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.
Can we get the BEST city manager we can find? There is no reason why we can’t do this.
Funny thing everyone forgets: Erewhon isn’t some corporate Whole Foods knock-off. It’s 100% family-owned, and a lot of those hot bar recipes you mock were created by the owner’s wife, Sera Melrose. So yeah — it’s closer to homemade than half the “local” spots charging $30 for reheated salmon.
Tracy I’m glad you had a different experience than I did.
I am letting the owner know through social media just like everyone else does. I hope he reads this.
Peace out!
R.
I agree!!! Take a trip and exoerience Erewhon. Then you will realize how much better of an option it is than the garbage we have here in SB. I stopped going to restaurants and grocery stores here in SB a long time ago. It's either the farmers market or Erewhon in Calabasas. SB has the worst restaurants and grocery stores. SB is so overrated. I often think about how disappointed tourists must be when they visit lol. Yay, there's an ocean.. but that's about it.
A couple years ago we ate at the bar and enjoyed a couple bites of a delicious pizza, but it wasn't hot. We politely asked the bar tender if it could be reheated in the pizza oven? The owner who was in the background grabbed the pizza didn't charge us and basically told us to get out! I think he was definitely under some kind of influence. We never went back as that was a horrible experience.
Ah, here we go again — someone who’s never set foot in an Erewhon, suddenly an expert on what Santa Barbara “needs.” The irony is rich: railing against “white privilege” while ignoring the fact that people here are starving (literally and figuratively) for better food options.
Let’s be real: Santa Barbara is one of the worst food cities in California for a major destination. We’ve got mediocrity at luxury prices, grocery stores stuck in the past, and restaurants that coast on views instead of quality. Erewhon doesn’t make that worse — it fixes it. They have (hands down) the best hot bar of any grocery store in the state. Bristol Farms should honestly just shutter its doors the second Erewhon arrives, because that’s how wide the gulf is in quality.
And maybe — just maybe — with Erewhon here, we’ll finally get something resembling decent pizza instead of living under the shame of Rusty’s, which is in the running for worst pizza in the USA (cardboard has more flavor).
Logistics? Please. Trader Joe’s has the worst parking lot in North America and people wedge their Subarus in there daily for frozen cauliflower gnocchi. Santa Barbara thrives on luxury tourism, aspirational branding, and curated lifestyle. Erewhon fits the scene perfectly.
Nobody’s forcing you to buy a $25 smoothie, but don’t pretend Erewhon’s presence somehow hurts struggling families — Vons isn’t dropping its prices out of charity. Erewhon raises the bar, diversifies the market, and finally injects some energy into a food culture that’s been asleep for decades.
So here’s the deal: if you don’t like it, don’t shop there. But don’t confuse cynicism with insight. The rest of us will gladly trade Rusty’s cardboard pizza and Bristol Farms’ sad buffet for Erewhon’s hot bar, fresh options, and yes, the occasional green juice on the beach.
Would someone please explain what benefits would be achieved by returning vehicles to State St? Traffic flow is being quite adequately handled by Chapala and Anacapa Streets. Conversely, the absence of motorized vehicles with associated noise and exhaust pollution makes State Street a more pleasant place to shop, stroll, and sit at a sidewalk cafe.
I spoke to erewhon president years ago and suggested the vons in the country mart but between the parking and apparently that the vons has a large and profitable liquor sales from that location, that wasnt happening. After decades little Alex's wasnt deemed country mart worthy, the Vons has never been!
CVS is a nightmare parking lot in Montecito. The Funk zone would be a ridiculous hip location as well. Actually, all the locations are absolutely horrible for logistics. but Erewhon is the epitome of white privilege an over priced groceries, perfect for the Santa Barbara crowd who hates their privilege, but are the first to Flexit. It's also perfect while majority of people are struggling with the sheer cost of food, that such a ridiculous market moves into town. Maybe Meghan Markle the princess will be there to cut the ribbon. That would be perfect.
I am now envisioning cute stories on Instagram of people with their four packs of smoothies running into meetings from Erewhon OMG I can't wait after all. I'm going to get a $25 smoothie and go down to the beach off of the Miramar and make a super cute little story again I'm envisioning a plastic cup with a coffee flavored substance with cream and sort of carob chips for the viral tick-tock.
Cart before the horse is spot on. In order for their Grand Promenade vision to be even close to viable we need a few thousand more housing units downtown. "If we build it they will come [hopefully]" is no way to manage a city.
Mismanaged. Thanks “ M “
Now find something useful to do with your time?
R.
Roy you should talk to the owner about it. I’m sure he would love your feedback. He’s an awesome guy. I’ve never had that experience. The food and service have always been amazing!
State Street is looking funkier and junkier. Whoever is in charge needs to be fired. Besides the
lack of a sophisticated vision, State Street doesn’t feel safe. - it’s become an attraction for low end tourist and gang violence, and that’s the truth.
There is new landscaping on the vacant lot, corner Patterson & Hollister. What is the grand plan for this corner?
I agree. They’re putting the cart before the horse. Let’s build the housing now. I’m very pro density downtown. It’s remarkable what a ghost town it often feels like. Let’s get more people living down there, then figure things out. Not sure if you saw but HLC is already giving the Paseo Nuevo developers sh*t about height which is necessary to achieve the margins that justify redevelopment. The building proposed is beautiful and HLC needs to chill about height on State Street.
“…poorly mismanaged”? Double negative?
Housing on State St. would make a lot of sense. It’d also make sense to do what other decent cities do: keep the street and sidewalks clean, and install alive plants.
We really shouldn't fault the city for deploying funds for what are ultimately cheap tests. That being said, the test results are in and the pedlets suck.
This is a tragedy of the commons issue. Downtown is nobody's actual neighborhood, so we're all just pontificating about what should/shouldn't exist "over there". How about allowing real people to live on and around State St. and let them tell us what they need. That's when we'll start demanding clean, safe streets, and the kind of businesses that make up a real place - grocery, pharmacy, inexpensive bites.
For the $500,000 they spent on this prefab stuff they could have put in two rows of planters all the way up the street to delineate walking and biking paths.
Junky, tacky, crappy State Street no longer a great street.
