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Hotels hopeful for quick comeback
JIM CLENDENEN, 1953-2021
Legendary winemaker known for his passion
Hospitality industry, hotels see increase in travelers, occupancy
Jim Clendenen taught the world about the local wine country By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
Hotel Indigo had to shut down for a few months over the course of COVID-19, resulting in furloughed team members.
By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
The hotel industry experienced the most devastating year on record in 2020, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s State of the Hotel Industry 2021 report released on Jan. 21, 2021. Travel restrictions from the pandemic resulted in historically low occupancy, massive job loss and hotel closures, making it one of the last predicted industries to recover. So far, COVID-19’s impact on the travel industry has been nine times that of the impact from the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. “Many of us longtime hoteliers have been through a lot of ups and downs, including 9/11, the economic crisis of 2008 and many more,” Warren Nocon, managing director for the Hotel Californian in downtown Santa Barbara, told the News-Press. “The COVID-19 pandemic has been like nothing we have ever seen or experienced before.” In fact, hotels have continually been the hardest-hit sector in Santa Barbara County, with more than half of jobs lost over the last year, and hotel occupancy countywide plummeted to 11% last spring at its lowest point. Nationally, in the forecasted state of the industry in 2021, the association found that the industry will remain nearly 500,000 jobs below pre-pandemic level employment levels; half of U.S. hotel rooms are projected to remain empty; and nearly half of consumers see vaccine distribution as key to travel. A couple local hotels and
By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
“The COVID-19 pandemic has been like nothing we have ever seen or experienced before,” said Warren Nocon, managing director for the Hotel Californian in downtown Santa Barbara.
leaders of local tourism agencies shared with the News-Press that over the course of the pandemic, hospitality workers faced suspending operations, furloughing staff, implementing evolving safety protocols, determining essential travelers versus nonessential travelers, handling bed tax revenue decreases and, overall, navigating the ambivalence of governmental orders directly impacting the future of their establishments. At the Hotel Californian, most of the Talent staff was
furloughed, a reality Mr. Nocon said was even worse than having to suspend hotel operations twice over the past year. “By far the most intense and difficult impact that the pandemic had for the hotel was having to furlough most of our Talent during those suspensions,” he said. “I have the pleasure of working with an incredibly talented and amazing group of people, and to have some of them away from the hotel for over a year has been heartbreaking.” Hotel Californian hasn’t
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to Bordeaux. At the time, Mr. Clendenen was a UCSB student. It took just a second trip to France in 1978, including a stay in Burgundy, to convince Mr. Clendenen to dedicate his life to winemaking. He returned that year to Santa Barbara and was hired as winemaker Ken Brown’s assistant at Zaca Mesa Winery. Mr. Clendenen learned more about winemaking when he left Zaca Mesa in 1980 and participated in the 1981 harvest in Burgundy. In 1982, he was back again in Santa Barbara, where he started Au Bon Climat with Adam Tolmach. (Today Mr. Tolmach owns Ojai Vineyard.) In 1989, Mr. Clendenen became Au Bon Climat’s sole owner. Besides his talent for wines, Mr. Clendenen was a talented cook. “He could cook anything from Indian to French to Italian, always with fresh ingredients,” Mr. Lindquist said. Mr. Clendenen is survived by his daughter, Isabelle Clendenen, 26, and son Knox Clendenen, 21. email: dmason@newspress.com
yet returned to pre-pandemic performance, but it was able to keep its cafe marketplace, Goat Tree, open to the public with an expanded outdoor patio throughout the whole pandemic. The hotel is now able to host weddings and corporate functions again, and reopened its Blackbird restaurant and Djinn library bar, both of which the managing director said have been staying busy. Across the street, Hotel Indigo saw historically low occupancy, Please see HOTELS on A2
Seniors in the Santa Barbara Unified School District will soon be dressing up for prom and donning caps and gowns for graduation — two traditions administrators have molded to changing health and safety guidelines. School staff and volunteers are working to ensure that although the events require masks, distancing and COVID-19 testing, seniors can still enjoy the occasion. San Marcos High School’s prom, set for May 31, will trade a dance floor for video games, arcade games, a silent disco and more. “The biggest question was whether students would be able
to dance. If they can’t dance, what can we have them do in a group, if we can have them in a group?” San Marcos Assistant Principal Dr. Analese Alvarez told the News-Press. A Royals alumna herself, Dr. Alvarez recalled her San Marcos prom from 25 years ago. The school held an after party with games to keep students up all night. Administrators took this “after prom” idea from years ago as a concept for prom 2021. They hired an entertainment company and booked an 80-foot-long video game wall, arcade games, casino-style games and headphones for a silent disco. The school’s PTSA (parentteacher-student association) Please see ADAPT on A4
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Winemaker Jim Clendenen died Saturday night in his sleep at his Buellton home. He was 68.
Proms, graduations adapt to pandemic
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Jim Clendenen, a Santa Barbara County legend, will be remembered for his pinot noirs, his Chardonnays, his love for Burgundys and his seemingly endless knowledge of what makes a great wine. A wine enthusiast, a great cook and a beloved mentor, Mr. Clendenen traveled to France and learned firsthand about winemaking. He brought that knowledge back to Santa Barbara County. Conversely, he educated the world about the local wine country. Mr. Clendenen, owner of the Santa Barbara winery Au Bon Climat, died Saturday night in his sleep at his Buellton home. He was 68. “He was larger than life,” Bob Lindquist, Mr. Clendenen’s partner at Clendenen Lindquist Vintners in Santa Maria, told the News-Press on Monday. “He was a champion of Santa Barbara County wines. He traveled all over the world, promoting them. “He was a great winemaker,” Mr. Lindquist continued. “He knew everybody in the business, whether they were chefs or winemakers or wine journalists. He was one of those guys who got around. “He had a passion for wines — Burgundy in particular,” Mr. Lindquist said. “He studied vigorously the wines of the world, especially the wines of Burgundy,” Mr. Lindquist said. “He was able to bring that kind of passion to his own wines at Au Bon Climat. “He taught me pretty much everything I know about wineries,” Mr. Lindquist said. “He was my mentor and my boss at Zaca Mesa Vineyard (in Los Olivos). We worked together to perfect our craft.” Mr. Clendenen was born Jan. 11, 1953, in Akron, Ohio. He became a wine enthusiast after a 1974 trip to France and a visit
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