This is by far the most emotional reinvention of a San Diego icon in a long while. Starlite was the brainchild of three San Diego music scene vets: The Casbah owner Tim Mays, musician Steve Poltz, and multi-hyphenate musician and artist Matt Hoyt. Matt ran the day-to-day, playing host and fixer and soul. The place became a low-lit, well-designed hangout for the city’s musicians, artists, and creative scene. Then Matt passed in 2021.
It was unexpected—he was too young, and it happened fast. Matt’s widow Allison Bell Hoyt, a lifelong schoolteacher, had to sell. There were offers, but only Arsalun Tafazoli of CH Projects was dedicated to keeping Starlite and Matt’s legacy alive. He hired original designers Bells+Whistles, who dug back into the initial blueprints and design notes and reimagined the vision of Matt and his partners.
PARTNER CONTENT
The dining room with its hexagon shape and sunken bar is largely the same, but gussied and accented. The back patio is transformed into a natural-light cavern of sorts, on par with the swanky lair of the James Bond film villain Dr. No. And, around the side, in what was just a storage area for years, is a velveteen-boothed lounge area that looks like a subway tunnel tiled with disco ball glass. Original Starlite GM Jack Reynolds is back, as is chef Ted Smith, who spent a few years in the Starlite kitchen. Long live Starlite.
