Our 164th Year
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Council reopens State Street By MITCHELL WHITE NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
first to eat here. It’s a pleasure, it feels like freedom,” she said. Many customers who were out at restaurants expressed a similar sense of relief that they can finally go out and eat. Santa Barbara resident Danielle Ivie, who was seated on the patio of The Habit Burger Grill waiting for an order, called the return of in-person dining “amazing.” “It’s been an eternity since we’ve been able to do something like this. Just sitting down while I order my food is pretty epic,” she said. As Santa Barbara resident Brenna Robinson was enjoying a beer on the patio of Night Lizard Brewing Company, she described the experience of being out at an eatery “surreal.” She added that passersby
Following action by the Santa Barbara City Council earlier this week to allow foodservice businesses to create temporary outdoor dining areas, portions of State Street were transformed into a pedestrian promenade Friday afternoon. From Haley Street to Sola Street, the roadway was shut down to vehicular traffic as restaurants had the option to set up their outdoor dining areas. The plan was aimed at creating ample room for people to stoll in a safe, and social-distanced manner. The council voted unanimously Tuesday to ratify preliminary recommendations from the city’s COVID-19 Business Advisory Task Force and city staff for the temporary dining areas, according to officials. “Our City Council was inspired by the recommendation of the City’s business advisors. They know their clientele, and they understand that Santa Barbarans value creativity. We all want to reconnect with our local businesses and support their endeavor,” said Mayor Cathy Murillo in a news release. The draft emergency measures to help businesses with outdoor dining with social distancing is expected to require restaurants to reduce their indoor seating capacity. In addition, the city will hold its own California Alcoholic Beverage Control licensing workshop next week to help businesses who need help navigating the expansion of their current licensing onto outdoor dining space. “Alcohol licensed establishments may not serve alcoholic beverages in the expanded space until they receive an emailed written authorization from the Alcoholic Beverage Control – after the vendor submits the required paperwork and pays the State an administrative fee. The regional ABC Offices are closed to the public until Tuesday,” said Anthony Wagner, spokesman for the Santa Barbara Police Department. The workshop will be held from 10:30 a.m. to noon May 27. It will include a State ABC expert to help answer questions. A facilitated document drop will take place May 28. Local alcohollicensed businesses can sign up ahead of time to participate in the workshop at the following link. https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/ register/499828497463987723. The Webinar ID is 674-578-659. During a webinar hosted by the UCSB Economic Forecast Project Thursday afternoon, City Administrator Paul Casey and Downtown Santa Barbara President Bob Stout talked about what reopening State Street would look like. The webinar was held before the decision to create the pedestrian promenade, though both Mr. Casey and Mr. Stout shared insight into what was being done to reopen the local economy and help businesses that have been struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic and government and health mandates. During the video conference, Mr. Stout said that for the first time in several weeks he was starting to see some enthusiasm based on the steps the city had
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RAFAEL MALDONADO/NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
Diners enjoy meals outside Joe’s Cafe as State Street experienced a revival Friday.
State Street revived Restaurants open for in-person dining, street becomes promenade
At left, Chase Restaurant is among restaurants welcoming customers. At right, located at Haley and State streets, The Cruisery offers a “Doggie Flight.”
By JOSH GREGA NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
T
he dead calm that has characterized State Street since restaurants and shops closed their doors due to COVID-19 shutdowns was interrupted Friday, as people trafficked the sidewalks in the late morning and early afternoon to make their way to their favorite restaurants. Only this time, it wasn’t to take food to go. On Thursday, the Santa Barbara County Public Health Officer came up with criteria for safely reopening restaurant and retail businesses after they go through a selfcertification process on the county website. A couple days earlier on Tuesday, the City Council unanimously voted to “Lift Up Santa Barbara,” which would allow
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restaurants to create temporary outdoor dining areas by expanding their patios on to public space. This is made possible by sealing off traffic from State Street blocks ranging from Haley Street to Sola Street, effectively turning the street into a promenade. According to a news release, the City Council’s action was deliberately timed “in tandem” with the Public Health Officer’s criteria. Though there were noticeably more people walking up and down State Street Friday morning than any day in the past two months, it wasn’t close to the bustling of before the COVID-19 pandemic. With the soft opening of the makeshift State Street promenade scheduled for 4 p.m., streets hadn’t been blocked and restaurants hadn’t yet extended their
dining areas by late morning. However, some wasted no time in accommodating diners on their patios. For Chase Restaurant, getting that first customer after a few months of only doing takeout orders was a big deal. The NewsPress saw owner Jack Mathis take a cell phone photograph with his first sit-down customers since pandemic restrictions started. Those first customers were a party of four that included regular patron Jaye Taylor. Ms. Taylor told the News-Press that she has been going to Chase Restaurant for three decades and that it was the first place she thought of visiting when she heard restaurants were to start reopening. The fact that she can finally go there, sit down, and have a meal feels “like freedom.” “Thirty years I’ve been coming here and it’s a fluke that we’re even here being the
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