I think the video is cool! Definitely original.
As a current business owner with an established business in The Las Aves plaza, I’d like to say in regards to this article a couple things. One, yes, there are people who haven’t been here or heard of it. At one time the whole place was financial services. New clients to the area are always so surprised we are there and think what a sweet place it is to come and receive health, wellness and beauty services. Two, the new owners and the previous owners have told us that it was intended to be kept as is. It is why she sold to them. Clearly that is not the case as the new owners haven’t even told us (and we’ve asked) this news to convert into retail and restaurants. And even with this article out they have not responded. I realize the growing demand for more high end shopping and food is prevalent and this space will probably be successful for them but it leaves almost 20 already thriving businesses looking for new “homes” in a town with high rent and limited options. We are not a struggling complex that needed to be saved. We are existing and grateful for this place some have called home for many many years. We are your neighbors and community members who love what we do and provide beneficial services of ALL kinds and we are all a perfect compliment to each other. A cafe here would be a great compliment to us as well. We don’t want to leave our sweet space. Could it be that we could work together? Maybe as some leave (retire or move) then a retail business could move in?
An excellent and insightful review. Well done, Erik.
Looks like Granite Peak Integral = Granite Peak Partners (same address). Give them a ring Erik! Curious to know of any plans for the spot where the Chinese restaurant was
Well said BW. I am in complete agreement...this is awful news and sadly Santa Barbara has been taken over by developers.
Btw cked out the
Rare Society menu outside in t he window and added up the cost of a steak dinner meal for one person
( cocktail, starter, main , desert , tip : $145! Ridiculous!
On website & advertising all they need to say is” Cash Prefered “ up fee of 3% for credit cards.
Communication is all that’s needed.
Nobody is a mind reader.
I like Runyon and would have been excited if they were behind a new development, or a revamp of existing and poorly performing retail. But this is a well established and to my eyes thriving set of local owner operators, many of whom have been there for decades, and a complete transformation of something that was lovely how it is. I’m not a fan of that here.
I cited those because I am shocked the author who seems to move in Montecito-centric circles doesn’t know anyone who frequents these businesses. There’s nothing to mock about a skilled dermatologist who is excellent at diagnosing skin cancer and rare skin disorders that other derms miss. The businesses are almost all local owner operators, from Adams Chiropractic to Dr. Klemperer. Perhaps Jim and Maria are ready to retire. I know them as real salt of the earth locals who are down to earth, as are the rest of the owner operators who are established in Las Aves. I’m sorry you don’t agree that it’s preferable to have local owner operator businesses versus chain boutiques and whatever LA-based hospitality group decides to open a restaurant there. The guys who are Runyon have taste and have their finger on the pulse, so hopefully they’ll make thoughtful decisions on populating the complex. I will personally miss visiting and patronizing the wonderful clinicians and owner operators who have made up Las Aves for the last few decades. It’s a great place offering many essential local services like dentistry and dermatology. For me that is something to treasure although you might find it laughable.
Yes, there have been so many failed attempts at retail in town and this was one. I think a food destination will do well. Retail is tough here. There is appetite for it but it seems difficult to sustain many well-intentioned upmarket efforts. Recent shifts in who lives here and visits might make the difference. And free business advice for Runyon: consider a men’s clothing store since there is literally almost nowhere for men to shop in town. A captive audience could make that successful.
There are plenty of non-snooty businesses there. Like Adams Chiropractic. Siteline is geared toward an up-market readership so I geared my surprised comment that no one the author knows is familiar with Las Aves to the sort of person I assumed him to be referencing. Plenty of “normal” and non-snooty Santa Barbarans go to Las Aves. And I am honestly shocked you’ve never found reason to patronize it.
"I don’t know of any Santa Barbarans who don’t know what Las Aves is"
Oh, Buffy... you'll be late for your tea-time after your tennis lesson if you keep complaining like this to the plebeians... I'll have Jeeves bring the Jag around... hurry, darling, please?
Sorry I don't run in your wealthy and snooty circles, but hello from a lifetime Santa Barbaran who has never heard of Las Aves!
"I could only wait so long for the woman pictured above to finish her phone call." This is SO Santa Barbara...!
the original 1990’s intention of that dev. was mixed use with shops, cafes and services. over the first 3 years, locals didn’t adopt to the idea. services won over. great place for therapy… super quiet. maybe this time retail can be sustained long term.
Ditto to this review with some added observations. The sushi rice was not sticky enough to hold together and the nori was leathery therefore the larger sushi pieces were difficult to eat. The Hokido uni was the only flavor pop but even this pricey treat was not consistent. Local uni, don’t bother. The table aesthetic was perfect contemporary Japanese, until our sake was served in French wine glasses.
I was disappointed to see Runyon behind this as well. The platform is a decent development but not in the vein of what SB needs, or wants
Hate to break it to you, but if you’re citing an increasingly in-demand dermatologist and a place that gives Botox as treasures of your town, you’re already “Hamptons-via-LA-via-Coastal Grandma”… maybe more so the latter
What? This is awful news. I’m honestly heartbroken. Here are the services I patronize regularly at Las Aves: dermatologist, cosmetic services, and dentist and chiropractor both of whom I’ve been going to for 25+ years (though Dr. Dinning’s practice was recently taken over by a new dentist Dr. Loul, the practice remains). And no offense Erik, but you must not know many long-time locals. I don’t know of any Santa Barbarans who don’t know what Las Aves is, and virtually every woman in Montecito knows where it is because Jeannette and Aesthetics Montecito is there as is the fabulous and increasingly in-demand dermatologist Erika Klemperer. I love every appointment I go to there and have always thought how lucky I was to live somewhere like Santa Barbara where something like a dental appointment can be such a dignified and beautiful experience.
I’ve met the guys who do Runyon before through my former line of work. I admire what they do and like them as people. They’re passionate. But please dear god WHY are we turning our GEM OF A TOWN(s) into LA? The grey-washed pirate ship barn look is so on the outs and already exhausted as the banal global Instagram-aesthetic look. There is already some wood cladding on some of the structure but PLEASE don’t make Santa Barbara look like anywheres-vile Hamptons-via-LA-via-Coastal Grandma. We have so much more magic going on here that what developers are throwing at us lately.
I feel truly, truly sad reading this. So disappointed in what’s happening here. If I can find a contact email for the guys at Runyon, I will shamelessly email them.
Tracking the local real estate market is a pastime for many and I think it is clear the crazy market has cooled significantly. Whether that turns to a rout remains to be seen but as someone who prefers stable markets where people buy and sell for reasons other than speculation I certainly hope so!
Bonkers? It's literally insane
I don’t understand how individuals think they can open restaurants with no experience. I wish people would do their homework.
???
That video is bad! Cringe.
The new wine shop in Ventura looks great. Thanks for sharing it. Lately Ventura is getting the kinds of businesses I wish we were getting more of here. 1) They feel like they're owned and operated by locals. 2) They're stylish, and zeitgeisty enough without being corny or too trendy. 3) They're accessible financially and feel like they're for actual people who live in town, not catering to some imagined version of who lives here (those businesses fail fast, remember the 24 hour caviar delivery service LOL) or the ever-increasing tourist hordes. They're the kinds of businesses it feels like we're lacking and they're the kinds of businesses I want to patronize on a daily basis.
A lot of the openings in the last few years here feel like they're run by a corny and anonymous out-of-town restaurant group, are serving as a money laundering operation, or are for old fuddy duddies with money and no taste (literal or figurative). I'm early middle aged myself so this isn't an ageist comment. There's an energy in Ventura I feel we lack here. I assume it has to do with affordability. I can't imagine being a young person and wanting to or being able to open a business here. Things were getting exciting in town here around 2019. We had some really nice businesses opening (and of course many are still open - there are great local places, I'm not saying we have none), many owned by young people who grew up here and later "came home." But something shifted in the last couple of years with the opening of the Rosewood and its clientele, a new cohort of people streaming into town because of new WFH capabilities or discovering what is local to them for their COVID vacations rather than jetting across the world, etc. Something shifted and things don't feel the same.
I guess more weekend trips to Ventura are in order. Soon the locals there will be annoyed with the Santa Barbara invaders the same way we're annoyed with the LA invaders.
the restaurant design looks great. If it were 1992
>Unrelated: the video on the restaurant’s home page is bonkers.
Wow. You weren't joking.
