The closure appears to have happened with little fanfare. Sweetfin's approximately 1,200-square-foot restaurant at 3705 Paseo Place, Suite 1100, is now closed and reportedly stripped of its interior, despite both Sweetfin and One Paseo's websites continuing to list the location as operating as of Tuesday. A Reddit post published Tuesday appears to offer the first public indication of the shutdown.
A customer who said they regularly visited the restaurant reported arriving to find it "completely shut down," with the counter, wallpaper and essentially everything inside removed, although the exterior Sweetfin sign reportedly remained in place. Other commenters lamented the loss of what had become a particularly useful option for gluten-free diners.
The disappearance is notable not merely because another restaurant has closed, but because Sweetfin was part of the culinary identity One Paseo was built around. Sweetfin opened at One Paseo in July 2019, just months after the long-awaited Carmel Valley development began welcoming its first tenants. At the time, it was only the tenth Sweetfin location overall and represented the Los Angeles-born poke company's second San Diego-area restaurant.
Founded in Los Angeles in 2015, Sweetfin built its reputation around a California interpretation of Hawaiian poke, emphasizing sustainably sourced seafood, customizable bowls and an entirely gluten-free menu. Bravo Top Chef alum Dakota Weiss developed the original culinary program, while founders Alan Nathan, Seth Cohen and Brett Nestadt positioned the company as a more chef-driven alternative to the wave of build-your-own poke restaurants spreading across Southern California.
The One Paseo restaurant arrived with a polished "surf-chic" design featuring the company's signature pink and blue palette, tropical wallpaper, recycled-glass terrazzo and a roughly 300-square-foot patio with a mural by San Diego artist Natalie Bessell. Seven years later, apparently very little remains.
Sweetfin's departure is the latest reminder of just how dramatically One Paseo's restaurant lineup has evolved since the 23-acre development opened. When One Paseo's first major culinary tenants were announced before construction was complete, the project was marketed around an unusually ambitious collection of restaurants. Among the earliest names announced were celebrity chef Michael Mina and Ayesha Curry's International Smoke, Tocaya Organica, Sweetfin and Ways & Means Oyster House.
Of those four marquee original announcements, none remains today. Ways & Means never ultimately opened its planned One Paseo restaurant. International Smoke did open, unveiling a sprawling 6,200-square-foot, 228-seat restaurant in 2019. It lasted less than three years, permanently closing in February 2022. MINA Group attributed the shutdown to significantly reduced business during the pandemic.
The disappearance is notable not merely because another restaurant has closed, but because Sweetfin was part of the culinary identity One Paseo was built around. Sweetfin opened at One Paseo in July 2019, just months after the long-awaited Carmel Valley development began welcoming its first tenants. At the time, it was only the tenth Sweetfin location overall and represented the Los Angeles-born poke company's second San Diego-area restaurant.
Founded in Los Angeles in 2015, Sweetfin built its reputation around a California interpretation of Hawaiian poke, emphasizing sustainably sourced seafood, customizable bowls and an entirely gluten-free menu. Bravo Top Chef alum Dakota Weiss developed the original culinary program, while founders Alan Nathan, Seth Cohen and Brett Nestadt positioned the company as a more chef-driven alternative to the wave of build-your-own poke restaurants spreading across Southern California.
The One Paseo restaurant arrived with a polished "surf-chic" design featuring the company's signature pink and blue palette, tropical wallpaper, recycled-glass terrazzo and a roughly 300-square-foot patio with a mural by San Diego artist Natalie Bessell. Seven years later, apparently very little remains.
Sweetfin's departure is the latest reminder of just how dramatically One Paseo's restaurant lineup has evolved since the 23-acre development opened. When One Paseo's first major culinary tenants were announced before construction was complete, the project was marketed around an unusually ambitious collection of restaurants. Among the earliest names announced were celebrity chef Michael Mina and Ayesha Curry's International Smoke, Tocaya Organica, Sweetfin and Ways & Means Oyster House.
Of those four marquee original announcements, none remains today. Ways & Means never ultimately opened its planned One Paseo restaurant. International Smoke did open, unveiling a sprawling 6,200-square-foot, 228-seat restaurant in 2019. It lasted less than three years, permanently closing in February 2022. MINA Group attributed the shutdown to significantly reduced business during the pandemic.
That enormous space didn't remain empty for long. Orange County-based Nick's Restaurant subsequently expanded its presence at One Paseo by converting International Smoke into South of Nick's Mexican Kitchen + Bar, which remains open today.
Tocaya Organica survived considerably longer but eventually disappeared as well. The Los Angeles-born modern Mexican chain had previously closed its Gaslamp and Westfield UTC restaurants before its One Paseo location was reported closed in September 2024, completing Tocaya's complete retreat from San Diego County.
Tender Greens, another prominent early tenant, also closed its One Paseo restaurant. That space is now being transformed for perhaps the development's most attention-grabbing newcomer yet: Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop Kitchen.
Then there is Harland Brewing. The San Diego brewery opened its One Paseo tasting room in 2019 and operated there for approximately six years before closing in fall 2025 as the company redirected its attention toward larger hospitality projects elsewhere. Add Sweetfin to the list and One Paseo has now lost a substantial portion of the restaurant collection that defined its earliest years.
It would be misleading, however, to characterize the turnover as evidence that One Paseo's dining component is collapsing. In many cases, departed concepts have been replaced by new restaurants, and several of the development's original or early tenants remain firmly entrenched.
North Italia, Shake Shack, Parakeet Cafe, Salt & Straw, The Butchery and Nick's Del Mar remain part of the current lineup. South of Nick's replaced International Smoke, while New Haven-style URBN Pizza and Mediterranean fast-casual chain CAVA are also currently operating.
One of the more significant additions came in 2024, when Arizona-born Postino WineCafé opened a One Paseo location as part of the company's entrance into San Diego. The restaurant and wine bar occupies a roughly 2,400-square-foot space with an outdoor patio overlooking the development's central gathering area.
Orange County institution Jan's Health Bar followed in 2025, choosing One Paseo for its first San Diego County location. Founded in Huntington Beach in 1972, Jan's serves smoothies, sandwiches, salads, wraps and other health-conscious fare, making it an especially interesting addition now that fellow wellness-oriented Sweetfin has departed.
North Italia, Shake Shack, Parakeet Cafe, Salt & Straw, The Butchery and Nick's Del Mar remain part of the current lineup. South of Nick's replaced International Smoke, while New Haven-style URBN Pizza and Mediterranean fast-casual chain CAVA are also currently operating.
One of the more significant additions came in 2024, when Arizona-born Postino WineCafé opened a One Paseo location as part of the company's entrance into San Diego. The restaurant and wine bar occupies a roughly 2,400-square-foot space with an outdoor patio overlooking the development's central gathering area.
Orange County institution Jan's Health Bar followed in 2025, choosing One Paseo for its first San Diego County location. Founded in Huntington Beach in 1972, Jan's serves smoothies, sandwiches, salads, wraps and other health-conscious fare, making it an especially interesting addition now that fellow wellness-oriented Sweetfin has departed.
And the biggest incoming name may still be ahead. Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop Kitchen is preparing to open in the former Tender Greens space. One Paseo's current website describes the Carmel Valley restaurant as the brand's first full-service, dine-in location, a notable evolution for a concept that began primarily around delivery and takeout. One Paseo continues to advertise the restaurant as "coming soon," with a summer 2026 arrival.
The turnover therefore paints a more complicated picture than a simple string of failures. One Paseo remains one of San Diego's most polished and heavily curated lifestyle centers. Its combination of luxury apartments, offices, restaurants, boutiques and landscaped public spaces was designed to create something closer to a walkable neighborhood than a traditional shopping mall. The development today describes itself as an "urban village".
What will replace Sweetfin's prominent space remains unknown. For now, Sweetfin's departure closes another chapter from One Paseo's original restaurant lineup while underscoring something the development has become increasingly accustomed to: the names on the directory may change, but One Paseo continues finding new concepts willing to take their place.
Sweetfin Poke was located at 3705 Paseo Place, Suite 1100, in San Diego's Carmel Valley community.
Originally published August 25, 2026.