Casa de Pico, the longtime Mexican restaurant founded by prominent San Diego restaurateur Diane Powers, will commemorate its 55th anniversary with festivities scheduled for November 4 through November 7 at its Grossmont Center location in La Mesa. The celebration recognizes a hospitality legacy that began in Old Town San Diego in 1971 and has endured for more than five decades, including a major relocation in 2005.
On October 20, Times of San Diego published an anniversary feature by Robin Dohrn-Simpson titled "Casa de Pico celebrates 55 years of Mexican flavor, color and community." The article highlighted the restaurant's colorful décor, strolling mariachi musicians, handmade tortillas, expansive menu and longstanding connection to generations of San Diego diners. The feature also included comments from Powers reflecting on the restaurant's success and the employees who helped sustain it.
"Fifty-five years of success doesn't just belong to one person," Powers told the publication, crediting the restaurant's cooks, servers, shopkeepers and their families for helping create memorable dining experiences and a piece of San Diego history.
What the celebratory coverage did not address was the restaurant's recent closure following county inspections documenting major violations, or the subsequent effort by a restaurant representative to have SanDiegoVille remove its reporting about those findings.
On September 29, 2026, public records show that the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health and Quality ordered Casa de Pico closed after inspectors identified major violations involving vermin and improper food cooling. The inspection also documented deficiencies involving food-holding temperatures and premises conditions.
Further records show inspectors returned October 2 and again issued an "Ordered Closed" designation, citing a major vermin violation and deficiencies involving floors, walls and ceilings. The two closure orders were part of the same shutdown period, rather than two unrelated closures.
The restaurant was approved to reopen October 3. A routine inspection that day resulted in a score of 97 out of 100, earning an A grade, while a separate reinspection authorizing reopening recorded no violations.
Those corrective actions are significant, and Casa de Pico is currently operating. However, the subsequent A grade does not invalidate the earlier inspection findings or erase the closure orders from the county's public records.
On October 13, SanDiegoVille received an email from Len Gilman, writing on behalf of Casa de Pico and Bazaar del Mundo, challenging the publication's coverage of the shutdown and requesting a retraction and apology.
"We believe that listing contained misinformation about Casa de Pico and left readers with an inaccurate picture of the restaurant," Gilman wrote.
He explained that the county inspection coincided with maintenance and construction that had been planned in advance of the restaurant's 55th anniversary celebration.
"The county's visit came at the start of long-planned maintenance and construction ahead of Casa de Pico's 55th anniversary," Gilman stated. "Our team closed the restaurant, completed every repair, and reopened with an A grade from the county, which is posted in our window today."
Gilman's explanation provides the restaurant's account of the circumstances surrounding the shutdown. SanDiegoVille has not independently reviewed construction schedules or detailed inspector narratives to determine how that work intersected with the county's findings.
Nevertheless, the publicly available inspection records document the closure orders and the violations that prompted them. The restaurant's response did not provide documentation showing that the county rescinded those findings.
The September shutdown was also not the first time Casa de Pico had encountered significant food safety deficiencies.
On May 22, 2025, the restaurant received a B grade with a score of 85 after inspectors documented major violations involving handwashing and improper food cooling, along with several additional deficiencies. A subsequent inspection resulted in an improved score of 99 and an A grade.
In August 2025, inspectors documented a major holding-temperature violation and a minor vermin violation, although the restaurant still received an A grade with a score of 90.
Earlier inspections in 2023 and 2024 also identified deficiencies involving food temperatures, cooling procedures, sanitation and maintenance. Those records do not establish that the problems persisted continuously between inspections, but they provide context for the more recent closure.
The distinction between an establishment's current health grade and its inspection history is particularly relevant to consumers. Under San Diego County's grading system, a restaurant can receive an A grade while still having violations documented during that inspection.
Casa de Pico's October 3 score of 97 confirms that it met the county's requirements to reopen and earned a high grade during its latest scored inspection. It does not establish that the September 29 and October 2 closure orders were mistaken.
The controversy stands in contrast to the restaurant's substantial contributions to San Diego's hospitality industry.
Powers opened her original Casa de Pico operation in Old Town in 1971 as part of the Bazaar del Mundo concept, helping establish the historic district as a destination for Mexican-inspired shopping, dining and cultural entertainment.
After losing the concession for her Old Town operation, Powers relocated Casa de Pico to Grossmont Center in 2005, preserving many of the features that had made the original restaurant popular, including festive architecture, colorful artwork, handmade tortillas and mariachi performances.
Her broader restaurant ventures include Casa Guadalajara in Old Town and Casa de Bandini in Carlsbad. Her influence on San Diego's Mexican restaurant scene and tourism industry has been considerable.
The upcoming anniversary celebration is therefore a meaningful milestone for the business and its longtime employees, many of whom have helped maintain the restaurant's traditions across generations.
But the timing also illustrates the difference between promotional coverage of a restaurant's legacy and independent reporting about its operations.
Times of San Diego's October 20 feature focused on the establishment's history, menu and anniversary festivities. It did not discuss the recent health department shutdown, previous inspection deficiencies or the restaurant's demand for a retraction from SanDiegoVille.
That omission does not establish that the publication deliberately concealed the information or that its reporting was inaccurate. It does, however, leave readers without context about a significant recent development involving the restaurant.
For Casa de Pico, the challenge is not simply managing publicity ahead of its anniversary. It is reconciling a celebrated hospitality legacy with the public record of recent health inspection findings.
The restaurant has already taken the corrective steps necessary to reopen, and its latest scored inspection resulted in an A grade. Those developments deserve recognition alongside the closure orders and the violations
Originally published on October 21, 2026.