Riviera Bar, a downtown Santa Barbara staple known for classic cocktails and elevated tavern fare, has closed.
The bar and restaurant, located at 20 West Figueroa Street in a 1931 Edwards & Plunkett–designed building, announced the shutdown on social media on February 16, stating its final night of service was February 14.
“Riviera Bar has closed. Our last night of service was February 14th,” the post read, thanking staff, friends, customers, and purveyors “since opening post-Covid.”
The message, signed by owners Kevin and Gwynn Boss, concluded with a Samuel Johnson quote: “There is nothing which has yet been contrived by man, by which so much happiness is produced as by a good tavern.” The bar also acknowledged team members by name in its farewell.
Opened in the summer of 2021 in the former home of The Sportsman (which later relocated to State Street), Riviera Bar continued a more than 80-year tradition of bar and restaurant hospitality at the historic Figueroa Street address.
The concept was “dedicated to the pleasure of eating in bars and taverns,” featuring snacks, salads, and plates anchored by a signature double cheeseburger, as well as fried chicken and steak frites.
Its bar program highlighted strong, classic cocktails—martinis and old fashioneds among them—house specials like the Riviera Spritz, and a wine list focused on small producers committed to thoughtful vineyard practices and minimalist winemaking.
News of the closure prompted an outpouring from patrons on social media. “I feel fortunate to have been there on your last night! We had to wait for a place!! Best of luck,” one commenter wrote. Another added, “This was such an elegantly classic establishment, the perfect place off State Street to take loved ones and visitors. You will be missed.”
No immediate details were provided about the future of the space.
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Changes to the Santa Barbara Food Landscape
This is the third restaurant closure that’s been announced this week. After a decade of having a storefront in Carpinteria, The Food Liason announced it was closing up shop.
The owners announced the planned closure on social media, stating they will shift to operating as a community-focused commissary kitchen while continuing catering services.
Takashi Ramen, a ramen restaurant in Goleta, is listed for sale after announcing a GoFundMe campaign to keep the restaurant open.
The restaurant has been listed for $350,000, according to a recent listing on BizBuySell, stating the restaurant was built to handle a high volume of customers efficiently.
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If only cars were able to drive by the business so that drivers could see where the bar was. Thanks, Biden, for ruining State St.
Oh, wait a second…..
5 years is a good run for a Santa Barbara establishment.
Back in the good ‘ol days the old bars in town operated for many years; and most with the same owner(s). Then again, those were the good ‘ol days.
You were in bars frequently I’m sure.
Randy Rowse has done nothing to keep downtown vibrant.
Riviera Bar had major Cali-MAGA vibes. Locals knew not to go there.
I G – if that’s true, then it’s a blessing to us all that it crashed and burned. Those people should pay for what they stand for and what they’ve done to our communities.
All businesses owned/run by hate mongers, racists, bigots and child rapist sympathizers should be outed on a list so the good people of our community can avoid them and contribute to their failure.
NO ONE who supports this current administration should be free from lifelong ruin.
“We gonna chase those crazy baldheads out of town
Chase those crazy baldheads out of our town”
– Bob Marley