Each month brings a slate of exciting new restaurants to San Diego, whether it’s a splashy new restaurant helmed by an iconic chef, a low-key neighborhood spot, or a pop-up settling into a permanent location. Consider this monthly rundown a go-to guide for the newest and boldest debuts across San Diego.
San Diego, CA
San Diego preparing to put downtown’s old Central Library on the market
After more than two years exploring its options, San Diego is now preparing to market the empty old Central Library at Eighth Avenue and E Street for sale or lease to maximize redevelopment of the half-block, downtown property where height limits are not a constraining factor.
Thursday, San Diego’s Land Use and Housing Committee voted 3-0 in favor of declaring the old Central Library at 820 E St. as surplus land.
The surplus designation means the city no longer needs the facility and has ruled out other options, such as redeveloping the property entirely for low-income housing. With the designation, the city can sell or lease the site for redevelopment — but it must follow the noticing and negotiating requirements of California’s Surplus Land Act.
Under the law, bidders need to set aside at least 25% of proposed residential units for affordable housing, meaning deed-restricted units rented to low- and very-low-income families making 80% or less of the area median income.
Although committee members agreed at a high level with Mayor Todd Gloria’s decision to offload the asset, they weren’t ready to give him the authority to seek bids for redevelopment without a broader policy conversation.
“I certainly believe that we should declare this property surplus. What I’m less comfortable with is giving carte blanche to the mayor and city staff to issue the notice availability without the City Council providing some more guidance,” Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera said.
Elo-Rivera said he first wanted to the see the notice of availability, which is typically a short, stock document that alerts affordable housing developers registered with the state that the city intends to sell or lease its property.
“This is an incredibly important property. It’s an important action,” he said. “It seems appropriate for the council to provide some clear direction, if we choose to do so as a body, in terms of what is included in that notice of availability and what isn’t.”
The committee’s action tees up consideration by the full council at a later date. The future discussion will likely center around how council members can add development obligations to the noticing document without curtailing market demand.
Opened in 1954 and closed in 2013, the old Central Library is a locally designated historic resource that sat empty for nearly a decade before being used intermittently as a temporary homeless shelter, starting in 2023.
Over the years, developers have contemplated various alternative uses, including a 42-story apartment tower proposed by Bosa Development. The tower proposal was eventually scraped by the prolific builder in 2018.
More recently, the facility has been roped into the city’s ongoing conversation about homelessness.
The old Central Library was analyzed as an alternative to the failed Kettner and Vine shelter proposal. However, the estimated cost to renovate the 150,000 square-foot facility’s three floors and two basement levels was recently pegged at $86.8 million. The venue was ruled out as a viable homeless shelter option in February.
The mayor’s request to offload the city-owned asset dates to March 2023, when San Diego was preparing to put its Civic Center real estate on the market.
At the time, a few council members expressed interest in lumping the property in with the Civic Center blocks and other city-owned land to solicit developer interest for everything at the same time. The idea was to make excess city land available to quickly boost the production of homes for people of varying income levels. City staff recommended instead that the old Central Library be evaluated independently from the other sites.
The Civic Center blocks, which went on to be advertised for lease or sale per the Surplus Land Act a few months later, attracted no interest.
San Diego, pending approval by the full council, will also solicit interest in the old Central Library under the Surplus Land Act. The law was amended in 2019 to prioritize affordable housing when government-owned land is sold or leased.
The process begins with the notice of availability, which starts the clock on a 60-day window for interested bidders to respond with redevelopment plans. After the window, the law requires the city to engage in a 90-day negotiation period with respondents and give priority to the entity proposing the highest number of affordable housing units.
The city expects to publish the notice of availability for the old Central Library in the summer, Christina Bibler, director of the city’s Economic Development Department, told the Union-Tribune.
The timeline could get tripped up if council members take issue with the noticing document, which was not included in the agenda materials for Thursday’s meetings.
The current iteration of the document was described by Lucy Contreras, the city’s deputy director of real estate, as consistent with the Surplus Land Act noticing requirements. Interested parties will need to meet the affordable housing requirement, as well as comply with guidelines pertaining to the redevelopment of historic properties. The old Central Library’s historic elements include the building’s exterior, the csidewalk with the city seal, and two, city-owned sculptures on the facade.
“The intent is for us to put forward (a notice of availability) that either puts the property out for purchase or for lease, with the intent of maximizing the redevelopment potential of the site,” Contreras said. “If there were specific conditions that were going to be proposed in the (notice of availability), this would be the time, as well as with council, to have a conversation about (that).”
Elo-Rivera said he wanted to see the document before recommending additions.
“Pardon me for not just trusting the process here, but there’s nothing for us to read,” he said. “The council may decide that before we just open it up to the market and see what capitalism does for us, we instead draw some parameters and see if we can get a little bit closer to our goals on our first attempt.”
Councilmember Raul Campillo said his priorities for the property are on-site child care and residential units large enough for families.
Real estate analyst Gary London, a principal of local firm London Moeder Advisors, cautioned against the city adding more conditions in a weak real estate market challenged with limited access to capital and economic uncertainty.
The Surplus Land Act requirement to reserve 25% of residential units as affordable already challenges the feasibility of any project, he said.
“Whenever the city interferes with the marketplace, things go wrong,” London said. “While I agree with (Campillo) in terms of the kind of concept that ought to come out of (the solicitation), the idea of shoving that down a developer’s throat is basically inviting lower bids or a lack of bids.”
Councilmembers Kent Lee, Elo-Rivera and Campillo voted to pass on their recommendation for approval of the surplus designation to the full council. Councilmember Vivian Moreno was absent.
An anti-sex trafficking operation carried out by law enforcement agencies in San Diego, Chula Vista and National City earlier this month resulted in 10 arrests and the recovery of 19 alleged trafficking victims, it was announced Tuesday.
Operation Home for the Holidays was conducted over a three-day period and involved undercover officers posing as sex buyers in order to encounter potential traffickers and trafficking victims.
Those arrested during the operation include four men charged with pimping, pandering and violating a protective order, who face anywhere between six and 20 years in prison if convicted, according to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office. Six others were issued misdemeanor citations for allegedly attempting to purchase sex.
The 19 recovered individuals were offered support services, which the DA’s Office said will “help them escape and heal from exploitation and human trafficking.”
Operation Home for the Holidays is an annual initiative conducted by the multi-agency San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force, which includes local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement that the operation “is a key part of our efforts to keep our communities safe for the holidays and all year round.”
Similar operations are conducted throughout the year in San Diego County, including an annual operation held during Comic-Con weekend that resulted in 13 arrests and 10 victims recovered this year, and an operation conducted last month in National City and southern San Diego that led to the rescues of two minors.
“The ugly truth is that sex trafficking remains a lucrative criminal industry fueled by demand that generating over $810 million a year in San Diego County,” San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said.
“I’m proud of our work with the San Diego Regional Human Trafficking Task Force, my office’s Sex Crimes and Human Trafficking Division and all our partners that work around the clock to recover victims as young as 12. Together they hold human traffickers and criminal buyers accountable for their crimes. The ongoing efforts of the task force demonstrate that law enforcement will not tolerate this modern-day slavery of vulnerable victims who are bought and sold like a slice of pizza.”
Officials asked that anyone who is or knows someone being coerced or forced to engage in sexual activity or labor call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 to access help.
Miramar— The second location of the Cakery has opened after the launch of the Carmel Valley storefront in early 2024. The Cakery got its start during the pandemic before selling at pop-ups around San Diego. The larger cafe in Miramar has an indoor seating area decorated in a soothing minimalist aesthetic. The expanded bakery menu features Basque cheesecakes, French tea cakes, hojicha and matcha drinks, along with a wide array of sandwiches and pastries. Highlights include the Cakery grilled chicken, which comes with melted cheese, homemade mustard, and barbecue sauce on a toasted ciabatta. The full kitchen in Miramar serves as the central production facility for the cafe and the original Carmel Valley location.
La Jolla— On December 10, the team behind Michelin-recognized restaurant Callie opened Fleurette, a French Mediterranean restaurant in La Jolla. Chef Travis Swikard focuses on “cuisine du soleil,” offering dishes like Hope Ranch mussels “vol au vent,” oeufs and eggs served in San Diego uni, egg yolk fettuccine studded with golden caviar and Meyer lemons from the on-site garden behind the 120-seat restaurant. Other menu highlights include Provencal lamb duo, San Diego bouillabaisse with spiny lobster and saffron bourride, and winter citrus vacherin with orange blossom meringue. Cocktails include the Nice, made with honey, lavender, and blue layers of mint, and the Eze, a blue cocktail made with tequila, lime juice, and foam.
Encinitas— Rosemarie’s Buns and Brews debuts its third outpost in beachy Encinitas, offering wagyu beef sliders, hot chicken miniature sandwiches, duck fat wings, and chili pork-loaded fries. Located in a former burger restaurant that catered to cars, the drive-thru area has been replaced with a family-friendly turfed patio area with outdoor seating, games, and a large outdoor television screen to broadcast sports and movies. The concept started as a food truck that parked at Harland Brewing in Bay Park before opening restaurants in Mission Beach in 2023 and Ocean Beach in 2024.
Coronado— After the successful launch of the first U.S. restaurant in La Jolla, the second U.S. location for La Corriente opened in the former museum cafe space in the Coronado Historical Association building. The Tijuana-based restaurant chain specializes in red snapper tostada, made with raw snapper fish, red onion, avocado, and aioli. Other menu highlights include Baja maki rolls (only available in Coronado), with options like bluefin or Pacific rim, made with soft shell crab tempura, and clamato-based cocktails.
La Jolla— The first West Coast outpost of PopUp Bagels opened on November 21 on Pearl Street in La Jolla, taking over the former Breakfast Republic corner spot. Founded in Connecticut, PopUp Bagels serves the bagels hot and whole, which are then meant to be ripped and dipped into the branded schmears. The bagels are sold in packs of three, six, and 12 with schmears. While the shmear options always include plain and scallion cream cheese, there will also be rotating cream cheese and butter flavors — the menu will change every week. PopUp Bagels plans to open nine more locations in San Diego, but hasn’t firmed up its next location yet.
Chula Vista— In mid-November, the twelfth and final dining venue at the Gaylord Pacific Resort Hotel opened. Modern Mexican restaurant Marzul Coastal Cuisine sits as a standalone restaurant on the resort property with a view of the boatyard and the bay. Menu highlights include oyster michelada, lamb shank birria, and fideuà studded with Pacific lobster, baby squid, and Spanish chorizo.
Downtown— Anchoring the historic Westgate Hotel, a new French restaurant has debuted in place of the former Westgate Room restaurant. Bonne Vie Brasserie and Bar showcases northern French bistro dishes such as the Burgundy escargot in garlicky parsley butter, French onion soup in beef broth, and Icelandic cod Meunière that swims in brown butter sauce. “Bonne Vie introduces a more refined yet still approachable French bistro–influenced menu, incorporating California ingredients,” says executive chef Fabrice Hardel.
Oceanside—The fourth San Diego location for hot chicken restaurant Main Chick opens in North County. After the first Main Chick restaurant opened in late 2019 in Santa Monica, the poultry-only restaurant eventually expanded to San Diego in 2020 with spots in Clairemont Mesa, Linda Vista, and Carlsbad. The popular battered bone-in leg and thigh gets sandwiched between Hawaiian sweet buns, then topped with cabbage slaw and a tangy “MC” sauce. Other options are chicken tenders, dark meat chicken sandwich, and ube cheesecake. The newest location includes 2,000 square feet of space with indoor and outdoor seating.
Mission Bay— On November 21, Black Rock Coffee opened a cafe in Mission Bay on Garnet Avenue. With a drive-through and patio seating, the Oregon-based coffee shop offers coffees such as Mexican mocha; a “caramel blondie”; and the Jackhammer, a vanilla mocha with an extra double shot of espresso. Also on the secret menu are Fuel energy drinks with more than 20 fruit flavors.
La Jolla— The first San Diego location for a Brazilian gelato chain opened in the Shops at La Jolla Village. With more than a dozen outposts in Los Angeles and Orange County, Bacio di Latte was originally launched by Milanese brothers in 2011, who immigrated to Brazil and opened more than 200 locations in South America. The California gelato stores use organic milk from a family farm in Sonoma County. Every three weeks, there are new flavors, but popular ones include the signature sweet cream, pistachio, and Giandujotto.
SAN DIEGO, Calif. — A Navy jet that crashed into San Diego Bay within striking distance of homes, hotels, and restaurants had climbed to about 8,000 feet in the air with no one on board after its pilots ejected following a failed landing in February, Team 10 has learned.
And now documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request from the recently completed investigation into the accident are shedding new light on the chaotic moments leading up to the crash of the $67 million EA-18G Growler.
They reveal concerns about runway conditions, a fuel leak midair, and a warning from air traffic control that created confusion in the cockpit.
According to the records, the pilot felt something was wrong with his brakes moments before the mishap.
On the day of the accident, the pilot and the electronic warfare officer in the backseat had to get into a spare jet due to a fuel leak. Capt. Brandon Viets/Premier Sportsfishing via AP
The crew took off from North Island and joined a tanker to refuel midair. They had a “minor leak from the basket” and decided to return to base rather than risking being more than 500 miles off the coast.
As they prepared their descent, the crew was told there was water on the runway at North Island.
The pilot landed but was up against tailwinds and higher-than-normal speeds. He told investigators, “I knew I would have to get on the brakes a bit more.”
He said as he applied them, he noticed the brakes felt “mushy or at least a bit different than normal.”
U.S. Navy
Fearing the jet wouldn’t stop in time, the pilot started a go-around maneuver. Then a tower controller warned, “Not enough runway.”
“This was said in a very concerned voice, which caused some confusion and concern,” the pilot said.
‘Eject! Eject! Eject!’
Retired Air Force accident investigator Rich Martindell said he was surprised the air traffic controller made that warning and thought it was inappropriate.
“The tower wasn’t in a position to really know the aircraft’s speed and what the whole situation was,” he said in an interview.
Martindell, who has flown the F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet, a similar aircraft that lacks the Growler’s electronic warfare gear, said the controller couldn’t have known how much runway was left.
“It clouded the issue and caused the crew to have more doubt about the situation.”
The pilot told an investigator moments after having issues with the brakes, “It felt like the jet was not going flying and the water was approaching, so I called for ejection with ‘EJECT, EJECT, EJECT’ and then we pulled the handles,” his witness statement shows.
Jack Fischetti
The crew safely parachuted into San Diego Bay and were rescued by a fishing boat.
The jet continued to climb to roughly 8,000 feet before dropping for over a minute and crashing into San Diego Bay near Shelter Island, the Navy investigation found.
“It looks like what it did is stalled. So, it got nose high, ran out of airspeed, came back around, and then the video we see of it going into the water, nose first, just all happened after the ejection,” said Martindell.
Amol Brown/Team 10
The Growler’s chaotic drop from the sky was captured on a resident’s doorbell and nearby surveillance cameras, which showed it nose-diving into the bay.
“If this aircraft had continued on even a second more, it could have hit Shelter Island or flown into a populated neighborhood in Point Loma — very, very close to a tragedy,” retired U.S. Marine Corps Col. Steve Ganyard told ABC News after the crash.
Navy says human error, weather to blame
After Team 10 obtained the documents, the Navy confirmed in October that it had finished the investigation into the mishap and ruled out mechanical failure.
Instead, investigators determined the crash was caused by human error exacerbated by a combination of factors, including adverse weather.
“The aircraft was unable to safely stop on the runway due to wet runway conditions and landing with a tailwind. The investigation determined that the pilot should have instead executed maximum braking techniques,” said Navy Cmdr. Amelia Umayam, a spokesperson for Naval Air Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet.
The Navy spent weeks recovering debris from the water and said roughly 85% of the aircraft was recovered including significant debris.
“The U.S. Navy has well-established and rigorous programs for crew resource management, adherence to training rules, professionalism and airmanship,” Umayam wrote in a prepared statement.
“In the days and weeks that followed the crash, leadership across the enterprise reinforced to all crews that strict adherence to these programs is critical to safe and effective flight operations.”
Martindell still believes the air traffic controller’s warning was a contributing factor in the mishap and may have altered the pilot’s decision-making in the final moments before the ejection.
“He may have made a different decision I’m sure that that call had some influence on his decision to call for the ejection.”
Team 10 Investigative Reporter Austin Grabish covers military investigations, the Medical Board of California and the U.S.-Mexico border. If you have a story for Austin to investigate, email austin.grabish@10news.com
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