Welcome to the New Isla Vista

Holy cow, Pizza My Heart looks really good, they seem to be based out of the Santa Cruz/South Bay Area... but $28 for a large in a college town?!

Woodstocks shouldn't take too big of a hit.

Yes but did they get those nets hung off del playa cliffs yet before someone falls off? again again again and again...

Crushcakes in IV seems like a good idea! Especially as part of the mixed-use @Loop. Wonder if SC Deli will be able to compete with Sams, Javan's, Silvergreeens, etc.

No more lunch for me in IV until next summer, no parking!

Downtown IV hasn't looked this great for years, the people responsible deserve a big hand. However, it is thanks to Chase Manhattan Bank that IV Surf Company which existed at that location for decades is gone. Chase approached the landlord specifically for that spot, offered obviously a price they couldn't refuse and so bye-bye local business. Remember that next time Chase ballyhoos their "commitment to small business".

Ken_Volok,

What were the circumstances behind IV Surf Company's decision? Maybe they were in financial trouble and needed cash, or maybe they wanted to relocate, or maybe their landlord raised the rent too high, or maybe they owned the property and could make more by selling it than they could with their business, or maybe the owners decided they had had enough and wanted out of the business. It's possible that they were pressured to go against their will, but there could be other explanations.

I wouldn't just assume that Chase did something distasteful. IV Surf Company wasn't forced to sell; presumably they are happy with the price they got or they wouldn't have sold. It may in fact be the case that IV Surf Company is pleased with the outcome and would interpret the sale entirely differently than you do. It's often the case with small businesses that liquidation has more value than the ongoing concern, if the sale price is high relative to annual income, or if the business is barely breaking even or even losing money. I see no need to accuse Chase of acting unethically, unless you have some inside information.

We've heard from Chase's rep apparently and no, neither IV Surf Co or the Community was happy with the outcome.
No IV Surf Co was not in financial trouble, since you're obviously not familiar with IV there are a al ot of people who surf here.
I could provide a whole list of links to stories detailing Chase's unethical business practices in the past as documented by Matt Taibi at Rolling Stone and many others but I will avoid redundancy.

Please. To claim that someone who questions your accusation is a paid Chase rep is really childish. I don't work for Chase, and I didn't even say you were wrong. You might be right. I merely pointed out that your conclusions were, and still are, not supported by any evidence. If you're going to publicly accuse someone of wrongdoing, it's good practice to have evidence. It's called civil behavior. It's the foundation of our system of justice.

Your claim that IV Surf Co was not in trouble because "there are a lot of people who surf" in IV is naive, and tells me all I need to know about your credibility. A lot of people eat in my neighborhood, yet a nearby restaurant just went under. Imagine that! Did you ever hear of the concepts of Return on Sales, or competition? And by the way, I din't claim they WERE in financial trouble: I said that could be one motivation to sell.

It's a pity more people can't discuss issues like rational adults. Why do people like yourself have to respond in such a sniping, ideological way? There's a situation here. What is it? If it can be shown that Chase abused IV Surf Co, then I can accept that. If the owners of IV Surf Co were shown to be satisfied with the outcome, would you accept that? Let's consider the facts, not political perspectives.

So. If IV Surf Co was not happy with the outcome, then why did they sell?

I've read what Taibi has written about industries I know a lot about. He puts ideology in front of facts. In my view he has very little credibility. But Taibi's ideology is irrelevant to this particular transaction. It's a small enough deal that Chase HQ probably didn't even know about it and was most likely a local or regional decision.

The owner wanted to sell to the manager and enjoy a well earned retirement;, the landlord refused renewal of the lease to the new owner, every surfer around knows it and that shop serviced a wide swath of the local community at one time or another. It was a local institution.
I'm quite sure given the average cultural awareness of Indy commentators, they all have their individual opinions of Chase with or without my input.

Why couldn't you have just answered in this way in the first place? I just don't understand this virulent style that pervades the internet.

From what you say, it sounds as if the "guilty" party here is the landlord. Why did he refuse renewal? Because Chase made him, as owner of the property, a better offer? This is life. This is the property owner's right. Unless you're prepared to sell your house to the party with the second highest offer, you really can't point your finger. You and the community may want, and feel nostalgia for, a surf shop in IV, but the owner of the property has invested his time and money in it, and he has the right to do what he thinks is best for him and his family. He can, and should, take what the community tells him into consideration, but ultimately it's his decision.

Or there could be other reasons for the outcome, such as the new owner's poor credit rating, or perhaps the landlord didn't think the new owner had the skills to run a business. Maybe the landlord thought the rent was way below market, but the new owner wouldn't budge. Perhaps one or more of these factors is what led him to consider a sale in the first place. There could be a number of reasons why a landlord would not renew a lease.

Opinions and beliefs about Chase (or any other accused entity) are irrelevant: only the facts are relevant. Too many people merely believe, and too few conclude, and to act on opinions and beliefs alone is to act on prejudice. Sometimes the unpopular party is innocent. Our system of justice is designed to protect unpopular defendants too. Yet too many, especially in the case of politically unpopular defendants, are willing to make public accusations merely because "they believe."

I wasn't sure you were interested.

Am I missing something? Where is Ken being "virulent"?

Swimmer makes some good accusations and points as well. I don't know which scenario is correct but Ken_Volok may be relying more on local lore rather than all of the facts. Attacking the internet model of communication could be moderated with a little more of the 'facts' and with a little less anonymity.

This storyline is repeated many times and even when we didn't have the chatty 'internet.' Recall downtown Santa Barbara in the early 1980s, pre Paseo Nuevo. Recently in Santa Barbara a longtime corner Greek deli decided to retire and to take lucrative benefits of selling or leasing the corner interest to a national cell phone chain, the same above accusatory conversation resulted.

Cat Neushul points out that this type of development or redevelopment and change can be welcomed. The difficult part is the change in the short term and because of disruption to what we have come to expect. It is good to plan and be selective about development and transportation so there isn't all this aggression.

What a pity all the new (and old) food establishments cater to fast food, junk food, processed food and meat and cheese. Where are the great natural food cafes? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 17 percent of children ages 2 to 19 are obese. This figure has tripled since 1980. One third of all children born in 2000 or later will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lives; many others will face chronic obesity-related health problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, and asthma. This epidemic not only affects our physical health, but also our economy. Health related problems linked to obesity cost the country $147 billion per year. Perhaps IV needs some natural food options - Kudos to the Co-op - we love you :-) And Blenders :-) But come on everyone else - good food does not have to be meat or dairy or processed - in fact that stuff is killing us. And btw, The Loop - Fantastic - - aesthetically pleasing, green built, but soooooo expensive.

That's a noble sentiment Thomas. It's a matter of businesses catering to demand, not to their health. It would be a noble gesture for restaurants in IV to carry only healthy foods, but it's also a sure way to go out of business. In the end, it's the parents' responsibility to teach their kids what they should and shouldn't eat. Failing that, most of these students are adults, they can eat or drink whatever the law allows them to.