I’ve never known Mitchell Sjerven to be a dour man, even during past disasters and downturns. But today, clouded by the coronavirus pandemic’s relentless uncertainty, there’s an unquestionable level of angst in the veteran restaurateur’s voice when he talks about the future of bouchon, the West Victoria Street fine-dining establishment he opened in 1998, as well as the 400-plus other restaurants across Santa Barbara.

“We were geared up for what probably would have been our best Q1 ever — then we came to a screeching halt,” he explained of closing the restaurant on March 15 and sending his team of 23 home with care packages from his unsold supplies. His team investigated doing takeout and delivery, but that makes little sense, economically or qualitatively, for a white-tablecloth restaurant.

Instead, Sjerven — who’s also taught restaurant ownership for SBCC’s School of Culinary Arts since 2009 — is saving money on utilities, dipping into his bank account to pay rent, and trying to figure out how he can use his PPP loan, itself a confusing conundrum of short-sighted legislation for most restaurants. “The hospitality, restaurant, and leisure sectors are all hurting hard, and that’s people, not money,” he said of the shutdown’s human impacts, which are compounded in his neighborhood, where all of the nearby theaters shuttered as well. “We’ll drain our savings until the willpower disappears.”