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Despite all there is to do in a college community, Tyler Peterson and Noah Pompan constantly found themselves and their peers wondering, “What’s going on right now?”
Their cure to an evening stuck on the couch is BOOM, an app they developed that allows students to share real-time videos and photos of, well, whatever they’re doing.
The app is in a private beta stage with about 45 to 50 students, and they’re preparing for a wider launch later this month at UC Santa Barbara as well as debuts on Google Play and Apple’s app store.
The two friends came up with the idea over dinner back in January.
The app is “really encompassing that whole virtual hub of college life — whether that be a party or a bar or a lecture from a political figure” said Peterson, who attends UCSB.
BOOM won $10,000 and made connections to industry mentors after winning an Entrepreneurial Fellowship at Pompan’s Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania.
Over this past summer, the two worked with Venice, Calif.-based startup accelerator Studio Eighteen on full-scale product development, pitching their idea and networking.
“Another big thing that we did throughout the summer was really build out our brand and get people to be early adopters,” Peterson said.
Something they thought they could get a few friends to join in on has turned into nearly 30 colleges now having BOOM marketing representatives, he said.
Though BOOM is being promoted as college kids solving a college-student problem, “there’s huge scalability,” Peterson said.
“This problem of ‘What’s going on right now?’ is not at all unique to college campuses,” he said.
“If you’re a 20-something in an urban environment — in Boston, LA, or, hell, even Santa Barbara — there’s that problem of being in a new city or you’re just moving or getting into your adult life and trying to figure out, ‘OK, which bars am I going to go to? Is there a concert going on? Which restaurants are crowded?’”
Test Pilot Cocktails opens in Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone
Test Pilot, a tiki-themed cocktail bar, has opened at 211 Helena Ave. in Santa Barbara.
The Funk Zone establishment took over the site of the former Reds Bin 211, and is preparing to launch a full menu in the coming weeks. Its soft opening was Sept. 3.
Test Pilot comes from Brandon and Misty Ristaino, the owners of the Good Lion, a cocktail bar at 1212 State St.
“Tiki-inspired, Caribbean-inspired cocktails are something I love,” Brandon Ristaino said.
“We weren’t really prepared to open a second spot; my wife and I were very content with the Good Lion,” he said. “Some series of events happened where we got access to the right kind of liquor license for what we do, and the Reds property came up around the same time. And it was a property we loved.”
Test Pilot is “more democratic with the use of spirits” than most tiki bars, which focus heavily on rum, Ristaino said, and much of the sugar is stripped from its drinks.
The establishment’s atmosphere is inspired, he said, by its proximity to the ocean, to beach venues and to the Channel Islands, “which had some really interesting rum and whiskey smuggling things going on during Prohibition.”
Stabiles opens a brick-and-mortar location
Stabiles, a Santa Barbara artisanal home-décor business, has opened a brick-and-mortar location to go along with its mobile store.
The new digs, known as “Stabiles HQ,” are at 127 W. Canon Perdido St., Suite C, behind Eco Friendly Cleaners.
The man behind the business and many of its products is local artist and designer Sam Guzmán.
Stabile’s plant-care items, candles, cutting boards, blown glass, alpaca throws and multitude of other home-décor items are ideal for practical, functional gifting, Guzmán said, whether it’s for a house warming or, soon, corporate gifting.
“The idea is to provide the public with products they’re really going to give,” he said.
Stabiles also brings in select products from artisans in other countries who have sustainable, socially responsible relationships with their communities, Guzmán said, as well as artisans who haven’t received much exposure.
The carefully curated products, he said, are “high-quality goods made in small quantities.”
The mobile side of the business, now almost three years old, sets up shop at various downtown spots throughout the week, and the new location is entering a soft opening stage.
Stabiles HQ is also kicking off a do-it-yourself class on Saturdays starting Oct. 22. People interested in attending can RSVP at PopUp@StabilesSantaBarbara.com or through the business’ social media.
Eat This, Shoot That! offering new Santa Barbara tour
Santa Barbara tour business Eat This, Shoot That! has introduced a new tour of the Funk Zone.
The Funk Zone Food and Photo Tour takes participants through eight establishments over a three-hour walking route.
Participants eat, drink, learn local history and learn how to take food photos with either a camera or phone. Eat This, Shoot That! also has an El Paseo Wine and Photo Tour in the city’s Presidio neighborhood.
Tara Jones, who started the business four-and-a-half years ago, said the revamped Funk Zone route is the business’ flagship tour. As the neighborhood has grown and developed, she said, the tour was altered to incorporate new establishments, a few of which have only recently opened.
The year-round Funk Zone tours are Thursdays through Saturdays and can be booked online.
The tour stops by Enterprise Fish Co., American Ale, Lucky Penny, Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co., Cutler’s Artisan Spirits, Santa Barbara Wine Collective, Helena Avenue Bakery and Mony’s Mexican Food.
— 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.