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A bright and cheery new restaurant has opened on State Street in downtown Santa Barbara. The Daisy began serving Tuesday at 1221 State St.
The husband and wife team of Dominic Shiach and Carmen Deforest wanted to bring high-quality dining in a casual environment.
Deforest’s nickname is “Daisy,” and she’s also the chef. Prior to the restaurant business, they worked in Los Angeles, he as a documentary maker and she worked in the fashion industry.
The menu includes items such as chickpea chorizo and spinach stew, smoked ribs, beef and lamb kofta meatballs, and, of course, the Daisy Burger for $16 and the little Daisy Burger for $7.
The restaurant also offers 16 wines on tap.
“Our food is elevated, but our environment is relaxed,” said Shiach, who hails from the Scottish Highlands.
The restaurant offers seating for 80 people, including a communal table and 20 people at the bar.
It’s the couple’s second restaurant venture. They formerly ran Book Ends cafe, a sandwich shop on the roof of Antioch University.
After closing that business, which didn’t have a kitchen, they looked for a new spot. They considered the Funk Zone, but ended up choosing State Street because of the other high-quality restaurants in the area, including, Arigato Sushi, Scarlett Begonia, and Bouchon, Shiach said.
“It’s a place for the locals,” Shiach told Noozhawk.
The restaurant serves lunch with good “price points,” he said, and then the place slowly transforms.
In the evening, he said, the lights come down, the music goes up, and they place candles on the tables.
“It becomes kind of a sexy, intimate space, it’s lovely,” Shiach said.
The restaurant makes its own bread and houses a smoker to cook some food. Daisies are painted on the front and back wall.
“The Daisy is emblematic of the freshness and the vitality, which I think expresses our food,” Shiach said. “Our food is clean and light and bright and vital and vibrant, and so is this place, and so is a daisy.”
The restaurant is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday and Monday.
Special Delivery
Patterson Plus Self Storage has installed on-site package delivery lockers through Parcel Pending.
People can choose to have their packages delivered to the lockers, instead of their homes.
When a package is sent, people receive a text or email notification that informs them that it has arrived. People can then pick up the package anytime, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The lockers accept packages from any entity.
People are alerted on their mobile device when the package arrives.
“It is our understanding we are the first in our area to install Parcel Pending lockers,” said owner Trudi Carey, in a news release. “This is a great addition to our neighborhood, particularly with holiday package theft on the rise. You can pick up your packages, 24 hours a day at your convenience.
The locker location is a self-serve drive up, well lit, with digital cameras and beautiful blooming flowers.”
Carey said the lockers eliminate fears of package theft, and allow people to avoid waiting and picking up packages at the U.S. Post Office.
Patterson Plus is offering the use of lockers for free for residents within a 5-mile radius, for the holiday season, (through Jan. 31, 2019). The fee for the package delivery lockers is normally $10 per month.
“Package delivery has never been easier,” Carey said.
Christmas Time is Here
Arlington Plaza, at 1324 State Street, will kick off the holiday season with the 3rd Annual Christmas Market, from 4 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 5, and from noon to 9 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 6.
This year’s Christmas Market will showcase unique gifts, seasonal festivities, live music, and caroling, according to a news release.
Shops and restaurants include DIANI Boutique, DIANI Shoes and DIANI Living, the Travel Store, Treat, Blossom Salon, Santa Barbara Fine Art, Carlitos Cafe y Cantina, or Renaud’s Patisserie and Bistro.
The event will also feature Christmas Market stalls filled with gifts and products from local makers and vendors.
Admission is free for the family friendly, two-day event.
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
