Santa Barbara Storage Group is owned and operated by third and fourth-generation Santa Barbara natives. Beginning in 1907, The Eldridge side of the family arrived from Minnesota and settled in Montecito and Summerland. The first generation were simple estate managers and lived with their children on the Jackson Family estate of Rancho San Carlos on East Valley Road for many years, and in the 1930s were hired as the main estate manager by the de Blois Wack family who had recently purchased the former Rancho El Bosque Estate otherwise know as Casa De Maria. Finally, upon their retirement, they had saved just enough money to purchase a small plot of land on Varley Ave in Summerland where they built two small houses that still stand to this day.

The second-generation Eldridge/Hays side of the family managed several apartment buildings in downtown Santa Barbara on Garden Street during the 1960-1970’s and felt strongly that renting an apartment was surely a better investment than purchasing a home or land. In their later years, they helped their son Ron run his real estate offices in the El Paseo downtown and were esteemed golfers in Santa Barbara. The other side of the second-generation the Guzman/Piddick’s were ranchers in Oxnard and came to town and opened a Shell Gas station at the corner of State Street and Arlington Ave in the 1940’s. In their later years, they were part of the seven-member founding board of La Cumbre County Club and built one of the first homes around the Hope Ranch lake.

The third generation, Ron & Nancy Hays, met when they were 19 and 20 through a friend at SB City College. They worked for many years in the restaurant business. In the 1960’s they were instrumental in the opening of the Sambo’s Franchise, then the Carrow's Franchise in the 1970’s, then opened their own restaurant -The Wholly Cow -on Coast Village Road in 1977, and then finally The Bears Picnic in Picadilly Square until 1988. Ron also got his Real Estate license in 1980 working first at Sunset Realtors and then built his own office in 1987- Ron Hays Realty. Through Ron's real estate business he was able to become the visionary for the first storage building built in 1990 from one of his commercial listings that was having a hard time selling at the time.

The fourth generation of this Santa Barbara family, Jan Marco and Joanna von Yurt, began operating the storage business in 1997. With a mechanical engineering background, Jan Marco brought Swissness to the family’s storage facilities. Jan Marco also grew up in a family business in Switzerland and understood the importance of customer service and attention to detail. In 1998 additional properties and buildings were added and existing facilities were upgraded. More storage locations and offerings were added in 2005, 2018, 2020, and most recently in 2022.

Summerland Self Storage is the latest addition to the Santa Barbara Storage Group owned by the von Yurt family. This fourth generation has been instrumental in creating what the Santa Barbara Storage group is today. The local reputation the group enjoys is a byproduct of having upgraded all the properties to meet the highest expectations of clients and have actively become leaders in the storage community with unique advancements in automation and client services. Furthermore, they were ahead of the competition in this industry with the introduction of security technology and specialized storage niches. Namely, clothing and wine storage in the early 2000s. Jan Marco and Joanna continue to run the day-to-day operations of the Group and with their team of 5 employees enjoy working each day to exceed the expectations of the loyal tenants served these past 25 years.

The fifth generation, the 3 von Yurt daughters are already active and present in the family business helping behind the scenes. You might spot them in the Office when their free time allows.

Our Team

Cami, Jasmine, and Jenn are here to ensures that our day-to-day operations is top-notch and smooth sailing, and of course, provide the most attentive customer service possible. They wo-man the office security cameras and gates, as well as provide any advice on unit size that you make need. Jenn also manages our marketing initiatives and online presence. Lynn retired after 30 years with us, so always has a place in our family. They are your walking resources for GVSS, and enjoy chatting and sharing the office’s endless supply of candy and coffee with you.

Security and Groundskeepers

We have staff that live on both of our Goleta properties to make sure that our facility is safe and after-hour emergencies are handled with utmost care and attention. Our loyal maintenance crew, Arturo, Yuvani, and Barut are here to ensure that our grounds stay clean and meticulous at all times, and that our community of tenants are able to get an immediate response to any maintenance or facility concerns.