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It doesn’t happen very often in these parts, but there’s a new drive-thru in the Santa Barbara area.
Starbucks coffee has opened a drive-thru cafe at the corner of Calle Real and Turnpike Road, the first one with a drive-thru on the South Coast.
It opened in one of the few places where a drive-thru is allowed, since Santa Barbara and the city of Goleta have bans on new drive-thru restaurants.
A Carl’s Jr. and McDonald’s were previously proposed for the site, but fell through.
Local property owner and developer John Price purchased the land more recently and asked the community what to build there — they all said coffee, he told Noozhawk.
Price got full support from the neighborhood and whipped through the process with only one meeting before the county Board of Architectural Review. The hearing had 18 neighbors attend — and everyone supported the plan.
“We are excited about the project,” he said. “The entire experience was awesome with the county,” he added.
The project has another 2,500 square feet of commercial space in addition to Starbucks, and some of the building is still under construction.
Price said he plans for management offices on the second floor, a deli tenant, and possibly a pizza restaurant and beer and wine bar.
He also owns the two gas stations across the street, Shell and Fuel Depot, and he said his employees will park across the street at Fuel Depot so there’s always plenty of parking for the Starbucks customers.
“We are trying to get all the employees across the street,” he said.
DMHA Architecture + Interior Design were the architects for the project. Specialty Construction was the general contractor. The team completed the construction in record time to meet Starbucks’ end-of-September opening deadline.
New Restaurant by the Lake
The restaurant at Cachuma Lake has opened full time, according to the county.
Hook’d is run by concessionaires Craig Lingham and Dustin Farnum, who have long history of serving food at the lake.
The spot is air-conditioned with indoor and outdoor seating and a shaded patio. The menu includes hot and cold beverages, breakfast burritos, steak sandwiches, hot dogs and burgers.
Currently, Hook’d is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
The lake-side restaurant building was constructed about five years ago but has been empty until earlier this year, when Lingham and Farnum got their agreement with the county.
The Cachuma Lake Recreation Area is located at 2225 Highway 154.
New Attorney Hired
Buynak, Fauver, Archbald & Spray, LLP has hired Dallas Verhagen to join the firm.
Verhagen has experience representing clients in a wide range of business law matters, and he is “knowledgeable about the ever-changing regulations surrounding the cannabis industry,” the firm said in a news release.
“Mr. Verhagen has an entrepreneurial spirit that serves him well when advising our clients,” said partner Trevor Large. “He thinks strategically and applies a legal perspective that supports the business’ goals. He is a great addition to our extensive business law practice group.”
— 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.
