Creation and Evolution at Augie’s of Santa Barbara
From Montecito Mudslide to Mezcal and Mexican Food on State Street
From left: Pulpo a la Crema Diablo, Tres Moles, and Mole Amarillo | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom
Editor’s Note: This is an updated version of this article originally published on Independent.com on December 14, 2022.
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.
“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.”
