Novato-based Winery Exchange has purchased Chronic Cellars out of Paso Robles, a young winery known for its red-wine blends and counter-culture branding. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Chronic Cellars is best known for red blends such as its zinfandel-based Purple Paradise and its syrah-based Sofa King Bueno, Winery Exchange said in a Read More →
In another sign that the region’s tourism industry is entering boom times again, the city of Santa Barbara experienced double-digit growth in hotel taxes in the first eight months of its fiscal year. During the annual State of the City breakfast on March 24, City Manager Jim Armstrong said that Transient Occupancy Tax, or TOT, Read More →
On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Peter Work and wife Rebecca watched from the Newark, N.J., Airport as the twin towers of the World Trade Center went crashing down in a cloud of dust and debris.
[EDITOR’S NOTE: This story, originally published on March 20, was updated on March 31 with additional reporting.] When Paso Robles viticulture pioneer Gary Eberle was unexpectedly ousted as general manager at Eberle Winery in January, it sounded like the new majority partners had some radical changes in mind to boost profits. Eberle told several media Read More →
Developer and banker Michael Towbes and his wife, Anne, have made a $5 million gift to the Santa Barbara Center for the Performing Arts. The gift is irrevocable, the organization said in a March 17 announcement, and is in addition to the $15 million the couple has previously given to SBCPA.
Thousand Oaks-based energy crop firm Ceres has raised $23 million that it hopes will help it to break even as it continues testing its seeds in Brazil.
A Philadelphia company’s $41.7 million purchase of Hotel Oceana in Santa Barbara signals that large out-of-town investors are betting on a major boom in South Coast tourism.
