City Terminates Cookie Plug’s State Street License

The Cookie Plug, a hip-hop-themed cookie shop on State Street, has been told to vacate its downtown storefront by the end of April after the City of Santa Barbara declined to move forward with a lease extension, leaving owner Annette Rodriguez frustrated, financially strained, and searching for a new home for her business.

“I was never told that if Metropolitan left, I would be in jeopardy,” said Rodriguez, who believed she had secured a six-year lease through her original agreement with the Metropolitan Theatres Corporation (MTC), the city’s former master tenant at 918 State Street. “The city approved my tenancy. They reviewed my business concept. They signed off after six weeks of paperwork. Why would I have invested over $100,000 in this place if I thought I’d be kicked out in a year?”

Rodriguez opened the Santa Barbara franchise of Cookie Plug in February 2024 after signing a sublease with MTC the year prior. But that lease became void when MTC, which had filed for bankruptcy in 2023, declined to exercise its five-year extension option on its master lease with the city, which expired on September 30, 2024.

According to a statement provided to the Independent by Acting Public Works Director Brian D’Amour, “Cookie Plug S.B. Inc. does not now, nor has it ever had a lease with the City of Santa Barbara.” The business, D’Amour explained, became a “holdover subtenant” once MTC’s lease expired, and the city subsequently offered a temporary month-to-month license agreement in October 2024. The agreement was extended multiple times, but on April 4, 2025, the city informed Rodriguez it would not be renewed further, giving her until April 24 to vacate and 14 additional days to wind down.

Rodriguez says the decision leaves her in a financially devastating position. She says she personally invested between $80,000 and $100,000 into building renovations, Americans with Disabilities Act compliance, and graffiti-style interior artwork, which includes a $12,000 mural of the Notorious B.I.G. The space, she says, was not up to code when she moved in — the heating and air-conditioning system was broken, plumbing backed up, and signage and access points needed upgrading. “I made their building compliant,” she said. “And now they’re pushing me out with no compensation.”

The city maintains the choice was “based on business and financial decisions pertaining to the licensee” and insists the decision was not connected to any adjacent projects. The building at 918 State Street shares infrastructure with neighboring properties, which include other city-leased commercial spaces. Rodriguez expressed frustration over the lack of transparency around the city’s reasoning and said she has not received a clear explanation beyond the formal termination letter.

While the Santa Barbara International Film Festival is a tenant in the adjacent address, Executive Director Roger Durling confirmed to the Independent that the organization “has nothing to do with this” and is not involved in the city’s decision.

Rodriguez, a Santa Barbara native, longtime nurse, and mother, says she has no plans to stay downtown. “The city’s been impossible to work with,” she said. “And I’ve dealt with so many safety issues down here — vandalism, theft, constant police calls. I just want to rebuild somewhere else.”

Rodriguez and her team have identified a new location in Isla Vista and plan to reopen there as soon as possible. In the meantime, she’s posted a GoFundMe link on the business’s Instagram page, asking supporters for help as she begins the process of relocating. “It’s sad,” she said, “but we’re hopeful.”