Montecito Bank & Trust will open its new branch at 6900 Hollister Ave. in Goleta on Monday.
The 6,018-square-foot branch will include a drive-through ATM and teller station, a walk-up ATM and a night depository vault.
“Our investment in a second banking office in Goleta demonstrates our enduring commitment to this community,” MB&T president and CEO Janet Garufis said. “We are proud to contribute to new job growth and to expand the banking choices for residents and businesses in the Goleta Valley.”
The branch, on the corner of Storke Road and Hollister Avenue, will replace a gas station that closed in 2009. It will employ about 10 workers and is the ninth Montecito Bank & Trust branch that has opened since May 2009.
“First off, it brings construction jobs,” Craig Zimmerman, president of The Towbes Group and a bank board member, said at last year’s groundbreaking. “Second, it puts Montecito Bank & Trust on a really important corner.
“The bank not only provides world-class banking but also all the philanthropy work they do. We will start to see things happen at this corner, and it will become another focal point of Goleta.”
Earlier last year, the Goleta City Council approved a General Plan amendment to change the lot’s designation to office and industrial from commercial, in addition to the property’s rezoning and conditional-use permits for the drive-up stations. It’s a one-story branch that shares parking and driveway access with the adjoining Storke Hollister Research Center, another Towbes property at 6950 Hollister Ave.
Javier Quezada will manage the new branch.
“Being able to reach out to the businesses and people around UCSB will be a big lift in customer service for this area,” he said.
An official ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand opening is planned for late February.
— Noozhawk business writer Alex Kacik can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.












