At 801 State Street, next door to Milio's Pizza, every price tag at Neighbor Neighbor carries the name of the last person who owned the item. Taiana Giefer's consignment shop opened in that storefront as a pop-up in March. It has now put down permanent roots, and on a recent visit Siteline found it busy with people dropping off goods and shopping, including one customer trying to find everything a particular consigner had brought in.
Those tags fit the moment. In September, the City Council adopted a master plan that sets out what State Street should look like over the next 20 to 30 years. City staff recommended that construction begin within 18 months of adoption. In the meantime, the biggest new commitments on the promenade are coming from stores that sell secondhand goods, and several of them have taken some of the largest storefronts downtown.
Four Resale Openings Between the 400 and 1100 Blocks
In its Oct. 7 roundup, Siteline called the influx of resale shops "the big news on State Street." The list is long enough to cover the whole walk.
| Address | Store | What it is | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 400 State | ReStore Santa Barbara | Habitat for Humanity of Southern Santa Barbara County's 8,000-square-foot store for home projects and furnishings | Open since its scheduled Aug. 26 debut |
| 631 State | Punch Vintage | Vinyl, art, lighting, apparel, jewelry, furniture | Expected before the end of October |
| 801 State | Neighbor Neighbor | Consignment, now permanent after a spring pop-up | Open |
| 1105 State | State Street Trading Post | 10,000 square feet over two floors, 27 vendors and counting | Open |
Punch Vintage used to occupy Domecíl's space at 1223 State. Its move to 631 State, between Ortega and Cota, takes it six blocks closer to the waterfront. The ReStore is more practical than the boutiques. Siteline's assessment was that anyone working on a house or looking for furnishings will find it worth a stop, and the store takes donations.
The Trading Post shows most clearly how the trend uses downtown's building stock. It sits at 1105 State, between Anapamu and Figueroa, in a building that started life as a department store. Owners Angela and Todd Hartmann and manager Nicole Roehrig have split the two floors into individual vendor spaces selling apparel, art, ceramics, furniture, home decor and records. Independent makers such as Parker Clay and Westward General sell alongside the vintage dealers. Siteline describes the current setup as phase one. Still to come are sections for contemporary menswear and apothecary goods, plus the Hartmanns' own children's line, Little Outpost.
Together, the ReStore and the Trading Post account for 18,000 square feet of new resale floor space on one street in a single season.
Large Rooms, Patient Tenants
A department-store floor plate is far larger than a typical independent shop. The multi-vendor model fits that space by splitting one large building among many small sellers. The Trading Post's 27 vendors each run their own space inside a single address.
More conventional retail is also moving into former chain space. The former Starbucks at 800 State, on the corner of De la Guerra, is set to become a candy store called Confectionarium. In August, Noozhawk reported that the opening had slipped from mid-August to the following month. No later report has confirmed that it opened, so for now it is a planned store and not a destination.
The Food Changes Point the Same Direction
Most of the restaurant changes come from operators already working in Santa Barbara, who are opening sister concepts, consolidating or renovating. The one departure is relocating across town.
- Bombay Station 734, 734 State. The team behind Apna opened a "coastal inspired tandoori grill" in Bibi Ji's former space between De la Guerra and Ortega. It serves breakfast and lunch, and its liquor license application covers beer and wine. Restaurant Guy confirmed it was serving in mid-July.
- Cuso's, 609 State. Cuso's combined its operations into one storefront that sells bikes, ice cream and sandwiches, and in July it applied for a beer and wine license. The Cuso's Creamery shop across the street at 620 State closed.
- Sandbar, 514 State. It reopened in July after a major renovation.
- Sweetaly Gelato, Paseo Nuevo. Francesco Amendola and his family held a grand opening for their Italian gelato shop on Aug. 1, as the Santa Barbara Independent reported.
- Satellite, 1117 State. Founder Drew Cuddy closed the natural wine bar and vegetarian restaurant on Sept. 13 after ten years. Wine retail, tastings and events moved to The Factory at 616 E. Haley St. Satellite's own site now says the daily restaurant has closed and points visitors to Haley Street.
Three of these reports are a few months old. The Bombay Station, Cuso's and Sandbar reports are from July, so a quick check before planning a lunch around them makes sense.
The Upper Blocks Got the Largest Bet
Before the council voted in June to keep the street car-free during the interim period, some business owners told the Independent that success on State depended on location. In their account, the blocks farther up saw far less foot traffic than the center.
Since then, the upper blocks have both gained and lost. Satellite left 1117 State. On the same block, at 1105, the Trading Post opened the largest of the new resale stores. Punch Vintage went the other way, moving from the 1200 block down to the 600 block.
The master plan's construction schedule adds another factor. According to the city's adoption agenda report, construction would start in the 400 through 900 blocks. The 1000 through 1300 blocks come second, after the city finishes an analysis of the Laguna Creek basin. That means ReStore, Punch Vintage, Neighbor Neighbor, Bombay Station and Confectionarium all sit inside the first construction zone. The Trading Post sits in the zone that comes later.
What the Plan Promises Before Anything Is Built
The council approved the plan 6-1 on Sept. 1, with Mayor Randy Rowse voting no. Urban planner Stefanos Polyzoides designed it, and it calls for a flexible street with retractable bollards. As the Independent reported, the full project, including major downtown stormwater upgrades, is estimated at more than $96 million. The city is still working out how to pay for it. If the city moves on an accelerated timeline, the work would happen in three phases over six years, starting as soon as 18 months from adoption. On Sept. 21, the city confirmed that the plan had been adopted and said it was actively seeking funding.
During public comment, Noozhawk reported, some speakers said they liked the designs but worried about the 18 months before construction begins. The early actions the Independent described are aimed at that gap. They include better lighting, upgraded shuttle service, possibly converting nearby one-way streets to two-way, and encouraging downtown housing through adaptive reuse. Councilmember Kristen Sneddon summed up the short-term agenda after the vote.
"We can start cleaning up the street; we can start lighting it; we can start programming it."
No interim operating change has been announced since adoption. The promenade still runs under the car-free arrangement the council extended in June.
Programming Has Already Started
Of Sneddon's three items, programming is already visible on the calendar. On Sunday, Oct. 11, the Nite Life car club held its first car show on the car-free blocks between Cota and De la Guerra. KEYT reported that the Downtown Santa Barbara Improvement Association and the city backed the event and that more like it are coming. The rest of the downtown calendar, from Downtown Santa Barbara, gives the new shops several reasons for foot traffic:
- Downtown Dance Nights: selected Wednesdays through October, 6 to 8 p.m., at outdoor spots along State. Country line dancing is listed for Oct. 14.
- Halloween trick-or-treat: participating downtown businesses in October, 3 to 6 p.m.
- 1st Thursday Art Walk: the first Thursday of every month, 5 to 8 p.m., at participating galleries and venues.
- Small Business Saturday: all day in November at participating downtown businesses.
- Downtown Santa Barbara Holiday Parade: Friday, Dec. 4, at 6:30 p.m., running down State from Sola to Cota.
The parade route runs past most of the new resale stores, from the Trading Post at 1105 down to Neighbor Neighbor at 801.
If you're getting ready for a move and deciding what to consign at Neighbor Neighbor, what to donate to the ReStore and what to keep, Marie Morgenstern can help you plan that sorting around your listing and closing dates. Let's Connect.
