New ownership abruptly closes 70 Coco’s and Carrows restaurants, lays off staff
It happened almost overnight. More than 70 Coco’s Bakery Restaurants and Carrows Restaurants were shut down in the span of a few days in early April, including nearly every location in the Tri-Counties. Food Management Partners, the San Antonio-based firm that bought the chains in late March, closed the doors on many locations so Read More →
Milo takes home top honors at UCSB’s New Venture Competition
Six teams emerged from an initial 40 to vie for a pool of $41,500 in cash prizes at the competition, which has been around for 16 years and has produced companies like BioIQ, Phone Halo, Sirigen and Inogen.
Craft brewing’s steady rise: StartupSB panel forecasts growth for boutique labels
Firestone Walker Brewing Co.’s flagship beer, 805, is the best thing that ever happened to Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co., according to Jaime Deitenhofer, founder of the growing Buellton-based label. The adoption of 805 by traditional macro-beer drinkers as their go-to adult beverage has given Fig Mountain and other startup craft breweries in the region Read More →
Refugio oil spill raises important questions for South Coast
The estimated 105,000-gallon oil spill that will ruin Memorial Day for thousands of visitors to Refugio State Beach in Santa Barbara County is a reminder of how much environmental issues have become economic stories. Santa Barbara County is so heavily dependent on hotel-related taxes that it literally can’t afford the kind of environmental disaster that Read More →
One year later, Isla Vista faces murky future over safety
A year after the murder of six UC Santa Barbara students shook the beachside community of Isla Vista, residents grapple with public safety issues while a bill providing the community of 20,000 with a quasi-independent governing body sits in the California state legislature. Just about 2 square miles wide and situated alongside the UCSB Read More →
MIT forum in Santa Barbara focuses on remote healthcare technology
A white, rolling 5-foot robot mounted with an LCD screen roamed around the Cabrillo Arts Pavilion Wednesday night. While it’s not a typical sight at the pavilion, it’s a growing presence in the healthcare industry. Yulun Wang, the founder and CEO of Goleta-based telehealth firm InTouch Health, used the robot, called RP-VITA, to demonstrate how Read More →
