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The city’s top restaurants, 200-plus wines, celebrity chefs, pro athletes, live music—your guide to the festival, Sept. 6-11
Things evolve. Fast.
What started with five of us sitting around a table in a trailer in the dirt is now The Del Mar Wine + Food Festival, a week-long celebration with 20-plus food and drink events around the city, all leading up to the big show: the Grand Tasting on Sept. 9 and 10.
Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston of Breaking Bad fame are doing a mezcal dinner at The Lodge at Torrey Pines with executive chef Kelli Crosson, two of Baja’s most iconic chefs (Benito Molina and Drew Deckman), and a pal from Food Network (Beau MacMillan). Almost 100 of the city’s top restaurants are signed up to cook for the Grand Tasting.
Alex Morgan came on as a partner before she left for the World Cup. Wave FC agreed to host the opening night party at Monarch Ocean Pub. Drew Brees, who can throw a football pretty well and can also apparently swing a tiny racket, is hosting a celebrity pickleball tournament at Bobby Riggs Racket & Paddle. Rob Machado decided to host a day at the beach, after which we’ll all walk to brunch nearby at Herb & Sea. Like I said, things evolve fast.
At least 10 of my friends from Food Network or food TV say they’re showing up: Antonia Lofaso, Aaron May, Catherine McCord, Beau Mac Millan, Eric Greenspan, Brian Malarkey, Carlos Anthony, Claudette Zepeda, Claudia Sandoval, and Tommy Gomes. Two Michelin-starred restaurants stepped up to cook in the VIP tent.
One of the country’s top wine minds, Ted Glennon, who started in San Diego before working with a three-Michelin-star restaurant and launching his own vineyard, is joining. And we partnered with Feeding San Diego and designed a large portion of the events to raise money for their hunger-relief efforts.In short, people have rallied. For Claire and me, it’s a dream event. After all, part of our purpose for doing this whole owning-a-media-company thing was about building experiences for the city. And we’re incredibly grateful.
At the very least, we’re bringing a massive portion of the city’s food and drink culture to an epic lawn by the sea for a serious celebration.
Hope you can join us (tickets here). Here’s a sprinkle of favorites from the 300-plus samples and sips awaiting you at the DMWFF:
(For full schedule, visit delmar.wine)
Around 80 of the best restaurants and drink-makers from SoCal and Baja. More than 200 wines. Live music on double-decker buses. A massive putting green. Art. Games. Maybe a unicorn or two. Get your tickets here.
San Diego’s pro soccer heroes, the Wave FC, host the party at the epicenter of social life in Del Mar. GET TICKETS.
Chef Brad Wise cooks a four-course dinner paired with wines from the Napa Valley. GET TICKETS.
Two of SoCal’s most celebrated chefs you know from Top Chef and Food Network cook at Zepeda’s signature restaurant at Alila Marea Resort. Wines from legendary Sebastopol pinot noir specialist, Kosta Browne.
San Diego’s newest Michelin-star chef, Roberto Alcocer, teams up with Eduardo Morali (Pangea; Top 50 Best Latin American Restaurants) for a six-course pairing dinner. GET TICKETS.
Future NFL hall of famer Drew Brees, celebrity chefs, pro athletes, and other famous friends compete for bragging rights. Plus, it’s a big fundraiser for Feeding San Diego. GET TICKETS.
The Breaking Bad stars stop by for a five-course dinner made by celebrated chefs using their Dos Hombres mezcal as an ingredient. GET TICKETS.
The iconic winery brings the newly released Paris Tasting Chardonnay and Yountville Old Vines Cabernet, plus others, for a five-course pairing dinner from chef Aron Schwartz and Brandt Beef. GET TICKETS.
Yoga on the deck, then brunch by the Food Network personality, cookbook author, mom, and CEO of Weelicious. GET TICKETS.
Chef, great-hair guy, Top Chef All-Stars winner, and co-star of Next Level Chef Richard Blais hosts the after-party with some chef friends.
Spend the morning at the beach with San Diego’s surf legend, then join him at Herb & Sea for brunch food from chef Brian Malarkey. GET TICKETS.
For the DMWFF Grand Tasting (Sept. 9-10), 80-plus restaurants are scratching out recipes and assembling their teams. A two-day cookout on an epic lawn by the sea. As a leadup to the event, food editor Troy Johnson revisited many of them, told their stories. And he found some remarkable dishes on their current menus that you should try right now if happiness is a current life pursuit. (For food at the festival, some of these might be present, or they’ll create something new altogether).
Most restaurants peak, then ride that hype into a long, slow decline. After 40 years, George’s is still sitting pretty at the top. Exec chef Trey Foshee deserves credit, but talents like pastry chef Aly Lyng should also get their due. Lyng’s sticky toffee pudding cake is a more interesting cousin of the molten-lava classic. A deep, rich sweetness comes from date paste, and the amaretto toffee sauce is so good, it’s an emotion.
Arlo’s Josh Mouzakes has the chops to do fancy-innovative dishes, and he does. But his bolognese, inspired by his grandpa, is one of the best bites in the city. A combo of beef, veal, and pork with fennel seed are simmered in a creamy, pink tomato sauce, then served in a semolina bread bowl and snowed in with pecorino and basil.
“Indie steakhouses” are rare things. Most dry-aged specialists have been hooked up to their chain motherships by now. That’s why C-Star is so loved. I judge steakhouses by how they cook non-beef, like chef Victor Jimenez’s Japanese-inspired halibut. It’s cured in koji and served with garlic scapes and roasted maitake mushrooms, wading in a bacon dashi.
It’s not a Kingfisher dish without a spark of fish sauce. When it comes to this steak (Snake River does phenomenal beef), exec chef David Sim smartly treats it hands-off, just upping its ante with a flavor-cranking beef jus. The salad cuts through the richness with corn, tomatoes, and—you guessed it—fish sauce. The fried squash blossom is stuffed with Kingfisher’s own tofu mixture, a riff on the Vietnamese dish dau hu thit.
It’s time America realized butter is merely the raw ingredient destined to become brown butter: butter heated until the milk solids are toasted and caramelized and form one of the best flavors on the planet. And this ravioli—stuffed with local prawns and ricotta, tossed in brown butter-thyme sauce—is like a documentary film of its charms.
The best food news of recent times is that the stock of bluefin tuna has now recovered to a point that NOAA considers it a “smart seafood choice.” So local bluefin is, once again, a San Diego calling card. Enter Marine Room chef Mike Minor’s wild, pretty carpaccio—thin-sliced bluefin, lemon zest, apple blossom, lemon oil, truffle oil, yuzu salt, micro-cilantro, summer truffles, coral lace.
Marisi’s Spirits VP Beau du Bois is a refined booze encyclopedia. But sometimes the best drinks don’t require nouveau science. Just a slight shift of perspective. Take this Portuguese riff on the classic gin and tonic. The addition of white port—fortified, sweet wine—creates a bright, peachy, almost vanilla sweet-bitter cocktail that’s worlds better than just juniper and quinine.
When chef Roberto Alcocer opened Valle in 2021, he said his goal was a Michelin star. This July, he got it. The only option for dinner is an eight-course prix-fixe that includes this stunner: Wagyu strip steak with shiitake mushrooms, plus daikon radish that’s confit (or marinated) in bone marrow.
One of the top French Chefs in the city offers his take on the best thing that ever happened to American school lunches. If you don’t like them, you may be broken. They’re “loaded tots” made in a Mister A’s way, with caviar, chantilly cream, and chives. Four-star snack bar.
Octopus done wrong is old erasers. Done right, it’s this—tender, with the right bit of chew, edges charred crisp. Enoteca exec chef Cesar Sarmiento has a doozy of a version that sings thanks to a hazelnut romesco sauce you could bottle and guzzle.
Local bakeries have tried all kinds of soul-trading to recreate the almighty boiled-shiny NYC bagel, but still we suffered. Enter Jeffrey Wang, bagel hero. He started in New York and built a bagel empire. His were so good that he eventually sold the whole shebang to Einstein Bagels and retired in San Diego. He came out of seclusion to grace us with Solomon Bagels, one of the best in the city.
It is lovely in here. A designer’s dream built into a former La Jolla piano showroom— and also a pretty fantastic restaurant. Chef Mark Welker was the executive pastry chef at NYC’s Eleven Madison Park (widely regarded as one of the best restaurants in the world). Try the chops, blush-pink Kurobatas in a tarragon cream sauce and jus with lapsang souchong, a Japanese oxidized black tea.
Chef Jason Knibb was born in Jamaica and raised in SoCal, so no surprise his jerk with local-farm co-stars is fantastic. It’s a half-chicken, brined for 24 hours to guarantee juiciness, stacked with those famous jerk spices, then smoked and charred on the grill. It comes with confit Japanese sweet potato and a Fresno chili sofrito.
Welcome back, ’80s fashion and beef Wellington. You love puff pastry? Juicy steak catalyzes your happiness? How about we wrap that steak in puff pastry? Only, in San Diego, we don’t really ranch. We fish. Juniper & Ivy chef Anthony Wells has a long track record of loitering on local fishing boats. He Wellingtons top-quality local tuna instead of steak and serves it with a tuna bordelaise.
“Josh Jensen was a California wine legend,” says Glennon. “He left us in June, 2022. The Calera wines are admired as part of the history of great wines in California.” In the early 70s, Josh went to the graceland of pinot noir—Romaneé-Conti, in Burgundy, France—and fell hard. He came home and spent two years looking for the perfect limestone-rich soil. He found it in Mount Harlan near Monterey. For a year he lived in a trailer with his wife and child, got to planting. He’d eventually be on the cover of Wine Spectator and be named SF Chronicle’s “Winemaker of the Year.” An icon.
At wine festivals, you should be able to taste what’s known and discover what’s next. Made by Light—from Mark Valin, who started as a busboy at Bridges’ country club in San Diego and eventually started making his own wines—is bringing his very first bottles to DMWFF. “I have been watching this develop for a long time,” says Glennon. “These wines come from a 30-acre vineyard planted at 1,500 feet along the Southern face of the Santa Rosa Plateau in De Luz Valley, the vineyard is farmed beyond organic and focused on Rhone and Sicilian varietals.”
Winemaker Robert Perkins is coming home for the DMWFF. “He grew up on Coronado and found his way to winemaking via being a sommelier in San Francisco,” says Glennon. “I have always loved these honest and delicious wines.”
La Caccia comes from “a Tuscan estate untouched for 1,200 years,” Glennon says. “The wines are now produced under the eye of Napa superstar Marc Gagnon, and they possess great potential for cellar aging.”
This one is personal, with ties to both San Diego and DMWFF co-founder, Ernie Hahn. Most wine people know Montelena as the Napa winery that beat out French chardonnays in a blind tasting (called “The Judgment of Paris,” it was a historic moment in California and U.S. wine history, and the premise of the 2008 Alan Rickman film, Bottle Shock). Fewer know that Hahn’s grandfather (also Ernie)—a developer famous for developing the concept of suburban shopping malls—was one of the founding partners who helped bring Chateau Montelena’s first wine to barrel in 1972 (a riesling). He and partner Jim Barrett hired Mike Grgich as their winemaker.
The winery founded by world-famous photographer Andy Katz (his photos are everywhere, but pop for pop culture fun, also on the cover of albums by the Doobie Brothers and Dan Fogelberg). His son Jesse is now the winemaker. “In 14 short years these wines have taken on a mythic status—rare creatures sought after by collectors and hedonists,” says Glennon.
“Raul Perez in Bierzo in Northwest Spain is one of the world’s great winemakers,” says Glennon, “working with very old vines he brings forward spicy, elegant, satisfying wines.”
Ross Cobb is well known to California pinot noir fans. A skate punk who grew up in Marin County and fell worked on his family farm in Sonoma County as a kid. Now in his 22nd vintage, he’s a Pinot Noir icon and gets his music fix by making wines with Primus bassist, Les Claypool.
Troy Johnson is the magazine’s award-winning food writer and humorist, and a long-standing expert on Food Network. His work has been featured on NatGeo, Travel Channel, NPR, and in Food Matters, a textbook of the best American food writing.
Meet the artists, makers, and advocates whose work shapes how the city looks, sounds, gathers, and connects
San Diego is full of people who deserve a few thousand words on what they make, who they bring together, and how their work changes the city around them. The artists, makers, advocates, and behind-the-scenes talent below are a small part of that larger ecosystem.
To help us narrow our list, we looked for names that kept coming up, work that reflects the diversity of our region, and people building something bigger than themselves.
Jackie is a long-time freelance journalist covering cannabis, food/restaurants, travel, labor, wine, spirits, arts & culture, design, and other topics. Her work has been selected twice for Best American Travel Writing, and she has won a variety of national and local awards for her writing and reporting.
Isabella Dallas is a freelance writer for San Diego Magazine and the Arts and Culture Editor at The Daily Aztec in her final year at San Diego State University. She previously worked as an editorial intern for SDM, but when she’s not writing, you can find her trying the best coffee spots in SD, devouring the latest rom-coms, and indulging in anything and everything pop culture.
Matt Eisenberg is an award-winning writer and photographer based in San Diego. A former ESPN editor, his work has also been published by CNN, Bleacher Report and the New York Daily News.
Aaryn Belfer is a writer and editor specializing in nonfiction across art, architecture, and culture. Once upon a time, she wrote a provocative column for San Diego CityBeat (RIP). She was a runner up in the 2025 Matchbook Stories contest at the San Diego Central Library and is irrationally happy about it. Currently in her Soft Girl Era, Aaryn has expensive taste in (mostly flat) shoes and will choose a great art exhibit or live jazz concert over almost anything else. Except, possibly, Javier Bardem.
Leorah Gavidor won her first essay contest at age 5. She writes features, news, and non-fiction in San Diego.
Lili Kim is a content coordinator and writer for San Diego Magazine, with experience highlighting local businesses and communities. When not writing or shooting film, she is likely brewing her seventh cup of tea of the day or strolling along Sunset Cliffs.
Emma Veidt is an editor at San Diego Magazine. She earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from the Missouri School of Journalism. She loves running, hiking, and rock climbing, but really, she mostly loves encounters with the street cats around North Park.
Gail Czyszczon is owner/copywriter at Z3 Writing and best-selling author of a children’s book series. As a strategic communications professional and editorialist, she's passionate about discovering untold stories and themes that ignite fresh conversation and true change in communities.
Live Nation is turning the historic Wonder Bread Building into a 4,000-capacity concert hall designed to bring more touring acts to the city
Imagine being the song continuously getting skipped on the playlist. Not because no one wants to hear you, but because you never quite fit the moment. For years, San Diego has been that song on the touring circuit. Artists who have outgrown intimate clubs but aren’t yet filling arenas and stadiums have often passed us by, heading north to venues better suited to the size of their show. San Diego wasn’t missing the audience, it was missing the room.
That’s all about to change.
On August 17, Live Nation Entertainment announced plans to transform the historic Wonder Bread Building, which it purchased in June for $16.8 million, into a 4,000-capacity indoor venue slated to open in fall 2028. The new space will host music acts as well as private, corporate, and community events.
Currently, San Diego’s concert landscape jumps quickly from intimate clubs like the Casbah, Winston’s, and Belly Up to larger theaters, amphitheaters, arenas, and stadiums. What’s largely missing—particularly downtown—is a modern indoor room built specifically for roughly 4,000 concertgoers. This leaves a gap in mid-size venues for touring acts that land stages like the Hollywood Palladium or Boston’s MGM Music Hall at Fenway.
“We are filling a void in the market,” says John Schalk, Live Nation’s Vice President, San Diego Market. “There are other venues in town, but this […] building is just something that doesn’t currently exist.” Although SDSU’s Cal Coast Credit Union Amphitheater serves the 4,000-capacity range, its outdoor, fixed-seating arrangement isn’t as versatile as the proposed Live Nation project.
Located at 171 14th Street, just a six-minute walk from Petco Park, the building carries a century of history. Architect Eugene Hoffman designed it in 1924, a year after completing the Barcelona Apartment Hotel in Bankers Hill. The landmark brick building served as a bakery and warehouse for the Southern California Baking Company before Continental Baking Company, producers of Wonder Bread, took over in the 1950s and operated there through 1988 continued at the site until 2007.
In the early 2000s, Bob and Gay Sinclair, the couple behind a portfolio of East Village properties, purchased the building. After Bob—the founder of Pannikin Coffee & Tea—died in 2011, Gay sold much of their real estate portfolio but held onto the Wonder Bread Building. Mission Brewing eventually took over the space, where it operated for more than a decade before announcing its 2026 departure.
Now, the building is preparing for another reinvention. Live Nation plans to preserve the historic bakery’s four exterior walls, red brick façade, grain silo, barrel-vaulted trusses, and skylights as part of its next chapter.
Live Nation isn’t looking to erase its history but to celebrate it, allowing the building’s past to give the new venue some soul. “It’s really important for us that we maintain the integrity and the history of that building,” Schalk says. “There will be new construction and design elements as we go through the process to create the concert venue, but we’re working really hard to preserve it.”
Blueprint Studio, Live Nation’s in-house design and development group, and Gensler, the architecture firm behind San Diego International Airport Terminal 1 and Snapdragon Stadium, will be heading the project. The plan is to design the ground-floor space as an open, general-admission area with a premium level above with 600-plus fixed seats, in addition to box and suite sections. There will also be an additional structure built on top of the historical portion of the building (the four original walls that house the lobby) called the Vinyl Room—a Japanese-inspired hi-fi listening VIP lounge serving elevated food options.
One of the most reassuring aspects of the project is the focus on the concertgoer’s experience—specifically the “pet peeves” we all know too well: long bathroom lines, cramped exits, obstructed views. According to Schalk, one of the best things about building upon the existing structure is having the ability to consider potential obstacles and tackle them before construction begins. “I’d say we are ‘purpose building’ the entirety of the project for a music venue,” says Gensler lead project architect Garrett van Leeuwen. “As part of our design process, we do an in-depth sightline analysis to make sure that sightlines are optimized from every point and seat within the venue.”
Circulation design is also being implemented to ease traffic flow, alongside acoustic optimization and a transformative outdoor beautification effort. According to van Leeuwen, this “public realm space” will grow the existing 14-foot sidewalk to a 32-foot sidewalk complete with plazas and landscaping.
“This venue is for the fans. For the music lovers,” Schalk explains. The vision is intimate: “I want a fan to walk up to that building, see that red brick facade, grab their ticket from the box office, go into the lobby and see some of the history that will present itself… and feel like you entered a home.” Schalk also expressed a “keen interest in making sure that we work with the local artists, the local bands, the local musicians in town.” It’s a project that recognizes San Diego as a growing market that is hungry and ready to see a vibrant arts and culture community thrive.
According to an analysis by Oxford Economics analysis shared by Live Nation, the venue is projected to deliver a significant boost to the local economy, generating approximately $97 million in annual economic impact and supporting 660 jobs. This also includes welcoming 316,000 fans each year—with 126,000 traveling from outside the San Diego metro area—and driving $53 million in local spending at nearby restaurants, hotels, and retail establishments.
Considering its proximity to other major event spaces and overall busy urban areas, traffic and parking may be a concern, especially on nights of overlapping events. But in those cases, Schalk said they would work together on communication efforts; parking availability; and staggering start, end, and loading times; as well as providing easy access to designated rideshare areas. With transit stations nearby (the closest one being a 4-minute walk at 12th & Imperial), public transportation is another great option for enjoying your night out.
There are still two years of design, construction, and plenty of logistics between now and opening night. But the bigger promise of the Wonder Bread Building is simple: San Diego finally gets a venue built for the artists who have historically passed it by. After years of getting skipped on the touring playlist, the city may finally be getting its turn on repeat.
Camila Ibarra Gallego is a CaliBaja native pursuing a master's degree in culinary journalism at the Basque Culinary Center. Shaped by the culturally rich, bicultural megaregion, she's passionate about sniffing out stories that connect people, territory and culture through food. When she's not tumbling down internet rabbit holes, you can find her pretending to be a wine connoisseur at a local wine bar or nose-deep in a good book.
From celebrity pickleball tournaments to intimate dinner parties with your favorite Food Network chefs, here are all of the can’t-miss events going on Sept 30–Oct 4
Play is underrated. Somewhere along the way, someone decided it was something we should outgrow. That you A good song comes on, and they dance. A game appears, and they’re in. Someone hands them a melting ice cream cone, and somehow it’s the best part of the day.
Adults tend to need a reason. Or maybe just the right setting.
That’s part of what makes the Del Mar Wine & Food Festival feel different. Yes, the week revolves around food and wine, with celebrated chefs, winemakers, and restaurants drawing crowds from across the region. But what lingers afterward is the conversations that stretch a little longer than expected, the strangers who become dinner companions, the live music that pulls people out of their seats, and the rare chance to spend a few hours simply enjoying yourself without much of an agenda.
The Grand Tasting is the festival’s centerpiece, bringing thousands of guests together over two days for hundreds of bites and pours. But some of the week’s most memorable experiences happen on a smaller scale. In the days leading up to the main event, intimate dinners, chef collaborations, and guided tastings create opportunities for guests to interact more closely with the people behind the food and wine and with each other.
Here’s your guide to the 2026 Del Mar Wine & Food Festival happening September 30–October 4.
Start festival week the San Diego way: ocean views, Baja-inspired bites, and a drink in hand as the sun goes down. The Signature San Diego Opening Night Party at Monarch Ocean Pub sets the tone for the week ahead with a walk-around tasting experience celebrating the flavors that make this city impossible to replicate. It’s an evening of fresh coastal cuisine, bold Mexican flavors, Baja seafood, and plenty of local favorites—all served against one of Del Mar’s most iconic backdrops. Consider it your first official toast to the weekend ahead…
Wine and competition make an unexpectedly perfect pair. You can join Drew Brees and celebrity players at Barnes Tennis Center for a pickleball tournament benefiting Feeding San Diego, where the sidelines are just as exciting as the court. Grab a paddle, cheer from the sidelines, or simply enjoy a glass of wine while the action unfolds. The day blends friendly competition with an all-inclusive tasting experience.
Since year one, Del Mar Wine & Food Festival has partnered with Feeding San Diego to raise $100,000 in support of the organization’s mission to fight hunger across the region. Every serve, sip, and bite helps give back to the community that makes this festival possible.
Remember that pickleball paddle you swore you’d use? Time to put it to work.
This is essentially a passport to Spain with no airport required. Set among the lush grounds of Rancho Valencia, Rioja Uncorked celebrates one of Spain’s most iconic wine regions with an evening of exceptional pours and thoughtfully paired bites. Guests will sip their way through Rioja wines while enjoying a menu featuring everything from Hiramasa crudo and uni toast to duck rillette, birria mini tacos, Cardiff Crack tri-tip sandwiches, and a sweet finale from Karen Krasne of Extraordinary Desserts (date night plans, solved).
Justin Wine Dinner sounds simple: three chefs, one unforgettable table. But chefs Kaitlyn Weber (Estancia La Jolla), Buddha Lo (Top Chef), and Jackson Kalb (Top Chef) are taking you on a one-night-only culinary ride where three styles collide over a multi-course menu paired with exceptional pours from Justin Vineyards & Winery. Set in Estancia’s coastal estate, the evening unfolds course by course with pairings from Justin wines as each chef brings their own style to a menu focused on craft, connection, and a bit of friendly culinary overlap. It’s the kind of culinary conversation that only happens when very, very talented people cook together.
Isabella Dallas is a freelance writer for San Diego Magazine and the Arts and Culture Editor at The Daily Aztec in her final year at San Diego State University. She previously worked as an editorial intern for SDM, but when she’s not writing, you can find her trying the best coffee spots in SD, devouring the latest rom-coms, and indulging in anything and everything pop culture.
Earlier this year, Fit quietly dropped "athletic" from its brand, from Fit Athletic Clubs to simply Fit, and started calling itself something new: a social wellness club.
There’s a version of San Diego that lives in two extremes. On one side, the 5 a.m. crowd: biohackers, marathoners, people who’ve already logged a cold plunge before your alarm goes off. On the other, the after-dark crowd, the ones chasing sunset happy hours and late dinners with friends. Everyone seems to be either optimizing or unwinding, and most of us feel like we’re failing at both.
Fit, San Diego’s reigning Best Gym for the third year running, has built its entire identity around erasing that divide.
Walk into one of Fit’s three San Diego locations on a Tuesday afternoon and the lines blur fast. Someone’s mid-set on the squat rack. Someone else has a laptop open at a café table a few feet away, half-working, half-people-watching. A group is trading plans for the weekend’s event by the recovery lounge. Nobody’s in a rush to leave.
“We’re not competing for the same people,” says Emily Waybright, Public Relations Manager at Fit, addressing the arrival of a national luxury gym chain in San Diego this year. “We don’t really feel like we’re in the gym category. It’s this unique thing.”
That unique thing has a name now. Earlier this year, Fit quietly dropped “athletic” from its brand, from Fit Athletic Clubs to simply Fit, and started calling itself something new: a social wellness club.
It’s a small wording change with a bigger idea behind it. Fit was never built around escaping the workday. It was built around the people who genuinely like what they do, and who want workouts, work, and friendships to happen in the same place instead of three separate ones. Because sometimes red light therapy with a stranger turns into weekend plans.
Fit’s philosophy traces back to its founder, who started the brand nearly two decades ago after failing to find a gym he actually wanted to belong to. He looked instead to the old-school country club, where people came for a shared interest and stayed for the community. His version was made for a younger generation, minus the golf, plus the loud music.
Which makes it a little ironic that the very award putting Fit back in the spotlight this year is Best Gym.
What does the best traditional gym look like when the definition of a gym is becoming less traditional? It’s a fair question, and Fit’s answer is that the fitness industry itself is shifting. The 45-minutes-in, 45-minutes-out model is giving way to something closer to a genuine third space, the kind of role the office and the bar used to play before remote work and changing nightlife habits rearranged how people spend their time
For Fit, community isn’t a marketing add-on to fitness. It’s the through-line. Members aren’t just paying for a treadmill; they’re paying for an entire day of social wellness that’s built on performance, recovery, connection, and a plan for the next event on the calendar. That’s a much harder membership to walk away from.
Ambition and ease aren’t opposites here, they exist side by side, where passion and play share the same morning. On September 12, Fit is hosting Sol, a full day wellness festival at Fit Social. The morning focuses on wellness classes and vendors and then the evening is a full party with multiple DJ sets and an open bar. Think of it as a kick-off to locals’ summer in San Diego.
Ready to see what a social wellness club actually looks like? Visit fitclubs.com, or follow along at @thefitclubs on Instagram.
Whether you love theater, music, dance, or public art, these are the cultural experiences that stood out this year
Arts District Liberty Station officially became one of the state’s designated cultural districts, joining a list reserved for places with thriving creative communities. Considering the campus is home to more than 100 galleries, artist studios, museums, and arts organizations—not to mention The Joan, the 42,000-square-foot performance center housing Cygnet Theatre—it was only a matter of time until the district got its flowers.
If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. The National City Public Works building has been a target of graffiti artists for years, only to be constantly painted over (and the cycle restarts). Now, it’s working with the local artists from Vision Culture Foundation to create intentional public murals. A win-win in our book.
One of the biggest questions this year is who will show up for San Diego arts and culture—so a Best Of nod goes to a nonprofit that’s been doing it for years. Founded by longtime arts advocate Susanna Peredo Swap, Vanguard Culture has staged events for creatives, told their stories, and just created an SD ARTS Pass—a single ticket that gets you access to 39 creative spots.
Ballet’s already got a sort of otherworldly thing going for it, with people morphing into 90-degree angles and defying gravity with each pirouette. The Rosin Box Project feels like a raw, creative new force in the classic art form, though—especially with its annual Ghost Light Masquerade. It’s a dance of eerie spirits that makes you second-guess what’s real and what’s not.
Once upon a time, Gallagher Square was just a grassy knoll behind the outfield wall at Petco Park. Now, it’s a concert venue, playground, play ball field, dog park, and unofficial home for those who prefer the vibe of baseball more than the actual game. Big-time performers are showing up: Ms. Lauryn Hill, Cypress Hill, and Peach Pit.
Casa Casillas has filled a long-standing gap in Chula Vista’s art scene. Open since last August, the space gives local artists a dedicated venue to display their work and visitors a chance to explore the neighborhood’s vibrant art. Two rotating resident artists always keep the space moving, so it rarely looks the same twice.
El Cajon translates to “the box” in Spanish—a nod to the city’s surrounding hills—but Alley Cat Art Fest (previously called Artivál) doesn’t stay inside it. As the first arts festival in East County, it celebrates local galleries, sculpture, live music, and food trucks—the whole nine.
Every second Saturday, Barrio Logan turns into a choose-your-own-adventure with the Barrio Art Crawl, a free self-guided art tour through galleries, museums, and murals, with street food and music filling in the gaps. Barrio is one of the city’s most thriving arts neighborhoods, and it’s worth getting a bit lost in.
MCASD is showcasing two powerhouse exhibits—Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys and The Dean Collection Presents: Hometown Heroes. The pop music titans are highlighting local artists, with an intentional focus on diverse experiences. It was one of the biggest (and coolest) art openings of the year, and it closes August 9. So get on it.
Leave it to The Old Globe to give the local theater scene some Hollywood glamour. Katie Holmes led the premiere of Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler this past spring, turning the classic Norwegian play into one of the most buzzed-about theater productions of the year.
Explore restaurants, activities, and shops within this affluent North County community
The inland North County community of Rancho Santa Fe is often associated with wealth. It’s one of San Diego’s most expensive residential markets and is consistently ranked one of the highest-income zip codes in California and the U.S. Rancho Santa Fe is known for its large equestrian community including riding facilities and horse trails, as well as its country club lifestyle and associated golf courses.
At the center of this luxury master-planned community is a small, walkable downtown area referred to as the “village,” with The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe acting as both a landmark and social hub. Much of the community, including the historic Inn, was designed by acclaimed architect Lilian Rice, one of California’s earliest female architects. The Spanish Colonial-style architecture she brought to the village is still one of its defining characteristics today.
Whether you’re coming to Rancho Santa Fe for golf, horseback riding, or pampering at a resort spa, be sure to start with a short walk around the village to take in the neighborhood’s charm. Plan your next visit here with our neighborhood guide to the area’s best restaurants, things to do, and shopping.
Jump To: Restaurants | Things to Do | Shopping
Families congregate at The Pony Room for elevated California ranch-style cuisine. Lamb lollipops, carne asada tacos, burgers, and weekly dinner specials are offered here, alongside an extensive collection of wine and spirits (especially tequila) and sizeable kids menus. As the signature restaurant of Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa, this all-day eatery is a lively centerpiece of the local social scene.
5921 Valencia Circle
The piano bar at Mille Fleurs is the buzziest spot to be on Friday and Saturday nights in Rancho Santa Fe. French classics like escargot, lobster bisque, duck confit, and steak frites are the main dinner attractions at this local institution that has been around for more than 40 years. Spring for the four-course prix fixe menu before nabbing a coveted bar seat near the piano entertainer.
6009 Paseo Delicias
Nick & G’s is one of the most prominent restaurants in the village, with an outdoor patio that overlooks the main thoroughfare. Enjoy modern Italian food, steaks, and seafood dishes here, including homemade pasta, pizza, wagyu beef, and oysters. Be sure to check their live music schedule and events calendar for the latest happenings.
6106 Paseo Delicias
Named after renowned architect and planner Lilian Rice, Lilian’s is The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe’s flagship restaurant. Their upscale menus feature sustainable seafood, grass-fed meats, local produce, and even sushi rolls during dinner. Outdoor seating provides a bird’s-eye view of the village and an elegant backdrop for weekend brunch. Stop by Bing’s Bar (a nod to Bing Crosby) for craft cocktails, beer, wine, and light bites in a refined setting.
5951 Linea Del Cielo
Quaint cafe and bakery Thyme in the Ranch serves a small selection of breakfast and lunch items (don’t miss the tarragon chicken salad), but is perhaps best known for its pastries and baked goods. Cakes, pies, muffins, scones, and cookies fly off the shelves here, where locals come for special occasions, parties, and group catering orders.
16905 Avenida De Acacias
Located inside a historic building once home to Rancho Santa Fe’s original schoolhouse, Paseo RSF is one of the village’s newest dining options. The charming American bistro has pasta, salads, burgers, meat and seafood entrees, plus a thoughtfully selected California wine list and new sushi and omakase program. Kids and dogs are both welcome here.
6024 Paseo Delicias, Suite C
Grab a quick coffee to go from this walk-up window in the same shopping center as the post office. Cinnamon roll lattes, cold brew, spiced chai, smoothies, protein bowls, and more can be found at Rancho Roasters, where they brew beans from Dark Horse Coffee.
16950 Via De Santa Fe
Casual pizzeria and martini bar Goli is a popular spot for catching the latest sports games. Order one of their unique specialty pizzas like the Casbah with hummus and veggies, build your own pizza or burger, or go with one of their hearty wraps that’s made with an extra thin version of pizza dough.
18021 Calle Ambiente, Suite 403
Find generous portions of Mexican food at Cocina del Rancho, run by the same owners as Carlsbad’s Cicciotti’s Trattoria Italiana and Village Kabob. Get classic dishes like burritos, tacos, and enchiladas, plus their specialty items including pulpo, carne asada, and fajitas with lobster tail. Don’t skip the margaritas.
16089 San Dieguito Road
Kai Oliver-Kurtin is a San Diego-based writer who covers travel, dining, events, and culture. Her writing has been published in USA Today, Condé Nast Traveler, Fodor's Travel, Marie Claire, and HuffPost, among others.
The 53rd Annual National Philanthropy Day Takes Place on November 21. Join us from 11:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. at the new Gaylord Pacific Resort & Convention Center!
Once yearly, AFP San Diego joins with others worldwide to celebrate National Philanthropy Day (NPD), a special day set aside to recognize the great contributions of donors and nonprofits that enrich of our community and the world. San Diego’s NPD is one of the largest and most successful in the U.S., attracting nearly 900 participants, including philanthropists, nonprofit leaders, CEOs, board members, development professionals, and business, community, and civic leaders.
Sponsorship proceeds from National Philanthropy Day are reinvested in education, training, scholarships, career development, and the advancement of fundraising professionals throughout San Diego. These resources and training provide fundraising professionals with the tools necessary to support our region’s diverse array of nonprofit organizations, which rely on charitable giving for close to half of their annual revenues.
The National Philanthropy Day Honorees are selected by the NPD Honorary Committee, a group of highly respected, diverse nonprofit and business leaders. Our 2025 Honorees include:
National Philanthropy Day San Diego provides an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of giving and to celebrate the selfless contributions of individuals and organizations across the region. We look forward to celebrating with you!
Sponsorship opportunities and individual tickets are available. Please visit www.afpsd.org for more information.
