Montecito Inn to Reopen

After seven weeks of vacancy while mitigating the damage caused by the January 9 debris flow, Montecito Inn is scheduled to reopen its doors this Friday, March 2. “We are grateful to the community for the ongoing support, and the crews that worked so hard to get us back in business,” said Jason Copus, whose family has owned the inn since 1989. The Copus brothers – Jason, Danny, and Jim – have been hard at work reviving the 61-room hotel on the corner of Coast Village and Olive Mill roads. 

“For some reason, the hotel has really been front and center in the news of the mudslide, and I think the community is looking at our reopening as a sort of symbol of hope for Montecito,” Copus said. “But truthfully, when you compare our damage to some other areas of Montecito, not to mention the lives lost, we feel like we got off pretty lucky.” 

The inn sustained significant damage that morning, with the underground parking garage filing with water, mud, and debris, which also damaged the exterior of the building, the main doors, and part of the lobby, and flooded the hallway leading to the ground floor suites. Montecito Inn has undergone a mini transformation, with a new exterior marble driveway, new epoxy coating in the valet garage, repairs to the back parking lot, new grand entrance doors, new carpeting, exterior plaster repair, and repainting of the entire exterior including trim and iron work. 

The Copus brothers also designed a newly landscaped garden, which includes a planter surrounded by 23 stones, in honor of the 23 lives lost on January 9. In addition to that token of remembrance, the inn shined a bright-blue spotlight for 23 hours over several evenings in early February, which members of the community reported being able to see from their homes during the week that Montecito was repopulated after long evacuations. “We just wanted to give back to the community, a small token of hope that we are in this together,” Copus said. 

The historic Inn – built by Charlie Chaplin and a group of investors in 1928 – celebrates its 90th birthday this year, and also marks the first time ever being evacuated; both the Thomas Fire in December and the subsequent mudflow in January prompted mandatory evacuations of inn guests and staff. Contingency plans for displaced guests during future storms include staying at the Copus family’s other hotel, Coast Village Inn, or helping guests relocate elsewhere. “It isn’t ideal, but we know it’s a new normal now,” Copus said. 

Moving ahead, the Copus brothers look forward to welcoming chefs Phillip Frankland Lee and Margarita Lee and their new restaurant concepts, including Frankland’s Crab & Co, which will open in the former bar area in the next few weeks, and Monarch, the all-day restaurant located in part where Montecito Café used to be. Monarch is expected to open in June, and Silver Bough, the more upscale eatery concept, is expected to open in the fall. 

For more information, visit www.montecitoinn.com.