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Santa Barbara Motorsports Gears Up to Hit the Road in Search of New Location
Despite its recent move, Santa Barbara Motorsports might be hunting for another home in the near future.
The high-performance vehicle dealership was forced to move last month as Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market took over its former location at 5955 Calle Real. It might be facing a similar situation if the public authorizes Target’s development plan at its 20,000-square-foot space at 6466 Hollister Ave. in Goleta.
“We’re on the run and trying our best,” Santa Barbara Motorsports owner Randy Hudspeth said. “We love what we do, and we do it because it’s our passion.”
There aren’t many vacant large commercial spaces, and the ones that are available require rezoning.
Santa Barbara Motorsports tried to move to the former Timbers Restaurant location on Winchester Canyon, but the city said it would have to do $100,000 of studies and go through plenty of red tape.
“That’s not something a small-business owner can do; we’re not like Target,” Hudspeth said.
Target’s development application seeks three changes to the Goleta General Plan, including a land-use designation switch.
“With us little guys, we take what’s available and can’t afford to rezone anything,” Hudspeth said.
Dougal House started the business 47 years ago as a Goleta-based Honda dealership. By the early 2000s, the next two owners added Yamaha, Suzuki, KTM and KYMCO. Hudspeth was set on running a business with his family, so he took advantage of a weak economy in March 2010 and purchased Santa Barbara Motorsports.
He said families and riders haven’t had the discretionary income to purchase new off-road vehicles since the economy turned, so Hudspeth wanted his business to focus on customer service.
“March 2010 was one of the worst months the dealership has had in terms of sales,” Hudspeth said. “Everybody said I was crazy, but it was my entry point, it was the bottom of market and I thought it couldn’t go anywhere else but up from there.”
So far this year, the business has done better than the past three years. In 2008, the Santa Barbara Motorsports customer’s average was 36 and now it’s 44; the dealership sells more high-end vehicles such as KTM and caters to middle-age professionals and empty-nesters, Hudspeth said, adding that the vineyard industry expansion has helped ATV sales while high gas prices have helped move motorcycles.
“It’s a sad thing because it’s a great family sport, especially off-roading,” said Hudspeth, who takes his sons to Pismo Beach and Zaca Station to ride. “You meet great people.”
In terms of its former location, Fresh & Easy plans to start construction in the next few months, according to Radius Commercial Group agent Brad Frohling, who helped Santa Barbara Motorsports look for a space for a year and a half. FedEx previously occupied the 6466 Hollister Ave. building and relocated near the Santa Barbara Airport. Another Fresh & Easy is opening in June on Milpas Street.
“If you look at commercial zoning maps in the South Coast and look at the undeveloped commercial land, nearly everything is built out,” Frohling said. “Santa Barbara Motorsports is a great local company, but it’s extremely challenging with the larger spaces; there’s a very short list of options to place those businesses.”
Looking ahead to Target’s development, the Goleta City Council voted unanimously in November to authorize a public planning process that could take more than two years. Although most members advocated an expedited process, it all depends on the site.
“I want to see this move forward, and I hope staff won’t take two years to get it done,” Councilman Roger Acevez said at the November meeting. “This is one of those projects that needs to get done sooner than later because of the benefit it provides to us.”
When it comes to off-road vehicle sales, Hudspeth is confident the industry will continue to rebound and that Santa Barbara Motorsports will grow — no matter where in Goleta it ends up.
“We still have a long way to go, but things definitely have improved,” he said.
— Noozhawk staff writer Alex Kacik can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @NoozhawkBiz, @noozhawk and @NoozhawkNews. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
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» on 05.29.12 @ 02:00 AM
I haven’t even been into their new place yet…and they are moving again?
I know this, they have great mechanics there if your looking for someone to service your vehicles.
» on 05.29.12 @ 08:03 PM
Hi, Angie here from SBM…yes, we just moved in and no, we are not planning on leaving anytime soon. We love our awesome new location. Target is not a done deal at this time, and should they prevail past the proposal/review stage, it certainly won’t happen overnight. We look forward to the continued growth of our business and the relationships with our Central Coast community neighbors! Please come by and say hello. We’d love to meet you!
» on 06.05.12 @ 11:25 PM
As many people know, there is strong support in the community for Target. We have worked very hard to get the City on board and at the last meeting, we were promised that all future dealing would be “speed dialed” and move forward without delay. Not only are they in agreement about the need for Target, but now we can say the city is “pro-Target” Very happy that this has finally happened after a long battle. They have speculated that it will be less than two years. Insiders say next summer, Go Target!
» on 06.07.12 @ 02:34 PM
The previous post brings up some concerns regarding transperancy in our local government. I think a lot of us would like to know what is meant when Wendy Hill says that she has been promised that dealings would be “speed dialed”, and who in our local government is making such promises. Additonally, you should list who your “insiders” are that are saying that it will happen by next summer. This kind of language should concern all of us. Such a dramatic change to Goleta should only happen in a very transperant fashion, so that everyone concerned has the opportunity to see the facts, and respond accordingly. I’m afraid of this process being “speed dialed”, and rubber stamped before the public ever truly gets to know the entire story about how dramatically Target is trying to change Goleta.
» on 06.07.12 @ 05:38 PM
Ken she said at the last meeting. Insiders are your local representatives. You just have to talk to them, they don’t have the plague. Your whole comment reeks of “I’m an obstructionist who hates any development”, hope that isn’t true.
As for SBM I hope you guys can find a permanents spot because Goleta wants a target and putting one here fixes a lot of problems.
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