Catching Up with Santa Barbara’s Calle Milpas
From the Bowl to the Beach, Businesses Keep It Real on the Eastside’s Main Street
By Ryan P. Cruz, Camille Garcia, and Tyler Hayden | April 14, 2022
Milpas Street, or “Calle Milpas,” has long been the backbone of Santa Barbara’s Eastside. Stretching a mile and a half from the Santa Barbara Bowl at the end of Anapamu Street to the 101 freeway, then another quarter mile south to East Beach, Milpas serves as the Eastside community hub, where residents gather and hundreds of junior high and high-school students walk to and from school each day.
“Living in the Eastside, Milpas Street has always been our downtown,” said City Councilmember Alejandra Gutierrez, who was born in and represents the Eastside’s District 1. “That’s where all the businesses have been, where families get their food, and where friends meet.”
Milpas has its own culture and its own unique feel. It has traditionally been the city’s lowrider hotspot and home to the Santa Barbara Eastside Society’s Milpas Holiday Parade and Trick or Treat on Milpas Celebration. Each year, the business owners pitch in together to string up Christmas lights in December, a tradition kept by Taqueria El Bajio owner Santos Guzman.
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