Why, Hello There!

HI. Welcome to Mullaney's blog. Here I can share news, ideas and events in an arena beyond facebook. You guys want a cool new bar in SB, right? --- It has been a long long road building this place, with ups and downs of monumental proportions. Some days I have been so excited for the future while other days it feels impossible and scary that we have bitten off way more than we can chew. This project has been a challenge from the start and I admit, I was vary naive and idealistic going in. So far it has taken three times longer than what I believed would be the timeline to open. I see now, how difficult it is to open a small business in Santa Barbara. Regulations, committees, reviews, permits and costs are all very prohibitive and invasive. My heart has soared with the possibilities of what I want to do here and it has been broken to bits on other days when the city says NO to this or NO to that. I have been sent back to the drawing board several times for revisions and plan corrections. It's daunting, to say the least. There are difficulties and rules in the weirdest of places, like how they regulate even where you place your trashcans (sheesh!). I struggle each day with what my next move is, but I never ever want to give up. We have taken this place from a rat infested shack to a very pretty bar in the last 3 years. This building is like no other place in town. There is a rich colorful history here that I revere and appreciate, oh, if these walls could talk!

I have learned how to use power tools, do drywall, plaster, siding, basic construction, concrete pouring, tile and much much more. It feels great to be handy with a drill!

I held onto my vision even when the place looked like this:

... And we kept at it, every day, until it looked like this:

I know this is going to be a lovely, unique, terrific place when we get it open... I have a LOT of plans for the future. Not everyone gets a chance at doing something like this (certainly not me!) so I realize, every day, how lucky I am to have this opportunity. I want to make it into something really special for the community. There is a lot of love in my vision of the future for Mullaney's, but we are hitting a wall financially. The costs of what we have to do to get this building up to speed are astronomical. We have racked up some big bills and we owe some really wonderful people money, people who were willing to help us first and let us pay later. I want to pay those people back. Our landlord will not help us, he does not want to invest a penny into this and we are in too deep to turn back now, so we are thinking about doing a fundraiser. Would the community step up and help us out? Oh, I hope so! We could throw one heck of a party and raise some money. Then we can move forward. I cannot do this alone. Will you help us? Do you know someone who would? If you have any ideas, please let us know! I'm just dying to open these doors! There is so much to do. I am putting every ounce of my positive energy into this project. It MUST go forward. Quitting is NOT an option. We are tossing around the idea of March 23 as a fundraiser party date. There is a donation button at the top left of this page if you feel inclined to donate to this cause. Thanks so much! I look forward to seeing you all when we are finally up and running.