Paul Wellman

Ralph Karlskint of Farmer Boy and Joe Bohnett of Petrini's

Two Eateries: This is a story of two Santa Barbara families and their two restaurants. Both eateries are now celebrating their 50th birthdays.

In honor of the twin occasions, both Petrini’s and The Farmer Boy, which opened in San Roque in 1958, are cutting prices to 1950’s prices Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, September 22, 23, and 24.

An order of buttermilk pancakes, with butter and syrup, at The Farmer Boy, 3427 State St., will be 40 cents and a plate of spaghetti at Petrini’s, 14 W. Calle Laureles, will be 85 cents.

In a town where restaurants open and close with revolving door speed, it’s amazing that these two, far from the tourist circuit, have survived. Their secret: basic food for the general public at reasonable prices and efficient service. And hard work by the families.

Joe Bohnett, grandson of former mayor and City Council member Floyd O. Bohnett, bought Petrini’s in 1994, having grown up just five blocks away.

Ralph Karlskint took over The Farmer Boy after his father Jake died in 1967. Jake and his wife, Vera, moved to California during the Depression after they couldn’t sell their wheat crops in Miami, Oklahoma.

Jake bought a Flying A service station from a cousin in Santa Maria, and later got into the restaurant business, opening Karlskint’s during World War II. Then they moved to Santa Barbara, opening several State Street eateries, including Karl’s Food and Fountain, at 805 State. In 1958 he and Vera opened The Farmer Boy, at that time on the outskirts of town. “The wise gurus of Santa Barbara told Dad he would never make it, being so far out at the end of town,” Ralph told me.

But business boomed. When his father died, Ralph faced a steep learning curve. “It was a baptism by fire, since I had only worked as a bus boy, dishwasher, and cook in the early days. I learned the business through trial and error.

Now, he said, “We have fourth-generation customers. My daughters, Sharon and Pamela, along with numerous nephews and nieces, have assisted with the operation of the restaurant and catering business over the last 50 years. Pamela continues to perform duties weekly.

“The décor has not changed over the last 50 years, which includes the ever-popular counter, booths, and murals of farm scenes painted by a dear friend many years ago.”

Restauranteur Joe Bohnett’s family faced adversity with courage. His father, Joe Sr., fought in the Battle of the Bulge in Germany during World War II, with the 11th Armored Division. Badly wounded, he was told he could never father children.

As a parallel story, Clem Wehe, who grew up on a Wisconsin dairy farm, also fought in the Battle of the Bulge, earning a Bronze Star with the 10th Armored Division. But they never met there. After the war Clem joined the Franciscan order, and was at St. Anthony’s Seminary when four of Joe Sr.’s boys were there. (He was able to father 13 children, as it turned out.)

After Joe Sr. died in 1969 at 49, leaving a houseful of children, Clem asked Joe’s widow, Sheila, to marry him. The family praises Clem, who worked at the Biltmore and later at Valle Verde Retirement Center, for helping raise the children and seeing that they all had college educations.

Clem, 90, has liver cancer, and only a few months to live, Joe Bohnett told me from his Petrini’s restaurant. “My mom died of cancer a few years back,” he added, “and Clem has the same."

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