San Marcos Pass delays and Lake Fire slow business flow in some areas of the Santa Ynez Valley
SOLVANG, Calif. – An emergency road project was bad enough. Now, there's a multi-thousand acre fire that has some of the regular travelers and residents in and out of the Santa Ynez Valley taking a detour.
While some, including a few wineries near the Lake fire zone, have temporarily closed their tasting rooms, most of the other businesses have stayed open even though they have seen a slow down.
From Santa Barbara, along the way Cold Spring Tavern is still open. The old stagecoach stop has been around since 1865 and the general manager says it has been through many challenges but remains open and welcoming to guests, locally and first time visitors who are traveling through.
Paris Trefz greeted guests and said, "we're gong to endure, we always do. We thank our customers. We thank our new ones, we thank our old ones  that's how we stay in business. " The crew here has put out social media posts for the last few weeks saying their are open despite the road work, and now even more, because of the fire.
At lunch, customers were dining on burgers, fish and jumbo onion rings.
Sue Adams was with her daughter and sister from the East Coast. "We wanted to come up here and enjoy the day with my sister who is visiting and we love the vibe, it is so cool and iconic. I have been following the fire and following the closures and I knew it would be a relatively safe trip."
At Cachuma Lake the Hook'd Bar and Grill has also remained opened to everyone, not just the campers. Customers coming in from Highway 154 from Santa Ynez have passed the fire zone, and those coming up from Santa Barbara have gone through the road construction delays.
When they get to the restaurant, it is a specific scenic destination for their meal, on the edge of Cachuma Lake, Santa Barbara County's largest water source.
Boat rentals were delayed at the start of the fire, but they are open again. All camping spaces are open.
In Solvang, tourists continue to come in on a regular basis, some on scheduled tours. The smoke from the fire can drift in and be a concern but the city is not in the line of fire. Bakeries, coffee shops, restaurants and shopping areas are open. Wednesday evening the weekly concert outside in Hans Christian Anderson Park took place with guests sitting outside on the lawn.
At Cafe Dolce, Sam Hamad said, "it's great. Air quality is great. There's no ash. We are open for business.  Welcome to Solvang! We encourage people to come and visit from all over from everywhere. "
Business owner are hoping travelers are not just driving through but they are stopping in. One of the advantages in a unique twist with the events this month has been lighter traffic and easier parking.
