The Mullet’s Magic Mix of Character Cocktails, Vinyl Vibes, and Business Smarts

The Mullet — Santa Barbara’s new vinyl bar in the Funk Zonk behind Lama Dog Tap Room — takes its name from the controversial hairdo of hockey players, hicks, and hipsters, whose greatest tagline is “business in the front, party in the back.” Whether you love the style, hate it, or just plain tolerate it, the mullet lends itself to great imagery — perfect for logos, stickers, and drink coasters — and, it turns out, quite a cocktail menu. 

“I’m not a particular fan of gimmicks, believe it or not,” said The Mullet’s mastermind Peter Burnham, who opened the adjacent Lama Dog in 2016 and its uptown sister in 2024. “But I couldn’t help naming drinks after the most obscure people with fantastic mullets.” Each mulletteer then inspired the cocktails themselves via a special ingredient or two.  

There’s the Valtteri Bottas, a refreshing sparkling grapefruit concoction known as a “Finnish Long Drink” (or lonkero) named after Finland’s top race car driver. There’s La Flamma Blanca, a margarita-ish nod to the show Eastbound & Down when disgraced pitcher Kenny Powers (so it’s actually the actor Danny McBride’s mullet) flees to play ball in Mexico. 

There’s a Van Damm (rum and mint with a Belgian lambic float), a Ziggy Stardust (vodka, mango, and pineapple with “magic dust”), and, though not on the menu yet, the Rain Epler, an Estonian politician whose fantastic mullet is honored with Estonian vodka. (Look up his mullet now.) Others reflect famous people during their own mullet eras, such as Paul McCartney in Wings (starring Earl Grey tea–infused gin) and Bill Murray in 1979 (bourbon from his hometown of Chicago).

That’s just the start of the menu — overseen by veteran mixologists Jesus Munoz and Gustavo “Goose” Bello and manager Brandon Hedekin — which includes plenty of more common drinks, wine, beer, and nonalcoholic options. Of course, being a proper bar, you can also just order whatever you want.   

But libations aren’t really even the headline here. The Mullet is a vinyl bar, with deejays spinning the whole time. “They’re popping up everywhere,” said Burnham of the vinyl bar movement, which hadn’t quite reached Santa Barbara when he was plotting the concept. “I hope it’s not just a flash in the pan, but it seems like a perfect idea.”

He sniffed out a similar opportunity when opening Lama Dog. “There was this glaring niche for a craft beer tap room and bottle shop, so I did that before someone else did,” he said. “It was the same with The Mullet: I wanted to do it before someone else did.”

Unlike many of the other vinyl bars that have popped up around the country over the past few years, this is not a “listening” experience. This is a party — the music is intentionally loud, dancing is encouraged, and the space is well lit and cheery rather than dark and moody. 

“What is music for other than having a good time with friends?’ explained Burnham, whose friend Ally Hendrickson is lining up the deejays. “This is just a bright, happy place for friends to get together.”

The Mullet’s more mundane origin story is tied to 2023 state law that blocked municipalities from mandating extra parking spaces for new developments if they are located near public transit centers, like the train station. With Lama Dog’s parking allocation already tapped out — and no new parking even possible in the crowded Funk Zone — the law meant that Burnham could open a second business in the same location. 

So he took over the lease for the rear of the building, which was designed as a gallery space for artists when The Waterline shared-space development opened in 2016. While most of the building’s tenants remain as envisioned — The Nook serves food, Topa Topa does beer, Fox Wine Co. does wine, etc. — the artists left a while ago, and the tech company Honey briefly took the room. (Historically, said Burnham, the whole building was once a tune-up shop for Oscar Mayer’s fleet of Weinermobiles.)

As happens in a steadily startling number of developments these days, the city’s permitting process for The Mullet took far longer than expected, ramping up Burnham’s costs and frustration in fabulous ways. But The Mullet finally opened its doors in the back of Lama Dog on August 20, and the crowds have been amassing ever since. 

“I’m sure some of it is luck,” said Burnham. “But we got a ton of Instagram buzz, and it’s been so long in the making that everyone was anticipating it.” 

Credit: Ricky Biggs

When I visited on its first Saturday afternoon, the place was nearly full by 3 p.m., with a wide range of clientele. All (adult) ages were mingling, the deejay was spinning, there was dancing, and the epic people-watching fun was broken up by glances at a large TV screen looping videos of skateboard tricks and Formula 1. Though he almost took my offer for a ride uptown that afternoon, Burnham got stuck there past midnight, enlisting friends to help wash glasses because business was so booming. 

There are lots of ideas for the future: connecting a night’s musical theme to who’s playing at the Santa Barbara Bowl; serving as an afterparty to Bowl shows; even getting Bowl performers to come spin records after their sets. There may be Goonies or F1 races airing silently on the big screen, plus plenty of private gatherings for nonprofits or companies who want to rent the space.  

For such a humble, laid-back dude, Burnham is turning out to be quite the savvy entrepreneur, achieving instant success with Lama Dog, then Lama Dog Uptown (known by most as Lama Sama for the Sama Sama food service there), and now The Mullet. He’s down to party, but really does keep his business up front.  

“I’m happy,” he said. “There’s a good chance this will be my last, but you never know. “

The Mullet, 116 Santa Barbara St.; @themulletsb