Subscriber Comments for
The new 99-Cents Only store in Santa Barbara has created 50 ...

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

REXOFSB	2012-07-20 08:09 PM
Can you still park in that tiny lot behind the building that used to serve Pep Boys? Parking would seem to be the weakest link at the 99-Cents Store.
COMMENT 299925	2012-07-20 08:24 PM
50 low wage jobs. Wow! I feel better already.
COMMENT 299927	2012-07-20 08:27 PM
Fifty jobs *now*, but in two weeks when the hulabaloo dies down, all but four of them will be laid off. Just like Fresh & Easy.
COMMENT 299929	2012-07-20 08:30 PM
My, how things change. Joseph Magnin, Ott's, Trenwith's, Lou Rose - proprietors rolling over in their graves.
COMMENT 299941P	2012-07-20 09:56 PM
927 - is that what happened at Fresh and Easy, many layoffs?
COMMENT 299945P	2012-07-20 11:42 PM
These 99 cent stores are tacky, full of junk and have no place on State St. Keep them in Santa Maria strip malls not downtown Santa Barbara.
COMMENT 299947	2012-07-21 06:28 AM
lighten up everyone. its a great place to get cheap party supplies!
COMMENT 299948P	2012-07-21 06:35 AM
945, while I mostly agree with you I also do know that if you look closer at their offerings you can find some real bargains. But you need to be very selective, you do get what you pay for. 925, yes a majority of these jobs are minimum wage but I bet the managers make a decent salary. The real question is do they (all employees) get good benefits?
COMMENT 299951P	2012-07-21 06:52 AM
Benefits? most likely very few other than mandated by law. And managers at most discount chains get OK but not great salaries. Most of these types of stores have employee schedules that change weekly. You never know from one week to the next what your hours will be. Hard to live a decent life around these types of so-called schedules. You can say well, they a will be lucky to have a job, but honestly, one that keeps you in poverty will just grind you down.
ROGER DODGER	2012-07-21 07:09 AM
What the HELL spent many a year working jobs like this and they were too hard for me because of my screwed up brain but at least I was working. On the otter end of that I can't afford anything in this town people like me need a .99 cent store, Hey maybe someday they will come out with a .99 cent car and you'll all see me driving into a wall or something.
COMMENT 299947	2012-07-21 07:25 AM
does it open today?
FLICKA	2012-07-21 07:39 AM
Trenwiths, Lou Rose, etc, were uptown stores (Lou and Jack Rose stores by the Arlington). Lower State always had thrift or pawn shops, 99cents fits in; Pep Boys was automotive, Dunhalls (across the st.) sold used military goods, Woods Garage (on corner from Pep Boys) was a towing service w/cars stored there. Not everyone can afford Nordstroms and boutique shops. Good to have options, not just pander to the elite.
COMMENT 299967	2012-07-21 07:45 AM
To those whom think 99 stores are not fit for those who think their @#!% doesn't stink, well wake up, look around, there's something happening here..You cant dump on Santa Maria anymore, you have been brought into reality..
COMMENT 299948P	2012-07-21 07:52 AM
947, IF I heard KEYT correctly on the 6 pm news last night, yes. the store is open today at 9:00 am BUT the grand opening celebration is Thursday.
COMMENT 299948P	2012-07-21 07:54 AM
UH, I meant 959 not 947.
COMMENT 299978	2012-07-21 08:14 AM
I drive to Ventura to go to the 99 cent store....we stock up on all kinds of things, and it is worth the trip (even figuring in gas)...I am so happy one will be here...so glad the city allowed a store that I can afford to come into town..I like my sales taxes to stay local. Now, if a Target or Walmart came..the city would see huge tax revenues. And... if you are too snooty to shop at the 99 cent store..then the lines will be shorter for me!
COMMENT 299929	2012-07-21 08:17 AM
Travel Agent to Out of Town Client (on phone): "Of course you'll enjoy your repeat visit. Yes, you can still smell the urine and be accosted by drunken bums along the beach and young, able-bodied panhandling thugs on State Street. But hey, it's still the 'American Riviera.' Oh, if you like you can shop at the newest gem in our lovely tourist corridor - the 99-cent store. I know, it should have been at Scolari's on Milpas or a block or two off State - but you know how our city leaders and landlords operate here. When can we expect you? (CLICK) Hello? Hello?"
SBALAX	2012-07-21 08:23 AM
You go, Tracy! We stopped at the Oxnard store last night and picked up three baskets of beautiful raspberries, three of blackberries, a container of mixed gourmet salad greens and three bags of the very good Joseph's sugar free cookies. Each item only 99.99 Cents. They changed the pricing a couple of years ago. Don't knock it until you've tried it. I'm just hoping they can keep the bathrooms graffiti clear. That's a problem in Oxnard and Ventura -- not so much in Camarrillo.
COMMENT 299927	2012-07-21 08:51 AM
941P, yes, Fresh & Easy laid off a huge number of people they had working when the store opened. They're now operating with skeleton staff. In other news: The BevMo in Goleta will open in late August, supposedly.
COMMENT 299993	2012-07-21 08:55 AM
$.99 cent stores are great but 99% of the goods cost more than $.99 cents. It's a sign of the times. 99% of shoppers are those who pinch pennies. More stores demosnstrate more people falling down the income ladder. 99% of customers make less than $99k or more per year. 99% of the people employed won't need a college degree to get the job. Claiming a store creates 50 low paying jobs ignores the lost business 99% of the cometition will suffer and the 99 jobs lost.
SHOREBIRD	2012-07-21 09:12 AM
When I go to 99 store I buy the Caramel Tootsie Pops. You get ~ 10 pops in a bag. 60 calories each. They are GREAT!
COMMENT 300004P	2012-07-21 09:46 AM
299929 - very inhumane. Unbelievable in fact. And, btw, people from all income groups go to Thrift stores. I know.
SBALAX	2012-07-21 10:33 AM
993-- I don't think you have ever been to a 99 Cent Only Store. There is nothing that is over 99.99 cents. Somethings are 2 or 3 for 99.99 cents. Other "Dollar Stores" may have a different policy. I always laugh about the first time I went to one. I asked the friend who had bribed me into driving her to Oxnard how much something was. Her answer, "You don't get the concept, do you? It's 99 Cents!".
ROGER DODGER	2012-07-21 11:18 AM
Sugar Free Cookies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm going on Payday!
COMMENT 300042	2012-07-21 11:51 AM
There's already a 99 cent store across from Foodland.
REXOFSB	2012-07-21 12:07 PM
@042: The one near Foodland is 99 cents in name only. It is NOTHING like the 99-Cents Only or Dollar General Stores, which only really DO charge 99 cents or less. The one near Foodland charges way more. There are a couple of others like that one on Milpas Street.
COMMENT 299947	2012-07-21 12:18 PM
I went in today! Super fun, but lots of people and not all the shelves were stocked. Still, everything I bought was 99 cents or less and best deal was the bbq flavored pork rinds!!!
ROGER DODGER	2012-07-21 12:37 PM
Pork Rinds are they Fat Free?
COMMENT 300078P	2012-07-21 03:07 PM
Anyone else see the irony in I Magnin becoming the US Court of Bankruptcy?
COMMENT 299947	2012-07-21 03:46 PM
@Roger- 5 grams fat, 210 grams sodium.
COMMENT 300090P	2012-07-21 04:29 PM
Uh-huh. With the middle class on its way out, these cut-rate stores are becoming the new normal. How many American made goods will they carry? Merchants don't create jobs, consumer demand creates jobs. Reduced demand, reduced price/quality market goods; demand won't support more. If we made our own stuff, of good quality, we wouldn't have to buy as often (it would last longer) and we could afford more. You know, like we did for over 200 yrs after we shed English corporate monopolies...
ROGER DODGER	2012-07-21 04:55 PM
Who really carries American made goods? I have seen tags that say American Made but find out later they are made elsewhere..Who can afford American made goods? If I know something is American made and I can afford it I buy it.
COMMENT 300133	2012-07-21 07:38 PM
Last week there was a flurry of complaints that there were no jobs. Now here are 50 jobs and another round of complaints that the jobs aren't good enough. Self-entitled brats.
COMMENT 299945P	2012-07-21 10:13 PM
I have no problem with a 99 cent store in Santa Barbara just not on the main drag. This store would be more appropriately located in a shopping center such as 5 points, Magnolia or Camino Real real. Places with actual parking lots. Remember this is a tourist town. I don't want to go to Carmel and see a 99 cent store among the shops and restaurants. Keep the crap off main st...
ROGER DODGER	2012-07-21 10:25 PM
Whom are you to say the .99 cent store can't be on State street? Heck theres a porno store there right across the street in fact..:)
REXOFSB	2012-07-22 06:56 AM
Roger for the win!
COMMENT 299993	2012-07-22 09:15 AM
Hey SBALAX, Ninty Nine Cents is a name, not a policy. And yes, you can find bargains, but it is certainly a sign of the times that demonstates lower cost of living for all, regardless if welathy people shop there or not.
COMMENT 300252	2012-07-22 11:55 AM
Let's try to be positive about a new store that just opened in town. First of all the 99 Cents Only Store offers great brand name products such as Dole, Kraft, Kellogs, General Mills and more........and guess what? Does anyone know that they also have a , "Welcome to Club 99 where membership is FREE! Club 99 is 99¢ Only Stores’ Bulk Sales Program which provides you with the opportunity to purchase items by the case and in large quantities. Your order is shipped for FREE to the store of your choice." You can buy online or order at the store and this can help out small businesses or I should say our local businesses. There are NO SHIPPING OR HANDLING FEES, YEAH ONLINE SHOPPERS....... But regardless of these positives there are other great things about discount stores!!!
COMMENT 300272	2012-07-22 01:14 PM
Frankly, I am dismayed at our 'community'. I went to the new store yesterday, as a person who lives downtown, and I liked what I saw. Tourists need sunscreen, swim noodles, and other beach trinkets, and the $.99 store had them! I like only having to walk 2 blocks to get coffee creamer, milk or butter, and not pay 'convenience store' prices from the local liquor vendors (the only other choice). Rodger's right - there's an adult store across the street, and the old empty Esau's. Blight. We get something the area can use, and you guys poo poo it because it's not Hermes or Dior. Please recognize others live here that might shop at discount stores, and it's ok.

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