On July 4, 2020, I wrote that Everytable, a grab & go restaurant, is coming to 1001 State Street, the former home of Saks Fifth Avenue, J.C. Penny, Wells Fargo Bank, and Crocker Bank. The eatery will be sharing space with Amazon which occupies most of the building. On August 19, 2021, I breathlessly wrote that Everytable had completed construction but to my big surprise they never opened.

Sources tell me that few people are working at the downtown Amazon office right now and that Everytable is waiting for Amazon employees to return to work before the eatery launches. I am told that, like most of the tech world, the Santa Barbara division of Amazon, which focuses on developing software for their Alexa product, started working remotely when the pandemic hit. And again, like most of the tech world, employees are not in a hurry to get back to the office because writing code in your pajamas, with a cat on your lap, can be quite enjoyable.

One local Amazon employee was asked when they are going back to physically working at the S.B. downtown office and their response was “never.” I hear that there may have been minor cutbacks in the Alexa division which also might be slowing things. So, the building has been mostly, but not totally, vacant for a few years. And Everytable waits.

Update from ready Franly805: “Amazon employees in Santa Barbara have been required to be in-office at least two days a week for the last few months. Layoffs were minimal (think, under 10 folks versus 150+ still employed). EveryTable should open or not, but not use Amazon employees as an excuse.”

Photo by The Restaurant Guy