Acme Hospitality ready to open Pearl Social in the Funk Zone, and a Carpinteria public relations firm expands its offerings
Buck Thananaken has opened Wabi Sabi sushi restaurant inside the Santa Barbara Public Market. (Joshua Molina / Noozhawk photo)
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He was born in Thailand, but Buck Thananaken first learned the craft of cutting fish and preparing sushi in Santa Cruz, California in 2000.
Now, he’s mastered the art of sushi-making and has opened his own restaurant, Wabi Sabi, inside Santa Barbara’s Public Market, at 38 W. Victoria St.
He had partnered with the Empty Bowls franchise, but it has been his dream to start his own eatery. When a spot became available recently inside the Public Market, he jumped on it, and a month later, opened.
“I feel like my life has come back,” Thananaken told Noozhawk. “I have a passion for making sushi.”
He has bounced around several local sushi spots, mastering a stage of the craft at each restaurant, such as Kai, Ichiban and Arigato.
Thananaken prides himself on quality sushi and ingredients, and says there will be no imitation crab at his restaurant.
“I will not serve customers anything that I don’t eat,” he said.
Wabi Sabi opened last week, and serves customers from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day.
Thananaken has about 10 employees and is already enjoying having his own restaurant.
“I feel good serving customers and making them happy,” he said.
Funk Zone Meets Pearl Chase
The Funk Zone is getting a new place for cocktails and music.
Pearl Social, named after Santa Barbara preservationist Pearl Chase, will open at 131 Anacapa St., Suite B, on Nov. 1.
It is the newest food and beverage offering from Acme Hospitality and is located between two of its other establishments, The Lark and Helena Avenue Bakery.
Pearl Social is meant to have a social atmosphere, and the design is inspired by “transatlantic social clubs of the United States and Europe” from the 1930s-1950s, according to Acme Hospitality.
Gavin Koehn, who led the beverage program at Loquita, will be in charge of cocktails, and Chef Jason Paluska from The Lark created a menu of complementary snacks.
The new spot will be open nightly, from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 5 p.m. through midnight on Friday and Saturday.
Online Reputation Management
The Carpinteria-based Goddard Company Public Relations has added online reputation management to its list of services.
“It’s cutting-edge, but it’s quickly become a basic need,” company president Jennifer Goddard Combs said in a statement. “To serve our clients properly, we must offer them the best options available to keep their names out there and to maintain their reputations, so that’s what we’re doing.”
Online reputation management encompasses search engine optimization, standard public relations, as well as monitoring services to let clients know what’s being said about them across digital platforms.
“With the additional services, we are now a full-service agency to help companies strategize, create, publish and distribute content that accomplishes their goals,” Goddard Combs said.
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.