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Three years after Rusty’s Pizza Parlor announced its exit from the lighthouse building at 15 E. Cabrillo Blvd. in Santa Barbara, the iconic site is preparing for its next tenant.
Bluewater Grill, a seafood restaurant with seven locations across Southern California and one in Phoenix, is slated to open there in mid-2017.
“Unlike 99 percent of other restaurants, including seafood restaurants, we have our own commercial license, so we can buy directly from the fishermen, whereas most people have to buy through a distributor,” said Jimmy Ulcickas, who founded the Bluewater Grill 20 years ago with friend Richard Staunton.
Their friends Adam and Andrew Firestone and David Walker — of Firestone Walker Brewing Co. fame — are also among the new establishment’s owners.
Santa Barbara has a prominent and regionally important fishing industry, Ulcickas said. Both he and Staunton are avid fishermen who fish the around the Channel Islands and the Santa Barbara Harbor on the restaurant’s own swordfish harpoon boat.
“There’s a huge tradition of commercial fishermen who fish the Channel Islands, and they either come into Channel Islands Harbor or Ventura or Santa Barbara,” he said. “A lot of that stuff just stays in the general area and some of it makes its way to Los Angeles and other places.”
In addition to up to 40 varieties of seafood, the restaurant will offer local wines and chef’s tasting events. Lunch and dinner will be served on two floors.
With so few restaurant openings along the waterfront, Ulcickas said he and Staunton have been looking for opportunities to open a place in Santa Barbara for over a decade. They and the other parties in the lease were represented by Michael Martz and Greg Bartholomew of Hayes Commercial Group.
If all the site’s construction and tenant improvements go according to plan, he added, Bluewater Grill will open next to Stearns Wharf sometime around May, June or July.
Churchill Jewelers closes after nearly a century
One of the oldest businesses in Santa Barbara is preparing to close its doors.
After 98 years in business, family-owned Churchill Jewelers is holding huge sales before it turns out the lights for the final time at 1015 State St.
Owner Lexi Kern said there is no set date yet for the closure, but cited retirement as the reason. Specifically, she said, no one else in her family is taking over the business.
Churchill Jewelers carries watches, engagement rings, wedding bands, Montblac pens and jewelry featuring diamonds, pearls and other precious stones.
Mac’s Fish and Chip Shop closes on State Street
Mac’s Fish and Chip Shop, another Lower State Street business, has closed.
The British restaurant served its last meal on Nov. 29.
“My family will be happy to go on our first family vacation in six years,” owner Grant MacNaughton wrote in a letter to patrons, noting that he’s operated the shop while taking care of three young children.
“My friends will be happy that I don’t permanently smell of fish, and, frankly, I’m sick of faking this ridiculous British accent,” he wrote.
Taking over at 503 State St. will be Hana Kitchen, an Asian restaurant with locations at 5 W. Haley St. in Santa Barbara and 6558 Pardall Road in Isla Vista.
MacNaughton wrote that Hana Kitchen has outgrown its Santa Barbara digs and is looking to expand.
Level4 Hardware shifts to new name and headquarters
Goleta tech company Level4 Hardware announced that it has changed its name to Level4 Solutions and has moved to a new Goleta headquarters at 150 Castilian Dr.
The six-year-old company said it has expanded from distributing network, cable and wireless equipment to also offering a variety of network support services, like bandwidth, network design and monitoring, project management and on-site installation and support.
— Noozhawk staff writer Sam Goldman can be reached at sgoldman@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.