Pandemic doesn’t stop crowds from visiting Santa Barbara restaurants on Valentine’s Day
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — With only outdoor dining allowed in Santa Barbara County, local restaurants are filled with reservations on Valentine's Day.
At Crushcakes Café, love is in the air and hope is on the horizon.
“Valentine's Day is our biggest day of the year hands down,” Crushcakes Cafe operations director Zach Feld said. “We really ride out our Valentine's Day sales to get us through slower periods.”
Max and Pauline Peck enjoyed their fair share of local treats, including some cupcakes.
“Rented these electric bikes,” Mr. Peck said. “We went to Finney’s, Lama Dog and now are stopping here at Crushcakes.”
“Eating all the things that we love,” Mrs. Peck said. “Also visiting places that make us nostalgic about our relationship.”
This year, Cupid brought a much-needed shot in the arm for a business hit hard by the pandemic.
“Yesterday included was our highest sales day on record,” Feld said.
However, they weren’t the only eatery seeing a surge in customers.
“We’ve been seeing people standing in line or getting takeout orders everywhere,” Peck said. “Makes us feel good to see the people that have been working so hard getting that little boost they need.”
With added outdoor seating, Carlitos Café y Cantina expects to perform even better this Valentine’s Day compared to last year.
“Outside we have a lot of tables,” Carlitos assistant manager Esteban Diaz said. “Inside, our restaurant is not that big.”
The Mexican restaurant offered drink deals on margaritas and cocktails, which attracted plenty of people.
“We are fully booked for tonight,” Diaz said. “We stopped taking reservations because we are going to open up tables for walk-in appointments.”
Newlyweds Mark & Lydia Zuber were able to enjoy their first Valentine's Day date as a married couple.
“It’s our first Valentine’s Day together, so we wanted to do something outside the house,” Mrs. Zuber said. “So we got out of town for a few days.”
“We’ve been wanting to this for a while,” Mr. Zuber explained. “Just wanting to get out and do something fun.”
For local restaurants, the busy holiday weekend was a special ingredient tailored towards success.
