BizHawk is published weekly, and includes items of interest to the business community. Share your business news, including employee announcements and personnel moves, by emailing news@noozhawk.com.
It’s becoming something of a year-round block party on West Ortega Street in downtown Santa Barbara, where owners of the Wildcat Lounge and Couch Santa Barbara are helping a private chef launch her first restaurant.
Santa Barbara native Grace Austin is proprietor of the Little Kitchen, an eatery slated to begin offering a menu of modern comfort food in March at 17 W. Ortega St. Nardonne’s La Famiglia Pizzeria vacated that space last year to move back to Los Osos.
“We’re taking a lot of comfort food classics and putting some modern twists on them,” said Austin, who went through Santa Barbara City College’s culinary program while bartending at the Wildcat. “It’s really exciting.”
Her business partners include Michele Prestage of Couch Santa Barbara (lead decorator), a silent partner and Bob Stout, who opened the Wildcat Lounge at 15 W Ortega St. in 1992. He also helped found the Sojourner Cafe and Blue Agave.
Their new LLC: CGMB Block Party.
Stout recently launched the Bobcat Room on the other side of the dance-heavy Wildcat — the lounge’s “sophisticated sister” where patrons can order a $10 local-ingredient-infused cocktail and hear each other talk thanks to sound proofing and a 9-inch thick door between the venues.
Stout said Shaun Belway, another native, brings spark and creativity to the Bobcat Room, an intimate space rocking the hardwood floors of its predecessor, the Santa Barbara Dance Studio.
The Bobcat Room expands on the vision of the farm-to-bar program Belway and Patrick Reynolds launched at the Hungry Cat. The Tuesday night farmer’s market tradition moved to Wildcat four years ago.
Little Kitchen plans to be open for lunch, dinner and late-night bites, with dishes like Swedish meatballs, shepherd’s pie, mac n’ cheese and more. It will serve beer and wine as well.
All three businesses connect at the back patio, and bar patrons will be able to order from a limited Little Kitchen bar menu using a smartphone app.
Stout said the Bobcat Room, which is open from 6 p.m. to close Wednesday through Sunday, is also available for private events and catering.
Distinctive Art Gallery to Open
The Distinctive Art Gallery will display local art beginning next week, when the gallery hosts its grand opening at 1331 State St. in Santa Barbara during the evening First Thursday event on March 3.
Dave Lombardi, who opened the Distinctive Framing N Art store next door 13 years ago, said he took over the neighboring space to offer an outlet he didn’t think local artists already enjoyed.
The new gallery will showcase oils, water colors, sculptures, ceramics and more, with a painting shop in the back of the space, which had been a furniture store.
Artists displays will rotate on a quarterly basis, he said. The space could also possibly accommodate solo shows, and all art will be for sale.
Distinctive Art Gallery, which will be open Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., will initially feature works by locals Michael Drury, Chris Potter and Jo Merit.
Blanka Boutique Opens Friday
Blanka women’s boutique will host a grand opening Friday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. at 1266 Coast Village Rd. in Montecito.
Owner Jennie Reiter, who has a background in personal styling and merchandising, is combining her skills into one retail outlet.
Customers can browse and buy apparel, handbags, body care products and more, or they can have Reiter outfit them from head to toe. That could be with all new items or by bringing in an article of clothing they already own, she said.
Reiter, a Bay Area native who married a Montecito native, described many items as affordable. She’s also offering image consulting and styling services, possibly hosting evening educational classes on fashion subjects in the future.
ShipHawk Launches New Tools
Goleta-based ShipHawk this week launched a new suite of solutions to address the changing shipping needs of retailers.
These products include a free parcel-only product and a range of new solutions that support parcel, freight and home delivery for retailers of all sizes — from small businesses through enterprise.
The shipping platform aims to improve the buyer experience, automate the entire shipping process and give retailers visibility to carrier performance and margin metrics.
“Shipping is no longer a back office activity, it’s become a critical lever for eCommerce companies to acquire customers, create brand loyalty, and increase margins,” ShipHawk CEO Jeremy Bodenhamer said in a statement.
“With the expanding range of goods being bought online, retailers need best-of-breed solutions that can meet their needs, whether their products are toys, apparel, automotive, or home furnishings. Our new suite of products gives everyone access to ShipHawk’s world-class technology, starting with a free entry-level product.”
Finch & Fork Hires New Director of Food and Beverage
Santa Barbara’s Finch & Fork restaurant in downtown Santa Barbara has appointed industry veteran Rene Clemente as its new director of food and beverage.
Clemente brings more than 11 years of hospitality experience at some of the finest restaurants and hotels across the country. In his role at Finch & Fork, he will oversee food and beverage operations of the restaurant and hotel Canary Santa Barbara.
Prior to joining Finch & Fork, Clemente served in a similar role at Colorado’s Gateway Canyons Resort & Spa.
He was also director of banquets at the 5 Diamond St. Regis in Atlanta and food and beverage manager at the Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel.
— Noozhawk staff writer Gina Potthoff can be reached at gpotthoff@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.