As Soltopia approached, Asia 101 owner Boxi Wang was prepared for a busy weekend. He scheduled extra staff ahead of what is usually one of the best days for business all year.
With his storefront on Embarcadero Del Norte, right in the heart of Isla Vista, he was in a prime spot to take advantage of the weekend historically home to the massive unsanctioned street party, Deltopia.
But the business never came for Wang and many other local companies.
As Saturday business got underway, Wang quickly realized this was not going to be the prosperous day it once was. Much to his disappointment, within a few hours he had sent nearly all the staff home. What was meant to be a day of serving all sorts of Asian dishes from noodles to Kimchi fries, turned out to be more comparable to an average weekend.
The first weekend of spring quarter often saw sales of at least twice that of a regular weekend, providing a much-needed financial cushion for the slower summer months ahead.
Since 2018, Wang has served the Isla Vista community. Now, he worries about the future of not only Asia 101, but all business in Isla Vista.
The plan to ‘save the music‘
In 2025, over 20,000 people attended Deltopia compared with 6,000 attendees at the Isla Vista Community Services District’s alternative event, the Spring Festival. However, the 2025 weekend also witnessed a record number of 485 citations and 84 arrests according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. This year, the county decided it was time to take action in an effort to end the unsanctioned annual event.
When the 72-hour noise ordinance placed on Isla Vista for the duration of Deltopia weekend was announced by Santa Barbara County, Isla Vista Community Services District General Manager Jonathan Abboud saw the potential for Isla Vista to be deserted.
The county had already cracked down on Halloween, which has turned the festive October holiday weekend into a quiet couple of days for Isla Vista as many party-goers travel out of town.
Abboud didn’t want the same thing to happen on the first weekend of UCSB’s spring quarter and quickly started looking for a way to “save the music.”
Thus, the IV Community Services District started planning Soltopia with the “shortest timeline possible.”
While many Isla Vista residents were unsure whether Deltopia would still happen, the IVCSD staff was busy attempting to plan a sanctioned festival to replace the street party. They had to apply for festival permits, coordinate bands and vendors, and meet safety and harm reduction requirements.
As the festival kicked off, Del Playa drive was all but empty for the first time in years.
Law enforcement trotted the street on horseback and congregated on sidewalks, but students weren’t packing the streets and cramming balconies as was the norm for Deltopia.
The 72-hour noise ordinance, even to the surprise of some of the Soltopia organizers, had worked. However, Isla Vista wasn’t deserted. A few blocks back from Del Playa drive, Soltopia was underway. Roughly 12,000 people attended, 31 bands and DJs performed, and as Abboud said was most important, there were zero arrests or citations within the grounds of the festival.
However, the money flowing into local businesses also disappeared.
Left out of the Loop
With only a few days until Soltopia, Wang, the Asia 101 owner found himself out of the loop, and he wasn’t the only one. Tom Leu, owner of I.V. Drip only found out about the parking and road closures two days before the event.
Wang and Leu were confused about how they weren’t part of Soltopia when the goals of the event were to preserve the crowd and help support local business. Wang said that this year was his worst Deltopia weekend sales of all time.
The Soltopia festival closed off the streets around “the Loop”, which is the heart of Isla Vista and home to most of its businesses. Eleven food vendors were included in the event. IVCSD said the vendors were given a “lump sum” of money, varying from three to five thousand, in exchange for providing free food throughout the day.
Asia 101 and I.V. Drip are located on Embarcadero Del Norte, one of the streets closed off for the event, but neither were included in Soltopia.
“How do you compete with free food?” Wang, owner of Asia 101, asked. He had received little notice of Soltopia occurring, let alone how to participate as a vendor.
Wang wanted answers from the Isla Vista Community Service District.
In a meeting with Abboud, IVCSD community programs and engagement director Myah Mashhadialireza, and board director Katherine Carmichael, Wang and Leu expressed their concerns.
“We felt invisible,” Leu said. His ice cream store, I.V. Drip, was located right amongst Soltopia but wasn’t a vendor for the event. Neither Wang nor Leu had received the packets handed out to businesses explaining Soltopia and how to participate.
Abboud told the News-Press that the event had an open application process and any business could participate, but Wang and Leu said that the outreach conducted was not enough.
With 12 months until the next Soltopia, IVCSD general manager Jonathan Abboud said he is ready to address the concerns of business owners, so the same problems don’t arise next year. He also acknowledges the shortcomings they had this year.
“You have my apologies and my regrets,” Abboud told Wang and Leu when addressing their complaints about the lack of outreach. “It won’t happen again, you have my word.”
‘Every dollar counts‘
Jun Chang, owner of Poke Theory, wasn’t at the meeting but said he felt similarly excluded by IVCSD during Soltopia.
With no participation in Soltopia, Chang said Poke Theory made 40% of what they did last year on Deltopia weekend. Even with the cancellation of Deltopia, Chang had still expected double the sales his store actually made. Since the road to access his restaurant was closed, he received calls all day from people asking if Poke Theory was even open.
Operating costs are rising, and the last thing Chang can afford is to lose business. Buying salmon for his store’s poke bowls used to cost $2.7 per pound but now runs him over $7 per pound.
“Everybody is struggling,” Chang said. “If they don’t consider small businesses, they will be gone.”
IV Deli Mart participated as a vendor in Soltopia, but owner Dana Cornalino also felt the financial toll of no Deltopia.
“Halloween and Deltopia help us so much to keep the doors open while the students are gone,” Cornalino said.
Of the IV Community Services District, Cornalino said that the “staff themselves are awesome” and was impressed by the group’s ability to plan and host Soltopia. However, her business still made three times less than a normal Deltopia weekend.
Cornalino also told the News-Press that she has concerns about the vendors that were selected to participate, a point echoed by fellow business owners Wang, Leu, and Chang.
“Any vendor that’s not on the address of Isla Vista should not be invited to this event,” Cornalino said.
Part of the budget for Soltopia came from taxpayer money and for Chang, that produces a very clear norm to abide by.
“Everyone who pays tax should be included,” Chang said. Wang also believes that the vendors that don’t pay taxes in Isla Vista shouldn’t take the spot of places that do.
“We’re paying utility tax, we’re doing all the stuff for the community,” Wang said.
Abboud has proposed forming an Isla Vista business association, aimed at improving the communication between IVCSD and local businesses, and helping give them a voice in the community. In the meeting with Wang and Leu, the IV Community Services District tentatively planned the first meeting of the proposed association for next week.
Wang expressed his gratitude for IVCSD’s acknowledgment of their concerns and commitment to doing a better job, but he still has worries for the future.
He said the turnover rate for local businesses continues to rise. Chang added that he sees two or three businesses close each year, and that once-occupied storefronts are remaining vacant longer.
Between spring break, summer break, fall, and winter breaks, it is hard for businesses to stay afloat in Isla Vista.
“Every dollar counts,” said Chang. He and Wang believe that small businesses need to be at the forefront of community events planning such as Soltopia.
“I shouldn’t wish they do better. I should take part,” the owner of Asia 101 said.
Wang wants to be a part of the steps taken by IVCSD to help support local businesses. He proposed ways for the community services district to promote Asian businesses during AAPI month, something the district was enthusiastic about. He also wants to be a voice for the Asian businesses in Isla Vista, especially after noting no Asian businesses were included in Soltopia.
IVCSD wants to look for ways to further promote businesses during the summer when customer traffic is low. Abboud said that Isla Vista has a greater business vacancy rate than State Street.
“We are all on the same side,” Abboud said.
Action at the county level
One business owner, who requested to stay anonymous out of fear of retribution, told the News-Press that they are looking to unify the small businesses of Isla Vista and bring their concerns in front of the Santa Barbara County board of supervisors. They presented a letter to Wang and Chang in the hopes they would sign and share with other business owners.
The letter tells the county that over the last 15 years “during major community events, our business has been consistently blocked from serving customers due to actions taken—or allowed—by the county.”
The letter further says that county actions have led to a “complete blockade of Isla Vista by authority” and issues a warning to the county that the ongoing treatment has left business owners “with little choice but to pursue legal action against the responsible parties.”
The letter requests a meeting with Santa Barbara County board of supervisors next week before further legal action may be taken.
Wang and Chang didn’t specify to the News-Press if they would sign the letter.
Abboud was given a copy of the letter by the business owner during the meeting with Wang and Leu but made no public comment.
As for the IV Community Services District, they are seeking a different goal; cityhood for Isla Vista. Abboud said that Soltopia shows that Isla Vista is capable of governing itself, and has already received commitments from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff that there would be a smaller police presence next year.
Without some sort of action, these Isla Vista business owners see a future where many once-thriving businesses will close their doors, leaving nothing but vacant storefronts.
