Last Call at Mission Refill

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This article was underwritten in part by the Mickey Flacks Journalism Fund for Social Justice, a proud, innovative supporter of local news. To make a contribution go to sbcan.org/journalism_fund.

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Slowly, lotions, liquid soaps, and cleaning solutions disappear from Mission Refill’s large glass bottles. People pay for shampoo bars, tins of laundry soda, and reusable napkins at the back counter for the last time. The Goleta shop, with its array of eco-friendly products and bulk household goods purchasable without packaging, will close its doors October 30.

Valerie Voorhees, owner of Santa Barbara County’s only refill store, said the closure isn’t due to a lack of interest, but a sharp increase in rent. “We’ve built this sustainability anchor, and [it] won’t be available to the community anymore,” she lamented.

Mission Refill opened in 2023, and its location on Calle Real near Trader Joe’s made it easy for folks to pick up what they needed while grocery shopping. They paid by weight, and the shop even provided free, sterilized glass jars to customers. Most of the store’s products are sourced from small vendors, with 80 percent coming from California vendors, Voorhees said. 

Voorhees, who has an MBA in marketing, said she knew her first couple years as a small business owner wouldn’t be profitable. “You willingly get inside a hole and you know it’s going to take you time to get out of that hole,” she explained. 

Since opening, Voorhees has seen her customer base grow by between 20 to 30 percent each year. But Mission Refill didn’t make the number of sales it needed to exercise the extension on its lease with its current landlord, Voorhees said, meaning she went into direct negotiations for the space. If she stayed, she said, her rent would have increased by 40 percent from her 2023 lease terms.

Voorhees said she did spend several months trying to find another location that made financial sense but couldn’t locate one that fit the store’s needs and budget. After meeting with a business advisor, she determined that moving would put her in a financial deficit for two more years. 

“I feel like I’ve thrust half my body out of that [financial] hole, and now I have to jump back down,” she said. 

Retail rents are significantly higher in Santa Barbara County compared to neighboring Ventura and San Luis Obispo. Brokerage reports show Santa Barbara’s square-foot prices are more than double Ventura’s. 

A number of customers have reached out to Voorhees about partnering, fundraising, and promises to follow her to a new location, should she open one. “These messages have kept me going through a hard few months, and they’ve confirmed something I already believe: that we built something this community genuinely wanted, and needed,” she said.

For a community that prides itself on sustainability ― and created Earth Day ― the closure will leave a gap. By this summer, Voorhees said, the shop had diverted more than 30,000 bottles alone from the landfill, along with plastic wrap and other throwaway packaging that tends to come with household goods. 

The store may be shutting its doors, but Voorhees said she’s still committed to its mission. She said she’s exploring other ways to reach customers, including through partnerships. For now, she said, customers can still visit the shop and stock up on their favorite product before they’re gone.