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The Muddy Waters coffee shop will close this Saturday after spending 15 years in its Eastside Santa Barbara location.
Patrons found a sign announcing the closure outside the 508 E. Haley St. location this week.
“The time has unfortunately approached to where we must close our doors and open new ones in our lives,” the sign reads.
“The Muddy’s crew would like to thank each and every one of you for your loyal and loving business and the community you’ve blessed us with. Our last day of business will be this Saturday, the nineteenth. We will miss you all dearly.”
Muddy Waters opened in 2000, with the original owners selling the place to David Lewis in 2006, according to his brother and manager, Bill Lewis.
He wouldn’t go into why the business is closing but thanked patrons for support. Lewis, who books music acts at Muddy Water, said he instead would direct musicians to the Paradise Store off of Highway 154.
The Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition, which owns the Haley Street building that also houses Bici Centro bike shop, wouldn’t comment on why Muddy Waters was moving out.
Melissa Hygelund, who helps manage the nonprofit facilities, said rental rates haven’t changed since purchasing the two spaces in July 2014.
“We are sad to see Muddy go as they were the anchor to the Haley corridor,” she wrote in an email. “The area has fantastic potential and we are excited to begin interviewing potential tenants.”
The coalition hopes to keep the space devoted to food or coffee, and those interested can email 508EHaley@sbbike.org.
Bizerk Reopens
Bizerk costume shop has found a new home at 1207 State St. in Santa Barbara, operating out of the Random retail store.
Bizerk was forced out of its 432 State St. location in January but found safe landing in a portion of Random, opening there last month, according to Bizerk co-owner David Sampanis.
“We have a small space now and the permanent part is going to be about twice what we have now,” Sampanis said, noting Bizerk will soon temporarily take over more front space for Halloween.
Random and Bizerk have a similar assortment of mismatched merchandise, so he said the union makes sense.
“We’re really happy to be open again,” Sampanis said. “We got a lot of support from the community. It’s good to be back.”
M.Special Brewing to Open
A new brewery is opening this weekend in Goleta’s industrial park.
M.Special Brewing Company opens Friday at 6860 Cortona Dr., Building C with a three-day welcome weekend of live music, food trucks, raffles and beer sampling.
Five owners are behind the idea, including two cousins from Los Angeles, another from the Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Barbara brewer Josh Ellis, said tap room manager Shelly Deardorff, a Buellton resident.
M.Special — the “M” stands for Malloy, last name of cousins Brendan and Emmett, and M.Special is the name of a car their grandfather used to race — focuses on a crisp American Lager.
Deardorff said the brewery has gotten a lot of love from nearby tech company employees. It doesn’t have a kitchen, but M.Special will offer Woodstock’s Pizza and be a regular food truck stop.
The brewery also plans to bottle beer soon.
Floriano’s Plans Lompoc Move
Floriano’s Mexican Food in Lompoc is moving into a larger restaurant space, with the hope of opening in the old Carrows building at 1129 North H St. by the end of next week.
The family-owned, popular eatery opened at 319 E. Ocean Ave. in 2006 but has outgrown the space, according to Jeffrey Rodriguez, one of three sons helping his parents who run the business, Floriano and Maria Rodriguez.
Floriano’s, which doubles as a butcher shop, is a top-rated Lompoc restaurant on Yelp.
Rodriguez said the menu will mostly stay the same but the new location can seat more than 150 people instead of just 45.
— Noozhawk staff writer Gina Potthoff can be reached at gpotthoff@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.