The string of San Diego restaurant closures continues, as The Oceanaire Seafood Room has permanently shuttered in the Gaslamp Quarter after 15 years in business.
The Oceanaire Seafood Room is a national chain of seafood restaurants that has been owned by hospitality behemoth Landry Incorporated since 2010. Located on the second floor of 400 J Street, a stone throw from the Convention Center, the San Diego location first opened in 2005 and for its formative years had its kitchen helmed by local celebrity chef Brian Malarkey, who first tasted stardom when he was prominently featured on Bravo's third season of Top Chef while the executive chef of the seafood eatery. One time James Beard semi-finalist nominee for Best Chef, Daniel Barron was the Executive Chef of Oceanaire at the time of closing.
The Oceanaire's sudden closure follows a string of local restaurants going belly up due to the struggle of making ends meet during the coronavirus pandemic. Other notable San Diego eateries that have shuttered since COVID-19 stay-at-home orders began in mid-March 2020 include Crab Catcher in La Jolla, Searsucker in the Gaslamp, downtown's Bang Bang, Donovan's Steak & Chophouse, Whisknladle in La Jolla, and the entire Souplantation chain. Landry's also unexpectedly closed its McCormick & Schmick’s location inside the Omni Hotel in downtown San Diego to start 2020 after hosting a New Year’s Eve celebration just the night before.
