From Montecito Mudslide to Mezcal and Mexican Food

The Complicated Creation Story of Augie’s of Santa Barbara

Pulpo a la Crema Diablo, Tres Moles, and Mole Amarillo | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom

Editor’s Note: Due to substantial changes at the restaurant after this article was published, this original version has been updated to a new story, which you can find here.

It took a nightmare for Berkeley “Augie” Johnson to turn his “childhood dream” of owning a restaurant into reality. The night was January 9, 2018, when the wildfire-scorched mountains above his Montecito home liquefied under torrential downpours, crushing hundreds of homes and killing nearly two dozen residents.

THE AGAVE WAY: Berkeley “Augie” Johnson became fascinated with agave following wildfires and the Montecito debris flow, and followed that path into making tequila and opening his own restaurant. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom

“We lost everything that morning,” said Johnson. “We came out of the mud and we had no house, no wallets, no passports, no photos, no computers, nothing. Our whole family was literally muddy.”