is restoration hardware considered a big box store? asking for a friend….
Who are said people with a history of doing interesting things?
Please don’t tell us “people with a history of doing interesting things” means the same folks painting everything white and black and selling only the blandest of home decor in off white and greige. I will die of boredom.
La Arcada Plaza
Pretty sure farming within the Los Padres is illegal, the only permitted use is Christmas trees - but if it makes you look trendy, why not?
Lol. The description of that restaurant reads like every high end farm to table place opened in the last 20 years. Good luck!
I’ve been surfing out in front for the coral casino lately and from the water you get a better view of the current construction situation. Sadly, I’d be surprised if it reopens this year
Oh no! Restoration Hardware invading our upper village is a violation to this community.
Viva Wendy ?
I can't say I have ever agreed with Wendy McCaw on anything ever. And I don't agree with her hysteria and contempt in this case. However, downtown does need to be sorted out around parklets and promenade traffic and making sure the retailers and restauranteurs have a good infrastructure, guidelines, and planning. I grew up here and I remember going to other beach towns and marveling that Santa Barbara had a remarkably upscale downtown compared to many beach towns (in my youth that vibe stopped at "lower State.") So it does seem like there's a pull towards becoming more like a standard beach town--it's an easy norm to slip into and not recover from. I think if State Street continues to be left just to find its own way without planning or standards, our unique vibe will be lost. If the retail and restaurant community is supported with clarity and the shared street space is planned, then downtown will thrive. Rather than freaking out about the downsides, it's better to figure out how to support the many many people who are bringing so much creativity to our downtown. We must also support the relatively few people who need better alternatives for housing and health care. But scapegoating them and catastrophizing downtown doesn't fix anything. I think it's better to find positive collaboration and leadership to turn the creativity of Covid response into the next chapter of downtown. I've watched Santa Barbara reinvent--and mostly triumph--many times for 60 years. I also know how much work it has taken for our once-tiny town to meet challenges and pressures and still keep our spirit. I have never seen complaining or bad-mouthing lead to anything good. But I have seen local individuals, politicians, citizens, artists, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, musicians, engineers, educators, farmers, journalists, etc. step up with great ingenuity. Thanks Siteline for your reporting on the downtown conundrum and please keep it up.
Main-Begg has regularly scheduled tours that are FREE. It’s the complete opposite of the elitist land grab of Bellosguardo.
Those are private lots. If RH wanted to do a restaurant in the Old Firehouse, it would have to come to an agreement with the owners of those lots.
There's tons of parking. 2 massive lots, and 1 smaller lot surrounding it. you just may have to walk more than 50 feet.
A chain store in the upper village feels not great — even if it is an expensive studio format, like RH does nowadays to cater to the neighborhood. What's next? Erewhon in the Montecito Grocery space... Mr. Chow in the Pane E Vino space... and a Soho House in the Presbyterian Church space? Okay... sorry... I might be over-reacting but a Resto in the Upper Village is kooky to my brain.
I'm thrilled to hear this as I was saddened by the idea that they were leaving the area as so many major stores have. Now all we need is a Crate & Barrel and/or a West Elm to move into the old Macy's on State Street. And if only we could woo Nordstrom's back.
Not likely if only because there's so little parking.
That’s significant. I wonder if it will include a restaurant.
I don't know the particulars, but my guess is that the landlord hasn't decided whether to renew and is letting the restaurant stay till it does.
Thanks for the update on Derf’s. I’m a huge fan. From your prior article, I thought it was the Landlord that might not renew Derf’s lease, but now it sounds like it’s a matter of whether Derf’s can afford to stay? Did you get clarification? Shall we start a Save Derf’s campaign?!
I was fondly remembering Arts + Letters, too. I loved the interior courtyard for lunch and enjoyed "opera under the stars" at night.
Well, it's a bit tricky because I really, really loved the bluff walk in the Algarve, and the Farmhouse of the Palms is an exceedingly well-run inn, but the rest of the Algarve trends touristy. I'm more drawn to rural areas like the Alentejo, if you can find somewhere to stay—I still kick myself for missing that wine bunker. I'd definitely return to the Douro, and in particular that hotel, but I think I'd use it as a chance to loll; I'm not really into wine/port tasting (more of a drink-with-dinner guy) and I would've welcomed a break from the driving and exploring. And I can't recommend Monsanto enough, if you're willing to do a lot of walking uphill, but you wouldn't want to spend more than a few hours there. And I thought Porto was prettier than Lisbon, but we probably spent one day too many there. I'm not sure I'm answering your question. I do recall that, afterward, we felt like the rhythm was wrong: we were either driving between destinations or driving in an area to explore it, and that grew tiresome. So maybe plan on a day here and there where you don't feel pressure to do anything.
We will be in Portugal starting in Madera then Lisbon and don’t have any destinations in Portugal after that so your article is perfect. I’m thinking about following your footsteps, so I’m wondering what you would leave off next time and where you would add on extra time we have 2 1/2 weeks to spend in Portugal. We will start at the end of April through the middle of May 2023.
Happy New Year! Love Oat Bakery's Picasso-eque bread faces - too pretty to eat? Thanks for those Erik; new Mexican restaurant AZUL on Anapamu...some of us old-timers fondly remember it as the original Arts + Letters Cafe and first Sullivan Goss Gallery birthed by Frank Goss and his wife Trisha before the new space was built and sold.
Ooh, your idea is fun, too!
Official reply is that the 2 families that started God’s Provisions - then one family left, so name change. I still wonder why the refuse to say Buellton- they prefer Santa Ynez. Owner is a blogger/online media “person”
