Had brunch at Gracie’s last weekend and it was fabulous. Can’t wait to go back for dinner and try the sole in brown butter. The bar is stunning!
‘Went to Intermezzo recently for dinner.
Wait staff was disjointed/inattentive and we had to ask several times for our waitress to provide service. Food/drinks were wrong twice during the meal and came out cold upon service.
I’ve eaten in town for years, and while I understand vagaries occur, having our busser be the best of service on the night was disappointing.
Oh no, you poor thing. You read an online article and it made you scared. Life must be so hard for you.
Bless your itty bitty, teeny weenie, evil heart Christine. Allah loves you regardless. The rest of us? Not so much...
Love you and the contradiction you post- you say that the business owners want the street open to bring more customers and you want it closed because you prefer walking and milling around…. then you’re against the parking structure to park the cars in? Explain it to me please, so it makes sense.
There is one in progress there, but it is not open. Here's what I wrote last time you asked.... The restaurant is still happening; it has a kind of step-sibling relationship with S.Y. Kitchen. From the last big restaurant roundup: “S.Y. Kitchen’s Luca Crestanelli is opening an Italian restaurant in the former Via Vai space in the Upper Village: ‘The core idea is doing what we do best,’ he says. ‘Simple dishes made with high-quality ingredients. A relaxed and vibrant atmosphere. Comfortable space. Good wine. Good service. Hopefully we can get a liquor license.'” I wouldn't expect it to open for some time.
Is there a functioning restaurant in the location of the former Via Vai in the upper village? If so, does it have a name and what do they serve?
Excited about Arnie's (bar upstairs at Linden). I have known Arnie Sturham from living on Bainbridge Island myself for almost 30 years until this last January (now in SB). And his place on the island was amazing! An absolutely gem in the neighborhood - a place we all gathered for celebrations or just grabbing a drink. Congrats Arnie! Looking forward to it!
The Upham Hotel is the longest continuously operating hotel in "Southern" California... (not all of California). Cool history with Abe Lincoln's cousin though!
Found this article tonight- that Meals on Wheels will be ceasing operations in downtown Portland OR, due to not being able to shield there staff/volunteer staff from the crud on the streets- which sounds like the 2 descriptions made here about PATH..
“Washington said the charity has been continually losing volunteers due to the conditions they are forced to work in, including coming face-to-face with vagrants and criminals almost every day.
'Every day, they’re stepping over feces, and there’s needles and drug dealing and deaths,' she said.
The charity chief added that she has personally had to deal with the same challenges, recalling a recent incident where she had to step over a body to get into a Meals on Wheels facility.
She said she has considered trying to find another facility to help the needy in downtown Portland, but decided that the charity's money is needed in other places that don't put staff at such a risk.”
The Planning & Development Department isn't responsible for roads; the Department of Public Works is.
So sad to see 411 E Canon Perdido expected to be turned into a storage unit. A great location that can support small businesses or be turned into housing to help the current housing crisis that Santa Barbara is facing.
I am sure there will be more backlash on this. Not a great place for a storage unit.
That's a fair point. Hopefully, a teardown and rebuild will ultimately be the end result. I have to imagine a project like 800 Santa Barbara St. would be a more lucrative use of the land for the owner while also adding to the customer base to support downtown businesses.
Thank you for the commercial for the National Guard being sent to DC and next to Chicago- imagine if SB is experiencing THIS, imagine what big cities are experiencing🥹 #fixthisdisgustingISSUEnow
It's very cost prohibitive to convert a building designed for another use into housing. The code upgrades to plumbing, hvac, fire sprinklers, windows/natural light, open space requirements, etc. usually make it so it's more cost effective to tear down the building and start from scratch.
I had to park by PATH to go to the irrigation supply store and was shocked at watching the local drug dealers walk up with their backpacks, make deals with the holeless, then in amazement watched them smoke (meth?) off of tinfoil right on the sidewalk! It was obvious that there is no enformecment that happens as the half dozen of them had no care in the world doing this in the open!
I have been more worried though when Im at Habit with my kids and get approached by intimidating homeless asking for money or the time one walked into the Habit and grab condiments and peppers with their bare hands and walk out- yes super randome.
PATH being run with no supervision on the outside of the facility is a definete detriment to the entire area! Just a meeting point for addicts.
Google reviews. the latest three reviews are 1 star between 2-3 weeks ago. There is food poisoning mentioned in one of them.
Great news about the bike path. Get tons of use out of all of them riding with kids. Connecting them up is giving us a lot of places we can ride to. Already love riding the Modoc path up to IV, getting ice cream at IV drip with the kids, and heading back. Now we won’t have to drive the missing link.
And with e-bikes, gives teenagers and adults lots of places they can practically get on bike now.
Such a shame about 411 E. Canon Perdido Street. I live around the corner from there and it should absolutely be turned into housing! Any chance the mini-storage usage both there and the Frontier building are temporary until they can be converted to a much better use?
Issues not topic but I hafta mention em; The modification of roadway smack in front of the SB Cemetery was unneeded & now inferior to what we had. The roundabout is great, but all else is tragic. Imagine, running traffic into a cemetery gate that is not open most hours.
2) this goes hand-in - hand in bad design with the Santa Claus roundabout which brings traffic to 3mph yet in 50ft traffic is expected to be at 55mph.
This might be old news.
I'll add my congratulations. We ate there Saturday night and the food was wonderful, the staff was kind and attentive. We'll definitely be back! Hoping they will expand the menu a bit.
I’m looking forward to a space at Linden square that’s doesn’t include children. Just sayin, it’s a kid/dog zoo downstairs.
Yay sweet greens!
I think v v is an ex employee that got laid off. She’s making things up to hurt this business.
Any day of the week you can pass through the 800 block of Cacique Street—where the shelter is located, and experience excessive obscenities, shouting, physical threats, heaps of rubbish obstructing public ways, human feces on the streets & sidewalks, and a stench so potent you physically recoil.
Look beyond this stretch and you will find an ever growing “Public Health Risk”. In which the Code Enforcement Staff and Police refer to as “Highly Impacted Zones”. Which I quote, “From our Code Enforcement angle, we are working to abate the trash and odor complaints with power washing of the sidewalks, paired with a litter pickup. Homeless outreach services are working to contact individuals on the sidewalk and address the homelessness that is largely responsible for the trash and odor issues. The Police continue regular patrols of the area. (Yet our City with a population of approx. 90,000, only has 6 police on patrol at any given time). These areas are a continuing challenge for the City to address, but we hope to make positive impacts with the resources noted above. We appreciate your assistance in reporting issues as you see them.”
If they speak the truth, and use the words “Public Health Risk” the City is liable for allowing this risk to the public to perpetuate over the past decade. So they speak in code. Using deceptive phrases like “Highly Impacted Zones”. If human feces is on our street, if a homeless person throws feces at you, or leaves infected needles in the park where your child plays, THIS IS A PUBLIC HEALTH RISK.
The allowance of this behavior to fester has created a daily interference with the public’s health, safety, peace of mind, and overall sense of freedom to walk down the street in their own City and their own neighborhood.
These conditions have created a situation so substantial, that it has caused an unreasonable interference with the public's health, safety, peace, and convenience, affecting an entire community, not just a single neighborhood or individual.
More specifically, the 800 block of Cacique Street—where the shelter is located—has experienced an uptick in homeless-related 911 calls. Residents have reported increased incidents of loitering, public defecation, theft, disruptive behaviors, sexual assault crimes, drug issues, trespassing, theft, burglary, breaking & entering, car jacking, bike theft, and violent behavior that spills over into surrounding areas.
The Police classify a majority of these calls as “Nuisance Crimes”. No report is filed - which artificially alter crime stats. Creating lower crime statistics than the reality we all live in. Gaslighting the public.
Did you know that when you call 911 for emergency help, you must request “Police Contact”? If you do not specifically request “Police Contact” and the responding officer drives by without witnessing anything, the officer automatically reports the incident as “Cleared”! The officer does not even get out of their vehicle.
Police responses fall short of resolving crime in Santa Barbara. Leaving the taxpaying, law abiding citizens to bear the consequences. Acquiring the PATH building will entrench these issues rather than alleviate them.
The financial implications of this purchase are inconceivable. The building carries a $3,200,000 MILLION DEBT and is encumbered with a covenant restricting its use to homeless services until 2049.
Acquiring it would saddle the City with significant liabilities for the next 24 YEARS!
PATH itself has cited inadequate public funding as a key reason for ceasing operations by December 31, 2025, after operating at a deficit.
If the City proceeds with this purchase, they will be irresponsibly taking on more debt, for the next 24 YEARS.
In addition to this year’s FISCAL BUDGET DEFICIT of $8,052,695 MILLION. Is the City’s estimated annual lease payment for the Series 2024 lease revenue bonds. Which is approximately $9,200,000 MILLION per year for the next 20-30 years. (Exact data not published) Not to mention the UNFUNDED PENSION LIABILITIES totaling approximately $344,500,000 MILLION.
Santa Barbara is in a state of financial distress. The City Council is mismanaging our tax payer money. Year after year, piling up more debt. And burdening tax paying citizens. Costs keep rising. And the benefits to those paying taxes are simultaneously degrading.
Our community deserves solutions that enhance safety and fiscal responsibility, without exacerbating existing problems at an additional expense to tax paying, law abiding citizens. We have had enough! We deserve better.
This acquisition would impose an undue financial burden on taxpayers, perpetuate ongoing community disruptions, and fail to deliver effective solutions based on the shelter’s track record.
VV, Where are you seeing the 1-star reviews? Intermezzo is our to go place before Lobero events. Service can be spotty (especially for drinks) but the food has always been good. I hope they can turn this around!
