Full Belly Files | It’s the ‘Independent’s 40th Anniversary! Help Us Celebrate

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The Santa Barbara Independent is turning 40 years old in 2026, and I’ve volunteered to help plan how we mark that milestone throughout the year. There will indeed be a party (if not multiple gatherings; details TBD), a special anniversary issue (also very much in the early planning stages), and, wait for it, an S.B. Indy anniversary wine! (That one is almost done, actually.)

But a primary way we’re hoping to celebrate is by doing what we do best: Using our publication as a platform for the community to share its own successes and tell its own stories from over the last four-plus decades. In the months to come, we will be touting these tales alongside our own memories from the 1980s onward in both the printer newspaper and online at Independent.com.

This is the part where you can help me.

Is your business celebrating its 40th year anniversary or a significant milestone in the four-decade-or-more range? If so, tell us your story by filling out this survey.

Were you born in 1986 and have some connection to Santa Barbara? Right now, we don’t care if you were born here, or live here now, or just have some deep connection to town. But if you’re turning 40 this year, let us know, and we’ll add you to the list. Here’s that survey.

We would also like to hear what the Santa Barbara Independent has meant to you over the decades. Did we help your business succeed? Did you meet your partner because of a concert we promoted? Did you spend your graduation dinner at a restaurant we loved? Was your neighborhood saved because our news reporters covered a meeting at City Hall? Were you recognized as a Local Hero?

We want to know, and will share those testimonials as well. Send us those at birthday@independent.com.

We will be collecting these stories over the coming months, and then start publishing the responses on a regular basis in the spring. You can also expect stories from me and the rest of our staff about our first days here, our most meaningful experiences in the pursuit of honest journalism, and the earlier eras at the paper.

We’ll probably remind you of what life was like in 1986 too because, of course, “That’s What Friends Are For.” (Yes, that Dionne Warwick & Friends banger was a top song of 1986.)

If you have other suggestions or questions surrounding our 40th birthday bash plans, you can email birthday@independent.com.

RIP Jake Beckett of Peachy Canyon

There’s been a lot of untimely death going around these days, or maybe that’s just an unfortunate byproduct of getting older and knowing lots of people.

While I was at winemaker Christian Roguenant’s memorial in Paso Robles last Friday, I learned that Jake Beckett, the son of Peachy Canyon founders Doug and Nancy Beckett, had died suddenly two days before while celebrating his 50th birthday. Jake was a successful vintner in his own right, having confounded Chronic Cellars with his brother, Josh Beckett, and then returned to help his family run Peachy after selling Chronic.

We weren’t super close, but I certainly considered Jake a friend. We hung out together on a number of occasions, from the 2018 edition of Hospice du Rhône, when I stayed at a rental he owned with my Wine Enthusiast colleagues, to the rousing lunch we had with his spill-all-the-beans dad at Finch & Fork.

The last time we dined together was one year ago, when I was reporting this article on Paso Robles wineries passing it on to the next generation winemakers for Wine Enthusiast. Jake took me out to Basil Thai on the square in downtown Paso, and we talked more about our lives, families, and plans for the future rather than wine, which tends to happen with winemakers who have become my friends.

I was looking forward to our next hang, which will never be. Rest in peace, Jake. You’re already missed.

Pony Cocktails & Kitchen in Santa Ynez is serving steak frites as part of its $50 menu for SYV Restaurant Week. | Credit: Courtesy

Santa Ynez Valley Restaurant Weeks

Though a rather successful venture in many regions across the country since the original New York City iteration of 1992, the concept of Restaurant Week got off to a later start here on the South Coast of Santa Barbara County, with the first iteration coming just eight years ago in 2018. (I covered that launch and a bit about the history of Restaurant Weeks here, and I wrote about it again in 2019.)

Minus the COVID gap, Santa Barbara Restaurant Week (SBRW) seems to persist, although with just 15 restaurants and one tasting room involved in 2025, it’s not exactly the most thriving promotion in town. I’d like to think I am one of the more influential people writing about food, drink, and restaurants in the region, but I almost never even hear about the event until it’s too late — if even then. I don’t think I got one email about SBRW last year, so we’ll see how 2026 plays out.

Up in North County, though, Santa Ynez Valley Restaurant Week appears to be surging in popularity. This year’s version, which runs from January 18 to 31 (yea, it’s really Restaurant Weeks), features 24 restaurants and nearly 20 tasting rooms, with representation in every community, from Santa Ynez, Solvang, and Buellton to Lompoc, Los Olivos, and Los Alamos.

Nik Ramirez is serving up a $40 three-course menu for SYV Restaurant Week at Buellton’s Na Na Thai | Credit: Courtesy

Participating establishments are offering three-course fixed menus for $30, $40, or $50 (plus tax and tip), and wineries are supporting the deals with two-for-one tastings and discounted bottle prices.

For a full list of restaurants and wineries, see visitsyv.com/food-drink/restaurant-week.