The move follows a tepid reception for the high-concept project, which aimed to translate Deckman’s celebrated farm-to-fire philosophy from Baja California’s wine country to the heart of San Diego. Despite the pedigree - Deckman’s En El Mogor in Valle de Guadalupe remains one of Baja’s most acclaimed dining experiences - 31ThirtyOne never quite connected with local diners.
Chef Drew Deckman acknowledged the challenges in a recent email with SanDiegoVille, saying, “We have chosen to follow our collective hearts. It’s no secret that this is an extremely challenging time for restaurants - maybe even more so than COVID. At least during the pandemic, the government was throwing money at people. When something isn’t working, one really has two options: adapt and overcome, or quit. Quit is not in my vocabulary, so I’ve chosen to adapt and overcome. We put the brand on the wall. We are uniforming messaging and branding across the group.”
In many ways, the restaurant’s premise may have been its undoing. What works in the open-air vineyards of Valle de Guadalupe, where meals are cooked over flame under the stars, is far harder to replicate within a converted two-story urban building in North Park. The sense of rustic immersion and barefoot luxury doesn’t translate neatly to a neighborhood lined with tattoo parlors and thrift stores.
Now, with the rebrand, the team appears to be recalibrating. The latest Deckman’s North Park menu, released this week, takes a more approachable and affordable direction. While still centered on locally sourced ingredients and Baja-inspired flavors, prices have softened, and the menu has expanded to include a mix of à la carte starters and mains alongside a scaled-down four-course family-style tasting option.
Gone are the ambitious prix-fixe menus and $175 chef’s counter dinners that initially defined the project. It’s a pivot that reads less like a bold evolution and more like a course correction - an acknowledgment that San Diego’s dining crowd may not have been willing to pay fine-dining prices for a concept best experienced across the border.
Adding to the intrigue, Deckman - a longtime fixture at the San Diego Bay Wine + Food Festival - is notably absent from this year’s chef lineup for the first time in years. The omission suggests the chef may be shifting his focus closer to home, working to stabilize his struggling North Park restaurant rather than taking part in the city’s largest culinary showcase.
For Deckman, who continues to operate his acclaimed Mexican restaurants and a new seafood spot inside Petco Park, the North Park venture remains a test of whether his reputation south of the border can translate stateside. For Musgrove, whose name helped drive the restaurant’s opening buzz, the partnership now feels like a quieter footnote in a year that saw the Padres - and his own sidelined season - fall short of expectations.
Despite the rebrand, Deckman’s North Park is still finding its footing. And while it now carries the name of the chef, it remains to be seen whether the new identity can bring the same fire that once drew diners deep into the Valle.
Deckman’s North Park is located at 3131 University Avenue in San Diego's North Park. For more information, visit the3131.com and check out the launch menu below.
Deckman’s North Park is located at 3131 University Avenue in San Diego's North Park. For more information, visit the3131.com and check out the launch menu below.
Originally published on November 5, 2025. Photo by Kimberly Motos.
