Antonio Martinez Guevara was a father, a grandfather, and a great-grandfather. Well-known and well-liked, he could most often be seen at the restaurant that he shared with his wife, Agnes: the Rose Café.
Born on August 18, 1924, in Guanajuato, Mexico, he and his five siblings were raised by their parents. In 1945, he came to Santa Barbara to work with the bracero program. While working, he met the love of his life, Agnes Mata. They married two years later in Ventura and had three children together: Teresa, Anna, and George. He also helped raise his four stepchildren from Agnes’s previous marriage: Manuel, Joe, Esperanza, and Raquel.
In 1953, Tony, along with his stepchildren, helped Agnes to succeed when she took over the Rose Café, where she had worked for many years. Although he had been in construction for many years, he continued to work alongside his wife to help make sure that the restaurant would thrive. Tony worked more behind the scenes at the Rose. He was there seven days a week, starting his day at 4 a.m. to begin the prep work that needed to be done prior to opening, which was at 7:30 a.m. daily. He would then change over to helping his daughter Anna with waiting on tables in the front of the restaurant, while Agnes and their son George would be cooking in the kitchen. Tony would return later in the evening and help close the restaurant for the night.