The Fishery announced Gale's appointment this week, calling his return a "homecoming" and saying the chef previously worked at the acclaimed seafood restaurant as a sous chef in 2020. Since then, Gale has built an impressive résumé that includes The Lark in Santa Barbara, Marisi in La Jolla, Blue Hill at Stone Barns in New York and, most recently, Monsieur Dior in Beverly Hills.
Gale has more than 15 years of culinary experience and has developed a particular interest in seafood, sustainability and ingredient sourcing. A biography published for next month's AltaSea Blue Hour event in Los Angeles identifies Gale as executive chef of The Fishery and says he intends to work closely with local fishermen, farmers and purveyors while highlighting Southern California's coastal bounty.
Two stops in particular help explain the direction Gale may bring to the Pacific Beach restaurant. He spent time at Blue Hill at Stone Barns in New York, the influential farm-driven restaurant associated with chef Dan Barber, and later served as executive sous chef at Monsieur Dior by Dominique Crenn in Beverly Hills. Gale has credited those experiences with strengthening his emphasis on seasonality, sourcing and sustainability.
Gale also spent time at The Lark in Santa Barbara, the celebrated Funk Zone restaurant whose cooking revolves around locally sourced and responsibly grown Central Coast ingredients. He later worked at Marisi, the upscale Italian restaurant in La Jolla operated by the hospitality group behind Puesto, creating an interesting connection to the chef he is now replacing at The Fishery.
Gale's return to The Fishery comes after a brief stint earlier this year as chef de cuisine at Destiny Coast in La Jolla Shores. In July, the restaurant announced Gale had joined its culinary team following his time at Monsieur Dior, meaning his move back to The Fishery appears to have developed only within the past couple months.
The appointment adds another turn to what has been an unusually eventful period of chef changes at The Fishery. For roughly two decades, the restaurant's kitchen was synonymous with longtime founding chef Paul Arias. That changed in 2020, when Arias departed and Mike Reidy, whose résumé included Ironside Fish & Oyster and two-Michelin-starred Mélisse in Los Angeles, took control of the kitchen and helped owners Annemarie Brown-Lorenz and Nick Lorenz reimagine the longtime neighborhood seafood restaurant.
Gale was actually part of The Fishery kitchen during that same period, working as a sous chef in 2020. His elevation to executive chef six years later therefore represents a return to familiar territory rather than the arrival of someone entirely new to the restaurant and its seafood-driven philosophy.
Reidy left The Fishery in spring 2023 to become chef de cuisine at acclaimed East Village restaurant Callie under chef Travis Swikard. His replacement was Jonathan Bautista, who had recently departed Golden Hill's Kingfisher after earning a 2023 James Beard Foundation Awards semifinalist nomination for Best Chef: California.
Bautista's tenure proved brief. He left The Fishery before the beginning of 2024 and later became executive chef at Richard Blais' Ember & Rye in Carlsbad. The Fishery initially elevated longtime sous chef Noah Newhart following Bautista's departure before Elliott Townsend, formerly of Cowboy Star, assumed the executive-chef position in early 2024.
Then came another homecoming. In fall 2024, The Fishery announced Reidy would return as executive chef and partner following his stint at Callie. He replaced Townsend and again took command of the kitchen that November, with plans to further refine the menu while making use of The Fishery's unusual direct connection to seafood wholesaler Pacific Shellfish.
Reidy's second tenure appeared to bring some stability after several changes at the top. As recently as this year, he continued to be publicly identified as The Fishery's chef-partner and remained active in special events and collaborations at the restaurant.
Earlier this month, visiting chef Josean Alija Balotin of London's Mountain restaurant cooked a special dinner at The Fishery alongside its culinary team. Balotin described the experience as one of the highlights of his career and praised owners Annemarie Brown-Lorenz and Nick Lorenz, whom he said he had first met about six years earlier during a visit to London's Brat restaurant.
The announcement of Gale's appointment initially left Reidy's status unclear, particularly because The Fishery's website continued to identify Reidy as executive chef. SanDiegoVille reached out directly to both the restaurant and Reidy to determine whether he remained involved with the business.
The Fishery confirmed to SanDiegoVille that Reidy has left the restaurant and "went to work for Puesto group." Reidy then confirmed the move himself and provided additional details about his new position.
"I'm the New Culinary Director, Innovation & Development," Reidy told SanDiegoVille, adding that his role encompasses Puesto, Marisi and Icaria.
The new position puts Reidy in a substantially broader culinary role than running a single restaurant kitchen. Puesto has grown from its San Diego roots into a collection of Mexican restaurants throughout Southern California, while Marisi is the group's upscale Italian concept in La Jolla and Icaria is its newer Mediterranean-inspired restaurant at Westfield UTC.
The move creates a curious bit of culinary symmetry. Gale previously worked at Marisi before returning to The Fishery, while Reidy is now leaving The Fishery to assume a leadership role that includes Marisi along with Puesto and Icaria.
Reidy's departure closes his second chapter at The Fishery, where he has played a major role in shaping the restaurant's modern identity. His first tenure ran from 2020 until his move to Callie in 2023, and his return in late 2024 put him back at the helm for nearly another two years.
For The Fishery, Gale's appointment represents both another change at the top and a degree of continuity. Unlike several of the chefs who have passed through the kitchen in recent years, Gale already knows the restaurant, its owners and its unusual connection to San Diego's seafood supply chain.
The Fishery was founded in 1997 by fourth-generation La Jolla fisherman Judd Brown as a restaurant offshoot of sister seafood wholesaler Pacific Shellfish. Today, the restaurant is operated by Brown's daughter Annemarie Brown-Lorenz and her husband Nick Lorenz, with the seafood market and wholesale operation giving its kitchen unusual access to fresh fish and shellfish.
That arrangement could be particularly well suited to Gale's cooking philosophy. His professional biography emphasizes not only seafood but close relationships with fishermen, farmers and purveyors, as well as the sustainability and seasonality philosophies he developed while working in some of the country's most ingredient-driven kitchens.
The restaurant is already signaling that menu changes are coming. In announcing Gale's appointment, The Fishery said his "true passion for seafood and bold flavors" will inform the next chapter of the kitchen and teased new menu updates on the horizon.
The Fishery also expressed enthusiasm about the transition directly to SanDiegoVille after learning of this article.
"We are very excited about this homecoming and next chapter," the restaurant said.
For an institution that will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year, the homecoming is a notable one. Gale returns to the same Pacific Beach kitchen where he worked as a sous chef six years ago, this time charged with leading it, while Reidy moves beyond the restaurant kitchen into a group-level position influencing three prominent San Diego dining brands.
The Fishery is located at 5040 Cass Street in Pacific Beach. For more information, visit thefishery.com.
Originally published on September 24, 2026.
