During the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jonathan “Yona” Estrada built Yona Redz, one of Santa Barbara’s most popular restaurants, known for its birria quesatacos.
Delicioso.
Now, he’s about to do it again.
Estrada is just a couple of weeks away from opening Santa Playa Mariscos, his latest restaurant creation, at 1230 State St. in Santa Barbara.
In a Noozhawk exclusive, Estrada shared the plan for opening his new restaurant, at the site of the former Brasil Arts Cafe. It’s been a journey.
“Santa Playa is something new to Santa Barbara, especially to State Street,” Estrada told Noozhawk. “It’s Mexican seafood. You know, with Japanese, they use fresh sushi, raw fish. Ours is a little bit different. We throw a little lime in it and a few other ingredients that make it better. It’s still raw like sushi, but with a different twist.”
The menu items will be full of fresh fish, lobster, shrimp and other seafood.
With a contagious smile and a positive attitude, Estrada has worked through some grueling permitting and code issues but is poised to open in the next couple of weeks, he said. The opening will signal a remarkable plot twist in his humble rise to entrepreneurial success.
“Back in the day, when I was in between jobs, I worked at the Brasil Arts Cafe as a dishwasher,” Estrada said. “I found them on Craigslist. I worked there for a couple days, and a few years later I am back there as an owner.”
Estrada, 34, said he intends to do with mariscos what he did with quesatacos. When he opened his restaurant in 2020, he launched with the specialty item, which comes with a side of consome. After the success of his business, other restaurants around town started to copy the menu item.
Estrada regularly visits Baja, California, or Los Angeles to find mariscos. He’s bringing in marisco food similar to what the port cities in Mexico sell.
“We want to make sure we bring some of those styles here,” he said. “There’s nothing here like that.”
Estrada’s success is richer than the flavor in his tacos. He grew up on Santa Barbara’s Westside, on Rancheria Street. He held many jobs, including as a dishwasher and auto mechanic. In 2019, he started cooking in a friend’s backyard.
His mouth-watering queso tacos, using family recipes, hooked people, and before long hungry eaters came every night to taste the food. He then set up a pop-up taco shop at the former Casablanca restaurant on State Street.
Estrada found a spot to open his own restaurant — 532 State St., a property owned by Ray Mahboob. Since, he’s been featured everywhere. His social media blew up on Instagram and TikTok. Mahboob then came to him again a year ago with an offer to open a new restaurant at the former Brasil Arts Cafe.
He jumped at it. Estrada has been working on permits and bringing the building up to code, and is preparing to open in a couple of weeks.
He also pulled off another major event. Estrada has lost about 200 pounds since he opened Yona Redz. The weight loss, he said, invigorated him, allowed him to grow his restaurant and plunge into opening a new one. He also had a baby, named Delania.
“I have been on a weight-loss journey,” he said. “I eat fruit now. I got my grapes. I pack my lunch. The energy I got from my weight loss and getting healthier helped me to stay on top of everything — my energy and stamina, everything I needed.”
Attitude, he said, also is key. He never imagined he would open a restaurant, much less two, and learned a lot through trial and error. He said his experiences have made him — and the food he sells — better.
“You get smarter quick; otherwise, you drown,” Estrada said. “It’s been an exciting journey for me.”
The new restaurant will complement Yona Redz, he said.
“It’s a blessing, and it’s a great change for me,” he said. “It doesn’t take away from Yona Redz; it adds to Yona Redz. People like it here, we send them there. People like it there, we send them here. It’s two different kinds of food. It’s all Mexican, but it’s two different styles.”
Poke House Opens
Paseo Nuevo mall in Santa Barbara has a new restaurant, Poke House.
The restaurant held a grand opening last Saturday with a free photo booth, a magic show, and free merchandise for the first 100 customers.
The restaurant, near the recently BizHawk-featured Boss Dog, is at 811 Paseo Nuevo, and is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day.
According to its Instagram, the restaurant has been in the works for two years.
“Our mission is to provide healthy, delicious and sustainable options,” the post states.
ScOp Announces Second AI-Based Fund
Santa Barbara-based ScOp Venture Capital has announced its second fund, currently at $53 million.
“Building on the momentum of its first fund, ScOp continues to focus on early-stage SaaS companies that demonstrate robust market fit,” according to a news release. “ScOp’s investment strategy is centered around companies with $500,000 to $3 million in revenue and meaningful U.S. customer traction.”
With its first fund, ScOp invested in 21 companies, including several AI-first companies such as Rogo, Unwrap, Flip and Yogi.
The second fund will have greater emphasis on AI while maintaining ScOp’s core focus on capital-efficient, scalable opportunities, according to a news release.
ScOp’s investment approach goes beyond capital and provides strategic advice and operational support, drawing from the extensive entrepreneurial and investment experience of its team.
“ScOp stands for scalable opportunities, and this ethos drives the firm’s investment decisions,” the news release states. “By focusing on companies that fill fundamental needs efficiently and sustainably, ScOp aims to foster innovation and growth in the B2B sector.”
Transient Occupancy Taxes Fall Under Budget
Santa Barbara’s transient occupancy taxes came in 2.5% under budget for the fiscal year, according to a City of Santa Barbara press release.
The city collected $32.2 million in overall TOT in fiscal year 2024. About $29.4 million came from hotels and $2.8 million from short-term rentals.
Santa Barbara collected $3.3 million in transient occupancy taxes in June, the last month of the fiscal year.
