What’s Going on at Paradise Cafe?

••• One of Restaurant Guy‘s readers noticed that Paradise Cafe’s website is gone and parent company Acme Hospitality no longer includes the restaurant on its website. I reached out to Acme on Friday, but I haven’t heard back (which could be because of the long weekend). I walked by yesterday, and work was clearly—and loudly—going on throughout the entire building. After Acme took it over last fall, the restaurant closed for a couple of weeks and gave it a good cleaning. Maybe the company decided to use the pandemic situation to really spruce it up. Or maybe Acme is taking it in another direction…. Hopefully we’ll hear back.

••• “Any idea what is going in at the old Pacific Crepes spot at 705 Anacapa St?” asked JJ. “It looks like there is a patio being built out. Another restaurant?” Last we heard about the space—at the northwest corner of Ortega—was in June, when Low Pigeon was said to be considering a café there. There’s been no word since.

••• Barbareño has spun off Barbareño Apizza, operating out of the same space as the new Venus in Furs (a collaboration between the Barbareño and Good Lion folks) on E. Cota. The pizza is available for pickup and delivery. At this time, the menu is limited: margherita pizza, sausage-and-onion pizza, Caesar salad, and garlic knots.

••• In other Barbareño-adjacent news, the restaurant’s chef, Julian Martinez, is involved in a new meal-delivery service, Quokka. “Quokka’s mission is to help all members reach their health, wellness, and performance goals by dramatically improving their nutrition. Quokka develops a personal nutrition plan for each member, and then delivers local, nutritious, ready-to-eat meals that are tailored to that plan.”

••• Those of us more interested in “living a pizza passionate lifestyle” will enjoy Jonathan Schuhrke’s instructional videos. You can also follow him at @SantaBarbaraBaker.

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