Restaurants come and go, but it wasn’t supposed to happen to Arnoldi’s Cafe.

A classic Italian restaurant, rooted in Santa Barbara’s history, a slice of culture and community, with competitive bocce ball tournaments in the back, has closed its doors.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the temporary closure of Arnoldi’s Cafe as we have known it the last 22 years,” the company shared on Instagram. “The current business owners will be stepping away from the business and have so much gratitude for being a part of the historical and legendary institution that has brought so many people memories since the 1940s.”

One of the owners, David Peri, died recently, prompting the closure.

Arnoldi’s was founded by Giuseppe and Ilda Arnold in 1937 at 421 E. Cota St. In 1940, Giuseppe, known as Joe, quarried local stone and built the present restaurant at 600 Olive St., according to the company’s website.

“Since then, Arnoldi’s, with the bocce ball courts in the garden, has been entertaining Santa Barbarans and visitors from all over the world,” the website states.

“Being a part of the history and the tradition of the cafe, including countless plates of pasta coming out of the kitchen, the chatter of teams on the bocce court, and special moments, rehearsal dinners, graduations, weddings, birthdays or just a Friday night dinner — has meant so much to us,” according to the statement.

A reopening is not impossible.

“We want to thank our incredible staff, our valued customers and the community of Santa Barbara,” the post states. “We are confident the tradition will continue forward, but for the time being while we transition to new beginnings, the cafe will be closed.”

On Thursday, flowers and a note were left by the doorstep that read: “We are so sorry for your loss.”

Some Good State Street News

Santa Barbara’s State Street has the lowest storefront vacancy rate in four years, according to Hayes Commercial Group.

The 400 to 1300 blocks are at 12.4%.

“The long-suffering 900 block is down to six vacancies, which is the lowest count since 2018,” according to Hayes.

The most significant challenge remains on the 700 to 900 blocks, where 23% of storefronts are available or vacant, according to Hayes. Vacancy rates on the 400 to 600 blocks and the 1000 to 1300 blocks are at 8%.

Play in The Sandbox

Shared coworking space The Sandbox is now allowing memberships for companies to use all three Sandbox locations — in Goleta, Santa Barbara and Paso Robles.

The 805 Plan is priced at $805 a month for three company employees. Additional employees can be added for $200 a month.

“We created The Sandbox 805 Plan as we saw more companies shifting to a hybrid office model,” owner Kyle Ashby said. “The plan allows companies and organizations an easy and affordable way to provide their employees with locations to work, meet, and make phone calls in multiple Central Coast locations.”

The three Sandbox locations “provide employers a solution for their remote employees that is less distracting and more productive than their home workspaces,” according to a news release.

Amenities include free parking and coffee.

The Sandbox offers modern, industrial design styles, open floor plans, natural lit workspaces and phone booths for private calls, according to a news release.

“All three spaces have recently added additional rooms that can be accessed on demand for private calls,” the news release states. “All locations also offer meeting space that companies purchasing the 805 Plan can reserve at half off normal rates.”

For additional details, visit thesandboxsb.com/805plan.

Santa Barbara Taxes Down

The City of Santa Barbara said it took in $6.9 million in sales tax revenue during the third quarter of the fiscal year. Overall, sales tax is about 5% below the projected budget so far this year.

Transient occupancy taxes are also down. The City of Santa Barbara collected $2.7 million in transient occupancy taxes for April, the 10th month in the city’s fiscal year.

Year to date, the city has collected $26 million in overall transient occupancy taxes, according to Lyndsay Maas, assistance finance director. About $24 million came from hotels and $2 million from short-term rentals. The total transient occupancy tax revenues are about 4% below budget for the fiscal year so far.