As the sunny open courtyard filled up at Linden Square for Thursday’s grand public unveiling, the sweet smell of smoking white oak wafted over the crowd. Third Window Brewing Company owner Kris Parker tended to the fire and loaded up more wood — cut from his family’s ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley — as he prepared for the opening of his newest location at downtown Carpinteria’s long-awaited open-format outdoor public mall.
The site of Linden Square, located right in the heart of Carpinteria’s main drag, has a deep history in the small beach town, as the former location of Hickey’s General Store, owned by the Hickey family for more than 128 years. Terry Hickey, whose great-grandfather Glen Hickey ran the general store, spoke at the grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 22, sharing her family’s history and presenting a portrait of the original store painted by celebrated Carpinteria artist John Wullbrandt back when he was just a high school student.
“This property has been in our family since the late 1800s,” Hickey said. She said that ever since developers Matt LaBrie and Terry Huggins took over the property over five years ago with the intent of redeveloping the site into a new downtown hub, they were eager and willing to work with the community and previous owners to ensure the project was something that would be undoubtedly new but still uniquely tied to Carpinteria’s historical roots.