Edhat: Two local eateries will be featured on national television and the Natural Cafe’s downtown location will close citing untenable conditions on State Street.
Let’s dive in.
NATURAL CAFE CLOSES DOWNTOWN LOCATION DUE TO STATE STREET ISSUES
After 30 years at 508 State Street, the health-focused eatery Natural Cafe will close in March 2023 after the lease expires.
Owner Kelly Brown penned an open letter to the landlord, Jim Snell of SIMA Corp, stating things have taken an “extreme turn for the worst the last few years.”
He cited the increase in homelessness creating a criminal environment of flagrant drug use, outdoor defecation, aggressive panhandling, camping, and misusing their restrooms on a daily basis.
“The rat/vermin problem, which starts with the city and their lack of any program to address this has, in the last few years, become intolerable. Look under any parklet and you will find rats nests. Food is just falling on them from above,” Brown stated.
Other than being rat infested, Brown states the parklets were a good alternative for a while but now they diminish the beauty of State Street and should be removed.
The Natural Cafe still has its location on Hitchcock Way, another in Goleta, and others throughout Southern California.
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