How Three Friends Turned an Isla Vista Smoothie Shop into a Central Coast Institution

In Santa Barbara, ordering a smoothie has sometimes meant simply asking for a “Blenders.” Few local businesses become so familiar that their brand name begins to replace the name of the product itself. Yet that was already happening by 2008, when the Santa Barbara Independent observed that Blenders in the Grass had become part of the community’s everyday vocabulary.

By then, Blenders had grown well beyond the small Isla Vista storefront where three friends opened their first shop in 1995. More than three decades later, the company remains locally based, continues to be operated by its original founders, and has expanded to 19 locations across California’s Central Coast.

Its history is a story of friendship, timing, controlled growth and a business idea that matched the active lifestyle of the Santa Barbara region.

An Idea Born from an Active Lifestyle

The idea for Blenders in the Grass began in September 1994 with three longtime friends: Art Tracewell, Scott Webber and Keric Brown.

Tracewell and Webber had known each other since childhood, while Brown became their friend during college. By their late twenties, all three had developed an interest in endurance sports and were looking for meals that were convenient, relatively low in fat and capable of providing enough energy to support an active lifestyle.

Smoothies appeared to offer an answer. They could combine fruit, juice, dairy products and nutritional supplements in a form that was portable, filling and quick to prepare.

The three men had previously discussed going into business together. After spending approximately two months weighing the advantages and risks of opening a juice bar, they decided to act. According to the company’s account of its early history, the decision quickly redirected all three of their careers.

Tracewell had recently earned an MBA from the University of North Carolina and declined an anticipated corporate position. Webber left his job as a district manager for The Gap. Brown, who had completed a master’s degree in American history at New York University, postponed plans for an extended trip to the Virgin Islands.

Instead, the three friends devoted themselves to developing a smoothie business.

Choosing the Santa Barbara Area

The founders selected the Santa Barbara area partly because they already knew and enjoyed the region. Its climate, outdoor recreation and health-conscious culture also appeared particularly well suited to their concept.

During the planning process, they traveled throughout California and visited other operating juice bars. They studied the products, customer service and working methods they encountered. Their developing business model emphasized consistent recipes, quality ingredients, a clean and enjoyable environment, and service fast enough to compete with conventional fast food.

The name Blenders in the Grass was Tracewell’s suggestion. It offered a playful description of healthy drinks produced in electric blenders while creating an image that was more memorable than a generic juice-bar name.

Recipe development became another major part of the preparation. The founders tested a large number of combinations before settling on an opening menu of 28 smoothies.

Opening in Isla Vista

Blenders in the Grass opened on Pardall Road in Isla Vista in March 1995.

Isla Vista was a logical but demanding place to begin. The densely populated community next to UC Santa Barbara offered a steady supply of students, cyclists, runners and other customers looking for food that could be purchased and consumed quickly. At the same time, the neighborhood had a long history of restaurant turnover and customers attentive to both price and portion size.

The opening was not immediately dramatic. In the founders’ published recollection, the three stood inside the new store waiting nervously for someone to enter. After approximately an hour, their first customer arrived and purchased a 24-ounce orange juice.

It was a modest beginning for what would become one of Isla Vista’s most recognizable homegrown businesses. The original storefront, distinguished by the oversized Blenders cup mounted above it, eventually became part of the visual identity of Pardall Road.

From One Shop to Seven

The Isla Vista store provided the foundation for expansion into neighboring communities.

By February 2006, the Independent listed seven Blenders locations. In addition to Isla Vista, the company had stores in downtown Santa Barbara, Five Points Shopping Center, the Mesa, Montecito, Calle Real in Goleta and Camino Real Marketplace.

That early footprint reveals an important part of the company’s strategy. Rather than immediately entering distant markets, Blenders established multiple neighborhood locations within the greater Santa Barbara area. A customer could encounter the same menu while shopping downtown, visiting Montecito, attending UCSB or traveling between Santa Barbara and Goleta.

By the summer of 2008, local coverage described Blenders as a 12-location company extending from Santa Maria to Camarillo. The chain had moved beyond the South Coast while remaining concentrated along the Central Coast and Highway 101 corridor.

Growth Without Chasing a National Chain

Blenders continued to grow, but the founders did not appear interested in expanding at any cost.

A 2014 Independent profile still counted 12 stores and described the owners as deliberately uninterested in turning the company into a nationwide operation. Although people regularly suggested cities where Blenders might succeed, the founders preferred a scale that allowed them to remain involved in the operation and maintain their personal and family lives.

That decision helps distinguish Blenders from many food concepts developed during the same period. The company expanded beyond its original neighborhood, but it did not try to blanket California through aggressive franchising.

Its growth was gradual. The chain had reached 15 locations by 2017 and reported operating 17 stores during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

As of July 2026, the official Blenders location directory lists 19 stores:

• Seven in the greater Santa Barbara area
• Four in northern Santa Barbara County
• Three in Ventura
• Three in Oxnard
• Two in Camarillo

The northern locations include Buellton, Lompoc, Orcutt and Santa Maria. The original Isla Vista shop remains in operation alongside stores in Goleta, Santa Barbara and Montecito.

Becoming Part of Santa Barbara Culture

Expansion alone does not fully explain the company’s local importance.

In a brief 2008 review, the Independent noted that some Santa Barbara residents were using “Blenders” as a general name for a smoothie. The observation may have been playful, but it captured how thoroughly the business had entered local culture.

Blenders became a familiar stop for UCSB students, athletes, families, commuters and customers seeking something faster than a conventional meal. Its stores were not designed as destination restaurants. Their value came from familiarity, speed and the expectation that the same drink would taste substantially the same at different locations.

Over the years, readers of the Independent repeatedly selected Blenders as Santa Barbara’s favorite smoothie bar or juicery. In 2021, the newspaper characterized it as one of Isla Vista’s notable entrepreneurial success stories. In 2025, the company was again recognized in both the smoothie-bar and juicery categories.

A Menu That Changed with Its Customers

The original Blenders menu consisted of 28 smoothies. Many were built around fruit juice, milk, frozen yogurt, sherbet, bananas and other frozen fruits. Customers could also customize drinks with supplements and substitutions.

By 2008, a typical smoothie cost approximately $4.50 and included either one larger supplement or two individual supplements. Juice-based and milk-based drinks were available, and soy substitutions had become part of the ordering system. Popular combinations included the Orange Plus, Tropical Pineapple and other fruit-centered blends.

The menu later expanded beyond the original smoothie format. Blenders added fresh juices, bowls, wheatgrass and other wellness shots, nutritional supplements, plant-based options and a collection of drinks sometimes promoted as a secret menu.

One of the most significant changes came in 2017, when the company introduced six plant-based smoothies created with assistance from registered dietitian Jennifer Tasca. These drinks were developed around specific nutritional purposes rather than flavor alone and included options focused on recovery, antioxidants, probiotics and inflammation.

At that point, Blenders had begun responding to increasing customer interest in dairy-free, gluten-free and whole-food ingredients while maintaining the sweeter fruit and dairy-based drinks that had built its reputation.

Blenders Prices Then and Now

The change in price provides another way to measure the company’s three decades in business.

In 2008, the Independent reported that Blenders smoothies generally cost about $4.50.

As of July 2026, online ordering menus for both the Montecito and Santa Maria stores list most traditional smoothies at $7.75. Focused health blends are generally listed at $9, while açaí, pitaya and tropical bowls are listed at $12.75. Fresh juice is listed at $9.35.

These are online menu prices and may differ from in-store pricing, promotional pricing or prices at individual locations. Before publication, SantaBarbaraLocal should verify them directly from a current store menu.

The Challenge of the Cup

Even the container holding the smoothie became part of the company’s history.

As Santa Barbara considered restrictions on expanded-polystyrene food containers in 2017, Blenders cofounder Art Tracewell described the operational problems the company had encountered after changing from foam to clear plastic cups. According to coverage of the city discussion, customers complained that smoothies melted more quickly in the plastic containers.

In early 2018, Blenders announced that it had returned to foam cups after concluding that the plastic alternative did not insulate its products adequately and had become increasingly difficult to recycle. At that time, the company promoted reusable cups by offering customers a 50-cent discount.

The episode illustrated a challenge faced by many food businesses: balancing environmental concerns, available recycling systems, customer expectations, product quality and the practical limitations of disposable packaging.

Supporting the Community

From its early years, Blenders described itself as a locally committed company. Its founders reported supporting schools, athletic teams and community organizations through donations and sponsorships.

One visible example is the Page Youth Center’s Blenders Winter Basketball League. The partnership has helped provide recreational basketball for Santa Barbara County children in first through eighth grades. Noozhawk has described Blenders as a longtime supporter of the program, which has developed into one of the area’s largest youth recreational basketball leagues.

Individual stores have also participated in local benefits and fundraising efforts. That community presence has helped the company remain identified with the region even as the number of locations has increased.

Adapting During the Pandemic

The arrival of COVID-19 forced Blenders, like restaurants throughout California, to alter its operation.

In March 2020, the company reported having 17 locations. It temporarily eliminated indoor seating, moved toward grab-and-go service, increased sanitizing procedures and later added online ordering, delivery, protective barriers and other safety measures.

The company’s pandemic updates were signed by Art, Scott and Keric, demonstrating that the three founders remained publicly involved in operational decisions 25 years after opening the original store.

Three Founders, Three Decades

Perhaps the most unusual part of the Blenders story is not its menu or even its expansion. It is the continued partnership of its three founders.

Business partnerships frequently change as companies grow. Founders retire, sell their interests, bring in outside investors or disagree over the future of the company. Blenders reached its 30th anniversary in 2025 with Tracewell, Webber and Brown still working together.

In comments published by the Independent that year, Keric Brown emphasized the satisfaction the founders took in continuing to operate the company according to the principles with which they began.

That continuity may help explain the company’s controlled expansion. Blenders has grown large enough to serve communities from Santa Maria to Camarillo, but small enough to retain a recognizable connection to the people and place where it began.

A Santa Barbara Business That Endured

Blenders in the Grass did not invent the smoothie, but it helped make smoothies part of everyday life in Santa Barbara.

What began with three friends, 28 recipes and a quiet March morning in Isla Vista became a regional company with 19 locations. Along the way, Blenders expanded its menu, adjusted to changing nutritional preferences, survived economic disruptions and the pandemic, supported community programs and maintained its identity as a Central Coast business.

The complete history still has stories waiting to be documented: how the founders financed the first shop, how the original recipes were developed, which location opened second, how employees were trained, how the logo changed, and why certain menu items became enduring favorites.

Those questions belong in the next phase of the story.

For now, the broad outline is clear. Blenders succeeded not by abandoning its local origins, but by building upon them—one neighborhood, one storefront and one smoothie at a time.