The Fish Shops

I rarely (if ever) say no to spending money on food—whether it’s because I want to support small businesses or just prefer not to deal with cooking and cleaning. And let’s be real, I just like to eat. So when given the option to eat a meal that also does some good in the world, I’ll be the first in line.

Enter The Fish Shop. With three locations throughout San Diego, it has only been around for 12 years, but are often regarded as longtime community staples. Owned by OMG Hospitality Group, you can find The Fish Shop in Pacific Beach, Point Loma, and Encinitas.

With their fast-casual approach to SoCal cuisine, dog-friendly atmospheres, no corkage fees, celebration of local beers and fishing vendors, it’s not hard to see why locals love it.

Its owners take special pride in their house-made sauces, salsas, and marinades, their craft cocktail program, and their fresh, sizable seafood offerings. But the real difference here is their commitment to their community. “Ever since we started, the three owners have always been big about giving back to the community with different programs,” says Larry Alva, operations director of The Fish Shop. “We always want to be ingrained in our community.”

When The Fish Shop opened their first location in Pacific Beach, they began partnering with local schools to host “Give Back” nights where 10 percent of sales went to parent-teacher associations for various school projects. During the holidays, The Fish Shop would offer free tacos to anyone who brought in a toy worth $5 or more for gift giving.

As the restaurant continued to grow, charitable efforts became a staple on their menu. “We decided to come up with a taco that, when purchased, provides one nutritious meal for a child in San Diego,” shared Alva.”

With this, the Elote Taco was born—all in the name of giving back. Filled with fresh, grilled Mahi Mahi and marinated with Fish Shop seasoning, it’s topped with cilantro white sauce, cabbage, elote pico, and cotija cheese. And since the introduction of the elote taco, the various locations have donated over 35,000 meals to It’s All About the Kids.

elote taco fish shop

Each location has neighborhood-specific offerings as well so that nearby residents can lend a hand in their own backyards. In Point Loma, the restaurant offers specials that provide donations to the Point Loma Foundation which provides opportunities to raise capital and fund projects in the area through art, historical preservation, education, safe byways, and landscape improvement for visitors.

Not in the mood to eat? You can put your love of wine to good use instead. “We collaborated with our [wine] reps and talked about our cause marketing efforts and wanting to get involved with giving back.” The Fish Shops now carry wines that have ties to various national organizations.

If you purchase a bottle of Chloe, proceeds will be donated to Dress for Success, an organization to empower women to achieve economic independence as well as the National Breast Cancer Foundation which provides help to those affected by breast cancer through early education and support services.

Grab a glass of Cupcake Wine and you’ll be donating to three causes: Direct Relief which is determined to improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty or emergencies; No Kid Hungry, a foundation dedicated to end childhood hunger in the United States; and Pets for Patriots, giving the gifts of fidelity, joy, and love to veterans and pets through companion animal adoption.

Really, it’s a no-brainer. Fresh fish, great wines, beachside cities, and good causes—is there anything more San Diegan?

The post Eating Well to Do Good appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

The restaurant business ain’t easy. The first notable closing is Chaplos in Downtown—the eatery opened at 10^th & B Street last year with former El Vitral chef Norma Martinez. Owner Edwin Seymour says he’ll be keeping the space open for special events, but will be closed for lunch and dinner from this point on. That location was just too tough to overcome. The second is one of the higher profile sushi restaurants in the city. After 14 years, Zenbu La Jolla will serve their final meal tomorrow night. Owners Matt and Jacqueline Rimel have been looking to sell that space for a while, and they still have their Zenbu Cardiff location, as well as multiple outposts of Rimel’s Rotisserie. The closing of La Jolla seems like a well-timed cutting of bait for the rumor we’ve been hearing—that they’ll open a big, spanking new Zenbu at Petco Park sometime soon…. Convoy just cracked open Common Theory Public House (4805 Convoy), focused on Korean fried chicken and 30 craft beers… AJ’s Fish Merchant has opened in East County (7407 Jackson Dr.) with chef Stephen Bennett (ex-Martini’s Above Fourth) is helming a menu of chowder, and fresh market seafood plates (halibut, swordfish, catfish, snapper, etc.), plus a few specialty items (scallops Provencal, Ballast Point fish & chips, etc.)… The Fish Shop—which has had a good run in Pacific Beach—is opening their second location in Encinitas at the former spot of St. Germain’s Café. The signs are currently up and it’s looking like a June open…  Terryl Gavre is having a busy year. The restaurateur/chef who co-owns Bankers Hill Bar + Restaurant and solely runs Downtown breakfast joint Café 222 opened Acme Southern Kitchen earlier this year and now she’s hatching Bake Sale. It’ll be a bakery and commissary at 815 F Street, selling morning buns, cinnamon rolls, scones, croissants, pies, biscuits, you name it…. Organic pie concept Na Pizza is hatching a few new locations over the next few months—including  one at Commons Center in 4S Ranch and another next to Panera in Hillcrest (1270 Cleveland Ave.).… Golden Hill will be getting a new joint, Sonny’s Southern California BBQ at the corner of 25^th and C Streets sometime in the next month orr two with master barbecue chef Joe Lewis Jones’ Mississippi-style cue… Over in Barrio Logan, a family beef jerky enterprise Srozzi SoCal Italian is going to be taking over the former Blueprint Café space (1805 Newton Ave.), opening sometime in June with a meat-centric menu… Also in Downtown, Doner Mediterranean Grill will take over the former home of The Grape at 823 5^th Ave….

Zenbu Sushi.

The post OPEN/CLOSE appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

The restaurant business ain’t easy. The first notable closing is Chaplos in Downtown—the eatery opened at 10^th & B Street last year with former El Vitral chef Norma Martinez. Owner Edwin Seymour says he’ll be keeping the space open for special events, but will be closed for lunch and dinner from this point on. That location was just too tough to overcome. The second is one of the higher profile sushi restaurants in the city. After 14 years, Zenbu La Jolla will serve their final meal tomorrow night. Owners Matt and Jacqueline Rimel have been looking to sell that space for a while, and they still have their Zenbu Cardiff location, as well as multiple outposts of Rimel’s Rotisserie. The closing of La Jolla seems like a well-timed cutting of bait for the rumor we’ve been hearing—that they’ll open a big, spanking new Zenbu at Petco Park sometime soon…. Convoy just cracked open Common Theory Public House (4805 Convoy), focused on Korean fried chicken and 30 craft beers… AJ’s Fish Merchant has opened in East County (7407 Jackson Dr.) with chef Stephen Bennett (ex-Martini’s Above Fourth) is helming a menu of chowder, and fresh market seafood plates (halibut, swordfish, catfish, snapper, etc.), plus a few specialty items (scallops Provencal, Ballast Point fish & chips, etc.)… The Fish Shop—which has had a good run in Pacific Beach—is opening their second location in Encinitas at the former spot of St. Germain’s Café. The signs are currently up and it’s looking like a June open…  Terryl Gavre is having a busy year. The restaurateur/chef who co-owns Bankers Hill Bar + Restaurant and solely runs Downtown breakfast joint Café 222 opened Acme Southern Kitchen earlier this year and now she’s hatching Bake Sale. It’ll be a bakery and commissary at 815 F Street, selling morning buns, cinnamon rolls, scones, croissants, pies, biscuits, you name it…. Organic pie concept Na Pizza is hatching a few new locations over the next few months—including  one at Commons Center in 4S Ranch and another next to Panera in Hillcrest (1270 Cleveland Ave.).… Golden Hill will be getting a new joint, Sonny’s Southern California BBQ at the corner of 25^th and C Streets sometime in the next month orr two with master barbecue chef Joe Lewis Jones’ Mississippi-style cue… Over in Barrio Logan, a family beef jerky enterprise Srozzi SoCal Italian is going to be taking over the former Blueprint Café space (1805 Newton Ave.), opening sometime in June with a meat-centric menu… Also in Downtown, Doner Mediterranean Grill will take over the former home of The Grape at 823 5^th Ave….

Zenbu Sushi.

The post OPEN/CLOSE appeared first on San Diego Magazine.