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Say goodbye to the Santa Barbara Blonde, Rincon Red and Pacific Pale Ale.
In less than two weeks, the iconic beers and the Santa Barbara Brewing Company will be nothing more than another State Street casualty.
The iconic brewery, at the corner of State and Haley streets, will shut its doors on Oct. 1, and the new owner will reopen the space at the end of the month as The Cruisery, a combination of cruiser and brewery.
The new owner, Aron Ashland, is no stranger to the beer and wine industry.
He is the current owner of Santa Barbara Wine Therapy and a former manager at Sandbar restaurant.
Ashland said he saw an opportunity to buy the Santa Barbara Brewing Company and rebrand it.
“We are going to change the feel of it in a lot of ways,” Ashland told Noozhawk. “We are going to keep making great beers and the best bar food we can come up with.”
Some downtown businesses have been struggling, and State Street has an 11-percent vacancy rate among retail storefronts.
The Santa Barbara Brewing Company was hit by multiple competitors and the recently opened Finney’s on the first block of State Street took a bite out of the brewery’s business model. More breweries have moved into the Funk Zone area and Night Lizard brewery on the 600 block of State Street also recently opened.
None of that discourages Ashland.
“I think it is the best spot in town,” he said. “I think we can change the whole block.”
The corner of State and Haley is really “the beginning of Santa Barbara,” he said. “We’re extremely excited.”
Gold’s Gym to reopen
Gold’s Gym SoCal will reopen its downtown Santa Barbara location, 21 W. Carrillo Street, after extensive remodeling with a celebration featuring free live entertainment, cash prizes and special membership offers, according to a news release.
“We are dedicated to raising the bar for the Gold’s Gym experience by evolving and expanding our offerings through these renovations,” said Gold’s Gym SoCal President and CEO Angel Banos. “We encourage everyone to come out to our grand opening and try firsthand all the new amenities that Gold’s Gym has to offer.”
The event will include free food, drinks, photo booth, strolling magicians and hourly door and raffle prizes that include a $1,000 cash prize and an electric pedal assist bike.
Renovations are set to begin next at the Goleta location, followed by the Santa Barbara uptown location, with the goal of improving all Gold’s Gyms in the Santa Barbara area by the end of the year, according to the company.
The 15,992 square-foot gym is open 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, and 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Crush Wine Tasting and Kitchen plans grand opening
Crush Wine Tasting and Kitchen, 432 E. Haley Street, is planning a grand opening on Sept. 27.
La Cumbre Country Club food and beverage manager Michael Amador and his certified professional matchmaker wife, Lisa, came up with the Crush idea almost five years ago and have developed the nickname, the “Amadorables.”
“I wouldn’t say it’s a dream come true since I’ve started restaurants,” Michael Amador said. “I would say it’s a project come true.” He previously worked as a chef at San Ysidro Ranch Resort and the Canary Hotel.
Crush will feature more than 20 Central Coast wines from small, boutique producers whose wines can’t be found in retail stores, according to Amador.
A Napa Technology wine dispenser is also available. Patrons buy a card, insert it into the dispenser and press a button for a taste, half glass or full measure of wine. On the Central Coast, the device is only available in Buellton and Ventura.
Crush will also serve beer, kombucha and soft drinks.
In addition to wine dinners, the Amadors plan to host meet-ups for singles and other groups. Lisa Amador recently re-branded her business as Amador Matchmaking, formerly Santa Barbara Matchmaking.
LogicMonitor adds to its executive team
Santa Barbara-based LogicMonitor has added two new members to its executive team
Mark Banfield, the former senior vice president of sales and international general manager at Datto (previously Autotask), joined LogicMonitor as chief revenue officer. Mark Kelly, former chief technology officer and chief information officer at Curvature, has been hired as senior vice president of customer experience.
Banfield and Kelly join during a period of rapid growth for LogicMonitor following Vista Equity Partners’ majority acquisition earlier this year, the company said in a press release.
— 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.