The Bell’s Folks Are Opening a Bar in Los Olivos

••• Plnt Pwrd Mrkt, the vegan market on Coast Village Road, is closing. From the farewell note: “We set out to share new fun products in the plant-based market with our community and will cherish the conversation and interactions we had with you all and have enjoyed seeing a handful of our products pop up around town. We will be open through June 3 and everything in the store is 25% off. Please come say hi and grab some of your favorite treats.”

••• Next up for the Companion Hospitality folks (Bell’s, Bar Le Côte, et al): The Other Room,  a beer-and-wine bar in the former Community Craft space (2446 Alamo Pintado) in Los Olivos. “We’re partnering with Chris Kelly and Sandy Harrison of The Backroom in Solvang,” explained Companion’s Greg Ryan. “It’ll focus on craft California beers and beyond, as well as the type of wines (local and international) that you have come to know from Bell’s and Bar Le Côte. Kim Garcia, who works with Chris and Sandy, and Emily Blackman, Companion’s beverage director, are also partners. We’re shooting to open in summertime and hoping to focus on elevated snacks for food, including tinned fish, pickled eggs, pâté’s, etc. And beer and wine to go will also be a big part of it.”

••• Perhaps it will be followed by a Gomez y Gomez taqueria…. In an Independent profile, Bar Le Côte executive sous chef (and half of the Gomez y Gomez pop-ups) Luis Gomez says his goal is to open a brick-and-mortar restaurant within two years.

••• The Press Room won’t be demolished after all. The bar has signed a 10-year lease, as SIMA made good on its threat not* to walk away from development plans because the city insisted on too much affordable housing. —Independent (*UPDATE 5/26: I got my words twisted; SIMA is not currently planning to develop the property.)

••• After I posted the rumor that the Montesano Group (Lucky’s, Tre Lune, et al) will be leasing the former Cava space, someone else had it on good authority that the site will actually be an outpost of popular Aspen restaurant Clark’s (and not necessarily with the Montesano Group’s involvement). I tried reaching out to Clark’s PR rep, but I got no response. Know more? As always, tips are welcome and anonymity is guaranteed: text 917-209-6473 or email [email protected]. UPDATE: Apparently, Clark’s is more of an Austin restaurant (that subsequently opened an offshoot in Aspen). Since this is looking more likely, I thought you might want to see the menu….

••• Merci is bringing back its burger pop-up this Sunday, May 29, starting at 11 a.m. Best of all, the banana pudding will be on the menu.

••• We often have a ploughman’s lunch, and as much as I like it, I’m also trying to be a bit healthier. So I went to Whole Foods looking for interesting pickles (because if I eat more pickled vegetables, I’ll eat less cheese). All of the offerings from Santa Barbara’s own Pacific Pickle Works bragged how spicy they were, except for the Brussels sprouts, so I got those. I love them! And then I picked up the pickled okra at the Cheese Shop, and I love them, too! Next up: the asparagus spears.

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