Behind San Diego’s Food Scene: The Return of Starlite

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.

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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.