Reader SB4Ever emailed me wondering if the extended delay of the opening of the La Sirena restaurant at the Cabrillo Pavilion, in the space formerly occupied by the East Beach Grill, is in anyway related to a lawsuit filed last month against the eatery’s owner Doug Cavanaugh. The city’s Parks & Recreation Department says the building is ready; it’s just waiting for the pandemic to be over.

In January 2019 the Santa Barbara City Council approved a 10-year contract with Cavanaugh’s company The Beachcomber at Crystal Cove in Orange County which will pay Santa Barbara over $216,000 per year in base rent with an allowance for future increases.

The complaint, filed in federal court in the Central District of California, alleges that defendants Cavanaugh and Ralph Kosmides, owners and former officers of Ruby’s Diner, Inc., drove the chain into bankruptcy in August 2018 after improperly taking assets from Ruby’s Diner to develop two highly successful restaurants in Crystal Cove State Park: The Beachcomber and The Shake Shack.

The La Sirena restaurant is coming to the Cabrillo Pavilion. Courtesy photo.