Word on the Street
Owner sells Sea & Smoke
Del Mar residents now have to head to Encinitas or North Park for Matt Gordon’s epic cinnamon rolls.
Gordon quietly shuttered Sea & Smoke, his Del Mar Highlands brasserie, after Sunday brunch on January 10 and later announced on Facebook that he had sold the restaurant.
Sea & Smoke had been in the Flower Hill Promenade mall since 2013 and was Gordon’s third venture. He told the Union-Tribune he was approached with an offer to buy the restaurant, and that accepting it allows him to focus on Urban Solace and Solace & the Moonlight Lounge.
There is no word on what will replace the 4,500-square-foot space.
Affordable housing opens near Logan’s art community
A local developer is unveiling its new residential project in Barrio Logan, called Community@ Mi Apartamento, with an art show this Saturday.
Two buildings make up the 29-unit complex, at 2611 Logan Avenue and 2605 National Avenue. LWP Group, a firm that transforms older apartment buildings into modern affordable housing, has installed art, a community game room, and a garden at the complex. Residents at all LWP-owned properties are provided with reusable shopping bags and bicycles, and have access to monthly events such as discussions with local artists and craft beer tastings.
Mi Apartamento has one- and two-bedroom units and studios. Rent is $965–$1,400 a month, significantly lower than the city’s average rent of $1,325 for a studio and $2,050 for a two-bedroom. The complex is near La Bodega Gallery, Border X Brewing, ¡Salud! tacos, and Cafe Moto.
Looks like Barrio Logan is on track to becoming the next North Park.
Tracking Turnover
Gelson’s Market now open
Sea & Smoke Closes in Del Mar; Gelson’s Market Opens
Customers lined up for the grand opening of Gelson’s Market in Del Mar yesterday. | Photo courtesy of Audrey Doherty/Chemistry PR
Gelson’s opened its first San Diego location in Del Mar on Thursday, January 14, and a line formed around the store for the ribbon cutting.
The high-end supermarket chain’s L.A. locations are known for being a great place to spot celebrities. The company is taking over three San Diego County stores that Haggen vacated when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The Del Mar store has salad, hot food and antipasti bars, a carving cart within the deli, gourmet cheese, and a juice and cut fruits counter. During its opening week, the store will offer samples of its featured merchandise and dishes.
Gelson’s is opening its second store in Carlsbad on February 11 and its third in Pacific Beach in March.
News Bites
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The San Diego Symphony is working with the Port to build a permanent outdoor concert venue at Embarcadero Marina Park South, across from the convention center. The proposed $25-million facility could accommodate anywhere from 2,700 to 10,000 people.
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The smell at La Jolla Cove made national news (again) this week on NPR.
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Up in North County, a developer wants to build 200 new apartments and a 100-room hotel in Vista on San Marcos Boulevard.
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The decline of malls across the country in recent years, especially in the Midwest and East Coast, has been well documented and attributed to online shopping. But here in Southern California, new retail spaces and food halls, like Pacific City in Huntington Beach, 4th Street Market in Santa Ana, and OC Mix in Costa Mesa, are thriving and positively affecting communities.
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Breakwater Town Center, a new 45,000-square-foot retail center with a grocery store, will break ground in Imperial Beach next month. This and other projects in the works are redeveloping the coastal community.
Sea & Smoke Closes in Del Mar; Gelson’s Market Opens
Matt Gordon has sold his Del Mar restaurant Sea & Smoke | Photo by Sam Wells
