Less than a year after losing half of the property to the 1/9 Debris Flow, San Ysidro Ranch is slowly opening its doors to business again. The historic resort, which was also nearly lost in the Thomas Fire, is serving a series of holiday brunches, and reservation-only dinner service will start in mid-January at the Stonehouse and Plow & Angel restaurants. Overnight accommodations should be mostly open by March 2019, with the final three cottages ready to go in August.
“For people in Montecito, this means a lot,” said facilities director David Soberano during a walk around the property on Tuesday. “It took three months just to dig out from the mud.”
Of the property’s 41 cottages, 21 were damaged, including three that were totally destroyed. The historic adobe had mud four feet up the walls, but experts from Chicago were called in to save it. Luckily, a large boulder stopped just short of the front door, and will be the site of a remembrance plaque.