December 23, 2020
(Originally published 11/19/2020)
The year 2020 has been an exceedingly difficult period for restaurants around the country and the world due to restrictions imposed aimed at battling the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this post, we keep track of the more than 100 San Diego County bars and restaurants that have shuttered over this devastating year.
The review platform Yelp recently published a report finding that, as of the end of August, nearly 163,000 total businesses on Yelp had closed since the beginning of March, a 23% increase since July. Of those shutters, 32,109 are restaurants and 6,451 are bars. Yelp's ominous report predicted 61% of those currently shuttered businesses would never reopen. The James Beard Foundation and the Independent Restaurant Coalition recently surveyed independent restaurant operators and one-third said they would not be able to stay in business through October without some financial assistance. The National Restaurant Association has predicted the industry is likely to lose $240 billion in 2020 because of the pandemic.
Many notable San Diego restaurants have permanently shuttered because of the coronavirus pandemic and associated prohibitions, including the entire San Diego-based Souplantation chain after 42 years in business, Crab Catcher in La Jolla after four decades, Searsucker in the Gaslamp after a 10 year run, Donovan's Steak & Chophouse after 12 years, Whisknladle in La Jolla after a dozen years, The Oceanaire Seafood Room in the Gaslamp after 15 years, The Dubliner on 4th Avenue after almost 20 years, 9 year-old Tiger! Tiger! Tavern in North Park, and most recently, Small Bar in University Heights after an 11 year run.
Below is our list of San Diego County restaurants that have closed in 2020. We will continue to update this post throughout the year. Please note that this list is not meant to be fully exhaustive and it is not aimed at suggesting all closures were primarily caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It also should be noted that some of these establishments may reopen if restrictions drastically change and/or if public funds become available.
2020 RESTAURANT & BAR CLOSURES
- 10 Barrel Brewing Company - East Village
- 5th Ave Kitchen & Tap - Bankers Hill (rumored to be relocating)
- 85°C Bakery Cafe - Point Loma
- Amarin Thai - Hillcrest
- Apollonia Greek Bistro - La Jolla UTC
- Artisan Noodle Tatsuki - Downtown
- B-Mo's Sandwiches - Pacific Beach
- Bang Bang- Gaslamp
- Banzai Bar - Midway
- Bar Bodega - Little Italy
- Bar Pink - North Park
- Beach Grass Cafe - Solana Beach
- Belching Beaver Brewery Tasting Room - Ocean Beach
- Berkeley Pizza, Downtown
- Bibigo Kitchen - Fashion Valley
- Biga - Downtown San Diego
- Bo Beau Kitchen + Cache - Hillcrest
- Boomers - El Cajon, Kearny Mesa (rebranded to San Diego Family Fun Center) & Vista
- Brick & Bell Cafe - Pacific Beach
- Burger Lounge - Gaslamp
- Buster's Beach House - Seaport Village
- Cabais Mexi-Deli - Hillcrest
- Cafe 1134 - Coronado
- Cafe on Park - Hillcrest
- Casa Sol y Mar - Del Mar
- Champagne Bakery - Del Mar
- Cold Beer & Cheeseburgers - Carlsbad & Gaslamp
- Coyote Ugly - Gaslamp
- Crab Catcher - La Jolla
- Craft Burrito Company - Del Mar
- Crush - Solana Beach
- Cueva Bar - University Heights (rebranded to DeNada Kitchen & Market)
- Culture Brewing - Ocean Beach
- Decoy Dockside Restaurant - San Marcos
- Donovan's Steak & Chophouse - Gaslamp
- The Dubliner - Gaslamp
- Ebisu Sushi - Hillcrest
- El Jardin - Liberty Station
- Escondido Brewing - Escondido
- Five Guys - Pacific Beach
- Fuddruckers - All Locations
- Furaido Premium Chicken Company - Poway
- Gabbiano Pizza - Mission Beach
- Gaya Gaya - Miramar
- Gourmet India - Gaslamp
- Grater Grilled Cheese - Del Mar
- Green Acre - La Jolla
- Hacienda de Vega - Carlsbad
- Hammond's Ice Cream - Pacific Beach
- Heart & Trotter - North Park
- IB Public House - Imperial Beach
- Il Dandy - Bankers Hill
- Indigo Grill - Little Italy
- Iron Fist Brewing - Barrio Logan & Vista
- Jayne's Gastropub - University Heights
- Juice Crafters - Little Italy, La Jolla, Hillcrest, Coronado
- J/Wata Temaki Bar - Kearny Mesa
- Ken Cinema - Kensington
- La Torta Cafe - La Mesa
- Lil' Farmers Cafe - Kearny Mesa
- Livingston's Chicken Kitchen - Ocean Beach
- Lucha Libre Gourmet Taco Shop - Carlsbad
- Lumberyard Tavern - Encinitas
- Martinis Above Fourth - Hillcrest
- Masala Street - La Jolla
- McCormick & Schmick’s - Downtown
- The Melting Pot - La Jolla
- Melvin Brewing - East Village
- Mexican Village - Coronado
- Mother's Saloon - Ocean Beach (rebranded to NorthSide Tavern)
- NaPizza - All Locations
- Newport Pizza - Ocean Beach
- North Park Breakfast Company - North Park
- The Oceanaire Seafood Room - Gaslamp
- On The Border - Mission Valley
- Phil's BBQ - San Marcos
- PrepKitchen - All Locations
- Primavera Ristorante - Coronado
- Ramen Menma - Oceanside
- Rock Bottom Brewery - La Jolla
- Rosie's Cafe - Escondido
- Royale - Point Loma
- Roy's Hawaiian Fusion - La Jolla
- Salvatores Cucina Italiana - Downtown
- San Marcos Brewery & Grill - San Marcos
- Sapporo Japanese - Ocean Beach
- Searsucker - Gaslamp
- Sicilia Bella - La Jolla
- Sign of the Whale - Gaslamp
- Sister Ray's - Sherman Heights
- Slaters 50/50 - San Marcos
- Small Bar - University Heights
- Soda & Swine - North Park (rebranded to Fortunate Son Chinese)
- Souplantation - All Locations
- Surf Rider Pizza - Ocean Beach
- Sushi Yama - Carlsbad
- Swami's Café - Poway
- Tacos Libertad - Hillcrest
- Tako Factory - La Mesa
- Tamarindo - North Park
- Te Mana Cafe - Ocean Beach
- That Pizza Place - Carlsbad
- Tiger! Tiger! Tavern - North Park
- Tin Room - Hillcrest
- Tocaya Organica - Downtown & La Jolla
- Toronado - North Park
- Treelogy Cafe Restaurant - Pacific Beach
- Troy's Family Restaurant & Coffee Shop - Clairemont
- Two Paddles Fish & Grill - Hillcrest
- Two Roots Brewing - Ocean Beach
- Two Seven Eight - Hillcrest
- Ultrazone Laser Tag - Midway
- Umi Sushi - Encinitas
- Waypoint Public - North Park
- Whisknladle - La Jolla
- Winston's Beach Club - Ocean Beach
Small businesses are struggling to survive during this tumultuous time. Support them!! Get take out. Buy gift cards. Leave glowing online reviews. Follow and engage with their social media. Shop at small businesses this holiday season instead of patronizing large corporations and big box retailers. We need your help now more than ever. Stay well and safe!!
FULL DISCLOSURE: A working draft of this list was shared as a comment on a thread in popular Facebook Group Eating & Drinking in San Diego, which many people thereafter copy and pasted around social media. The draft list was exactly that, a draft, and not meant to be shared all over the Internet. It was eventually hijacked by KUSI News, who seemingly did not even take the time to verify closures before publishing.
