Pillar of Santa Barbara hospitality and former youth basketball coach Steve Hyslop passed away March 31. 

Hyslop was known for his passion for hospitality. He managed the Chuck’s of Hawaii restaurant and later partnered with owner Larry Stone to lead the Ballard Inn and Café Chardonnay, and open The Endless Summer Bar-Café and Chuck’s Waterfront Grill.

He was awarded the 2014 Small Businessman of the Year award by the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce, served as the president for the Greater Santa Barbara Lodging & Restaurant Association and was awarded Hospitality Star of the Year in 2015.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of Steve Hyslop. Steve was a pillar of our hospitality community and a dedicated leader,” said Kristen Miller, president of the South Coast chamber. “His entrepreneurial spirit will long be remembered through his beloved establishments and in the legacy of Santa Barbara’s restaurant industry.”

Mike Jordan, a member of the Santa Barbara City Council and a friend of Hyslop for the past 25 to 30 years, said he was the kind of manager who would walk around the restaurant, checking in with customers, saying hi to familiar faces and making sure the customers were happy. 

“He’s probably the start of a fading generation of restaurant owners that went to school or had some reason for being in Santa Barbara, washed dishes and then were able to buy their restaurant,” Jordan said. “Their method of running a restaurant was everything from unplugging the toilet to cooking a meal if they had to, not in that order, but always out on the floor talking to customers.”

Jordan said he met Hyslop when he joined a group of men who met regularly to play basketball together in Mission Canyon. 

“He was very sports oriented,” Jordan said. “His daughters were great at basketball and other sports. He had a den that was filled with sports books and memorabilia kind of stuff, just a super sports interested guy.”

When his daughters were growing up, Hyslop coached their basketball and soccer teams, having been active in sports himself as a child. 

He also spent many years coaching youth basketball at the Page Youth Center, where he served on the board.

It was partly because of Hyslop that Jordan first got his feet wet in politics. The two served together for 20 years for the Greater Santa Barbara Lodging & Restaurant Association, even though Hyslop hated meetings. 

“He would let you know he hated meetings. He would let you know during a meeting, after the meeting,” Jordan said. “But if there was going to be another one in a week and he was needed because of his particular expertise or enthusiasm or knowledge about the community, he would step right up and come to that next meeting griping, but he would come and participate effectively.”

Hyslop is survived by his wife, Karen Hyslop; his daughters, Nicole and Lindsey; son-in-law Robby; grandchildren Cameron and Morgan; sister Claudia; and nephews México and Dakota.

He was born in 1954 in La Jolla, where he was raised by his parents, Charles (Pete) and Constance (Connie) Hyslop. 

Hyslop graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in forestry and went on to work for Masonite Corp. in Northern California. After a year, he moved to Santa Barbara to prepare to take the MCAT at UC Santa Barbara. 

However, when he began working at Chuck’s of Hawaii as a dishwasher, he discovered his passion and began his journey in hospitality.

It was also at UCSB where he met his wife, Karen. The two got married in 1983 in Ballard and were married for 42 years. 

The family plans to hold a private celebration of life.