Businesses at El Centro Plaza seeking more foot traffic

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Business owners at El Centro Plaza in Santa Barbara are frustrated over the drop in foot traffic. 

“Our struggles are truly just getting people over to this side ... there's a lot of the traffic on State Street but a lot of people are not reaching out to see the little small businesses in the corridors," said owner Sarah Castellanos of Dos Vidas.

Castellanos and Kiersten Ozhelevskiy of Sunkissed Pantry are among several business owners at the plaza struggling to gain momentum in sales.

"It’s pretty challenging ... I’ve been open for almost a year ... and I still get people saying I had no idea this existed," said Ozhelevskiy.

Both owners said their struggles intensified since the recent closure of Fresco Restaurant.

"They really brought a lot of foot traffic to our corridor. Now it’s just very quiet … not a lot of people out," said Castellanos.

"It’s been pretty challenging as far as trying to get people to recognize that this is not an office building anymore ... and just trying to get the word out," said said Ozhelevskiy.

The owners said they hope to spread awareness for all the businesses at the plaza.

"My hope is that we can all kind of work together to build a community ... and see more people around in this area," said Ozhelevskiy.

Other businesses at El Centro Plaza include Sands Boutique and Maddie Cakes Aesthetics.