Reader Wendy noticed this message from Beans BBQ on Instagram. They opened last March at 1230 State Street in the space once occupied by Saigon:
As many of you can imagine, rent on State Street is no small feat, and like the hundreds of small businesses that have tried and failed before us, we are close to losing our little slice of heaven on State and Victoria. We say this not to scare anyone or make them sad, but to give you an insight to the reality of being a small business trying our best to be successful in this city. No matter the quality of food we provide, stellar service, etc- if people aren’t walking through the doors daily and patronizing our establishment, we will not survive here much longer.
That being said- the Beans Fam is built with tenacity and stick-with-it-ness unlike most and we will not be going down without a fight! Please continue to come visit us to eat, order online for takeout when you feel like it and spread the word! We’ve only been here six months and we’d love to continue to stay here for years to come and become an intricate part of the downtown business family. Thanks for the memories, the eats, the laughs, we love Santa Barbara and we want to stay as long as we can!
Much Love,
Mama K, Baby Bean & the rest of the crazy fam damily.
Courtesy
The traditional BBQ restaurant business model doesn’t seem to work here. How many have come and gone over the years no matter how good the food is?
No solace I know.
There’s the BBQ restaurants in disguise like Shalhoob and Barbareno that have done well.
We should have one. The reviews are good.
I wish there was an easy solution to the State Street problem. I remember when I first arrived as a UCSB student in 2002 it was so vibrant. Now it’s filled with vacancies. Is it mostly to do with landlord greed? Not right types of businesses? I’ve visited other places in the US with similar downtown areas that easily maintain small businesses and thriving shopping districts like State Street. I hope things can turn around soon.