The team behind San Diego's award-winning George's at the Cove has replaced Galaxy Tacos in La Jolla Shores with Sandpiper Wood Fired Grill & Oysters.
After a 6 year run in San Diego's La Jolla Shores neighborhood, the owners of George's at the Cove shuttered its sister Galaxy Taco restaurant in La Jolla shores last fall. The casual Mexican eatery was first opened in July 2015 by George's at the Cove executive chef and partner Trey Foshee, longtime chef de cuisine Christine Rivera and co-owner George Hauer.
Galaxy Taco took up about half of the former La Jolla Shores Market space in the F.W. Kellogg Building. Designed by Mark Steele with the assistance of Trey Foshee and several artists, the casual eatery served a menu of modern Mexican fare, heralded for its non-GMO, heirloom corn blue tortillas made daily using a $10,000-plus masa grinder, custom made for the restaurant. Chef Trey Foshee blamed the closure of Galaxy Taco on rising food costs and the oft-used excuse of customers' unwillingness to pay high prices for Mexican food (see also reason listed for Bracero and El Jardin closures).
The George's at the Cove crew has rebranded the 4,200 square-foot, former Galaxy Taco space to become Sandpiper, a new indoor/outdoor, neighborhood focused California restaurant. The menu has been designed by chefs Foshee and Rivera, featuring fresh oysters and shareable plates made using the eatery's onsite wood-burning grill. There are even some Galaxy Taco dishes that made the cut, including the Baja fish taco and grilled octopus. Sandpiper's day to day operations are in the hands general manager Evan Vallee, a career veteran and Advanced Sommelier who will be putting together a carefully chosen wine and full bar program focused on classics. There will also be desserts from Georges at the Cove pastry chef Aly Lyng.
Sandpiper Wood Fired Grill & Oysters is now open 3pm to 9pm on Wednesday through Sunday at 2259 Avenida de la Playa in San Diego's La Jolla Shores community. For more information, visit sandpipersd.com.
