Tydes Restaurant to reopen in Montecito

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

“Death is taboo to talk about in American culture, but we need to talk about it. It’s a part of life,” Kim Cantin, author of “Where Yellow Flowers Bloom,” tells the News-Press during a recent interview at A.C. Postel Memorial Rose Garden.

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Kim Cantin will sign copies of her new book, “Where Yellow Flowers Bloom: A True Story of Hope through Unimaginable Loss” (Precocity Press), at 6 p.m. April 20 at Chaucer’s Books, 3321 State St., Santa Barbara, and 3 p.m. April 29 at Tecolote Book Shop, 1470 East Valley Road, Suite 52, Montecito. The book is sold at both stores and Amazon. com.

For more information about Ms. Cantin or to contact her about a speaking engagement, go to kimcantin.com.

By CALEB BEEGHLY

NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT

Kim Cantin and her family’s story has gotten a lot of press, but their story, from their perspective, has never been fully shared publicly until now.

“Where Yellow Flowers Bloom: A True Story of Hope through Unimaginable Loss” (Precocity Press) follows the Santa Barbara author’s journey from desperate grief to peace following the 2018 Montecito mudslides.

On the night of Jan. 9, 2018, Ms. Cantin was swept two football fields away from her home.

While she and her daughter, Lauren, were rescued (their first-person accounts of the night, along with the account of the Montecito firefighters who rescued Lauren, are shared), Ms.

Tydes Restaurant and the rest of the Coral Casino Beach and Cabana Club have been closed since the beginning of the pandemic.

Now, plans are underway to reopen the Montecito restaurant to the general public.

The club was formerly associated with the Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara, which is across the street and has been closed since the pandemic started. The club and the Biltmore are owned by Montecito tycoon Ty Warner, who invented Beanie Babies, but the Biltmore is no longer involved with the club’s management.

The club has been undergoing renovation work.

“The Development Plan Amendment, approved by the Montecito Planning Commission on April 5, does not include any proposed structural alterations to the existing restaurant,” Alia Vosburg, the Santa Barbara County planner involved with the Coral Casino project, told the News-Press in an email.

“Additionally, the amendment does not make any change to the maximum allowed restaurant seating, which was established by Condition No. 62 of the previously approved development plan.”

“Previously, registered overnight Biltmore Hotel guests were allowed regular use of the Coral Casino facility,” Ms. Vosburg said. “Under the Development Plan Amendment, (with the exception of the Tydes Restaurant) regular use of the Coral Casino facility is now limited to club members and their guests.” email: kzehnder@newspress.com new book, “Where Yellow

Kelly Campbell, director of membership sales for Ty Warner Hotels and Resorts, has declined to comment at this time.

Bloom,” blossomed in time for its official launch on April

Cantin’s husband, David, and son, Jack, did not make it.

Ms. Cantin started writing “Where Yellow Flowers Bloom” during the COVID-19 lockdown. Prior to this, Ms. Cantin was not an author, but a senior director of marketing communication and strategy in the medical device industry. But at the recommendation of close friends, she started writing as a way to remember the events that happened (and were continuing to happen as they continued to look for Jack) and to preserve David and Jack’s memory for future generations.

Ms. Cantin will sign copies at 6 p.m. April 20 at Chaucer’s Books in Santa Barbara and at 3 p.m. April 29 at Tecolote Book Shop in Montecito. The book is available at both stores and on Amazon. com.

Ms. Cantin talked to the NewsPress about her new book during a recent interview at the A.C. Postel Memorial Rose Garden in front of the Santa Barbara

Mission.

She explained that when she was first writing her story, she held back on some details. But her editors pushed her to tell more about her family because they knew that people would want to know who they were.

As a result, “Where Yellow Flowers Bloom” is very vulnerable and raw, to which Ms. Cantin said, “That’s what humanity is about. It’s not about pretense.”

Please see NEW BOOK on A4