Zach Wallace and Ruben Zarate had long wanted to open a brick-and-mortar space. But what exactly it would house, they weren’t sure.
Both musicians and members of Santa Barbara’s Dante Elephante, which Zarate started in 2010, the pair were always looking for ways to contribute to the city’s robust music scene beyond the band.
On tour, between shows, they constantly talked about ideas — opening a record store, a guitar shop, or something else connected to music. Zarate was always browsing Craigslist for possible commercial spaces.
Then Santa Barbara music producer Tom Flowers informed them about a spot in Old Town Goleta, which was next to his own studio he’s had for several years…