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The Santa Barbara Public Market has a new restaurant and cafe.
Little Heart Cafecito opened inside the Public Market, at 38 W. Victoria St., on Saturday, and business was booming by Wednesday when Noozhawk visited the shop.
“We make everything with love,” said Andres Velasco, a supervisor at the cafe and restaurant. “We want to keep the same consistency of making everything in-hand. All of our syrups are made in-hand.”
The chocolate is imported from Oaxaca, Mexico, and then the crew mixes it with their own local spices for mochas, hot chocolate and coffee.
“We are proud of making everything in house,” Velasco said.
The cafe is owned Ramon Velasquez and the family who owns the Corazon Cocina, which is next to Little Heart Cafecito in the Public Market.
The cafe also sells breakfast burritos, breakfast tacos, chilaquiles and other Mexican food.
“No where in town can you find something super fast and super affordable,” Velasco said.
He said the new cafe is referred to as the Corazon Cocina’s “little brother.”
“We are excited,” Velasco said.
Little Heart Cafecito is open every day from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Mexican-style breakfast is served from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Leta Is Branded
The Kimpton Goodland Hotel has a new name — The Leta.
AWH Partners purchased the Kimpton Goodland Hotel last year, along with four other properties throughout California for $240 million.
The hotel also has a new management company, Spire Hospitality.
The name, according to a press release, is “a nod to the city of Goleta” — the last four letters.
“The Leta is an elevated historic hotel rooted in the California vibe and beach culture of Santa Barbara,” General Manager Barry Dorsey said in a statement. “It will continue to be a Santa Barbara-led team. The Leta Hotel will continue to be everything guests love, but elevated with significant investment in refreshing the guest experience to make it the perfect escape for work and play.”
Spire Hospitality operates 29 hotels and resorts, including the Villa Florence Hotel in San Francisco, TopNotch Resort in Stowe, Vermont, and High Peaks Resort in Lake Placid, New York, among other properties throughout the country, according to the release.
Modern Times Beer Closes
Modern Times Beer announced on Valentine’s Day the closure of several of its breweries, including the one on the 400 block of State Street in Santa Barbara.
“It is a surreal and painful turn of events for us, and we realize that the suddenness of it puts many people we care about in very difficult positions,” the company’s blog post states.
The company said that “as new leadership has stepped up and taken the helm over the last few weeks, it became clear that the financial state of the company that we are now tasked with directing is not just unsustainable, but in immediate and unavoidable peril. As a result of this, we are forced to make some incredibly hard choices, which — while necessary for the health and continued success of our company — will result in many of our talented, hardworking staff losing their jobs.”
Other restaurants identified as closing include ones in Portland, Oakland, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles.
Point Loma, North Park, Encinitas and Anaheim locations will remain open.
Hotel Bed Taxes Still Rising
Santa Barbara collected $1.43 million in transient occupancy taxes for January, about $1 million more than the same month a year ago.
Compared with January 2020, revenues were higher by 9%, according to Jennifer Tomaszewski, finance and treasury manager for the city. The increase, however, is largely because of increased average daily rates, which are 37% higher than January 2020.
Although the demand for rooms increased in January, the Omicron variant of COVID-19 slowed the growth a bit.
So far this fiscal year through January, the city has collected $18.1 million. The city’s adopted transient occupancy tax budget for the year is $23.4 million.
Firm Expands
C&D LLP has added Kyle Gotcher to its firm.
Gotcher joined C&D in 2009 and now he joins Matthew Watson, Stephen Palmer, Mike Sgobba and Tammy Vogsland as a partner at the Santa Ynez Valley’s largest accounting firm.
He has broad experience in tax compliance and planning for high net worth individuals, estates and trusts, real estate, and closely held businesses, according to a news release.
“We’re very pleased to have Kyle join the C&D partnership,” said Matthew Watson, CPA, and managing partner of C&D.
Gotcher earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.
The firm employs 28 people, including 12 certified public accountants, and serves a widely diversified clientele that includes individuals and companies from both within and outside the local area, according to a news release.
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
