For over a month, a massive yellow closing sign has hung above the entrance to West Marine at the Santa Barbara Harbor—but not even the Harbor Commission knows for sure when the store will actually shut.
At the Santa Barbara Harbor Commission meeting on August 20, waterfront director Mike Wiltshire wrote in his director’s report:
“As of today, the store is still open, and West Marine has not notified the Waterfront Department when, or if they will be closing permanently.”
In May, West Marine declared bankruptcy. The company is one of America’s leading marine parts retailers and has locations around the nation. Following its bankruptcy filing in May, the company pulled off a financial restructuring and has emerged out of Chapter 11.
However, the cost of that restructuring was the shuttering of 91 stores around the country, including the one in Santa Barbara.
Wiltshire reported that the store has continued to pay rent through August, but their lease expires on Sept. 30, and the company has not submitted notice to renew its lease. That date is likely to mark the permanent closure of the store.
“From everything we know, they are acting as if they are closing that location,” Wiltshire said during the meeting.
The store is no longer receiving shipments of new inventory and has been running large sales to clear out the current inventory.
“We, the waterfront, are being a bit cautious because we haven’t gotten any direct communication from them,” Wiltshire said. “I suppose there is an unlikely scenario where West Marine calls us in two weeks and says ‘hey, we actually do want to keep this location.’”
Rent at the location of West Marine is $11,250 a month. West Marine has been a tenant of the space since 2006. The location is zoned ocean-dependent retail and while Wiltshire said the intent would be to have a new marine hardware store, it depends on what businesses want to move in.
“There is an opportunity to divide the store up,” Wiltshire said. The space could possibly become home to multiple businesses, one of which being a smaller hardware store.
The chair of the commission, Adam Stanowick, supported the idea for a replacement marine hardware store citing how the proximity is useful for boat owners and sailors who need parts.
The closest West Marine location to Santa Barbara will be in Port Hueneme once the store closes.
