Seven Lands a Heavenly New Location

When Seven Bar & Kitchen lost their lease in 2022 after 10 years of providing a fun and truly funky destination in the Funk Zone, shutting down that August, owner Michael Gomez, unsurprisingly, wasn’t pleased. Now Seven Bar (the “& Kitchen” is gone, even if food service isn’t) is settled into its new location — the spot once occupied by The Neighborhood on Montecito Street. 

“This change wasn’t part of the plan,” Gomez says, “but it’s turned out to be a blessing in disguise.”

More than anything, the new space is more spacious, neatly divided into a bar area, a room that’s perfect for live music and/or events such as wedding showers and hip-hop brunches, and a backyard patio that argues for any happy hour to extend into an evening of chill vibes.

“Our clientele is aging with us,” Gomez explains. “We’re all graying together, so we want to elevate our experience. The goal is to keep supporting the arts and the local,” pointing to bands, aerialists, and even distillers like long-time friend Ian Cutler.

And while Seven has taken over the old Neighborhood space, they are doing all they can to fit into the new neighborhood. You can even say Gomez and company ended up there thanks to the cajoling of Dudley Michael, who runs Wingstop and the Rodeo Room right next door. In fact, Michael is providing food for Seven. As Gomez puts it, “I had a passion for food, but no training. I’m excited to work with someone who has more experience with it and wants to do it.”

The tight and enticing menu — you order and pay via QR code — lets you go healthy with a Roots Farm Caesar or mushroom tacos, or indulge a bit with mac and cheese, Wagyu steak bites, or churros.

Having food service off its plate, so to speak, leaves Seven a chance to do what it does best. Gomez says, “We get to focus on cocktails — we want to be an approachable cocktail bar.” The Seven team loves their infusions, especially as featured in their signature lemonades — a strawberry, a cucumber, and a bikini bottom (pineapple/strawberry), bringing together infused vodka, fresh fruit puree, and fresh lemonade — which are all done in-house.

Be prepared for kicks in some of the pun-loving cocktails, too: The Mez You Up features pineapple-habanero-infused mezcal, and the Guava Have It has a jalapeño-infused tequila. “We had 10 years of cocktails to bring over,” Gomez points out, “so we’re only offering the best of the best, the all-stars.”

The Seven team might have needed to knock a few back to deal with the delays in opening their new location. Not that theirs is a singular tale in this town, but Gomez purchased the spot in April 2023 and finally opened to the public July 10, 2024. Even trying to keep the revamp simple — Gomez says that “the place had good bones” — and mostly make necessary ADA accommodations, it all took “a year longer than our shortest guess.” The team claims the city would suggest one correction at a time, then take a month to approve the change.

To top it off, Seven was all set to kick off for this busy Fourth of July weekend, only to have fire marshals stop them as their alarm lights and sirens didn’t signal simultaneously, but in a light-noise-light-noise order. That’s with a deejay and food trucks a mere 40 minutes out from setup.

Fortunately, once doors opened, things were smooth sailing. Part of that is Seven brought back 75 percent of their old staff, including some who hadn’t worked for them in five years. “We had no problem hiring,” Hilary MacDonald, director of operations and events, says. “People had lots of good memories from before.”

Now the goal is to create great memories for the future. Part of that will be to, as director of operations Jeff Goebel says, “create a music scene.” Beyond continuing to provide a home for bands from the region, Seven hopes to snag some bigger groups as they tour the West Coast.

“We get to take all the great stuff about the old location and leave the nonsense behind,” Gomez says. “And now we need to let the area know Seven’s back,” to which MacDonald adds, “And still eclectic.”

Seven Bar is located at 235 West Montecito Street. See sevensb.com for more info.