Santa Barbara Storage Group is owned and operated by third and fourth-generation Santa Barbara natives.
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.
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. In the 1930s, they were hired as the main estate manager by the de Blois Wack family, who had recently purchased the former Rancho El Bosque Estate, otherwise known 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 1960-1970s 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 1940s. 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 1970s, 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 building 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.
Summerland Self Storage is the latest addition to the Santa Barbara Storage Group, which is 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 three 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.
As Managing Director and Controller, Joanna is directly involved in every facet of the company, including management, leasing, financing, acquisitions and dispositions, and development. She has extensive finance, management and operating experience and oversees the organization’s budgeting, cash flows, capital investments, tax strategies and establishing audit, banking and legal relationships.
As a financial controller she is responsible for reporting performance, trends and business issues that affect the execution of company goals. She graduated from Harvard University and promptly specialized in Environmental Design at UC Santa Barbara. She was born and raised in Santa Barbara and is the quintessential American businesswoman, wife, and mother of 3.
Jan joined GVMS partners in 2005 as Director of Property Management. Proving to be an invaluable asset to the company, given his Swiss engineering background, he brought an even higher standard of excellence by driving performance and development, maximizing the real estate property values. Born and raised in Zurich Switzerland, Mr. von Yurt studied Mechanical Engineering at HTL Winterthur in Switzerland before moving to the United States in 1997.
His first years in the states were spent working for Hughes locally, before venturing out on his own. Mr. von Yurt is now a serial entrepreneur with start up companies in the manufacturing and leisure industries. Living in Santa Barbara with his wife and three children, Mr. von Yurt enjoys the many outdoor activities offered, specifically sailing, ocean swimming, and biking.
After graduating Santa Barbara High, Ronald served in the US Marine Corps. Upon discharge, he attended SBCC where he was Associated Student Body President. He graduated Cal State Northridge with a degree in Business Administration and worked at Crocker Bank in Santa Barbara where he began handling loans to the founders of Sambo’s Restaurants as they began to expand their chain of restaurants. Impressed by the financial success of the company, Ronald soon joined their ranks, becoming the managing partner in the Palm Springs restaurant.
Within 7 years Ronald progressed from that position to district manager where he supervised 13 SoCal operations and eventually ascended to the divisional presidency. He retired the first time at age 32 and eventually began to sell and lease commercial real estate in Santa Barbara, a career which he pursued from agent to broker to owning his own firm. In 1990, he saw the opportunity to acquire an empty warehouse that held the promise of a higher and better use due to its central location between Santa Barbara and Goleta. Conversion into a large self-storage facility soon led to expansion at that location and additional acquisitions and expansions of other local properties.
Cami and Jasmine ensure that our day-to-day operations are top-notch and run smoothly while also providing exceptional customer service. They oversee the office security cameras and gates and offer advice on unit sizes you may need. Jasmine additionally manages our marketing initiatives and online presence. After 30 years with us, Lynn retired but has always remained a cherished member of our family.
We have dedicated staff residing on both of our Goleta properties to ensure the safety of our facility and handle after-hour emergencies with utmost care and attention. Our diligent maintenance team, Arturo, Jorge, and Barut, works tirelessly to keep our grounds impeccably clean and well-maintained. They ensure our tenant community receives prompt responses to any maintenance or facility concerns.
Tell your family and friends about us after experiencing our fantastic service firsthand. We rely on word-of-mouth advertising to grow our business, and we're always happy to help.
