California is home to the most women-owned businesses in the country, and San Diego is a hot spot for women entrepreneurs. In March, we’re celebrating International Women’s Month by highlighting some of our favorite women-owned businesses throughout San Diego County—from food to flowers, photographers, and gift shops. Here are 28 ways to support local entrepreneurs all month long.
Restaurants | Beverages & Spirits | Retail | Artists | Health & Wellness
Women-Owned Restaurants in San Diego
Nahomie’s Cafe & Deli
Lizzette Amaya, an entrepreneur from Anyarit, Mexico who also owns a restaurant with her husband in La Mesa, delayed the opening of Nahomie’s Cafe & Deli in order to care for her ailing mother. When the spot for sandwiches, wraps, and coffee launched at last in August 2024, it won the National City Chamber of Commerce’s 2025 “New Business of the Year” award.
The Fishery
Annemarie Brown-Lorenz, the daughter of The Fishery’s original owner, has been working in restaurants herself since she was 15. She took over the nearly 30-year-old Pacific Beach seafood business’s operations during Covid. She and her husband also run Pacific Shellfish.
Balsamico Italian Kitchen
Elisa Borelli co-manages Balsamico Italian Kitchen in Imperial Beach with her husband, Michele. Though Borelli’s background is in finance, she curated the restaurant’s wine list herself and manages much of the front-of-house operations. The restaurant is known for its Italian food and—you guessed it—balsamic offerings.
Iris Delights
Specializing in bonbons and confections, Iris Meyers of Iris Delights started her Tierrasanta-based chocolate shop out of her home kitchen in 2015. Since then, she’s built a business (using her MBA in marketing) while managing recipe development, and her chocolates are not only available in the San Diego region but also ship nationwide.
Companion Bread
Sienna Walters started milling and selling her own bread from her home during the pandemic. Since then, her hyper-local startup, Companion Bread, has blossomed into one of San Diego’s favorite hidden gems, especially for those with gluten sensitivities.
Cucina Urbana
Tracy Borkum, principal of Urban Kitchen Group, is credited with helping to revolutionize San Diego’s food scene. She’s spent 15 of her 25 years in the industry building and growing Bankers Hill’s Cucina Urbana, where she employs a full-time HR person to support her team—a rarity in the restaurant field.
Always Hungry Grocery & Goods
Always Hungry Grocery & Goods in Carlsbad Village (which also operates as a pop-up in Oceanside) is the beautiful and intentionally stocked grocery store of your dreams. “[Inventory] must be local, support an underrepresented group, be absolutely the best in their category, or just be plain fun,” owner Katie Jayne says, pointing to items like Fox Point Farms’ sugar snap peas from Encinitas or Tethos’ non-alcoholic wines from North County.
Dudley’s Bakery
When owner Lydia Bilic took over 60-year-old Dudley’s Bakery in Santa Ysabel in 2018, she tweaked the institution’s ingredient sourcing in a few ways—the bakery now uses cage-free eggs, as well as flour from a family farm in Coronado. Two years later, when Covid hit, Bilic and her staff were recognized by their district for “exceptional dedication” to the community after they extended the bakery’s hours to facilitate times for senior citizens to shop, offered discounts to first responders, and began delivering to those who felt safer at home. The business remains a destination for sandwiches, breads, pastries, and coffee.
Chicken Pie Shop
North Park’s Chicken Pie Shop has been in the Townsend family for four generations over 87 years. Lisa Townsend, the daughter-in-law of the restaurant’s original owners, currently handles the day-to-day operations. As general manager, Townsend brought the business into the modern age, adding the ability to pay by credit card, launching digital time cards, and more. The restaurant makes upwards of 3,000 pies daily.
Women-Owned Spirits Brands in San Diego
Altipiano Vineyard & Winery
Black- and veteran-owned Altipiano Vineyard & Winery was founded by Denise Clarke, a winemaker and internationally recognized connoisseur. She and her husband built Altipiano after losing their 900 avocado trees in a 2007 fire, and, in 2012, Clarke took over as the company’s full-time, in-house winemaker. Visit the couple’s Tuscan-style vineyard in Escondido to buy wines by the bottle, join the wine club, or participate in a private tasting.
Mujeres Brew House
Owner Carmen Velasco-Favela opened her Barrio Logan brewery, Mujeres Brew House, during the pandemic with an all-woman leadership team. The business takes inspiration from Mexican culture and offers fruit-forward beers and cocktail seltzers.
Bivouac Ciderworks
Bivouac Ciderworks in North Park has a 75 percent woman-led core team, including San Diego native and CEO Lara Worm, who cut her teeth as a prosecutor before pivoting to the hospitality industry. She owns the cidery’s taproom; restaurant; general store; and airy, mural-filled “adventure lodge.”
Sipwell
Woman-founded and Black-owned brand Sipwell vends its single-serving, organic canned wines online and in shops all over California, but its headquarters is right here in Encinitas. Founder Hilary Cocalis started the company for folks who’d like to celebrate with bubbly without having to pop a whole bottle.
Napatini Wine Bar
Navy veteran and recent San Diego transplant Lynn McLean co-owns Napatini, an indie wine bar in Carlsbad, with her husband, Gary. After a number of Covid-related delays, the Napa-inspired spot opened in 2022, and since then McLean has been recognized as one of the most influential women in Carlsbad by the Carlsbad Business Journal and nominated as a rising star in the food and beverage category of SDM‘s annual Celebrating Women awards.
Women-Owned Retail Shops in San Diego
Little Love San Diego
Lindsey Fisher has been managing Little Love San Diego—a secondhand shop in La Jolla that accepts and sells upscale kids’ clothes—for seven years since opening the store as a single mom. Fisher curates the selection so parents don’t feel overwhelmed while shopping, offers a play area for kids, and accepts donations at any time to make drop-offs maximally convenient for any family’s schedule.
Kai’s Refills
Kai’s Refills in La Mesa gets its name from owner Leann Littleton’s daughter and sells sustainable, washable, reusable, or composable household goods and bulk refills on necessities like dish soap, shampoo, laundry detergent, and more.
Daydream Escondido
Mei Bautista owns Daydream Escondido, a one-stop shop boutique and co-op where patrons can find the latest from local artists and creators. Bautista was named as one of Escondido’s “Women Leading Their Industries” in 2022, and, after experiencing homelessness herself as a child, Bautista currently serves on the board of interfaith community services to support families facing poverty.
Chouette Designs
Queer married couple and Chouette Designs co-owners Ashley McGinty and Marine Schmitt design plus size-inclusive jewelry—meaning their sizes are designed to fit plus-size wearers who often find themselves limited by what’s available from mainstream jewelers. The duo says they also prioritize inclusivity by using gender neutral language, respecting pronoun preference, and not making any assumptions around wedding titles.
Joon
Joon is a curated gift shop co-owned by sisters Ashley and Kristin Villatuya. The store is named for their Persian heritage; “Joon” is Ashley’s daughter’s nickname and translates to “dear” or “life.” They carry a little something for everyone, with a focus on BIPOC- and woman-owned brands. You’ll find dumpling-shaped cat toys, planners for the hyper-organized, and board books for the little one in your life.
Native Poppy
California local Natalie Gill and Encinitas resident Meg Blancato co-own 10-year-old Native Poppy. The two lead operations for three locations: two full-service flower shops in South Park and Solana Beach and a hub-style studio space in Mission Valley, which offers everything the brand sells online for pre-order pick up.
Best Bud + Home Ec
After spending years honing her craft at Native Poppy, florist Kathleen Dore opened Best Bud flower shop on Adams Avenue in Kensington. The colorful store, which she shares with indie kitchen shop Home Ec (and its owner, Carynn Pickney), vends pantry goods from BIPOC-owned brands. The two businesses also use the space to host events, create custom bouquets, and serve as a local pickup point for other San Diego food and beverage vendors, like Companion Bread.
Kobey’s Swap Meet
Kobey’s Swap Meet has been family-owned since 1976 and under the stewardship of founder Monte Kobey’s youngest daughter, Kimberly Kobey Pretto, since 1988. Under Pretto’s leadership, the swap meet has grown to be San Diego’s largest outdoor marketplace, and she has transitioned to sharing leadership responsibilities with her son, Anthony.
Landmark Plant Co.
Maggie Boyd grew up in Oceanside, just four blocks from one of her two outposts of Landmark Plant Co (the other is in Leucadia). Landmark is a full-service plant operation with storefronts that sell succulents, cacti, herbs, and other gorgeous greenery, as well as design and building services for both interior and exterior spaces.
Women Artists & Creatives
Carmela Designs
When she isn’t doing interior design work, Encinitas artist Lauren Bencivengo sells original paintings and prints online and at art shows around the San Diego area. Her work at Carmela Designs is beautiful—understated and elegant—but what really sets her apart is how she paints directly on the frame, incorporating it into the piece.
Isiko Ceramics
Janna Barker is the owner and ceramicist behind Isiko Ceramics. Every six months, Barker identifies a deserving organization and donates five percent of Isiko’s proceeds. She also designs her own jewelry, curates home goods, and offers occasional group and private classes.
Lucky Cat Tattoo
Lucky Cat Tattoo is a woman-, queer- , and POC-owned tattoo shop in North Park that operates both by appointment and on a walk-in basis. Each of the three artists has their own specialty: Kristin Tran focuses on kawaii and illustrative styles, co-owner Emily Paul specializes in black and grey realism and geometric styles, and co-owner Lauren Skinker is an expert in American traditional tattoos.
Morgan Miles Studio
Gone are the days of perfectly posed and coached family portraits. Morgan Miles Studio is your best bet for capturing the spontaneous and fun moments that you’ve always wanted to get on film. Miles specializes in candid lifestyle photography, and when she isn’t behind the camera, she is a professor of marketing at San Diego State University.
Women-Owned Health & Wellness Businesses
Empower Physical Therapy
Empower Physical Therapy helps patients in need of injury rehab; people hoping to resolve pelvic, urinary, or bowel issues; and expectant and postpartum parents. The team especially understands the needs of mothers because all three members of the leadership team—admin expert Peyton Fisher, PT doc Macy Basterrechea, and pelvic floor specialist Ivy Colbert—are moms.
The Experience Fitness
Hillcrest’s The Experience Fitness focuses on creating a safe space to work out for LGBTQ people and their allies. Run by self-identified cisgender lesbian Angeli Ryan-Lim and her nonbinary spouse, Ry, Experience offers everything from personal training to small group classes, barbell lifting, and mobility sessions.
Four Moons Spa
Four Moons Spa, an Encinitas escape for massages, facials, acupuncture, and more, is a favorite of Gwyneth Paltrow’s media brand Goop. Co-founded by Letha Sandison and Courtney Mars in 2017, Four Moons now has a four-person leadership team, all of whom are women.
