Out with the old, in with the new.

Two months after the corporate Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf closed its doors in Goleta’s Calle Real Shopping Center, a local coffee shop has taken its place.

The rapidly growing Lighthouse Coffee has opened in the center across the street.

On Wednesday morning, the place was packed.

“We are very excited to announce the opening of our fifth location,” owner Chris Chiarappa said. “With sliding front doors that open up to a heated, covered front patio, we hope guests will enjoy the indoor-outdoor feel.”

The new shop is at 5696 Calle Real, next door to Orangetheory in Goleta and the former Outback Steakhouse.

Chiaparra is also the CEO and owner of the Santa Barbara Restaurant Collective, which includes Mesa Burger and Sweetie’s on the Mesa.

Lighthouse has rapidly expanded on the South Coast in recent years.

“We’d like to extend our sincere appreciation to all our guests, as our growth would not be possible without their continued support,” Chiaparra said. 

The Calle Real Shopping Center is headed toward a dramatic transformation. The plans call for new facades, with wood replacing the current Mediterranean style and white stucco. There will be new signage and reduced parking with more open space areas, including parks for play and recreation, and increased connectivity between the two sides of Calle Real.

Outdoor dining and park space would border the former Massage Envy and Outback Steakhouse, eliminating the parking and driveway in the middle.

“We’d also like to thank The Towbes Group for their partnership and support in helping make this location happen,” Chiaparra said.

LinkedIn, ProCore Office Vacancies

The pastries were great, but the presentations were even better.

Several newsy bits of information came out of Wednesday morning’s Radius Real Estate & Economic Forecast breakfast.

Carpinteria has a 28% vacancy rate for commercial office space.

“It’s slow out there in Carpinteria,” said Gene Deering, principal at Radius Commercial Real Estate. “A lot of that is Procore.”

The company has 78,000 square feet available for sublease on the bluffs of Carpinteria. Like a lot of tech companies, employees started to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic and never returned.

LinkedIn also owns a 140,000-square-foot campus. Deering showed a drone video during the talk of a mostly vacant parking lot with four cars in the lot at 3 p.m.

“Should LinkedIn put that space up for sublease, the Carpinteria office vacancy will jump over 40%,” Deering said. “COVID happened awhile ago, having that space not occupied. That’s definitely a property to watch.”

State Street Building Sales and Leases

In Santa Barbara, the Metropulos Fine Foods building in the Funk Zone has sold, closing escrow last week.

The old Verizon and Johnny’s Greek Deli building at the corner of State and Ortega streets has been sold. The unknown investor has leased the building to Vuori Performance Apparel.

“That’s a great retailer committing to State,” Deering said. “That’s what we want to hear.”

Also on State Street, the former Rock’s nightclub and Brat Haus building, at 801 State St., sold to an investor who plans to build residential condos on the second story and commercial condos on the bottom.

“They will make money,” Deering said. “This will work. The small commercial condos will sell, and investors now have an opportunity on State Street that they didn’t have before.”

Frontier Building to Become Housing and Storage

The former Frontier building, at 875 Chapala St. in Santa Barbara, is getting a makeover.

An investor purchased most of the building and the nearby parking lots.

“They are going to convert the building into mini-storage and they are going to build housing on those parking lots,” Deering said. “We’re going to get more housing downtown, and we are taking an older, dated building and it is being repurposed into something we need.”

Food Not Only Thing Overpriced at Whole Foods

The Whole Foods building in Santa Barbara is on the market for $60 million.

“There’s no way this sells. This is very much overpriced,” Deering said.

The owner paid about $40 million in 2019, he said.

“Everybody loves Whole Foods,” Deering said. “It’s a great tenant. It’s just not a property that is priced with today’s market in mind.”

Soul Care Studio + Sauna Opens for Business

Soul Care Studio + Sauna has opened a wellness spa in Santa Barbara offering a private infrared sauna, halotherapy (dry salt therapy), a cold plunge tank and a guided meditation pod.

According to a news release, services can be purchased individually, in packages or through a membership.

The spa, at 1101 Anacapa St., Suite 101, is owned and operated by Ben and Nikki Reden.

Non-toxic hair care is available within Soul Care Studio + Sauna by Nikki’s Salon, the news release stated.

Soul Care Studio + Sauna opened its doors on March 7. Guests can book online at soulcaresb.com, in person or by calling 805.869.2633.