Who shops and strolls on State Street anymore? It used to be the heart of the city - tourists, visitors, residents first stop!
Why hasn’t the entire area of residents been given a VOTE???
Experiment with no cars on streets that aren’t crucial to tourism, entertainment and shopping.
Chapala is an ugly, confusing street. Anacapa feels like bumper cars. State Street had all the energy and excitement and was the focal point of Solstice, Fiesta, Halloween, all parades, celebrations, Christmas, The Film festival, etc.
We need a VOTE by ALL the people on this.
Bring cars back to State Street!!! Exactly as it was before! Trolley! Parades!!! It’s a ghostown now! Why can’t we VOTE on it? - Born and raised in Santa Barbara.
PS Make downtown parking free or cheap!
I’m very impressed that you know the president. Wow
Marley maybe you should move to Beverly Hills it sounds like your to good for our community. Please stop putting everyone down. If you don’t like it here just move it sounds like you can definitely afford it.
R.
You know people can get hot takes direct from ChatGPT now, you don't need to copy and paste them on random community blogs.
That project looks like Soviet Russia.
Just $.02
I live in Pasadena but frequently visit Santa Barbara on the weekends. I spend a lot of money and leave.
These comments mystify me. I don’t know why somebody has to inject “white privilege“ into a discussion about a grocery store. The moment I read that it discredits the whole commentary.
I think it is fair to say that the food scene in Santa Barbara has really taken a dive post Covid. While Erewhon it’s not a restaurant, per se, many people use it as such.
The quality of the food there is excellent, but obviously you pay a premium for it. Whether or not it will survive, ultimately depends on the market forces in Santa Barbara. People vote with their feet.
If you don’t want to pay $10 for a smoothie, then don’t go there. No one is forcing you to do that. But business is charge with the market will bear.
Totally. It's much better to have the oil extracted in a far off land, where there aren't nearly the environmental restrictions and controls we have here, where the local population has no say nor derives any benefit from oil extraction, where a 142,000 gallon spill wouldn't even be reported, then have that oil shipped via barges halfway around the world so we can use it here locally /s. Environmental NIMBY's suck.
Here since 1976- you?
It’s also worth noting that said pipeline ruptured and sent 142,000 gallons of oil into our local waters just a decade ago. You must not be from around here… we don’t like bad actors ruining the environment and getting another shot. Fool me once, shame on you - fool me twice, must be named Christine!
“It’s worth noting that Exxon did operate an OS&T off the coast of Santa Barbara for many years. It was bitterly fought by local environmentalists and many county supervisors who worried that the barges offloading the oil and the facility itself posed serious environmental risks. The solution they settled upon? The pipeline”
LETS GO SABLE!
Why so salty? Obviously you wouldn’t go there, but maybe others would.
But you’re right, we rather have another 99 cent store somewhere…
I'm traveling the coast of Spain at the moment and SB needs to learn from them.
There is high density housing above busy businesses and a huge difference is the cities are kept CLEAN AND SAFE!
The pedestrian friendly streets in the city centers are THRIVING! Yes, some streets allow traffic, however, most traffic is directed to the surrounding area. (For State street, a trolley system should be in place to allow people to travel easily from the wharf to upper State St., there's plenty of parking in lots and on the street off State St.).
It can be done SB, it isn't rocket science.
I agree.
Jesus. We’re a 100,000 person town. What do you expect. Log off and get some priorities beyond pizza. Go touch grass.
Thank you, Marley!
you honestly think Santa Barbara holds any weight in the pizza conversation, you’re out of your depth. This town is a pizza wasteland. Rusty’s? Cardboard with cheese. Bettina? Passable at best, more Napa Valley pretension than soul. That’s the “best” Santa Barbara can trot out, and even then it’s running on smoke and Yelp reviews.
Now stack that against Los Angeles — a city where indie pizza is a blood sport. Pizzana in Brentwood is pulling pies that could make Naples blush. Pizzeria Bianco downtown — run by Chris Bianco himself, a man who literally wrote the book on pizza — is a shrine to the craft. DeSano brings wood-fired Neapolitan straight to East Hollywood, and Apollonia’s in Mid-City drops the kind of Sicilian squares people will knife each other in line for. That’s the difference between a scene and a desert.
So no, you’re not a foodie. You’re a seat-warmer chewing mediocrity and mistaking it for tradition. If you want to talk pizza with any credibility, you’ll need to drive two hours south — where the grown-ups are cooking.
Had reason to visit Rusty's Goleta after a unplanned visit to Goleta Cottage ER- and the small pepperoni/small salad bar order was perfect! The place was PACKED, the pizza was delicious and the salad bar hard boiled egg/pea/spinach with blue cheese was to die for. The best part? The kids having FUN, the parents enjoying the beer and the constant yelling of numbers/pizza is ready!
Ten years ago I got food to go from the hot bar at Lazy Acres. After a while I noticed an odor from the food in the 'fridge. It never varied, always the same and I can't describe it. . . These days on the occasional visit I walk by the hot bar and still get it.
I second this!
If Erewhon wants to rock up to town and can find an appropriate location for the sort of consumers apt to shop there, that’s fine. But we already have a surfeit of luxury markets—in my neighborhood, there is not much beyond Gelson’s, Bristol Farms, Lazy Acres and Whole Foods from which to choose. Those options are prohibitively expensive for ordinary Santa Barbarans (yes, we exist). We need a few decent ‘middle class’ supermarkets to return to our neighborhoods so that we can shop for staple items without spending thousands of dollars per month on ordinary comestibles.
P.S. I’d take Rusty’s any day over Domino’s. It’s a decent hometown chain and I support it wholeheartedly…what’s more, the beloved Milpas street location is soon to be torn down by a mega gentrification project: the usual luxury condos with a small number of below market rate units tossed in to satisfy the laughable ‘builders’ remedy.’ Approved by the city over the howls of the locals, of course.
I can tell you don’t get out much if you think our only pizza offering is Rusty’s and people here are “starving for better food options”… uh… Saint Bibiana, Revolver, Bettina… All excellent. The hyperbole in this thread is truly hilarious.
The old ice company building on Milpas would be perfect for an Erewhon location. Close to Montecito and enough parking and space for a decent size storefront
SB unfortunately is a food waste land and has not even one option for decent healthy and organic food. Erewhon’s hot bar/juice bar would be a game changer and is so needed here. As an SB mother of 3 who lives in San roque, I am appalled that we don’t have any healthy spots here. Bristol farms and Whole Foods? Jokes- canola oil fest, disgusting. Lazy acres? Nothing is fresh!! Hot bar is terrible.
Erewhon is such a fun spot to meet up with friends for lunch or smoothies etc, so great and community-driven . Best vibes. I love shopping there because I always discover new small brands, they’re constantly featuring/carrying new small businesses that sell wonderful, interesting healthy foods and products. I always find something brand new when I go.
Everything is so fresh and high quality. It would completely transform any sb neighborhood it goes into a popping, exciting area.. we need it so badly. And it is so true that anyone who says otherwise hasn’t been to an erewhon they don’t know what they’re missing..
The city manager works under city council, they make the decisions, city manager executes them. We need a better city council, preferably ones that understand a budget, finance, cost/benefit analysis, and long-term implications of their policies rather than legislating the will of the loudest group - with no concern over the long-term implications - because they mostly prioritize reelection and their own political careers.
