Storefront pop-ups hope to bring the spark to State Street

A storefront on State Street is hoping to bring the energy back to State Street with four new pop-ups.

Dan Ferrick says he was tired of hearing about Santa Barbara’s struggle to fill State Street storefronts. So he worked to develop a plan to inject some energy back into downtown.

“I figure let’s just, let’s set an example and try something instead of just talking and yelling and blaming, and see how it goes,” Ferrick said. “And I have a feeling it’s gonna be wildly successful.”

Ferrick is the co-founder of Impact Hub–a collaborative workspace on State Street. Just a few doors down, he helped fill a vacancy with not one, but four local businesses.

The shared space is called ‘mosaic.’ He says a revenue split plan with landlords gives these small local businesses flexibility in how long they can stay open. And sharing a space allows them to afford the rent.

“To have a ramp-up time for your business is critical,” Ferrick said. “Some of these small businesses get buried before they even open their door in debt. I don’t want that to happen to my local community and businesses. We need to see people thrive.”

Hook and Press Donuts certainly thrived during its soft opening Wednesday morning. The store sold out of its inventory of about 250 doughnuts in just one hour.

John Burnett, the owner, is excited about the turnout so far. He’s also happy to support the community with the other businesses that share the space.

“This is a special co-op that we have here that’s really creating opportunities on state street that we would not have otherwise,” Burnett said.

Those doughnuts are swapped out for empanadas from Buena Onda in the afternoon. People can also grab a juice from Juice Ranch or a beer from Draughtsmen just a few feet away.

Ferrick says this model is a win-win as businesses get a chance to get off the ground, and landlords get to fill empty space. He also thinks it

“I think it can transform not just State Street, but other towns that are going through this issue,” Ferrick said. “If we can educate the community on how to do this model, it’s gonna help everybody out.”

Mosaic is located at the site of the former Peet’s Coffee at 1131 State Street.