Located at 8885 Balboa Avenue overlooking Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, 94th Aero Squadron quietly closed in early July, leaving customers wondering whether the restaurant's latest shutdown would become permanent. After several months of uncertainty, Friday-night entertainment returned in late October, followed by the resumption of regular restaurant service on November 8.
According to a report from local community publication Explore Clairemont, the restaurant's new operators are Philanzo King, his wife Michelle King, and their business partner and friend Garrick Charlton. The publication reported that the trio decided to purchase the business in August after its future became uncertain.
California corporate filings provide independent evidence of a significant management change, although they do not conclusively establish the terms of any sale.
An October 23, 2026, statement of information filed with the California Secretary of State identifies Philanzo King as chief executive officer, sole director and registered agent of 94th Aero Squadron SD Inc., the corporation associated with the restaurant. Garrick Charlton is listed as chief financial officer and secretary.
The filing replaces Seung Kim, who previously controlled the corporation and acquired the restaurant in 2018. Michelle King, although identified as a new owner in Explore Clairemont's reporting, is not listed among the corporation's officers or directors.
The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control continues to identify 94th Aero Squadron SD Inc. as the holder of the restaurant's active liquor license. No corresponding license transfer was identified in records reviewed November 12, leaving the precise ownership arrangement and whether the transaction involved the business, its assets or the underlying property unconfirmed.
King is no stranger to San Diego's hospitality industry. He is also associated with The DOT Cocktail Lounge, a neighborhood bar at 3600 Main Street in southeastern San Diego known for its cocktails, karaoke, pool tables and community atmosphere.
The new operators reportedly intend to preserve the elements that made 94th Aero Squadron a San Diego institution while improving the dining experience.
King told Explore Clairemont that customers could expect essentially the same restaurant, with two notable changes: better food and lower prices.
The restaurant's extravagant weekend brunches and Friday nightlife events are also returning. Its website currently advertises weekday lunch buffets, weekend champagne brunches and First and Third Friday club nights, although the posted hours still contain conflicting information that customers should confirm before visiting.
For longtime patrons, the reopening represents another unlikely comeback for a restaurant whose future has repeatedly appeared uncertain.
94th Aero Squadron first opened on February 15, 1976, as part of restaurateur David Tallichet's aviation-themed restaurant empire. Developed by Specialty Restaurants Corporation, the San Diego location was designed to resemble a French farmhouse near a World War I airfield, complete with military memorabilia, vintage aircraft decorations, fireplaces and views of planes taking off and landing at neighboring Montgomery Field.
Named for the American fighter squadron associated with World War I flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker, the restaurant became a destination for family celebrations, holiday meals, wedding receptions and its famously elaborate Sunday brunch.
The Kearny Mesa location celebrated its 50th anniversary in February, only to close again less than five months later.
It was not the restaurant's first brush with permanent closure.
In January 2022, 94th Aero Squadron suspended operations amid staffing shortages and pandemic-related business challenges. It reopened that April with a revised menu and limited hours, eventually restoring its popular nightlife and brunch offerings.
The circumstances surrounding the July 2026 shutdown have remained less clear.
When SanDiegoVille reported the closure on July 13, the restaurant's website displayed a brief notice stating that it was closed until further notice. Management did not publicly explain the shutdown, and requests for clarification went unanswered.
The restaurant's return also comes as questions remain about employment practices and business disputes involving its previous management.
A former server, Jessie Emmanuel Putman, has provided SanDiegoVille with a detailed account alleging wage violations, missed breaks, questionable disciplinary practices and retaliation during his employment from December 2024 until September 2025, when he says he was terminated.
Putman alleges that servers were expected to absorb certain customer-related losses, that employees were sometimes denied required breaks, and that disciplinary actions were used against workers who raised concerns about workplace practices.
He further claims that some disciplinary records produced following his termination contained information he disputes and that employees were discouraged from pursuing complaints.
These allegations have not been independently substantiated, and SanDiegoVille has not reviewed a finding by the California Labor Commissioner establishing wrongdoing.
However, a review of the California Department of Industrial Relations' public wage-claim records identified two claims against 94th Aero Squadron SD Inc. filed in September 2025.
One claim, numbered WC-CM-1123843, was filed September 8, 2025, and was listed as awaiting approval when records were reviewed November 12. A second claim, WC-CM-1126846, was filed September 22 and was listed as under investigation.
The publicly accessible records do not identify the claimants or establish that either filing belongs to Putman. Nor do they establish that any labor violation occurred.
Putman separately provided SanDiegoVille with what he identifies as a Labor Commissioner retaliation complaint number, RCI-CM-1123845. Although the number follows the agency's established format, its existence and contents have not been independently confirmed.
Court records also identify previous employment-related litigation involving the restaurant's operating corporation.
In August 2024, a wrongful termination lawsuit was filed against 94th Aero Squadron SD Inc. by a plaintiff identified as Perez Pena. Another wrongful termination action was filed against the corporation in November 2018 by a plaintiff identified as Sanchez.
The allegations and outcomes of those cases have not been established through review of the underlying court documents. Their existence does not demonstrate that the restaurant violated employment laws.
Separately, Basso Family Ventures LLC filed a lawsuit in October 2024 naming 94th Aero Squadron SD Inc. and Seung Kim as defendants in a case classified by the San Diego Superior Court as involving fraud. The Basso family was associated with the restaurant's previous operating company, which held its liquor license before Kim's acquisition.
The underlying complaint has not been reviewed, and the specific allegations and current status of the litigation remain unconfirmed.
None of these disputes has been established as a cause of the restaurant's July closure, and there is no evidence presently connecting the incoming management team to the alleged employment practices described by Putman.
The changes nonetheless represent a significant transition for a restaurant that has operated through several ownership eras since opening half a century ago.
Specialty Restaurants Corporation originally developed the location, but its San Diego liquor license was canceled in 1997. International Aero Clubs LLC subsequently operated the restaurant until 2018, when 94th Aero Squadron SD Inc. became the licensed operator under the ownership era associated with Seung Kim.
The October 2026 corporate filing marks the latest change in leadership of that same operating company.
For King and his partners, the challenge now is to restore confidence in a landmark that has survived changing dining trends, the pandemic and multiple shutdowns while retaining the atmosphere that made it a distinctive part of San Diego's restaurant landscape.
The return of brunch, nightlife and regular dining service suggests that the new team intends to build on the restaurant's history rather than replace its identity.
94th Aero Squadron Restaurant is located at 8885 Balboa Avenue in San Diego's Kearny Mesa. For reservations and current operating information, visit 94thsandiego.com or call (858) 560-6771.
Originally published on November 12, 2026.
