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Mollie’s is coming to Santa Barbara’s State Street.
The restaurant is owned by the same mother-son team who own Trattoria Mollie in Montecito.
The Italian-food eatery is set to open the first week of June at 1218 State St., the former site of Tupelo Junction.
“It is a fantastic location,” said Ali Ahlstrand, who operates both restaurants with his mother Mollie. “We have been looking to expand for a long time.”
Ahlstrand said property owner Ray Mahboob made him a nice offer on the space.
“Things clicked,” he said.
He said he’s making some interior improvements to the site, mostly cleaning, because the the inside had been “neglected” by a previous tenant.
There will be some slight reconfiguring and freshening up of the space, Ahlstrand said.
“This is a great opportunity to be inside the theatre district,” Ahlstrand said.
The restaurant will feature the same menu as the Montecito location.
Sign Ordinance Enforcement
The city of Santa Barbara will begin its enforcement of the sign ordinance, after more than 80 sign complaints and violations in recent months, mostly in the upper State Street, lower State and Milpas Street business corridors.
“Signs are an integral part of the cityscape and, as such, can enhance or detract from the city’s image and character,” said Jessica Grant, acting senior planning/zoning and enforcement supervisor. “The city has a sign ordinance in place in order to maintain the charming character of Santa Barbara and provide a fair playing field for merchants and business owners”
If a sign violation is verifed, the property owners and tenant will receive a warning letter stating the sign is in violation of the Santa Barbara Municipal Code.
If the sign violation is not addressed within the abatement date, the zoning enforcement officer will issue an administrative citation, and a fine will be imposed.
If the property owner/business does not abate the violation after three administrative citation letters, the case is referred to the City Attorney’s Office for further action.
New Bank Branch in Paso Robles
More than 300 people celebrated the grand opening of the American Riviera Bank branch in Paso Robles on May 16.
The new branch, 1601 Spring St., officially opened on Feb. 26. It is American Riviera Bank’s first full-service branch in San Luis Obispo County.
Paso Robles Mayor Steven W. Martin was in attendance.
“We had a fantastic turnout and enjoyed celebrating our grand opening with the business community,” said Jeff DeVine, president and chief executive officer of American Riviera Bank. “American Riviera Bank looks forward to bringing local decisions and relationship-based community banking back to Paso Robles,”
Martin, Paso Robles Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Gina Fitzpatrick, members of the Paso Robles City Council, and all 10 members of the bank’s board of directors took part in the celebration. The event featured catered hors d’oeuvres, wine and beer.
American Riviera Bank purchased the building in the fall of 2017. In addition to serving customers with personal accounts, the new branch offers business, commercial real estate, agricultural, residential mortgage, construction and Small Business Administration loans with an experienced loan team at the helm.
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.