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Underneath the iconic cow, Bossie’s Kitchen has opened on the corner of Canon Perdido and Milpas streets in Santa Barbara.
“It’s been a lifelong dream,” said chef and co-owner Lauren Herman.
She and her wife, Christina Olufson, also a chef and co-owner, moved from Los Angeles to open the eatery.
The two married about five years ago at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse. When they were looking out above the city from the clocktower, they said, “Wouldn’t it be great to live here?”
Now they do.
“We love this corner,” Olufson said. “We love the building and its style, the art deco aspect of it.”
“We love the cow on top,” Herman said.
The original building was home to the Live Oak Dairy, constructed in 1939. The dairy was built at a time when there were more than 10 dairies operating in the area.
The building served as Live Oak’s new creamery/processing plant. The top of the building features a calf looking back at its mother, Bossie, the cow.
For now they are open at 4:30 p.m. for happy hour, Tuesday-Friday; Saturday and Sunday they begin dinner service at 5 p.m. They also specialize in cookies and other pastries. Soon they will offer donuts and churros.
Eventually, the two said, they want to serve “lunchboxes” — sandwich, chips, soda, to the students from Santa Barbara High School. They are also planning special happy hours after Santa Barbara Bowl shows.
People can order at the counter and take it to go, and there are also tables inside for people who want to eat at the restaurant. Meal items include seasonal salads, sandwiches, soups chicken, macaroni and cheese, fresh fruit and vegetables plates.
“We just want to make it easy for people to grab a quick, nutritious bite of food that is going to be good,” Herman said. “We want to keep it casual, so people can drop in, and come and go as they please.”
Romo Goes Back to His Roots
Santa Barbara-native Ben Romo has launched a private consulting firm, Romo & Associates. Romo said the firm specializes in government relations, community engagement, strategic communications and organizational leadership and change.
“I have been super lucky throughout my career to work in a range of areas that align with my core values — helping others by supporting people, communities, organizations, and systems to be more successful and impactful,” Romo said. “Having a positive impact in the world is a requirement of any project we take on.”
Romo began his career in 1996 working on the campaigns and congressional offices of U.S. Representatives Walter and Lois Capps. He parlayed that into a political consulting firm through which he managed and supported dozens of local campaigns in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties.
In 2005, Romo left the political arena for a job at the Santa Barbara County Education Office. In 2012, Romo became the executive director of First 5 of Santa Barbara County, an agency that invests sales taxes on cigarettes into programs and strategies that help children get ready for kindergarten.
In 2018, Romo left his position at First 5 for a one-year special assignment as the community recovery and engagement coordinator for the County Office of Emergency Management.
In that role, he created and oversaw the Montecito Center for Preparedness, Recovery, and Rebuilding, a centralized hub serving the hundreds of residents and families who were most affected by the Jan. 9 debris flows.
“Creating positive change — whether at the individual, neighborhood, organizational, or community level — requires a strategic approach, the engagement of diverse resources, and effective implementation leading to clear and measurable results,” Romo said. “We are excited to support the many people and organizations doing profoundly important work in Santa Barbara County and beyond.”
Commercial Property Sales Decline in 2018
Santa Barbara County’s South Coast saw 79 commercial property sales in 2018, the lowest since 2011, and a 16-percent drop below the prior five-year average, according to a report from Hayes Commercial Group.
“Commercial sales on the South Coast in 2018 did not quite match the remarkable levels generated in the prior five years, as the impacts of the Thomas Fire and Montecito debris flow set a more subdued pace for most of the year,” according to Ted Hoagland, marketing director for Hayes.
The fourth quarter showed the highest dollar volume quarter on record, excluding hotel sales; there were four $15-million-plus sales in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Target’s purchase of 3891 State St. in Santa Barbara was for $27 million. A property at 75 Robin Hill Road in Goleta also sold for $27 million. RAF Pacifica purchased five entitled parcels in Goleta’s Cabrillo Business Park, listed for $26 million, according to Hayes.
Owner-user buyers represented more than half of all transactions for the year, which is “unprecedented,” according to Hayes.
Investor-only puchases decreased in 2018. There were 38 investor transactions in 2018, compared to 61 in 2017.
“No doubt, the disasters played a part in this drop,” the report states. “However, the evidence, not to mention the sense among brokers, suggests that underlying investor demand has stepped down a notch since the unprecedented rally from mid-2012 through 2017.”
Hoagland said that the first quarter of 2019 will likely be slow, as the market recovers from the high volume of the previous quarter.
“Owner-users will continue to drive a large share of sales, as long as the economy keeps eluding recession,” the report states. “There have been many recent price reductions on investment property, which may entice hesitant investors into action. This softening of pricing is expected to push cap rates upward during the coming year.”
— 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.
