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Cava Restaurant & Bar, a 25-year Mexican restaurant that was a fixture on Coast Village Road in Montecito, quietly closed its doors for good Wednesday night.
The popular restaurant was fully booked until the end.
Owner Carlos Lopez-Hollis told Noozhawk on Thursday that the restaurant had served its final meal, but that he was grateful for all of the support of the restaurant.
The restaurant was launched in 1997 by Carlos and Amanda Lopez-Hollis. It persevered through the Montecito debris flow and the COVID-19 pandemic, but could not win that fight in the end.
Cava specialized in Nuevo Latino and Mediterranean cuisine, along with its original cocktails and wines from places such as South America and Spain.
According to the Coast Village Association, the restaurant’s original artwork is by Channing Peake, vintage pottery by Gorky Gonzalez, sterior notes by David Minicucci and the “seductive sound of local musician Téka lend Cava it’s distinct and inimitable style.”
Cava left a parting message on its telephone voicemail: “Thank you so much for your support through the years.”
Santa Barbara City Councilwoman Kristen Sneddon, whose district includes Coast Village Road, said she was saddened by the news.
“My husband and I spent our 10th anniversary there,” Sneddon said. “What a loss for the community. This family-owned local business has been a festive favorite, and I am sorry to see them close.”
The owners also own Carlitos on State Street in Santa Barbara and Dos Carlitos in Santa Ynez.
Local Board & Brush Opens
Board & Brush Creative Studio has opened at 31 E. Canon Perdido St. in Santa Barbara.
The do-it-yourself local decor store is owned by Rachael Krieps Myles and Kelly Almeida.
The store is part of the country’s “fastest-growing DIY wood sign and home décor art workshop franchise,” according to a news release.
“A friend of mine opened a Board & Brush in Santa Monica, and I told Kelly about my idea to open one here while chatting over a glass of wine,” Krieps Myles said. “She said she was on board, but I did confirm later just to make sure it wasn’t the wine talking,” she said with a laugh.
The two plan to devote weekends and evenings to the new venture. For now, most workshops will be scheduled for Thursday through Sunday, with the owners also accepting reservations for midweek private parties.
Novices will feel right at home at Board & Brush thanks to the instructor-led format of the workshops, during which attendees are guided through the ins and outs of power tools, paint, art and assembly, with all materials supplied by the studio, according to a news release.
The studio can host 20 people for a workshop, with attendees spread out over four tables.
Krieps Myles considers herself the entrepreneurial type, while Almeida is the more artistic of the pair, making for a complementary skill set, the news release stated.
Cheers to Brewing Companies
Two local brewing companies won big awards recently at the 2021 Great American Beer Festival.
Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. took in four medals for the competition, including two gold for its Davy Brown Ale in the American Brown Lager category a gold for its Meat Sweats in the American Amber Ale category. It also won a silver for its Danish Red Lager and a silver for its Schwarz is the new Black, in the German Dark Lager Category.
It was the company’s 29th medal at the competition.
“Winning this year was extra special,” founder Jaime Dietenhofer said. “Not only was this the most competitive GABF ever, it was coming off a challenging year for the entire brewing industry and the world. We are so grateful to have our beers recognized at this level and are excited about bringing recognition to beer and breweries on the Central Coast.”
Figueroa Mountain Brewing head brewer Kevin Ashford said: “This never gets old, but it gets tougher every year. It’s great to see the Central Coast represent. Hopefully more attention is brought to the great breweries right here in our backyard.”
Third Window Brewing Co. from Santa Barbara brought home a gold for The Dark in the International Dark Lager category. It marks its second medal in consecutive years.
“It is extremely tough to win anything at this competition, and to win a medal for the second year in a row is very gratifying and humbling” founder Kris Parker said.
Judging took place in 34 sessions over 17 days with strict health and safety measures in place; 170 judges evaluated 9,680 entries from 2,192 breweries from all 50 states plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.
U-Haul Teams with San Marcos Self Storage
San Marcos Self Storage has signed on as a U-Haul neighborhood dealer to serve the Santa Barbara community.
The storage company at 4093 State St. will offer essential services such as U-Haul trucks, trailers, towing equipment, moving supplies and in-store pickup for boxes.
“With the COVID-19 outbreak creating challenging times for small businesses, more than 20,000 dealers across the U.S. and Canada are creating supplemental income through their U-Haul partnership,” a news release stated. “When a customer rents from a U-Haul dealer, they are directly supporting an independent small business in their community.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
