A cherished Carpinteria steakhouse will serve its last dish on Sunday.

Clementine’s Steak House in Carpinteria, a family-owned restaurant, announced online this month that it would close its doors after more than 50 years at 4631 Carpinteria Ave. 

It invited community members to visit the steakhouse one last time and enjoy its food and popular homemade pies.

Clementine’s fans listened.

 The restaurant is overbooked with reservations, owner Lloyd McLenithan told Noozhawk. 

“People have such great memories here,” he said. 

The restaurant began with McLenithan’s mother, Irene McLenithan, “Clementine,” and became a family affair.

The steakhouse is typically open Wednesday through Sunday from 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., but even hours before dinner service, the sweet smell of pies wafts from the iconic blue restaurant.

Inside, memories of the past 50 years can be seen from the dining room to the kitchen, where a refrigerator is full of Clementine’s family photos.

On Wednesday morning, McLenithan spoke to Noozhawk about the closure and said he underestimated the community’s response as he flipped through his trusty reservation system, a yellow legal notepad with handwritten notes. 

He added that he wished he could accommodate everyone vying for a spot before closing day. 

On the online announcement, community members filled Clementine’s social media page with memories and farewell messages.

“I am so sad to read this. Clementine’s was one of our favorite places to eat. We would drive from the San Fernando Valley just to eat dinner there,” Carol Ann Hill Bowen wrote online.

McLenithan said he knew about Clementine’s imminent closing date after the property was sold to new owners, who gave the restaurant two years to continue operating.

McLenithan said there is no animosity toward the new owners and that he’s was grateful for the time they were given. 

He said he doesn’t know what the future holds for the building after the restaurant closes.

Downtown Santa Barbara Consignment Shop Opens

The State Street Trading Post finally opened Thursday.

Announcements of the consignment store’s opening and hiring opportunities have graced the storefront’s windows at 1105 State St. in Santa Barbara since 2024.

The store boasts “a collective of vintage merchants & makers.”

The storefront formerly housed Andrea’s Department Store and later Tienda Ho. 

Santa Barbara Bowman Auto Repair Shop Relocating

Bowman’s Auto Repair, a family-owned Santa Barbara business, is relocating its shop to another location in the city. 

It is set to move from 910 Philinda Ave. to 307 E. Gutierrez St. in December, according to an online announcement. 

Southern-Style Restaurant Leaves Santa Maria

Huckleberry’s, a restaurant serving Southern cooking with a California twist for breakfast, lunch and brunch, has closed its Santa Maria location.

“We love being part of the Santa Maria community and are especially grateful to our dear staff and guests,” said Ray Tavakoli, president/chief executive officer of Huckleberry’s for the Central Valley and Central Coast.

The restaurant at 335 E. Betteravia Road shut its doors this week after first opening in 2023.

The closure comes after the owner/operator’s “health challenges that make it impossible for him to continue operating this location while he receives treatment,” a company official said. 

Another location in Atascadero in northern San Luis Obispo County shut earlier this year. However, the Huckleberry’s in Pismo Beach reportedly remains open.

“We are working to provide team members with possible transfer opportunities at Huckleberry’s in Pismo Beach and at our company’s other restaurant concepts in Arroyo Grande,” Tavakoli said.

It marked the second restaurant closure at the former Santa Maria bank building. 

A Black Bear Diner restaurant opened at the site in 2017 but closed several years later. 

Santa Maria Food and Vitamin Shop to Relocate After Fire

Lassens Natural Foods and Vitamins has revealed its new home in Santa Maria after a fire destroyed the former store.

The shop plans to move into a former Kelly-Moore Paints store at the Plum Tree Plaza, in the 1700 block of North Broadway, not far from its prior location. 

A banner on the building says the new store will open in spring 2027.

The 12,300-square-foot building will offer an expanded selection of groceries, fresh prepared foods, supplements and body care offerings. 

Other features will be an organic hot bar and fresh salad bar; a full-service deli; a juice and smoothie bar; housemade, cold-pressed juice; an expanded supplement and wellness department; and indoor and outdoor seating areas.

In April 2025, a fire destroyed the longtime Santa Maria Lassens, a stand-alone building at Plum Tree Plaza. The demolished building has since been removed. 

The latest opening marks Lassen’s 11th location. There’s also a location in Santa Barbara.

Santa Barbara’s Mesa Gets Spooky

Santa Barbara’s Mesa just got a little bit spooky with the opening of a Spirit Halloween store.

The Halloween costume and decoration store possessed a former Rite Aid store at 1976 Cliff Drive, in the Mesa Center shopping plaza. 

Remnants of the former pharmacy store haunt the store’s interior.

Santa Barbara Collects More Hotel Tax Than Expected

In August, the City of Santa Barbara collected $4.4 million in transient occupancy taxes. 

The tax comes from people staying at local hotels, motels and short-term rentals for less than 30 days.

Since the start of the city’s fiscal year on July 1, Santa Barbara has collected $9.3 million in TOT revenues, which is 8.3% above budget, city officials noted in a press release. 

North County Editor Janene Scully contributed reporting to this story.