Serving Santa
Paula since 2011
Serving Santa
Paula since 2011
Serving Santa
Paula since 2011
Serving Santa
Paula since 2011
Dave & Tracy Lippert, owner/operators, opened their doors over a decade ago. As Santa Paula residents for 24 years, they pursued a passion to invest in the community they call home.
General Manager
Leo Vazquez
Having been a part of Rabalais journey since day one, Leo Vazquez, a life-long Santa Paulan, leads and manages the team that strives to give our guests a memorable and friendly service experience upon every visit.
Head Chef
James Molina
Using his 17 years of experience, 5 of which are here at Rabalais, James leads our back-of-house team. His consistent dedication to excellence and creative culinary skills are evident. Plated for all to enjoy at Rabalais.
Rabalais’ is a tribute to my grandmother, Anesia Lois Rabalais, who was a great Southern cook with strength of character and a servant’s heart. She was born Nov. 23, 1912 to Elizabeth Saucier Rabalais and Peter Edgar Rabalais, a poor fisherman and sharecropper. They lived in a little French settlement in the bayou county in South Louisiana called Bayou Jane’. She was one of 11 children in her family. She left home and moved to New Orleans to work at the age of 14 making $7.50 a week. Later on, she worked at a Catholic Hospital near Canal St. and met her husband Ted Thedford Walker and was married in 1931. Living in the projects of New Orleans, they began to raise their family of 6 children: Peggy, Ted, Donald, Robert, Matthew, and David.
They moved from New Orleans to the small town of Liddeyville, Louisiana where they built their small ranch house and worked hard, farming 40 acres of cotton. Living on very modest means, the resourceful manner of her Cajun upbringing was necessary to feed a family of 8. Honest and simple were the comfort foods coming from my grandma’s kitchen. Childhood memories of her handmade buttermilk biscuits, black coffee, Thanksgiving turkey gumbo, the small kitchen full of women, milking the cow, riding “Billie” the goat, and eating pecans the size of my thumb off her tree in the backyard are sweet memories to me.
Rabalais’ menu is inspired by simple, but very dear, experiences of food prepared and shared with love and care. I am forever grateful for the legacy left by my grandmother who arose early each morning and prayed for her family of six children and 16 grandchildren before heading into the kitchen.
Food and drink have always been a common bond, bringing people and culture together. Our hope is that Rabalais’ will become a gathering place rooted in old fashioned Southern hospitality that values good food, friends, family, and community. Our time honored French Cajun Bistro fare, as well as the baked goods, will vary seasonally to bring fresh and delicious selections for all to enjoy. Welcome to Rabalais’!