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CVS Pharmacy is making moves to take over the former Fresh & Easy grocery store on Santa Barbara’s Eastside.
In a proposal to the city, CVS asked to make minor interior renovations before moving into the 336 N. Milpas St. space that housed Fresh & Easy until last October, when Los Angeles-based Yucaipa Companies LLC announced it would close all its Fresh & Easy stores.
According to city planners, the national pharmacy chain plans to open its store/pharmacy in the building — already zoned for retail — but there’s no word on when.
CVS representatives didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment, and the building itself still sat gutted and vacant this week except for bare shelves.
CVS boasts six Santa Barbara locations, including three on State Street, one on the Mesa, one on Coast Village Road and another at West Carrillo and Bath streets.
This would be CVS’s first store on the Eastside, although the neighborhood already has a large retail pharmacy — Rite Aid — on Lower Milpas Street.
Winehound Gets New Owners
Two longtime locals and wine connoisseurs have taken over ownership of The Winehound in Santa Barbara’s La Cumbre Plaza.
David Russell and Richard Heilman assumed ownership effective Jan. 20, purchasing the 9-year-old wine shop at 3849 State St #163 from a large Westlake conglomerate, according to Heilman.
He and Russell both boast more than 30 years of wine industry experience, including time spent as wine director at Wine Cask from 1988 to 1999 (Russell) and as manager and wine buyer for Pierre Lafond (Heilman).
The owners are working to restock inventory with the world’s best reds, whites and rosés, along with a robust premium beer collection.
“We’re really striving to get the best possible producers out there,” Heilman told Noozhawk.
Winehound wine club members will experience a brief hiatus in February, he said, but the club will be back better than ever in March with the same three-tier system at different price points.
Heilman said a wine tasting bar was also in the works for the business, which moved to La Cumbre Plaza from Chapala Street more than three years ago.
ShipHawk Hires Chief Revenue Officer
ShipHawk, a Goleta-based provider of shipping technology for online retailers, has hired Sharon Goldstein as its Chief Revenue Officer.
Goldstein joins the company as ShipHawk expands its offerings to customers, focusing her efforts on alignment and leadership of the sales and marketing teams, setting and executing a monetization strategy, customer acquisition and sales enablement initiatives.
Prior to joining ShipHawk as CRO, Sharon served as an adviser to the company, focusing on growth and go-to-market strategies. She’s also worked as CMO of Pixlee and as Shutterfly’s director of corporate development and strategy.
Pam Scott Joins New Realtor Company
Longtime local real estate broker Pam Scott has launched her own firm, GPS Commercial Real Estate Services, Inc., where she will continue serving Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties.
Scott was previously a broker associate at both Lee & Associates Central Coast, Hayes Commercial Group and others.
— 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.