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The Channels

The news site of Santa Barbara City College.

The Channels

The news site of Santa Barbara City College.

The Channels

New downtown nest for the young and sleepless

When most managers head home for the evening, there is one who is just getting ready to open up her restaurant to the night owls of Santa Barbara.

Open from 11:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m., Thursday through Saturday on 425 State Street, The Blue Owl at Zen Yai serves cheeseburgers, steam buns, rice bowls, tri-tip, and more for prices ranging between $4-8.

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From midnight to 1 a.m. sandwiches can also be purchased for a dollar off.

“I sold everything I owned besides my bike and my dog,” founder Cindy Black said.

The Blue Owl opened about 3 weeks ago and has not advertised much yet, but Black has already had good luck receiving customers.

“My friends have been helping me a lot with setting up at night,” Black said. “[They’ve been] making logos, flyers and getting me a blue owl standing nest so all of the pictures and poems people bring in for free food can go on it.”

To get a free meal at the Blue Owl, customers are encouraged to bring a sketch of a blue owl, a poem related to blue owls, or their City College student ID card. After that, it’s all up to luck.

“I really like the tri-tip,” said a pleased customer at his Thursday night visit to the Blue Owl. “It has a unique sauce on it that’s not your typical BBQ that makes it really good.”

Black was inspired to open a restaurant while talking to a friend. She knew the owners of Zen Yai and asked them if she could re-open their restaurant as “The Blue Owl” after they close at night.

“I wanted to bring the public food on State Street other than pizza, hot dogs, and burgers and for the drunks who are still out past midnight,” Black said.

She said she wanted the theme and name of her restaurant to call to mind a speakeasy, an establishment that illegally sold alcoholic beverages during the 1920’s-1930’s prohibition.

She was originally going to name it “The Blind Pig,” another term for a speakeasy, but didn’t want cops getting “suspicious.” Although she doesn’t serve alcohol, she likes the idea of it being a “secret little place.”

Black was previously in school at City College taking writing classes before coming up with the idea to open The Blue Owl.

However, at 30, she felt that she needed a big change and decided to quit her job at Montecito resort San Ysidro Ranch, and dropped her classes.

Although bartenders and bouncers are her main customers for now, Black said she still gets the crazy drunk people.

“We have had a few crazies around here,” Black said. “This one time my friend asked this couple if they wanted food and the girl started hitting my friend with her purse. Me and my friends think it’s pretty entertaining, but I don’t support being that drunk.”

Black said she has been enjoying her new restaurant so far and is lucky to have her friends supporting her so much.

“My friends and my sister have been so helpful and so amazing helping me set up The Blue Owl at night and letting me sleep on their couch.”

Black has high hopes that The Blue Owl will get enough business that she’ll be able to support herself fully and eventually buy her own property, but for now, “I really hope the public likes my food,” she said. 

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