A brand new Italian restaurant, Cacio E Pepe, is getting ready to make its debut in North Park, located at 2835 University Avenue. San Diego Restaurant Group is changing one of its shuttered concepts at the corner of University and Utah. The hospitality group plans to open a new Italian concept in the former home of the Seventh House, first reported on a private Facebook group. While the upscale dining lounge closed last month for renovations, the company will move the brand to the back area as a speakeasy. Cacie E Pepe is expected to open in the next few weeks, possibly sometime next month ..read more

In the next few months, the corner of Mission Boulevard and Garnet Avenue in Pacific Beach, where the Mission + Garnet Food Hall is located at 4505 Mission Boulevard, will undergo some drastic changes. Earlier this week, it was reported that Mission + Garnet Food Hall will close down after less than a year, leaving only one of its tenants on the property. Now, it has become a little clearer as to what’s happening with the space. SanDiegoVille reports that entrepreneur Lawrence Longo will be opening branches of New York City’s famed Prince Street Pizza and Los Angeles’s Irv’s Burgers in the sp ..read more

Sabre Springs Tavern LLC, the operator of the Knotty Barrel in Rancho Penasquitos, is working on a new yet-to-be-named concept in Escondido, located at 155 East Grand Ave. Company owner James Thorp recently submitted a liquor license application to open a new concept in the former home of Plan 9 Alehouse in downtown Escondido. Thorp, who has no relation with the Knotty Barrel found downtown, tells What Now Media Group that while they don’t have a name yet and are still working with a contractor on overall design and more, he hopes to open around September 2024. It will be a full-service resta ..read more

El Viejón Seafood, a Mexican-influenced seafood restaurant that features an Asian twist, is opening a new location in Otay Mesa at 1620 Millenia Avenue, Unit 101. The company’s second location is set to replace El Tianguis Millenia in the Millenia Town Center, according to co-owner Luis Gonzalez, who tells What Now San Diego that he expects to open this new site in mid-May 2024. El Viejon Seafood opened in the Convoy Street Plaza in 2021, and this is the first time the company is expanding to a new location. Gonzalez also owns Lupe’s Mexican Eatery in San Diego and Orange County and Holy Pale ..read more

After recently opening a new concept, SD Backyard Restaurant Group is working on its next restaurant, Oi-Shiba, in Pacific Beach. The fast-growing restaurant group has opened two restaurants in San Diego this year and doesn’t plan to stop anytime soon. Earlier this year, the SDB Restaurant Group opened Bok Bok Dok in the Midway Towne Center shopping plaza in Point Loma, followed by the company’s sixth restaurant, Viet Nom, in the University City area at the Renaissance Town Centre shopping plaza. Next up, the group will open a new ramen shop called Oi-Shiba this June, according to Eater San D ..read more

After recently announcing plans to relocate rather than renovate its original location, IZOLA Bakery appears to be moving down the street to 1429 Island Ave in East Village. Owners Jeffrey Brown and Jenny Chen are moving quickly to find a new home for the bakery, which was once named the #1 bakery in the United States by Yelp. The duo recently submitted documentation to open in the former home of Amplified Ale Works Kitchen + Beer Garden. Earlier this month, it was reported that the owners were in discussions regarding three potential new locations, and it appears they hope to open just a few ..read more

Better Buzz Coffee Roasters, the San Diego-based coffee chain that has been slowly expanding away from the city, is planning on opening two more locations this year in San Diego. The company already owns several locations throughout San Diego, with a handful of sites in Las Vegas, Phoenix, and other parts of California. Despite expanding the brand away from its home state, the company continues to invest in San Diego. In addition to the previously announced Oceanside site replacing Angelo’s Burgers, Better Buzz is also opening sites at Monte Mar Street and East Vista Way in Vista and 1435 Cam ..read more

Wildwood Crossing and Cantina, located next to Wildwood Park in Vista at 116 Civic Center Drive, is preparing for a name change under new ownership. The company recently announced on social media and its website that it will go in a new direction with new ownership. Once the licensing for the name is approved, new owners Alexis Aguilar, Sally Schoeffel, and Elsa Morales, along with chef Emilio Rodriguez, plan to add a few new items to the menu, spruce up the space, and eventually rename it Rancho El Agave Cantina y Cocina. The new owners are actively working on improving the decor and ambianc ..read more

Club Kokomo Spirits, a distillery founded by Mike Love, co-founder of The Beach Boys, is preparing to open a new tasting room in Miramar at 7950 Stromesa Court. The Beach Boys singer, songwriter, and longtime San Diego resident partnered with Geoff Longnecker after purchasing a majority interest in his Miramar-based Seven Caves Spirits. The partnership eventually led to the duo creating and producing a lineup of Club Kokomo canned cocktails for a cruise celebrating the 60th anniversary of The Beach Boys. Now, CBS8 reports the two are taking things to the next level by opening a tasting room i ..read more

A new California lifestyle-inspired restaurant, Pacific Beach Hideaway, is getting ready to debut in Pacific Beach at 4474 Mission Boulevard. Los Angeles-based Baja Sharkeez Restaurant Group took over the former home of the Fat Fish Cantina Grill in 2022 but never revealed what it would replace it with. Now, more details have been released, and the new restaurant will feature interior and outdoor open-air bars, several classic arcade games, and a menu created by corporate chef Raymond Alvarez, according to SanDiegoVille. Pacific Beach Hideaway is expected to open in Summer 2024. When the new ..read more