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A Lure Fish House seafood restaurant will move into Santa Barbara’s La Cumbre Plaza sometime next summer.

The regional restaurant chain, founded in Camarillo in 2010, plans to occupy the front 7,200 square feet of the former Ruth’s Chris Steak House at 3815 State St., according to Micah Thomas, vice president of Lure Fish House operations.

Thomas said what remains of the 10,000-square-foot space will be divided up and leased out to retail tenants, opening out onto the center of the outdoor mall walkway.


The company, which also has locations in Ventura and Westlake Village, is still working to gain the rest of its permits but has signed a lease on the La Cumbre space.

Lure Fish House specializes in providing locally caught seafood and organically grown local produce, with an oyster bar that serves a variety of fresh items that vary daily.

Dunkin’ Donuts Coming to Town

Two Dunkin’ Donuts locations will be coming to Santa Barbara sometime after 2015, but where and exactly when are still up in the air.

The East Coast national purveyor of coffee and donuts has tasked its franchisee for the area, The Tasty Group LLC, to develop two restaurants in Santa Barbara and eight more throughout Ventura County over the coming years, according to company spokesman Justin Drake.

The first of those locations will open in 2016, but Dunkin’ Donuts had no other information to share on a specific time frame this week, he said.

Dunkin’ Donuts has plans to open as many as 1,000 restaurants throughout California, beginning in Southern California.

Zizzo’s Coffee Seeks Alcohol License

Zizzo’s Coffee in Goleta could soon be selling alcohol, and a sign outside the business is notifying locals of the fact.

Owner Michael McDonald told Noozhawk he hopes to sell beer and wine in addition to caffeinated beverages, applying recently for a special license to do so. Zizzo’s has been open at 370 Storke Road for six years.

It would probably be three to four weeks before Zizzo’s could serve alcohol, barring approvals from the state and City of Goleta.

McDonald said he wants to provide an opportunity for locals to drink beer in a non-bar setting, and noted customers would not be able to buy alcohol at the drive-through.

Stinky’s Grill Closes

Stinky’s Grill in Santa Maria has closed after spending 15 years in its original location at 2430 S. Broadway.

Restaurant representatives said the store closed for good last week and will not be relocating.

The lease wasn’t up, but the landlord decided against renewing Stinky’s lease, opting instead to put a Starbucks in the location, said a restaurant employee, who was happy to see such an outpouring of love from loyal customers in the local joint’s final days.

Heritage Oaks Appoints Branch Manager

Luis Villegas has joined Heritage Oaks Bank as vice president and branch manager of the Goleta office at 5738 Calle Real, which will open later this year.

Villegas has extensive banking management and business development experience, including several years as a senior relationship banker with Santa Barbara Bank & Trust. He previously served as the Hispanic segment market manager for Pacific Capital Bancorp.

Villegas is a graduate of Santa Barbara City College and UC Santa Barbara.

Sientra Makes Public Offering

Goleta-based Sientra, a medical aesthetics company, this week celebrated its initial public offering by ringing the opening bell on the NASDAQ on Wednesday.

Metro Entertainment Celebrates Anniversary

Santa Barbara’s Metro Entertainment will celebrate 24 years in business Saturday by throwing a birthday party at its downtown location.

The comic book store at 6 W. Anapamu St. is hosting a free autograph signing with four Star Wars voice actors, a number of fully costumed Star Wars characters, party food, drink and a storewide sale.

— 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.