Montecito natural Foods to close

The second oldest Coast Village Road tenant set to leave after 60 years

By CALEB BEEGHLY NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT

Montecito Natural Foods recently received its 90-day vacate notice by the property lease holder, Jim Rosenfield.

Montecito Natural Foods has been in place for the last 60 years, which does not happen without building an intimate relationship with the Santa Barbara community.

This is due, in part, to the workers’ passion for their store.

Matt Moseby, who has been in the nutrition supplement field since 1980, explained how every Montecito Natural Foods employee is invested in ensuring that each customer walks away with the best option for them.

This commitment to the customer led Montecito Natural Foods to stay open during the 2018 Montecito mudslides and during the pandemic.

And Montecito Natural Foods is the oldest tenant at the Montecito Country Mart shopping center and is the second oldest tenant on Coast Village Road, Mr. Moseby said.

The store’s pride and commitment to the community has not been unappreciated. Store owner Slim Gomez said that many customers have said they would like to protest the store’s closure.

However, Ms. Gomez said that the store would most likely close before the vacate notice is due. And although specifics are unclear, there is already another tennant lined up to take Montecito Natural Foods’ place.

Simply put, Mr. Moseby describes the reason for the store closing as this: “(Mr. Rosenfield) has a certain vision, and he wants that vision.

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