San Diego is the epicenter of surfing in the mainland United States, it’s in our DNA. The greats of surfboard design—Skip Frye, Rusty Preisendorfer, Gary Linden and Justin Ternes—got their start in the city. The fish and the egg surfboard shapes were first pioneered in San Diego waters and are largely associated with the city’s surf culture. And beyond its storied history, San Diego is also graced with miles of surf ranging from sloping beach breaks to pitching reef breaks and even a couple of point breaks. No matter what type of swell, there’s usually something to surf in San Diego. So, with reverence and stoke, we’re bringing you the ultimate guide to San Diego’s top surf spots. See you in the lineup.
Before we paddle out, some helpful wisdom from a lifetime of surfing San Diego:
While there are rideable swells all year, the best times to surf are fall and winter.
Conditions can be fickle, and Surfline isn’t always accurate. When in doubt, bring two boards: your go-to for the best-case forecast and a longboard or fish in case it’s smaller.
Localism isn’t usually an issue in San Diego unless you’re dropping in on the locals and getting in other surfers’ way. When in doubt, surf at a more beginner-friendly spot. Tourmaline is your friend.
The stingray shuffle is a must, but sometimes bad luck is just bad luck. If you get stung, soak your foot with hot water (as hot as you can bear) to slowly extract the venom. My current sting count is three.
Jellyfish are known to surface from time to time. I’ve rarely encountered them in the water, only dead ones on the beach. Contrary to popular belief, urine can actually exacerbate the pain and embarrassment. Hot water is the key.
Looking to rent gear? Check out our guide to the best surf shops in town. Rent before you buy, and when it’s time to buy support your local shaper.
Tourmaline is San Diego’s Malibu—a consistent beach break north of Crystal Pier enjoyed by expert longboarders, the most beginner of beginners, and the occasional shortboarder on bigger days. Tourmaline isn’t just a surf spot; it’s a community—of sorts. It’s not uncommon to see 12 people paddling for the same wave, three actually catch the wave, and finally one or two ride the wave to shore.
Typically, more advanced surfers will ride the peak just in front of the Tourmaline parking lot or will paddle out to PB Point when larger swells refract into long dreamy rights. Beginner surfers should stick to the less crowded sections around Law Street down to the pier, where the crowds thin and offer plenty of waves to go around.
Ideal Swell Direction: W, NW, SW Break type: Beach break Board choice: Longboard or fish; soft-top on crowded days Hazards: Crowds, rocks, Wavestorm projectiles Parking: Try to snag a spot at the Tourmaline parking lot or find street parking around Law Street.
Mission Beach
Mission Beach is quintessential San Diego—hippies, an iconic boardwalk and plenty of sandbars stretching from Mission Jetty toward Belmont Park. The jetty is the most consistent surf spot in Mission Beach due to the structure, which is ideal for northwest swells that benefit from the wind protection from the south. It’s also got an upfront parking lot that’s typically full of loitering stoners and parking wars in the summer, but can be useful in a pinch during the colder months. The waves tend to bowl up, offering fast and rippable waves that are great for practicing snaps and airs.
While the jetty is the main draw, sandbars further north toward Belmont Park offer punchy waves that are popular with bodyboarders and shortboarders on a good swell. Crowds can definitely be a factor, especially during the summer, where you’ll dodge locals, bodyboarders, and out-of-towners experiencing the ocean for the first time. Do the stingray shuffle, watch out for the occasional jellyfish during the summer, and look both ways for “SloMo” (the rollerblading regular) before crossing the boardwalk.
Ideal Swell Direction: NW to W Break type: Beach break Board choice: Fish or shortboard Hazards: Crowds, stingrays, boardwalk collisions Parking: Mission Jetty parking lot, Belmont parking lot or street parking along Mission Boulevard.
This North County spot is the ideal reef break for beginner surfers getting their bearings—hence the Cardiff Kook statue. While beginner-friendly, the spot is a consistent wave machine thanks to the rocky reef, which produces peeling lefts and rights for surfers of all levels. It’s not uncommon to get out-paddled by longboarders, so consider bringing more board than you need to beat the crowds.
On weekends the place can be a bit of a zoo, but there are generally plenty of peaks from the mellow, southernmost Tippers peak to the more advanced Pipes break further north. The spot offers long rides which can take you from the campgrounds down to Cardiff on the right day.
For the best experience, book a campsite at San Elijo campground and have yourself the ultimate staycation surf trip, hitting dawn patrol and sunset sessions. For dinner, walk a block into town and get yourself a slab of Cardiff Crack to throw on your camping stove for the ultimate post-surf meal.
Ideal Swell Direction: NW, W Break type: Rocky reef break Board choice: Longboard up to a shortboard on bigger days Hazards: Reef on low-tide, crowds on weekends Parking: Parking along Highway 101 or at the campground with a site.
Photo Credit: Cole Novak
Intermediate San Diego Surf Spots
Scripps Pier
If you can find a parking spot, Scripps Pier is a real gem. The beach break picks up swells from most directions and is the ultimate proving ground to step up your surfing, whether that be hitting your first air, hunting for an elusive tube or practicing your snaps. The lineup can get crowded at Scripps, but there are often plenty of peaks in between the crowds if you’re vigilant. At the south end, you have La Jolla Shores, which is often an obstacle course of dodging Wavestorms, swimmers and kooks.
South of the pier is your best bet at Scripps offering consistent rights along the pylons with peaks scattered towards La Jolla Shores. When the waves are pumping, the north side of the pier has remarkably consistent peaks if you can dodge pier pylons and groms working on their air reverses. The paddle out can be a bit of a shoulder burner on bigger days, so paddle out near the pier to ride the conveyor belt-like current out to the lineup.
Ideal Swell Direction: SW, W, NW Break type: Beach break Board choice: Shortboard or fish; avoid longboards on crowded days Hazards: Crowds and reef at the northern edge of Scripps Parking: La Jolla Shores parking lot or street parking around El Paseo Grande for Scripps.
Oceanside
Oceanside is a quintessential North County surf spot, offering consistent beach break waves from the harbor entrance all the way to Tyson Park. The south side is generally known for its punchy, hollow rights and lefts, while the north side can be a bit more forgiving and beginner-friendly. The pier itself is a swell magnet, often picking up waves when other spots are flat. While the spot is ideal for intermediate and advanced surfers, it can be a good spot for beginners when it’s under three feet.
The lineup can get crowded, especially on weekends and during the summer, but there are multiple peaks to spread out. Better surfers will typically set up close to the pier pylons, so head a bit further north for less crowded peaks. After a session, fuel up at Local Tap House or Harney Sushi Oceanside.
Ideal Swell Direction: W, NW, SW Break type: Beach break Board choice: Shortboard, fish or longboard Hazards: Pollution after rain and strong currents Parking: Large parking lot at the end of Mission Avenue and street parking nearby.
Photo Credit: John O’Nelio
Sunset Cliffs
“Iconic” is an understatement—Sunset Cliffs is the definition of old-school San Diego surf culture. Sunset Cliffs is usually working under most swell conditions across three miles of unique breaks. You can surf the beginner-friendly waves at No Surf (ironically named) in the north, while intermediate and advanced surfers can find rippable reef breaks at Garbage Beach and Luscombs.
While traversing the unstable cliffs deters some, others reap the reward of this fun reef break that benefits from wind-protecting cliffs and a massive kelp bed outside the break which smooths out the chop when the rest of San Diego’s waves are crumbly. The spot works best during low to mid-tide and provides a massive canvas for you to carve anything from longboards and mid-lengths to shortboards during bigger swells.
Take a board that you’re comfortable paddling a bunch, but also realize you’re going to be lugging that thing back up the cliffs. Entering and exiting the surf during high tide is the biggest pain about surfing Sunset Cliffs.
Ideal Swell Direction: W, NW, SW Break type: Reef break Board choice: Longboard or mid-length; shortboards when it’s big enough Hazards: Rocky reef and unstable cliffs Parking: Sunset Cliffs Natural Park or street parking around Sunset Cliffs Boulevard.
Swami’s
The closest thing we get to a wave machine in San Diego County proper is Swami’s. The killer point break is located just below Encinitas‘ iconic Self-Realization Temple, which shrouds the spot with a unique mysticism and comes alive during winter swells. The point break produces consistent “leg burners,” allowing you to work on your carving while dodging traffic in the water. On bigger days, it’s the spot to be, making that canvas even better for sweeping turns and bringing out local legends like Rob Machado and Taylor Knox.
On the outside, locals on logs often hold down the long rolling sets, while further inside shortboarders hunt for the steeper bowl sections. On the paddle out, you’ll encounter cobblestone rocks especially at low tide so keep your duck dives shallow to avoid dings. If you do, just grab a used board at Hansen’s just up the street and tell them I sent you.
Ideal Swell Direction: W and NW Break type: Point break Board choice: Anything between a shortboard and longboard Hazards: Drop-ins, rocks Parking: Street parking along Highway 101.
Advanced San Diego Surf Spots
Windansea
Windansea is arguably San Diego’s most recognizable surf spot with its iconic shack and reputation for being one of the city’s more localized breaks. The spot is home to one of the city’s oldest surf communities, dating back to the early 1900s, and is the home of the Windansea Surf Club, first founded in the 1960s by surf pioneers Mike Hynson, Skip Frye, and others. The reef break works best on more powerful swells, which can create clean A-frame waves—fun rights and steeper lefts when the waves allow.
The reef can be a factor on lower tides, so it’s best to spread out like a starfish when you bail to avoid getting “cheese-grated.” On bigger days, the lineup can be filled with San Diego’s most talented surfers, including Joel and Tosh Tudor, Skip McCullough, and more, so watch who you’re dropping in on.
Ideal Swell Direction: NW, SW Break type: Reef break Board choice: Longboard or midlength for outside; shortboard or fish for the inside section Hazards: Reef, localism Parking: Street parking around Neptune Place and Nautilus Street.
Courtesy of Surfline
Trestles
While technically located on the edge of Orange County, Trestles is a world-class surf spot that every San Diego surfer should experience. Part of California surfing history, Trestles was the testing ground for SoCal’s innovative board builders in the ‘60s and a pillar of the World Surf League tour each year for good reason. This break is arguably the most dependable wave in California due to cobblestones that forge consistent waves that serve as canvases for surfers from nose-riders to high-performance shortboarders and everything in-between.
While it isn’t a treacherous spot, surfers are required to have an acute sense of surfing etiquette—knowing who has the right of way when five surfers have a paddle battle for the same wave; the ability to dodge a “yard sale” of boards, fins, and beginners effectively; and the ability to make the most of the coveted waves that finally come your way. Trestles has a break for everyone: Lowers is the star of the show (home to the WSL Finals) offering perfect, high-performance rights, Uppers offers slightly mellower but still rippable waves, Church gives fast, hollow rights, and Cottons serves up fun lefts for the folks that like riding anything from Takayama longboards to mid-lengths. The biggest hazard in the lineup is yourself—watch for cobblestones on exit, e-bike riders, and rattlesnakes on your way to SoCal’s greatest wave.
Ideal Swell Direction: SW, W, NW Break Type: Point break Board choice: Shortboard for Lowers, shortboard or midlength for Middles and Uppers, longboard for Cottons Hazards: Other surfers, cobblestones Parking: Street parking off the Cristianitos exit or at the San Onofre Bluffs Campground.
Photo Credit: Cole Novak
Blacks Beach
Blacks is San Diego’s premier big wave. Like a moat that surrounds a castle, you have to navigate 300-foot cliffs, big sets, and the occasional naked hippie before making it to the lineup. Blacks’ bathymetry attracts the biggest swells to hit San Diego due to its massive Scripps Canyon that plunges 1,000 feet deep across a mile of the beach. To get there, park at the Torrey Pines Gliderport, which can serve as overflow parking at UC San Diego during the school year, and make your way down one of Blacks’ trails to the beach.
The result is massive waves that funnel through this underwater canyon, providing the most hollow waves for San Diego’s top surfers. During the biggest swells, Blacks can reach upward of 20 feet and can be a torturous test of endurance for the most unhinged surfers. Besides massive waves in the winter, surfers need to watch out for falling cliffs (the last collapse happened in 2023 after a large rainfall), strong currents and the occasional great white sighting, thanks to the undisturbed Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve.
Ideal Swell Direction: W, NW, SW Break type: Beach break Board choice: Shortboard or gun when it’s big Hazards: Rip currents, canyon sets, occasional shark sightings Parking: Torrey Pines Gliderport
Cole Novak is an award-winning writer with a passion for highlighting local figures, small businesses, and nonprofits. Born and raised in San Diego, Cole is passionate about photography, surfing, art, the local food scene, and the great outdoors.
At Del Mar Wine & Food Festival’s Grand Tasting, everyone has their own goals for the day. One friend wants oysters and Champagne. Another heard there’s line dancing. Someone disappeared into Taco Alley. The food person is making a beeline for every chef demo, the golf friend has found the simulator, and someone else is already settled into a beach chair with a mezcal cocktail and has announced they’re “never leaving.”
Consider yourself zoned in.
This year, the Grand Tasting turns the Del Mar Polo Fields into a full-blown foodie wonderland, with chef showdowns, wellness escapes, art installations, lawn games, music, and plenty of magazine-worthy plates. But the zones are where everyone gets to play their own way. You might sip your way through the SLO Zone, accidentally spend the afternoon behind the DJ booth in Plant Paradise, or live out your best beach day in The Beach Zone.
With 100-plus chefs and restaurants, 150-plus wineries, breweries, distilleries, and drink makers, plus a whole lot more happening in between, there’s no shortage of ways to spend the weekend. And with the Grand Tasting taking place October 3 and 4, there’s actually time to explore.
Because the problem with bringing your favorite people to an adult playground is that everyone wants to play differently. Luckily, you get two days to figure it out. Here’s where to start:
Courtesy of Del Mar Wine & Food Festival
The Beef Experience
The Beef Experience, presented by Brandt Beef – One World Beef, is for the people who believe a food festival is a perfectly reasonable excuse to build an entire afternoon around meat. Brandt Beef brings its signature fare to the Polo Fields alongside a seriously stacked lineup of local favorites, from Tanner’s Prime Burgers and Ranch 45 to Jimmy’s Famous American Tavern, Order Fire Barbecue, Flying Pig Pub & Kitchen, The Pit BBQ, Aloha Rib Shack, and more.
And then there’s the tent you might almost miss.
Tucked into Brandt Beef Alley, Bebemos Tequila has set up what looks, from the outside, like a fairly unassuming tent. Walk inside, though, and you’ll find a full little speakeasy lounge, complete with a bar and one very dramatic tequila trick. The team lights the shots right in front of you before pouring them straight into guests’ mouths. Candlelight, fire, tequila, barbecue. Suddenly, your casual afternoon tasting has taken a turn.
Grab a plate of Brandt Beef tallow fries, chase it with a pour from Bebemos Tequila or Tap Truck San Diego, and maybe browse Nortte Hats while you recover. The rules are simple: follow the smoke, trust the grill, and maybe don’t make dinner plans afterward.
The Beach Zone
For the friend who thinks every good afternoon should involve a little sunshine, a cold drink, and nowhere to be, there’s The Beach Zone. Presented by Reef Lifestyle, this laid-back corner brings the San Diego summer fantasy to the Polo Fields, complete with coastal bites, beach-inspired brands, and plenty of reasons to stay awhile.
Grab bites from Duke’s La Jolla, Jake’s Del Mar, Lofty Coffee Co., Dang Brother Pizza Co., and Coral Del Mar, then cool off with Summer Club, Volley, Surfside Iced Tea and Lemonade + Vodka, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Mezo Mezoritas, Roseade Wine Spritzer, Pinkys, and more. Hemlock Hat Co., Coola, Sambazon, Playavole, Shibumi Shade, Spritz del Conte, and Out of the Woods add a little retail therapy to the mix, because the Grand Tasting obviously needs shopping, too.
And yes, there’s a photo op. Find the teal VW bus from A Timeless Day, gather your favorite people, and pretend you’ve spent the afternoon cruising the California coast instead of wandering around a wine and food festival.
It’s an area filled with surf-inspired games, your next favorite beach accessory, and a drink in hand. Basically, San Diego summer, condensed into one very convenient patch of grass.
Courtesy of Del Mar Wine & Food Festival
Pride Zone
Neon boas, glitter-filled drinks, and enough food to make choosing a single dinner impossible. The Pride Zone presented by San Diego Pride is bringing the energy, gathering some of San Diego’s favorite restaurants, bars, breweries, and sweet spots in one very colorful corner of the Polo Fields. Expect bites and beverages from Cary Q Wines, Gossip Grill, Rootdown & Es Okay, T’Maro Brands, and more.
Plant Paradise
Plant Paradise is your green oasis, but don’t expect it to be particularly peaceful. DJ Tenax returns with house, techno, UKG, and the kind of set that can turn a quick stop into an hour on the open-air dance floor. As Green Air Botanicals sets the mood, grab a cocktail from Mission Craft Cocktails, Makku, or San Hagen Tequila, and a bite from the sprawling lineup of plant-based bites and snacks from some of San Diego’s vegan favorites.
Kindred, Nourish Eats, The Plot, Maya’s Cookies and more. There’s also a full lineup of brands to snack your way through, including Aficio 22, Bücha Hard Kombucha, Nichols Farms, Nuts For Cheese.
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.
What Will It Take to Make San Diego a Global Arts City?
Jonathon Glus on the Art + Design District, investing in the creative economy, keeping artists in the city, and what we can learn from places like London and Chicago
Jonathon Glus is the Prebys Foundation senior fellow leading the development of the Art + Design District at the Downtown San Diego Partnership. He has been asked what an arts and design district is many times. In our conversation, I asked him instead to describe what it isn’t. His answer opened up a broader discussion about what San Diego has and hasn’t invested in, what it has the capacity to become, and what other cities have done that we haven’t. Glus speaks about global art fairs and architecture biennials in Chicago and long tables at dinner parties all with the same fluency. He also discusses who gets to live in the neighborhoods where creative work happens, and what it means when they can’t afford to stay.
Claire Johnson: You have been asked what an arts and design district is many times. Can you tell me what it isn’t?
Jonathon Glus: It is not a place designed intentionally and specifically for tourists. Of course there will be opportunities for tourists to come, but the district is really focused on creatives, on creative education, and on the creative workforce—as well as our major performing arts organizations. That is the emphasis.
What does the district need to do in the next five years for you to consider it a success?
[It needs to] develop greater connectivity between the anchor institutions—the symphony, Broadway San Diego, the opera, all the wonderful things happening in Balboa [Park]—and the creative workforce that will be living and working in that neighborhood 24/7.
What does San Diego not have that you wish it did?
We have not been intentionally investing in the contemporary art product that other major cities have been building. A contemporary art fair. A biennial that reflects the ethos of this region. Chicago developed an architecture biennial about eight years ago. London has a design biennial. Desert X, right here in Southern California, invests in and elevates contemporary artists inside a city. We have not really been playing in the global art market in a way that we have the capacity to.
What capacity do we have?
We have a wonderful foundation. Two theater companies that produce work that goes to Broadway more than many regional theaters in the country, major museums, artists teaching at UC San Diego and University of San Diego. What a city does when it wants to take itself to the next level is intentionally create the product. Miami went after the Art Basel fair; they did not passively receive it. You have to have the intention and the will, and you have to go after it. We haven’t done that in the way that other cities have.
Look at what we did with the tech sector; we’re now a major tech center. That was intentional. Leadership organized around it. We have to do the same thing around the arts. We have a lot of contemporary art collectors here. We have a lot of galleries. But the ecosystem of the business of contemporary art is not as organized or as visible as it should be.
Which city is your North Star?
It’s bits and pieces of different cities. Dubai has invested very quickly and very intentionally in contemporary art—art fairs, design fairs, higher education, artist residencies from all over the world. London has centered artists and creatives in the contemporary zeitgeist in a way that was not true 40 years ago. They built biennials. They ensured British artists had affordable housing and workspace. They made sure the media paid attention to what they were doing.
If you don’t have an artist at your dinner table, it’s not a dinner party. That sounds elitist, but it’s true. It shows the value that artists have in a community. Our relationship culturally with Tijuana is really significant here because artists in Baja seem to be at the table.
We’ve talked before about how food, fashion, design, and art aren’t siloed anymore.
They aren’t. When super creative people are in a community doing extraordinary work, that draws other super creative people doing extraordinary work. That’s why other arts and design districts around the world end up populated with some of the most interesting restaurants and young fashion designers. Creatives want to be around other creatives.
Which leads to the economic argument…
Our creative economy already employs about 170,000 people and generates more than $11 billion in economic activity. It’s large and robust. But we must center all of this in accessibility and affordability. Williamsburg used to be affordable. Artists can’t afford to live there anymore. Wicker Park and Bucktown in Chicago—artist central, now unaffordable. If we’re going to invest in this district, we have to be really intentional about housing and workspace, so creatives have a place in the future of this district.
I see all these new supper clubs and creative collectives popping up. What is the lesson there for San Diego in terms of the commercialization of cultural and creative groups?
I think the lesson is that nothing changes. What do people love? Long tables. Why? Because you’re with a lot of people—some you may have known your entire life, but most you don’t. And if it’s driven by a creative process, all the better. We know one of the best ways to do that is around food, but also music.
For the Art + Design District, part of why we’re leaning into the process is because, culturally, we’re bringing down the barriers between film, fashion, multimedia, tech, and architecture. It’s an experiential mashup in the best possible way.
And it’s not just about art and design, but community writ large. Creative expression is something we all desire. Whether it’s at a long table, at the opera, or in your studio, we gravitate toward creative expression as a way of building community and communicating with the people around us.
Is there a question I should have asked you but haven’t?
I hope you are writing about this in seven years when the district is fully mature. But this is just the beginning for all of this. I think that’s what’s most exciting to me. We don’t know what this is going to be like, but we know it’s going to be creatively centered, and that’s super exciting to me.
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.
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.
Kelly H. Harfouche, founder of KQ Aesthetic Society, knows firsthand that cosmetic treatments like fillers, neurotoxins, and microneedling, can not only enhance a person’s appearance and restore confidence, they have the power to truly change a person’s life. An expert injector has the ability to tailor treatments to each individual patient’s anatomy and goals for personalized results. Harfouche, a board-certified nurse practitioner, has spent nearly a decade perfecting her craft as an aesthetic injector and integrating her multifaceted artistic skills with precision patient care. Her commitment to continual education and training, plus a passion for helping people look—and feel—their best, set KQ Aesthetic Society apart in a sea of local medspas.
For many people considering nonsurgical treatments, the intent is to look refreshed and refined. KQ Aesthetic Society’s philosophy eschews a cookie cutter approach that bases treatments around units, instead working to understand each person’s unique goals, then curating a treatment plan to fit that vision. Harfouche focuses on “inclusive luxury,” the belief that everyone deserves access to aesthetic treatments, respective of budget restrictions. She develops long-standing trusted relationships with her patients, and works with each one to achieve their aesthetic objectives and address the underlying causes of their concerns.
“For me, forming an honest and open relationship with every patient who walks through the door is essential. This means understanding them on a deeper level and meeting them where they are to define and achieve their individual goals,” she says.
Drawing on her artistic background, which inspired her transition into medical aesthetics, Harfouche sees each client as a “unique canvas.” Rather than relying on standardized procedures, the practitioner’s distinctive approach combines her profound understanding of the physiological and anatomical changes associated with aging with an unwavering commitment to ongoing education about the newest products and their mechanisms of action. Her goal is to make each patient feel beautiful in their own skin and to embrace their individuality.
She has also pioneered a way to combine her talent for aesthetic artistry with her philanthropic nature. Harfouche is one of only a handful of providers using dermal fillers to treat patients with lip asymmetry and scarring resulting from cleft lip surgery. Patients travel from around the country for this transformative treatment, noting increased confidence and a restored identity. She hopes to eventually launch a training program to help fill the void in this space.
“My passion has always been connecting with people and giving back in any capacity that I can,” she says. In the rapidly advancing landscape of aesthetic medicine, you can place your confidence in Harfouche and KQ Aesthetic Society to deliver exceptional care. To learn more or book a consultation, please visit kqaestheticsociety.com.
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.
On February 28, 1926, the Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego (now called the San Diego Museum of Art) opened its Plateresque doors to 3,000 guests for opening day. Over the next century, the museum changed with the times—even once functioning as a naval hospital after Pearl Harbor. This year, the museum is celebrating its 100th birthday with an exhibit (open through January 24, 2027) featuring photographs, ephemera, and film footage spanning the museum’s history.
Courtesy of Tim Novara
Free Concerts at Spreckels Organ Pavilion
Every Sunday from 2 to 3 p.m., stop by the historic Spreckels Organ Pavilion for a free concert presented by the City of San Diego on the largest outdoor organ in the world (more than 5,000 pipes). The pavilion seats 2,400 for performances by the civic organist or guest artists.
Some think natural history museums are just cemeteries for dioramas that haven’t received an update since the Reagan administration. When it comes to The Nat, which just finished a $7.5 million rejuvenation, they’re totally wrong. The museum debuted a new rooftop that replaces its 25-year-old atrium. The old roof created a greenhouse effect that steamed up some exhibits, so the new one—which includes 200 solar panels and better temperature control—will help preserve the artifacts inside. Each Friday in the summer, The Nat also becomes one of the season’s vibiest hotspots during Nat at Night, with food from places like Wolf in the Woods and The Craft Taco, bars and signature cocktails on several floors, and a rooftop DJ.
Fleet Science Theater Remodel
The Fleet Science Center just received its most significant update since the 1990s. It expanded its exhibit space by 20 percent and introduced a newly designed entrance gallery (formerly the IMAX theater lobby) that includes free exhibits for visitors who want a taste of the science without paying an admission fee. The former ticketing area now houses the Mindbender Mansion exhibit, and there’s a new café, Element 8, that will, of course, sell the center’s famous soft serve.
AVRP Studios’ tradition for Design Excellence and Innovation began in 1976 with Doug Austin, FAIA, in Solana Beach, California. The firm has since grown to complete major projects throughout the United States and Canada. We think of ourselves as a family and we care deeply about people. We want to inspire, help make their lives richer and more complete through our efforts. We believe that architecture is one of the most important art forms because of the impact it can have on the lives of those it touches. We’re delighted to have been recognized with over 150 awards for design excellence.
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