Craving something sweet? After a long and desolate fall quarter severely lacking in local dessert eatery options, the sweet toothed residents of Isla Vista have finally had their prayers answered by Santa Barbara native and UCSB graduate Nicolas Mason. Nicolas, 26, is responsible for the recent renovation and reopening of Sweet Alley, Isla Vista’s local sweet shop.
Nicolas, who is every bit as sweet as the desserts in his shop, left IV for Los Angeles after graduation to work in the commercial real estate business with fast-growing start-up companies like Uber. However, after a few years of hard work, Mason began to rethink his corporate future, nostalgic for the vibrant, youthful and friendly culture of Isla Vista .
Without reservations, Nick took a leap of faith and left his job as a real-estate big-shot to move back to Santa Barbara where he stumbled upon an ad for a yogurt shop for sale. Within a single weekend of talking to the business’s former owner, Mason used his real estate expertise to close the deal and buy the shop. “It’s kind of like my baby,” Mason charmingly jokes.
Now, after months of carefully thought-out renovations and improvements, the yogurt shop is up and running for business, complete with new frozen yogurt, ice cream, rich and gooey “melt in your mouth” cookies, tasty cold-brew coffee, and an even wider selection of candy than before.
Mason has also created a whole new look for the local hot-spot, covering the once-bland white walls with authentic wood imported all the way from a barn in Minnesota, putting up hand-drawn menus above the counter, bringing in new furniture, and replacing the space’s fluorescent lighting with something a little more subtle. To complement the shop’s new hip, homegrown-like interior, Mason has decorated the walls with several iconic photographs taken by Isla Vista native and top surf photographer Morgan Maasen.
In making these aesthetic changes, Nick hopes to create an atmosphere that embodies the friendly, bubbly spirit of Isla Vista that will resonate with locals. He is devoted to developing friendships with his customers and has already memorized some of the “regulars’” orders.
“Isla Vista is all about keeping its businesses local,” he says. “I was born and raised in Santa Barbara, I went to UCSB, and I’ve spent a lot of time in IV, and the community just doesn’t like big corporate names,” Mason explains passionately of his desire to give Isla Vistans what they want.
Considering his love for the community, it’s not surprising that Mason also plans to get his business involved in outreach projects with local organizations like sororities, fraternities and club sports teams.
When he isn’t at work, Nick is still busy leading an active lifestyle and caring for his beloved white lab. Ironically, Nick admits that he isn’t “a big sweets guy,” although he does enjoy the occasional chocolate-covered gummy bear.
When asked about where he would take a girl on a date in IV, Mason laughs, smoothly replying, “Are people dating in IV?” When pressed on the question, Mason finally shares that he would love to take a girl on a date to the drive-in movie theatre right outside of Isla Vista. (Ladies, he’s single, so you could be that lucky girl.)
What’s next for Nick (and for Sweet Alley)? “I want to expand the brand,” says Nick. “But I want to do it privately,” he clarifies. Nick wants to replicate the Sweet Alley experience in its entirety at other locations, keeping a local, hospitable, friendly atmosphere in each shop as a top priority.
Nick’s career path from corporate real estate to mom-and-pop sweet shop may be an unconventional one, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. After all, he points out, “there’s no such thing as an angry customer in a candy shop.”