BizHawk is published weekly, and includes items of interest to the business community. Share your business news, including employee announcements and personnel moves, by emailing news@noozhawk.com.
Santa Ynez Valley winery Sort This Out Cellars is reviving tiki culture with its new High Roller Tiki Lounge at 1636 Copenhagen Dr. in Solvang.
The bar and lounge had its grand opening late last year just before the winery’s 10th anniversary.
Owner Michael Cobb said it had previously been an underutilized “mancave-ish” area behind the winery’s tasting room that patrons weren’t keen on visiting.
“I go to a lot of tiki events, tiki markets, places like that,” he said. “Most of these places are small and cozy, and we could do that in the lounge.”
Prior to jumping into the wine industry, Cobb was a chef and manager at Disneyland restaurants properties, including the former tropical-themed Tahitian Terrace.
He established the pin-up art-themed Sort This Out Cellars two years after joining the Santa Ynez Valley wine industry in 2005.
“The same type of people who like the retro-vintage vibe, also tend to like tiki a lot,” Cobb said.
On Fridays and Saturdays, he added, High Roller hosts live music, including local singer-songwriters and bands from as far as Los Angeles and Orange County.
High Roller’s signature drinks are their “wine-tails” — cocktails based on wine, rather than spirits — and “tiki-tails,” tropical-inspired wine-tails.
“It’s usually more about the syrups and mixers than about the actual alcohol coming through,” Cobb said. Because the alcohol is often difficult to taste, “most people wouldn’t know the difference.”
Sonos head steps down
John MacFarlane, co-founder of Santa Barbara-based electronics company Sonos, has stepped down as the company’s CEO and away from its board of directors.
Taking over the reins at the 15-year-old company is now-former president and chief commercial officer Patrick Spence.
“Patrick demonstrated his leadership most recently with Sonos’ success during the holiday period, but more importantly, there isn’t a person who better embodies Sonos’ values and culture,” MacFarlane said in a statement.
MacFarlane added that he will remain an employee and mentor in an advisory capacity, helping “to center and potentially expand Sonos’ commitment to STEM education” and continuing “to work within the music and tech industries to help create a start-up friendly ecosystem.”
Sonos, headquartered at 615 Chapala St., is known for its smart speakers.
The former CEO had previously told The New York Times that he had planned to resign from the post earlier due to family health issues, but stayed on after seeing the surprising success of Amazon’s Echo, a rival smart speaker.
Economic Vitality Team of Santa Barbara County prepares for first summit
The Economic Vitality Team of Santa Barbara County is holding its inaugural summit on Jan. 31 at the Santa Ynez Valley Marriott hotel at 555 McMurray Rd. in Buellton.
The organization, made up of eight county chambers of commerce with representatives from cities and businesses, works to market the county as an attractive place to do business.
Following a 7:30 a.m. breakfast, the event’s programming will feature County Executive Officer Mona Miyasato, Ventura County Economic Development Collaborative president Bruce Stenslie and San Luis Obispo County Economic Vitality Corporation president Michael Manchak.
Their talks will be followed by a roundtable discussion with the CEOs of local cities’ chambers of commerce.
The event is open to everyone, and registration can be completed here.
Two Santa Barbara marketing businesses merge
WitMark Marketing and Branding Group is the new Goleta-based company to come out of the merger of Santa Barbara-based Deco Marketing Group and Media Spinach.
In a statement, the company said its predecessors had already been working together for over two years.
WitMark Group is led by Media Spinach principal Allison Callis and Deco Marketing Group principal Marjorie Large.
Located at 5662 Calle Real #209, WitMark Group’s services include marketing and business strategies, media relations, creative development and public relations.
It has a second office just outside Tucson, Arizona.
— Noozhawk staff writer Sam Goldman can be reached at sgoldman@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.