San Diego's Buona Forchetta Restaurant Group has finally unveiled Meraki, a restaurant, event space and entertainment venue now open in South Park.
Matteo Cattaneo opened his award-winning Buona Forchetta in San Diego's South Park neighborhood in 2011 and has been packing the house ever since. In March 2017, the company opened an offshoot dubbed Officine Buona Forchetta in Liberty Station, which coincided with the announcement of an incoming, 1,100 square foot Encinitas Buona Forchetta that debuted in October 2018. The team also operates Enoteca Buona Forchetta, an Italian bodega and bistro that sits two doors down from the company's flagship South Park restaurant.
In early 2020, Buona Forchetta ownership opened Matteo, a non-profit breakfast-centric restaurant in South Park, as well as Garage Buona Forchetta in Coronado and Roman pizzeria Gelati & Peccati in North Park. In 2021, Cattaneo also opened a Buona Forchetta branch in the 3,000 square-foot space that last housed a location of the now-defunct PrepKitchen chain within Block C at the North City mixed use residential and retail development in San Marcos. The company also operates a casual, NYC-style pizzeria concept Forchettabouddit within El Camino Promenade in Encinitas, a modern diner offshoot of North Park's Gelati & Peccati concept dubbed GP Diner, Matteo for a Cause non-profit bakery, and Carbón Grill in South Park. 
Years ago, Buona Forchetta ownership took over a former Moose Lodge in South Park for the opening of a new event space and restaurant dubbed MERAKI, and the space quietly activated this week. The lounge will serve a nightly menu of shareable plates like Wagyu carpaccio, beef cheek empanadas and Roman pizza. Meraki will also frequently feature live music and other entertainments and also be used as an event space for weddings and other outtings. The team may also host some market nights in parking lot in the near future.
