12/13/2025
To our beloved community: Our Board of Directors has made the difficult but necessary decision to close our Santa Barbara Downtown Market on December 26.
The Downtown Market opened with a big goal: to widen the circle of people we could serve. We hoped to reconnect with long-time owners who lived or worked closer to Santa Barbara and to welcome new neighbors into a shared vision of healthy food access, local impact, and cooperative values.
We’re proud of the smiles, the relationships formed, and the many moments when folks discovered what a community-owned grocery store can be. After two years, however, the numbers aren’t where they need to be. Expenses remain high, sales remain too low, and continuing to operate a second location would put the long-term stability of the cooperative at risk.
Because of this, we’re refocusing our energy and resources on our Isla Vista location. This is our home, our roots, and the heart of our mission. We’ve made meaningful progress strengthening this store and have a clear plan to continue addressing operational and financial challenges.
The State Street space will transition back to Cantwell’s Market & Deli, continuing the long tradition of a neighborhood market at 1533 State Street.
All ownerships will remain active and we look forward to continuing to serve our owners at the Isla Vista location.
We’re deeply grateful to everyone who supported the Downtown Market over the past two years. We can’t wait to welcome you (or welcome you back) to the Isla Vista Food Co-op.
