Gator Boy Rides Again: Cajun Kitchen Reopens with Familiar Mural

The Hollister Avenue Location is Back with New Art From Hello Coyote at Foundation Press

What started out as just a sketch for fun in his notebook, Crawshaw’s Gator Boy became a local icon. In his newest iteration of the mural at Cajun Kitchen’s Hollister location, Gator Boy is now a little older. | Credit: Elaine Sanders

Gator Boy is back at Cajun Kitchen.

The popular brunch spot just reopened its original Goleta location (6831 Hollister Avenue) with a revamped look, including a new set of murals by a familiar artist, Curt Crawshaw a k a “Hello Coyote,” who brought back a long-lost character from Cajun Kitchen’s past.

Gator Boy’s story goes back to 2013, when Cajun Kitchen’s co-owners Juan and Richard Jimenez commissioned Crawshaw to come up with a public piece of art to help them spruce up the identity for the family business that their father, Richard, Sr., had operated since the mid-’80s. Together, they decided on the iconic Gator Boy, a serious-faced young man sipping a steaming drink atop a scaly alligator.

Inside Cajun Kitchen | Credit: Elaine Sanders

The mural took up an entire outside wall of Cajun Kitchen’s downtown Santa Barbara location, and quickly became a hit with customers and passersby alike. But within a few months, the city caught wind of the technically unpermitted piece of art and asked the Jimenez family to take it down. After a long public battle and a community effort to save the mural, the city ordered Gator Boy removed in 2015.

When the Jimenez family began pursuing a renovation of their Goleta restaurant with a brand-new interior, they reached back out to Crawshaw’s design company, Foundation Press, to create an updated set of paintings.

Given the freedom to fill up the walls, Crawshaw and Foundation Press Manager Alex Ramirez dreamed up a design that would serve as a “visual love letter” to the history of Goleta, Isla Vista, and Cajun Kitchen itself.

Cajun Kitchen’s owners wanted to make sure to capture the local spots, commissioning Crawshaw to paint Campus Point Beach. | Credit: Elaine Sanders

Artist Curtis Crawshaw aka Hello Coyote stands in front of his drawings that line the wall of Cajun Kitchen’s reopened Hollister location. All of the art on the walls is exclusive to this location, with local references to Isla Vista and Goleta. | Credit: Elaine Sanders

The set of paintings in the redesigned entrance is full of fun characters, local references, and nods to the Central Coast, from two sunglass-wearing “over-easy eggs” in a set of beach chairs to a view of Campus Point and the Channel Islands to the centerpiece: a grown-up version of Gator Boy.

In this updated version, which Crawshaw calls “Gator Boy 2.0,” the once-serious-faced boy is at least a decade older, smiling wide, and holding a cowboy hat high over his head. He’s clearly been doing a lot of riding in the years he’s been gone.

“Gator Boy is alive and well in the Goodland; and he’s all grown up,” Crawshaw said.

The Foundation Press team spent long hours installing the new pieces, which keeps close to Crawshaw’s signature style, taking cues from California beach and skate culture, tattoo flash, and street art. The design team also hopes the murals can help bring renewed attention to Cajun Kitchen’s first Goleta location, which was closed for more than a year to allow for the remodeling work.

“A tremendous amount of love and care went into the artwork with the hope that both locals and visitors alike will find joy, nostalgia, and a deeper connection to the Goleta community,” Ramirez said.

Cajun Kitchen’s Goleta location (6831 Hollister Ave.) is open daily from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. See cajunkitchencafe.com.