The new concept will take over the approximately 2,100-square-foot ground-floor space at 721 Eighth Avenue beneath The Artifact Inn boutique hotel. The property was previously occupied by The Farmacy, a restaurant that opened in summer 2025 and closed in spring 2026 following a short-lived expansion from Albuquerque, New Mexico.
According to a November 13 report by San Diego Magazine, Prauper House will combine the casual charm of a European neighborhood café with the seasonal cooking and hospitality that Holaday and Garcia have spent approximately two decades developing in restaurants across the country.
The couple's vision is ambitious but deliberately approachable. Mornings will bring freshly brewed coffee, naturally fermented sourdough breads, rustic pastries, light sandwiches and specialty cakes. By afternoon and evening, the space will transition into a restaurant and natural wine bar featuring a changing menu built around seasonal ingredients and straightforward preparations.
For Holaday, Prauper House represents an opportunity to showcase the baking expertise she developed while overseeing the pastry and sourdough programs at Mabel's Gone Fishing and Secret Sister, the latter known for its artisanal baked goods and creative desserts.
Before establishing herself in San Diego, Holaday worked at several prominent New York establishments, including the Plaza Hotel, Michelin-starred Betony and Brooklyn's influential Marlow & Sons, part of restaurateur Andrew Tarlow's hospitality portfolio.
Garcia brings an equally diverse culinary background. His career began washing dishes at his uncle's diner in New York's Adirondack region before he attended culinary school in San Francisco.
He subsequently worked at Baker & Banker in San Francisco, Michelin-starred A Voce in New York City and Vermont's Shelburne Farms, a nonprofit educational farm where he spent a season working with agricultural production and food systems.
Garcia later served as sous chef at Marlow & Sons and developed his whole-animal butchery skills at Brooklyn's Marlow & Daughters before relocating to San Diego, where he joined the opening culinary team at Mabel's Gone Fishing.
Despite their extensive experience, Prauper House will be the couple's first restaurant operated entirely on their own terms.
The concept has been taking shape for nearly 20 years, drawing on the restaurants where they worked, the hospitality they experienced and their shared belief that dining out should feel personal rather than transactional.
The name itself reflects that philosophy. Prauper combines a playful reference to the British expression "proper," meaning particularly good, with "pauper," evoking ordinary people and an appreciation for life's simpler pleasures. Adding "House" was intended to give the restaurant a sense of warmth and familiarity.
Rather than building a formal, special-occasion destination, Holaday and Garcia want Prauper House to become the kind of neighborhood gathering place where someone can stop for coffee in the morning, enjoy a leisurely lunch or settle in for wine and dinner.
The food will reflect the same uncomplicated approach.
Garcia plans to develop a menu that changes with the seasons and availability of ingredients, favoring careful technique and thoughtful preparation over elaborate garnishes and luxury ingredients added merely for presentation.
That could mean locally available spiny lobster appearing as a special during its season, prepared simply rather than accompanied by caviar or shaved truffles.
Popular dishes will not necessarily remain on the menu indefinitely. The chefs intend to allow ingredients and the seasons to guide what comes out of the kitchen, even if that means occasionally retiring customer favorites.
Holaday's breads, pastries and specialty cakes will anchor the daytime offerings, creating a connection between the restaurant's morning café service and its more substantial evening dining experience.
The property itself helped convince the couple that East Village was the right place to establish their first independent venture.
According to San Diego Magazine, Holaday and Garcia began searching for a restaurant location approximately a year ago, initially considering other neighborhoods. Like many first-time independent operators, they faced challenges securing commercial space without the financial backing of a major restaurant group.
When they visited the Eighth Avenue property, however, they saw an opportunity to build the restaurant they had long envisioned.
In addition to its approximately 2,100-square-foot interior, the location includes a private outdoor patio measuring roughly 500 square feet, offering room for outdoor dining and a more relaxed neighborhood atmosphere.
The address has experienced considerable restaurant turnover in recent years.
The space previously housed Minou Creperie before becoming The Farmacy, an Albuquerque-based café concept that opened its San Diego location in late summer 2025.
As SanDiegoVille reported in October 2025, The Farmacy's California expansion coincided with the abrupt closure and bankruptcy filing of its longtime New Mexico restaurant, where former employees alleged they had not received their final paychecks.
Chef Jacob Elliot, who operated The Farmacy with Mary Hammack, told SanDiegoVille at the time that the Albuquerque and San Diego businesses were legally separate entities. He attributed financial difficulties in New Mexico partly to declining sales and prolonged permitting delays associated with the San Diego expansion.
The Farmacy's East Village location subsequently closed in spring 2026, leaving the space available for another restaurant venture. The specific circumstances of its San Diego closure have not been independently established.
For Holaday and Garcia, the opportunity comes as East Village continues to attract independent restaurants and ambitious culinary operators.
The neighborhood has undergone a gradual dining transformation since the opening of Petco Park in 2004, with establishments such as Neighborhood, Cowboy Star, Lola 55 and Callie helping establish the district as a destination beyond its nightlife and sports attractions.
More recently, businesses including Izola Bakery and Relic Bakery & Kitchen have contributed to the area's growing reputation for artisan baking and chef-driven food.
Prauper House aims to build on that momentum while offering something that can serve neighborhood residents throughout the day rather than focusing exclusively on dinner or nightlife.
The restaurant's development will proceed in stages. The couple hopes to begin limited operations in early 2027, with a more complete rollout of daytime and evening service anticipated by spring, depending on permitting and construction.
For two chefs who have spent years helping other restaurateurs bring their visions to life, the project represents an opportunity to create a restaurant that reflects their own personalities, experiences and approach to hospitality.
Prauper House is expected to open in early 2027 at 721 Eighth Avenue in San Diego's East Village. For updates, follow @prauperhouse on Instagram.
Originally published on November 13, 2026. Information first reported by Beth Demmon of San Diego Magazine.
