By Raiza Giorgi
publisher@santaynezvalleystar.com
The change to allow families come to the Maverick Saloon couldn’t have come at a better time, said owner Jimmy Loizides. As of June 15, the Maverick Saloon will no longer just serve the 21 and older crowd, but allow for people of all ages to come in an enjoy food, live music and age appropriate beverages.
“I know this might upset some people, but with this health crisis, if we hadn’t gotten the change to allow all ages we would have been forced to close,” Loizides said.
This process has been over a year in the making, as he and his wife Karen who own the Maverick together, have been wanting to do this since taking over the famed cowboy bar. They applied for the license change last year and were just recently approved, Loizides said.
“There will still be times for adults only of course, that will not change, but this allows us to operate all day and have even more fun with families, provide a full menu of tasty food and more opportunities for local bands to perform and events,” he said.
Loizides is no stranger to owning and operating bars and restaurants.
Growing up in Zimbabwe after his parents took the family from Cypress to a British colony there, Loizides learned what it was like to live off the land and cook with what their farm produced. He also would collect eggs from their chickens and sell them from his farm stand. By the time his family relocated to Long Beach when he was 14, it became very clear to him that he wanted to own his own restaurants and bar.
The Loizides decided to embark on new adventures by moving to the valley. They started K’Syrah Catering and Events in Solvang in 2016, with a focus on a farm-to-table menu and family-style service. They took over the Maverick in October of 2017.
“The Maverick needed to evolve and this will allow us to stay in business which is our main goal. The Maverick is a great place and we want it to continue,” Loizides added.
