Owner Michel Malécot, who opened the bakery and restaurant in 1989 after a decade operating the original French Gourmet in La Jolla, confirmed that he sold his Turquoise Street parcels last year to Kalonymus LLC, a Los Angeles developer now pursuing a controversial 23-story residential tower for the site. County records show the two contiguous parcels closed for $7 million, a figure Malécot said covered both the value of the land and the price the developer was willing to pay to acquire the business.
While Malécot had planned to retire, he acknowledged that he did not know the project would be so large when he signed the sale agreement in early 2023. “They were talking about doing a standard project with apartments and a restaurant on the ground floor… I was as surprised as anyone else when they brought that project up last year,” he told the Union-Tribune. The proposal is now under review by the City of San Diego and has generated intense community backlash, with many residents opposing a high-rise in a coastal zone long defined by a 30-foot height limit.
The French Gourmet remained open after escrow closed in September, but business has sharply declined. Malécot says many longtime diners assumed the restaurant would close early in the year, while others stopped coming amid anger over the high-rise proposal. “The past 10 months have been dreadful as far as business,” he said, adding that he kept all employees on payroll despite heavy losses.
The closure marks the end of a local culinary era. The French Gourmet built a reputation on its elegant wedding cakes, beloved pastries, and powerhouse catering operation - once more than 70% of the company’s revenue. The restaurant also became synonymous with Malécot himself, a French immigrant whose legacy includes both deep community philanthropy and a well-known 2011 federal case involving the hiring of undocumented workers. Even that controversy ultimately did little to dim the restaurant’s popularity or its status as a neighborhood fixture.
Now 74, Malécot says he is ready to step away, though he is considering opening a small bakery elsewhere with longtime staff. “This is very bittersweet,” he said. “I’ll hear people say, ‘We’ve been coming for years’ or ‘This was my mom’s favorite restaurant.’… Maybe some other opportunity will happen.”
The French Gourmet is not the only Turquoise Street property changing hands. SanDiegoVille has confirmed that the standalone building housing Ambrogio15 Modern Trattoria & Gourmet Pizza - located a few doors down at at 926 Turquoise Street - was also recently purchased by the same Los Angeles developer, signaling a broader reshaping of the block.
Ambrogio15, which rebranded this fall following a turbulent year for the company, still holds 2.5 years remaining on its lease and will continue operating during that time. Representatives for Ambrogio15 have not commented publicly on whether the sale affects the restaurant’s long-term plans, but sources say the group intends to stay in Pacific Beach for as long as their lease allows.
The developer has not released architectural plans for the Ambrogio parcel, but the acquisition suggests that the fight over density and height on Turquoise Street may soon extend beyond The French Gourmet lot.
The simultaneous shuttering of a 36-year institution and the sale of another high-profile restaurant building underscore a period of rapid change for North Pacific Beach. Turquoise Street - long celebrated for its indie cafes, neighborhood restaurants, and walkable village charm - now faces an uncertain future as major outside investors seek to redevelop aging parcels into large-scale residential projects. For now, locals have less than a month to savor their final pastries, croissants, and French classics before The French Gourmet’s doors close for good.
The French Gourmet will close after end of service on January 4, 2026, at 960 Turquoise Street in Pacific Beach, ending a storied run that helped define North PB’s dining culture long before the neighborhood’s modern restaurant boom. For more information, visit thefrenchgourmet.com.
Originally published on December 5, 2025.