The Crushcakes Café in Montecito has closed after a mere four months as the business readjusts to accommodate its recent merger with Simply Pies.
Crushcakes owner and Santa Barbara native Shannon Gaston sent a message to customers late last week noting that as of Monday, she would no longer operate at 1150 Coast Village Rd., Suite E, which opened in May as a fourth Crushcakes location.
“Since our purchase of Simply Pies, we have become increasingly busy,” Gaston said, adding that the decision was made with a heavy heart.
“We want to focus on what we do well and in order to do that, we will be passing our Montecito shop to friends of ours.”
A new concept called Bree’Osh Bakery will open at the storefront in October, she said, offering coffee, savory breakfast, lunches and brioche.
According to the eatery’s Facebook page, Bree’Osh is a café and food truck run by a French chef desiring “a friendly and hipster atmosphere.”
Gaston called it an authentic French bakery and coffee shop owned by friends — Pierre and Nelly Henry — specializing in homemade brioche with local ingredients.
“You will enjoy the savory brioche buns with poached eggs, French cheese and a delicious béchamel sauce and love the sweet brioches with chocolate, almond cream or with ‘praline rose,’” she said.
The new owners, a husband-and-wife duo hailing from France, told Noozhawk they had been searching for the perfect location for months before Gaston offered them the visible Coast Village Road spot. They hope to open within two weeks.
“We are really excited about this experience,” said Pierre Henry, who brings years of expertise working under some of the best bakers in Paris.
Gaston founded Crushcakes locally in 2008, opening a location at 1315 Anacapa St. in Santa Barbara before adding cafes in Carpinteria and Isla Vista.
This summer, she announced the 6533 Trigo Rd., Suite 105 location would close because Crushcakes had acquired Simply Pies and moved into its home base at 5392 Hollister Ave. in Goleta.
Simply Pies’ former owner Hallie Katnic stayed on in the kitchen and — at the time — Gaston said she hoped Simply Pies products would eventually be available at all four Crushcakes locations.
Simply Pies was also founded in 2008, with the original owners selling the business to Katnic last year.
The plan is still to have both menus available at the three remaining Crushcakes locations, which all switched to a Crushcakes & Simply Pies banner.
— 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.