Our 164th Year
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T U E S DAY, M AY 12 , 2 0 2 0
RAFAEL MALDONADO/NEWS-PRESS
Jocelyn Jones, owner of Sandcastle Time jewelry and watch repair shop in Carpinteria, plans to test out curbside shopping next week.
Time to reopen
Sandcastle Jewelry owner says there’s no substitute for being in the store By PAUL GONZALEZ NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
RAFAEL MALDONADO/NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
Blenders in the Grass, 720 State St., has seen more business on warmer days.
More customers cooling off Uptick in business seen at local ice cream, smoothie, juice shops, but owners remain concerned about COVID-19’s impact By CHRISTIAN WHITTLE NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
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efore this week’s cooler weather, summerlike heat was hitting Santa Barbara over the past few weeks. Hundreds went outside to enjoy 80-degree temperatures and the county’s beaches amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. While businesses continue to struggle with the pandemic, some of Santa Barbara’s local ice cream, smoothie, juice and frozen yogurt shops have seen more customers as people snagged tasty treats to cool off. At Mission Street Ice Cream and Yogurt, owner Bob Moss saw a significant increase in pickup and delivery orders in recent times. “The warm weather gave us a shot in the arm. We really needed
it badly, and it brings us back to, at least for this last week, more of a normal week,” Mr. Moss told the News-Press in late April. “It’s been very wonderful and badly needed.” While some businesses have shut down entirely during the pandemic, Mission Street has remained open for pickup from 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10:30 a.m. to 11.30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. It’s also begun offering delivery through GrubHub, Doordash, and Postmates. With delivery now a go-to for many customers, Mission Street has seen the amount of business done through the apps quadruple during the pandemic. “That’s been the biggest trend in comparison to normal,” said Mr. Moss. “That’s been very big.” Typically Mission Street would only get three or four delivery
calls an evening, now they’re seeing 20 to 30. With the recent warm weather, Mr. Moss said both delivery and pickup orders have been close to average for this time of year. On one recent day, he had almost 50 pickups. “The pickup orders are usually larger in terms of orders than if people come in,” said Mr. Moss. “I’m just hoping for the best that it’s only going to get better.” Other local businesses have also seen a trend towards normal over the weekend. Xavier Speer, supervisor for Blenders in the Grass, 720 State St., said he saw a very busy weekend in late April and had a couple hours “that were really crazy.” “It correlated with the heat,” Mr. Speer said. Before the heatwave, the State Street location was practically
dead, but Mr. Speer expressed hope that the positive trend would continue with warmer days. “We’re definitely going to see more business.” There were positive signs elsewhere as well. “This week it started getting a lot busier,” said Emily Murillo, a cashier at the Downtown Santa Barbara Juice Ranch, in late April. “A lot of customers come in after the beach getting smoothies and juice.” While the local McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams locations have been closed since March 15, the flagship location at 728 State St. began offering curbside pickup in late April, bringing a little bit of business to the Santa Barbara favorite. “We know that there was some Please see cooling off on A8
At left, a worker prepares a drink at Blenders in the Grass. At right, Mission Street Ice Cream and Yogurt has seen more pickup and delivery orders in recent times.
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ew coronavirus regulations have expanded the types of businesses that can reopen for curbside service. However, for some stores, there’s still no substitute for inperson shopping. Jocelyn Jones has owned Sandcastle Time jewelry and watch repair shop for 23 years. She said that she temporarily reopened the shop, located at 1078 Casitas Pass Road in Carpinteria, for Mother’s Day weekend. “People would call me up, locals that know my product, and I would leave it at the front door,” Ms. Jones told the News-Press as she unlatched the steel security door. Inside, the shop was filled with everything from calfskin handbags to diamond necklaces
and little trinkets like dragonfly pendants. “March first was my 23rd anniversary, and I haven’t even had a chance to change the sign yet,” Ms. Jones said. The Carpinteria Rotary Club taped an encouraging message to the front of the shop. “We will be here to support you when you Re-Open!” the flyer read. Ms. Jones said she plans to test out curbside shopping next week, but the tactile nature of her business makes that limitation a challenge. “I really am a touching business. You really need to see it and touch it to know if you want to buy it,” Ms. Jones said. “Unfortunately, I don’t have an online store. I was doing some FaceTime with people, showing them the store and doing sales that way, but there wasn’t a lot of interest. You need to touch the jewelry and try it on and browse. This is a browsing kind of store,” Please see sandcastle on A8
Noteworthy lessons Santa Barbara Symphony’s Music Education Center continues instruction online By JOSH GREGA NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
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private lessons and independent studies programs, 175 are now going through its online-only instruction. Because of the many challenges the pandemic puts upon students and their families, the online MEC courses aren’t mandatory. To handle its virtual sectional classes, MEC has retained 12 local professional musicians to serve as teaching artists as well as two conductors. Instructors include Marisa McLeod, conductor of the Camerata Orchestra and Philharmonia Orchestra, and Youth Symphony conductor Andy Radford. Ms. McLeod and Mr. Radford preside over sectional classes for their primary instruments, violin and viola, respectively. Additionally, Ms. McLeod presides over a parents’ forum, a half-hour Zoom session during which parents can check in with conductors, and Mr. Radford curates Symphonic Chats, which
eaching in schools and beyond has shifted to an online format to accommodate the social distancing needed to curtail the spread of COVID19, and the Santa Barbara Symphony has done likewise with its Music Education Center’s programming. The MEC consists of four youth ensembles: the Bridge Orchestra, Camerata String Ensemble, Philharmonia Orchestra and Youth Symphony. The center hasn’t transferred its weekly fullgroup rehearsals to Zoom, but rather subdivided those groups into sectionals for 18 separate online courses. In an interview with the News-Press, symphony education programs manager Kristine Pacheco said that of the 10,000 students MEC instructs in a year through its ensembles, Please see noteworthy on A8
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