••• Thanks to W. for the tip that Big T’s Deli will be opening at the Santa Barbara Public Market. As you might imagine, the market isn’t big enough to justify two delis, and Wexler’s is getting the heave-ho. “Many of the beloved original menu items will still be available, but we’re also adding some delightful new choices,” says Public Market co-owner Travis Twining, such as Italian subs, French dips, and tuna melts. “We’re probably going to close sometime at the end of the month for about four days and then reopen with the new branding.” Big T’s Deli may end up taking over the small space next door, too. I checked with Wexler’s to see if it’d still be supplying ingredients, but I was told that’s undecided at this time.
••• From Riviera Bar: “We saw that people were asking about the Paradise pie recently [here and here]. Riviera Bar will be serving the original recipe this month until we run out.”
••• I got an advance peek at The Post, as the Las Aves complex by the Andrée Clark Bird Refuge will be known when it opens, and it’s looking very sharp. Some of the shops will debut by the end of the month, with more to follow soon after, and there will be a holiday market in December. (More on that at a later date.) The big news was food-related. First, the restaurant at the corner of Los Patos and Cabrillo Boulevard will be an outpost of Ospi, not Jemma, as previously announced. The owners of both brands are Jackson and Melissa Kalb, and there are currently Ospis in Venice and Brentwood, with another in Costa Mesa on the way. Second, the sibling to L.A.’s Loreto, coming to the building where Stella Mare’s is until the end of the year, will be “seafood-forward.” (Ospi is shooting for early 2025, while the Loreto relative won’t be ready till later in the year.) Finally, The Post will also have an outpost of Little King, the Buellton coffee bar opened by Gracie Gates and Ryan Dobosh last March; while the buildout gets completed, Little King will operate a coffee cart in the courtyard.
••• The Manor Bar at the Rosewood Miramar Beach will now validate valet parking at the resort.
••• Robitaille’s Fine Candies in Carpinteria is closing after 36 years.
••• Cafe La Fonda, across from the County Courthouse on E. Anapamu Street, has begun sharing its space with Antojitos Copanecos, which serves Honduran food Thursday through Sunday (3-9 p.m.).
••• The Christmas kitschfest known as Miracle returns to Pearl Social Cocktail Club starting November 16, and reservations are available now. There’s a $10 fee, which includes a Miracle light-up beanie, and “proceeds from [the] reservation fee benefit CALM, the Santa Barbara non-profit organization that prevents and treats childhood trauma.”
••• Finney’s Crafthouse in the Home Depot center is slated to open late next week. —Restaurant Guy
••• And Giovanni’s Pizza is opening across the street, in the Target center. —Restaurant Guy
••• I really enjoyed the food I ordered from Saint Barbara Greek Orthodox Church‘s recent Greek Grab Go event: deeply satisfying pastitsio and terrific spanakopita and dolmas. I’ll definitely be doing it again next year. Plus, I had never seen the church before—it’s beautiful! I may need to go walk that area….
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Happy to see the news about Miracle reservations raising funds for CALM. We officially changed our name a few years ago and CALM is CALM, no longer an acronym. :)
Thank you for the great update on The Post! Very exciting! Did the developer acquire all property between Stella Mare and Ospsi? I am hopeful the entire section will be updated.
The developer doesn’t have the Magic Cabaret building or the apartment building behind it. But the former gym and Stella Mare’s are part of the Post
What happened with Wexler’s? They’re getting the boot? Rebranding? I’m confused. They were so highly anticipated and opened not that long ago.
As Erik mention on Oct 30th
“everytime i mention Wexler’s someone complains about it”. I’ve heard lots of complaints too!
Bottomline – there are better sandwiches & Better places to eat them in SB
Ooooh. Paradise Pie! Only for a month, though? Dang.
Wexler’s just got in there…and now they are out? That was fast.
THAT’S A SLICE OF HEAVEN!
Excited to try the new coffee shop. That said, I wouldn’t consider The Post development to be Santa Barbara from both a technical and a vernacular (like CVR( perspective. Welcome to Santa Barbara, Little King.
That is… I wouldn’t consider it to be *Montecito 😅
Technically, it’s Santa Barbara, but it already feels way more like Montecito than any part of Santa Barbara, geographically and otherwise. And when they’e done with it, it will definitely feel like Montecito.
It’s Santa Barbara. Not Montecito. Not Malibu. 😂😂
All good stuff, Erik!
What’s the info on the Montecito Coffee Bar?
It’s in the part about The Post.
Very excited about the Loreto new place :)