Since early June, barricades have closed off the Cliff Drive overlook, with the city's notices taped to them. A few minutes east, on the 900 block of the same road, Garvin Theatre opened previews of CLUE this week. Those two spots show how the Mesa's public life is set up this fall. Much of the shared space along the bluff is closed or waiting on a decision. The campus on the hill has a calendar running from October into December.
The Overlook Is Still Behind Barricades
The Santa Barbara Independent reported on July 29 that the city closed the overlook in early June. On July 24 the city said it would stay closed for now. At that point the south ocean-side pullout was tentatively scheduled to reopen in mid-August. Councilmember Eric Friedman still gave that same timeline in a News-Press report at the end of July. No later public update has confirmed that the pullout actually reopened. Public Works' working plan is to replace the barricades with gates so the overlook would be open in daylight and closed at night. A permanent change would likely need a Coastal Development Permit reviewed by the City Planning Commission. No hearing date has been announced.
The larger change to the road is also still ahead. In March 2026 the city said the Cliff Drive Vision Zero project was close to final design and would go out to bid for construction this fall. Work was expected to start in spring 2027, once the Cliff Drive water-main replacement is done. The plan adds a three-mile separated path from Arroyo Burro County Park to Castillo Street. That would close a major gap in the 30-mile South Coast bike route that runs from UCSB to Ventura County.
So for this fall, Cliff Drive is mostly a road under study. The places along it with a set schedule mostly sit on Santa Barbara City College's two campuses.
A Lunch Counter Back After Six Years
The JSB Cafe closed in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. It stayed closed for more than six years. Its kitchen and dining room were remodeled during that time, but the update kept much of the original restaurant's character, according to The Restaurant Guy's September 22 report. The college has not announced an exact reopening date. The cafe's page on the SBCC site now lists regular hours, with seating indoors and outdoors.
The cafe is also a classroom. Students in SBCC's School of Culinary Arts each work an assigned station under Chef Roberto Lopez Carrillo. "It's a big deal for me to open the cafe," he told the student newspaper. "I know how important this cafe is for our program." Students make much of the food from scratch, including the burger buns, pickles, salsas and dressings. The menu centers on hamburgers, soups and salads. Daily specials will be added once the students are comfortable in the kitchen.
- Monday through Thursday: 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
- Friday: 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., pizza only, until it sells out
- Phone orders: not accepted at this time
On Pizza Fridays, pizza and salad are the only items served. The cafe is open only at lunchtime on weekdays. That makes it the daytime counterpart to the campus's evening programs below.
Two Stages and a Concert Hall in One Building
SBCC Theatre Group's 2026–27 season opens at Garvin Theatre on West Campus with CLUE, running October 7 through 24. The Channels reported previews on October 7 and 8. After that, shows run Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m., with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. The October 11 matinee is live-captioned. Ticket prices go up after previews and are highest on Friday and Saturday nights, according to the box office listing.
| CLUE performance | General | Seniors and SBCC staff | Students |
|---|---|---|---|
| Previews | $22 | $19 | $10 |
| Thursday evenings and Sunday matinees | $32 | $27 | $16 |
| Friday and Saturday evenings | $34 | $29 | $19 |
The remaining CLUE dates are October 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23 and 24 at 7:30 p.m., plus matinees on October 11 and 18 at 2 p.m.
The season then moves to the smaller Jurkowitz Theatre for the student showcase, It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play. It runs November 11 through 21, Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. There is an extra 2 p.m. matinee on November 21. The November 15 show is live-captioned. Tickets cost $22 general, $19 for seniors 62 and older and SBCC staff, and $10 for students.
Garvin also hosts the music department's fall concerts. The college's fall activity schedule lists three 7 p.m. concerts there:
- Jazz Ensembles, Monday, November 16
- SBCC Symphony, Sunday, November 22
- SBCC Concert Band, Sunday, December 6
A choral concert is listed with its date still to be announced. The schedule does not give admission prices for the concerts.
The campus also has free art. The Atkinson Gallery is showing work by Rebecca Farr through October 27. It is open Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The college's Atkinson Gallery page says the gallery's programs are free and open to the public. The gallery's two weekday hours make it an easy stop on the way to or from a JSB lunch.
Saturday Nights at La Playa
The athletics calendar works much like the theater calendar. The schedule is fixed, the venue sits on the Mesa, and the evening events draw people from outside the student body. La Playa Stadium hosts the last two Vaqueros home football games of October, both on Saturdays at 6 p.m. Soccer fills in the weeknights and a few weekday afternoons.
| Date | Sport | Opponent | Start |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri., Oct. 9 | Women's soccer | Ventura | 7 p.m. |
| Tue., Oct. 13 | Men's soccer | Moorpark | 7:30 p.m. |
| Tue., Oct. 20 | Men's soccer | LA Pierce | 7 p.m. |
| Fri., Oct. 23 | Women's soccer | LA Pierce | 1 p.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Football | Allan Hancock | 6 p.m. |
| Tue., Oct. 27 | Men's soccer | Oxnard | 7 p.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Football | Citrus | 6 p.m. |
| Tue., Nov. 3 | Men's soccer | LA Mission | 1:30 p.m. |
| Fri., Nov. 6 | Women's soccer | Allan Hancock | 1 p.m. |
| Tue., Nov. 10 | Women's soccer | Oxnard | 12:30 p.m. |
| Tue., Nov. 10 | Men's soccer | Allan Hancock | 7 p.m. |
The football game against Citrus falls on Halloween night. The athletics department sells an all-sports pass that covers regular-season home games at La Playa Stadium, Pershing Park and Robertson Gym. The announcement does not give a price for the pass or for single tickets. Volleyball and basketball play their home games at Robertson Gym at UCSB, not on the Mesa. So once soccer ends on November 10, games stop coming to La Playa for the rest of the fall.
What Happens Off Campus
Off campus, Cliff Drive's own fall events are smaller and more spread out. At the Mesa Shopping Center, Lovin' Spoonful reopened on June 20 at 2028 Cliff Drive, next to Super Cuca's. The shop had been closed for more than a year after the April 2025 fire at the center. Owner Jon Borderud's menu includes organic, gluten-free and no-sugar-added frozen yogurt, non-dairy sorbets, and mini-pies and brownies from local bakers, as The Restaurant Guy reported.
Down at the beach, Explore Ecology lists a monthly Arroyo Burro Beach cleanup on the second Sunday of each month, from 10 a.m. to noon. Under that schedule, the fall dates are October 11, November 8 and December 13. The October date is the same day as the live-captioned CLUE matinee. Someone could do the morning cleanup and still reach Garvin by 2 p.m.
The best public chance to get answers about the overlook and the road is the Santa Barbara Mesa Association meeting on Thursday, October 15, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Free Methodist Church, 1435 Cliff Drive. City staff will give a short update on the Vic Trace Reservoir Replacement Project, and the agenda also includes an update on Cliff Drive Vision Zero.
Our team at The Morehart Group keeps track of how projects like Cliff Drive Vision Zero and the overlook decision move forward, because these changes shape daily life on the Mesa. If you'd like a measured look at how they may affect your own property, request a private consultation with our specialists.
