Hola Alito’s

Just ten months after opening their new State Street outpost, Mollie’s, next to the Granada theatre in the former Tupelo Junction space, culinary dynamic duo Mollie Ahlstrand and her son, Ali, have launched another eatery, Alito’s, further downtown on the busy thoroughfare.

However, unlike their former nosheteria on Coast Village Road which closed in August, known for its Italian cuisine, the new 100-seat eatery, formerly Cadiz, which closed last June after six years, will be offering high-end Mexican food.

‘We have had four brothers, Eduardo, Victor, Julio, and Juan Carlos, working for us as chefs for many years,” explained Ali.

“Two of them are running the kitchen at Mollie’s, which has been a great success, and the other two, led by Eduardo, are running the kitchen at Alito’s, so it has worked out well. The menu is based on food their mother cooked for them while growing up in Mexico City.”

The restaurant has undergone a complete makeover by Santa Barbara interior designer Eileen Dill and welcomed nearly 200 guests for the opening bash, including Ginni Dreier, Fred Brander, sheriff Bill Brown, Rebecca Brand, Wendy McCaw, Eric and Nina Phillips, Mara Abboud, Christopher Lancashire and Catherine Gee, Diana Starr Langley, and Arthur von Wiesenberger.