Lilac Montecito is open for business on Coast Village Road.

“Lilac Montecito is a completely new dinner concept that features contemporary Californian and European cuisine in a fine-dining setting,” co-owner Gillian Muralles said.

The new spot, at 1209 Coast Village Road, is open for dinner seven days a week.

“Our menu features a diverse selection of dishes like our yellowtail crudo with lime coconut milk, bone-in prime cut ribeye steak with braised cipollini onions and mashed potatoes, handmade butternut squash ravioli with browned butter and sage, a sous-vide duck, which is out of this world, as well as a number of cakes and cheesecakes offered by the slice,” Muralles said.

Lilac Montecito is gluten free.

“We offer a wine list comprised of bottles carefully curated by our in-house level-3 sommelier,” Muralles said. “We accept reservations on our website, LilacMontecito.com, or through OpenTable.”

The original Lilac Patisserie is at 1017 State St. in Santa Barbara.

Lilac Montecito is open from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday. It is open from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

The restaurant is at the site of the former Mesa Burger and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.

Big Year for Village Properties

Village Properties sold $1.2 billion worth of property in 2023.

The company had 1,105 sales, of which 773 were single-family homes and 332 were condominium sales.

Village Properties is the largest independent brokerage in the region with about 20% of the market share.

“Our agents were involved in six of the Top 10 and nine of the Top 15 most expensive properties in the area in 2023,” according to Village Properties’ annual report.

The company has made $22 billion in sales since it started in 1996.

The report states that the demand for housing is “insatiable,” largely because of low supply.

“As a result of our long-term, undersupplied market, pricing has appreciated substantially over the past five years,” the report states. “While the median price has in 2023 at $1.77 million decreased slightly by 2% from the year prior, median price is 65% higher than it was in 2019, $1.03 million, an average increase of just over 12% per year.”

Ace Rivington Celebrates 10-Year-Anniversary

Downtown Santa Barbara store Ace Rivington has celebrated its 10-year anniversary.

The denim-clothing and high-end fashion company officially turned 10 on Nov. 20, 2023.

“We officially turned 10 years old as a company,” the company said on Instagram. “It’s pretty wild to think about how hard it has been to not only survive this long in business … but to figure out how to pivot and grow.

“I’m so thrilled to share that the puzzle pieces are finally coming together, with the right team, planning and goals for us to really start growing.”

BizHawk covered Ace Rivington when it first opened by Beau Lawrence as a denim and homespun French terry sweatshirt shop at 1114 State St., No. 25.

The company first launched as a Kickstarter from his garage in 2013. It is now at 1106A State St.

Another State Street Closure

Stabiles clothing store, at 527 State St. in Santa Barbara, has closed.

“The Cool Kids Are Leaving The 500 Block,” the company posted on its Instagram page.

The company still has a mobile boutique in Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone.