always the City's staff to outdo them... but it's a close second for the CoC.
Nothing they propose or cite is accurate or tenable. They are a cabal of mediocrity. Middle management bureaucrats who showcase the "Peter principle" in real life. Please do not give them any more money, credence or time. These are not creative or entrepreneurial people. They are quite literally, the opposite of those who create and build and forge. Just look at the membership of this org for a view into who makes up the CoC and their actual capabilities.
It's insulting that our city staff is so inept that they need to continually hire outside consultants - at the cost of millions a year, to do the very jobs the city staff were hired to do... Where else in society do we promote the least capable and ignore their ineptitude and instead reward them with the highest salaries and the lowest productivity expectations?
Sorry to hear Soap is closing. Wonderful little store. I love their charcoal soaps.
I would read Renée Templeraud on the daily if I could! "A witch on wheels with a capital B" - dying.....
Thanks Karen
Look at the Disneyland Rick Caruso made of the Miramar. This is a case of one billionaire trying to out do the next billionaire. Just because people have a lot of money doesn’t mean they have a sophisticated good taste. Just saying.
Why surprised? Look at what he did to The historic Montecito Country Club and Coral Casino -Disneyland and Vegas
Okay, I got it, you won't listen to me when I say State street has no appeal to me. And I've lived here long enough to remember State & A, and Carlito's having the only outdoor seating on the street. Guess what, it's still a street.
Closed to cars, open to cars, flat & flexible, or some other plan. . . enjoy your time there. I'll stick with the Funk Zone, the Waterfront, the ease of driving to Goleta and shopping there. And I buy more things on Milpas and upper State than downtown State street.
PS, I'm a gardener of 35 years here and I don't have a lawn.
I think people are distrustful of his taste levels after some of his other projects.
Only been to MCC once but not impressed. Yeah can’t believe he’s taken away the Plow and Angel and his redesign for the Biltmore sounds tacky.
Love the food in SB but we need some good Chinese.
I hoped that the "...." at the end of the Jonesy's item would imply some ambivalence. But if I'm going to be honest, I think everything about Starbucks—the coffee, the food, the atmosphere—is bad.
This could be an amazing property once done. if done tastefully with the proper landscaping (which i dont doubt is part of the plan, this could be a pretty epic place. I dont understand all the naysayers beating up a plan without envisioning how it could be worked into the property and not even be seen by the locals.
I suspected the platform wouldn’t allow emoji. So, let me go old school… ;-)
OK. So, just to be sure we’re clear: Online ordering at Jonesy’s. Good. Online ordering at Starbucks. Bad.
Cool. ???? <— That’s a wink because this post is all in good fun.
It was hideous !!!
Ty Warner ruined the Plow and Angel at SYR. His aesthetic leans casino. An abomination.
I agree with the criticism of the SSAC and City Council for the utter lack of progress in this endeavor. Someone should have figured out a long time ago that you will never please everybody, so just pick a direction and get going.
However, I have decided that I am done listening to people who “never go to State Street anymore.” As far as I’m concerned, you’re part of the problem. Restaurants not as good as they used to be? Aw, let me get out my tiny violin. Scared of bicycles? Gee, remember that thing you used to walk on back in the Glory Days when cars drove in the street, called the “sidewalk?” Yeah, it’s still there.
Could State Street be “better” somehow? Of course! But life’s too short to sit around and whine about it. Go grab a beer, or some pizza, or some cargo shorts, and do your part to help the hardworking merchants downtown who work every day for this community.
By the way, don’t look now, but I think there’s a kid walking on your lawn.
Okay but that menu doesn't feel like a *meal* - it feels like snacks. I'm also doing the whole sympathetic sobriety these days since my lady is pregnant, so going out for snacks just seems like more trouble and money than it's worth. I guess I just miss Le Marchands, which I loved. And to be clear - I'll sing the praises of every single other Acme joint, they're on the whole wonderful and worthy of praise and patronage. No chip here!
What a tacky plan for a beautiful, historic hotel. So sad...
Ty Warner has a lot of money but precious little taste. His design themes are usually rather strange, see the Montecito Club and the new "speakeasy". He doesn't really care about making money as he is a billionaire many times over and can be irrational all he wants. Still making a clown show out of an iconic property in such a great location is a travesty. The Miramar needn't be worried.
Jason and SkyG: You both come off as people with a chip on their shoulder rather than discerning food lovers who have actually eaten the new items mentioned in this article. I've been to Pearl twice since their relaunch and love the new menu. The fried chicken is easily one of the best bites in all of SB. The new cocktails are phenomenal and the vibe is so much more energetic than any of the previous iterations.
The pools sound incredibly vulgar. There’s a place for those kinds of resorts. I have a kid, I get it. It’s just sad that this is happening at the Biltmore. Bacara seems ripe for this kind of tweak in my mind. Destroying the Biltmore is shameless.
It sure seems that way. That's what I get for ignoring those ads.... Thanks!
An abomination. RIP beautiful Biltmore. It's a shame that Ty has to have such a heavy hand in the "design" of his properties.
Also, doesn't the ad they ran on the cover of the Montecito Journal "Mr. Whistle can't decide where to eat, at Thomas Keller or across the street at Nobu" sort of serve as a press release to confirm Nobu is indeed opening there?
