Julienne Restaurant Is Closing

Chef Justin West announced on Tuesday that his highly praised restaurant Julienne will be closing on November 12 after eight years in business. The farm-to-table, nose-to-tail establishment at the corner of East Canon Perdido and Santa Barbara streets quickly became the darling of the Santa Barbara gourmet scene upon opening in 2008, even winning applause from celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain. That success spawned West’s second restaurant, Wildwood, an upscale barbecue joint down on East Haley Street that opened at the end of 2015.

According to an email sent to his many fans, West, who explained that the restaurant has been for sale since April, is closing Julienne to focus on Wildwood and his family. “It turns out that owning two restaurants and being a parent of two children has been more difficult than I thought it would be and downsizing needs to happen,” wrote West, who also plans to expand his Wildwood Provisions line of prepared foods and butchery.

Up until the last dinner on November 12, the restaurant will be open as usual, with a few more dates to come in toward the end of the year, including a Thai dinner with winemaker Graham Tatomer on November 14, Thanksgiving on November 24, and pop-ups on November 25 and 26. More openings will occur in December as well.

“It has been such a fun ride here on this corner,” wrote West. “This isn’t the end. It’s just the beginning. The start of a new chapter.”