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Moving a restaurant from Goleta — or anywhere else — to Isla Vista is a bold move: The populace (and its preferred dining hours) is unique, and the business turnover can be rapid.

But for Wesley Wang and Nathan Cy, the move made perfect sense.

The two moved Lao Wang, their Chinese restaurant at 231 Magnolia Ave. in Old Town Goleta, to 6530 Pardall Rd. in Isla Vista last month.

Wang and Cy both attended UC Santa Barbara — a stone’s throw from their new digs — as international students. On top of that, Isla Vista has a serious dearth of authentic Chinese street food, said assistant manager Shelby Salling.

“Wesley and Nathan are super passionate about the business and the area because they went here — which I think is super crucial” to their success, Salling said.

Lao Wang’s new home, subject to some of the most frequent turnover in the community, was most recently occupied by Otaco, a Mexican restaurant by the folks behind Hana Kitchen. Otaco closed late in 2016.

Even without marketing Lao Wang's Feb. 14 soft opening, “there was still a huge demand because the food is just so authentic,” Salling said.

She added that the first few weeks of business have been booming — evidenced in part by students stopping by for lunch and dinner in the same day.

The turnaround from Otaco did not take the restaurant long to complete.

“We kept a lot of the elements the same,” Salling said — like the circular table surrounding a punching bag that hangs from the ceiling.

The restaurant is filling in its 18 beer taps, and wants to use its TVs for game-watching nights, she said.

Lao Wang is open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Get Launched SB! to focus on tech entrepreneurship

Impact Hub of 1117 State St. in Santa Barbara is hosting Get Launched SB!, a two-day tech entrepreneurship networking event Friday evening and Saturday.

Friday’s $5 event, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., is put on by tech companies Microchip Technology Inc., Arduino and Arrow Electronics, which will have representatives speaking.

Saturday’s 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. event focuses on how to quickly transform an idea from prototype to production, and features workshops, talks and networking with tech representatives from several companies.

Day 2 admission is also $5, though some workshops cost $35, according to Impact Hub.

Tickets for Friday and Saturday can be purchased here and here.

Bien Nacido & Solomon Hills Estates names new brand ambassador

Santa Maria Valley winemakers Bien Nacido & Solomon Hills Estates has brought on Master Sommelier Will Costello as its estate brand ambassador.

Costello was wine director at Las Vegas’ Mandarin Oriental hotel before joining the family-owned winery, and was named a “top new sommelier” for 2013 by Wine & Spirits Magazine.

His master sommelier title comes from training and examinations with the international Court of Master Sommeliers organization.

“Some of the first wines I ever learned about were the wines of Bien Nacido Vineyards,” Costello said in a statement. “To see my career coming full circle to represent the estate as the ambassador is a dream come true.”

WisdomPeak Investment Group rebrands

Santa Barbara-based WisdomPeak Investment Group has rebranded as Shalhoub Financial.

“We are using our family name to represent our family business, whose mission it is to serve our clients and their families,” the investment counsel and management company’s president and CEO Michael Shalhoub said in a statement. “We think it is a great fit.”

Shalhoub Financial is located at 831 State St., Suite 200.

— Noozhawk staff writer Sam Goldman can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) . Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.