A wine bar owner in Santa Barbara County is facing four criminal charges for keeping his business open during the state’s pandemic restrictions, making him one of the few business owners in California formally charged by the state for defying Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home orders.
Kurt Hixenbaugh, 49, and his wife, Dawn, have owned Vino et Amicis in Old Town Orcutt since 2018. He’s a former police officer with the San Luis Obispo Police Department, and a U.S. Army veteran with no previous criminal record.
