The popular Good Earth restaurant will soon be no more, and a group of Goleta mothers is already feeling the loss.
The eatery on Calle Real opened in 1986 in the building that formerly housed Bray’s 101 restaurant, and the “Tuesday Mother’s Breakfast Club” moved its get-togethers there the same year.
That makes it 19 years that they have gathered each Tuesday morning at the Good Earth. The 10 to 16 women who get together weekly have been doing so for a total of 22 years, originally at Swensen’s, when there was one on Calle Real, briefly at the Holiday Inn, then settling for the long haul on the Good Earth.
“My Tuesday Breakfast Mother friends are the rock of my life,” said Jane Honikman, “my touchstones. I know I can count on any of the group for anything I need.”
The group evolved in the mid-80s from a PTA program of parent support groups that used to meet in individual homes.
“We finally realized that women can meet outside of the household,” said Honikman.
Over the years, the women have grown emotionally and intellectually with one another. They share a strong bond of affection, forged by common life experiences and a genuine interest in the community around them.
Members of the group have developed as individuals as a result of their relationships with one another.
Not only have the women parented families of their own, they’ve been there as each other’s children evolved from babies and toddlers or primary age children to high schoolers and adulthood, learning from each other’s experiences along the way.
Graduations, college, careers, unemployment, deaths, weddings, aging parents and the arrival of grandchildren are some of shared experiences that have helped weld the close friendships in the “Club.”
[Ed. note: Martha Lannan the co-author of this story, recalls]: “At first, our children were not too thrilled that we had an information network among so many families and didn’t want us sharing family stories, but as they grew toward adulthood some would even say ‘It’s OK to share this or that - engagements or acceptances to grad school, for instance - with the Tuesday Mothers.’ Our kids know that we all care very much about each other’s families, too.”
Julie Maynard, a waitress who has been serving the women regularly for many months said, “It was so beautiful and amazing to see this group of women together. Even though they are not family they have made a family of their own.”
However, don’t mistake the mothers for simply a gossip group. Among their many topics of interest, politics - local, national and international - are taken seriously and many in the group are civically very active.
Several are former PTA presidents. Claire VanBlaricum served on the Santa Barbara School Board for two terms, has led campaigns for bond measures and is currently a member of the Santa Barbara Public Education Foundation board, as is Carol Thompson. Elly Rumelt is the clinical director of CALM, Janet Lengsfelder is a therapist and RN at Cottage Hospital, Pat Finn and Honikman are the founders of Postpartum Education for Parents (PEP), a local support group for young parents, Donanne Hunter has an international tour business, and Honikman founded Postpartum Support International (PSI), an international network focusing on postpartum mental health and social support.
Another member, Ivy Edwards, has a son serving in Iraq as an Army physician, and her “Tuesday friends” are always anxious to catch up on news about Jeremy and his family.
The group has expanded over the years and welcomes newcomers warmly.
“What I see is an amazing support system for each other through changes over the years,” said Rumelt, who joined the “sisterhood” a few years ago and is therefore a relative newcomer. “This week was a remarkable example of that,” she said. “We had both a birth to celebrate and a death to mourn. As friends, we get tremendous support in good times and in bad.”
“We’ve supported each other from the time our children were small,” said Honikman, “to when our ‘babies’ are having their own babies, and also through the loss of our parents.”
The women have created an environment that is supportive, considerate, and respectful.
“As a newer member,” said Rumelt, “I’ve observed that there are informal but clear rules about how things go. Everyone gets equal time to speak about whatever is on her mind; somebody’s small issue and somebody’s large issue are treated with equal concern and importance. And that’s a big part of what makes it such a wonderful, healthy group.”
As they met for the last time at the Good Earth last Tuesday, they were as energetic and passionate as ever, even though their ‘home base’ is closing. The group is far from discouraged, though they say they are disappointed at the closure. And they’ve already scheduled auditions for a number of other restaurants in the area for Tuesday mornings.

PHOTO BY MARTHA LANNAN