SanDiegoVille

Topgolf’s Long-Promised San Diego Debut Still Years Away As Downtown Project Inches Forward And Sorrento Valley Sits Stalled

Nearly a decade after Topgolf first announced its ambition to open in San Diego, the company’s highly anticipated local venues remain far from reality. New information from the Port of San Diego confirms that the flagship downtown location - planned as the anchor of a sweeping new “eatertainment” district on East Harbor Island - will not open until mid-2028 at the earliest, while the company’s second proposed site in Sorrento Valley has yet to begin construction and continues to operate as the existing Sorrento Canyon Golf Center.

Ski season has arrived! While San Diego's sun-soaked beaches might make snow seem like a distant dream, winter enthusiasts know that living in Southern California means you're just a short drive from some incredible ski resorts. Whether you're dusting off your gear for a quick day trip or planning a week-long mountain escape, there are plenty of options to satisfy your craving for snow.

A San Diego restaurant recently advertised itself as a Michelin-starred establishment, a mistake that was quickly corrected but one that highlights a larger and increasingly common issue: the term “Michelin” is now used so broadly in restaurant marketing that many people, including diners and even restaurant teams, no longer understand the distinctions between the guide’s many levels of recognition. This brief mix-up serves as an entry point into a much bigger conversation about how Michelin’s branding has expanded, how confusion has grown alongside it, and why the meaning of a Michelin star has never been more important to protect.

This is the weekly list of San Diego County restaurants and food facilities that have faced temporary closures and downgraded status due to health inspections from November 28 - December 4, 2025.

Newly obtained surveillance video from the night 40-year-old Gabriel Jesus Garza died outside Star Bar in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter is intensifying public concern over the San Diego Police Department’s use-of-force practices. The footage shows officers handcuffing Garza, placing him face down on the sidewalk, and maintaining body-weight pressure on him for nearly eight minutes, well after he had stopped moving, until paramedics arrived and found him unresponsive without a pulse.

A San Diego beauty and lifestyle creator whose online fame has exploded over the past year is facing renewed scrutiny as the public learns of her involvement in a fatal DUI crash that killed a Poway man in 2022.

Nearly a decade after its closure left a void in La Jolla’s dining landscape, Roppongi Restaurant and Lounge has officially returned to its original space on Prospect Street - and the revival is every bit as ambitious as the reputation it built over its original 17-year run.

The revival of A Little Moore Café in San Diego's North County has already come to an abrupt end. Less than a year after reopening on North Coast Highway 101 in Leucadia, the breakfast spot has closed its doors and the fully built-out restaurant is now listed for sale.

Victorino’s Pizzeria and viral content creator The Taco Fiend are joining forces this holiday season for a massive community giveaway: 1,000 free pizza slices, handed out all day long on December 18 in San Diego’s South Bay.

A new Japanese concept from a former Nobu chef is opening in San Diego next month as Momo Sando & Omakase prepares to take over the former Kumo space in Mira Mesa.

A new lawsuit reveals widespread systemic failures from the City of San Diego, Rock Church, and many others behind the starvation death of 11-year-old Arabella McCormack, amid $21.5M in settlements.

Ono Hawaiian BBQ is officially planting deep roots in San Diego County, with the fast growing chain now confirming a six location rollout across the region. The company, which specializes in Hawaiian inspired plate lunches and island comfort food, has already locked in four restaurant sites and is working on two more.

After 12 years as a Mission Hills mainstay, Harley Gray Kitchen & Bar is preparing for its final service as the property transitions to new ownership under the husband-and-wife team behind San Diego's popular La Puerta Mexican Restaurant.

The first California outpost of Big Chicken, the fast-casual fried chicken concept founded by NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, is officially open in San Diego - but there’s a catch: you’ll need special access to get in.

San Diego has no shortage of bakeries, but a new micro-operation is quietly winning hearts across the county with something harder to find: true East Coast Italian cookies made the old-fashioned way. Penny’s Pantry, a custom-order micro-bakery run by longtime San Diegan and Connecticut native, is quickly becoming a word-of-mouth holiday favorite for anyone craving authentic pignoli cookies, rainbow cookies, or nostalgic Italian sweets that rarely make an appearance this far west.

Long Story Irish Pub, the five-year-old neighborhood gathering spot on Voltaire Street in Point Loma, is asking the San Diego community for help after posting an emotional video to Instagram on Tuesday in which owner Kyle Schubert warns that the business may not survive without an immediate boost in support. The six-minute message - the most candid public statement the pub has released since opening in 2021 - lays bare the financial strain facing the popular Irish bar and the team behind it.

A project more than a decade in the making has finally come to life on Coronado’s iconic waterfront. On December 2, city leaders, Port of San Diego officials, and restaurant developers gathered beside the bay to celebrate the ceremonial groundbreaking for Social Syndicate’s new restaurant at the Coronado Ferry Landing - a major milestone for a parcel that has sat undeveloped since the 1990s.

Swami’s Café and its sister restaurant Honey’s Bistro have been ordered to pay $650,000 to settle a federal sexual-harassment and retaliation lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, concluding a two-year legal battle that has cast a long shadow over the San Diego–based chain. A federal judge approved the consent decree Monday, confirming sweeping reforms across all nine Swami’s locations and Honey’s Bistro, even as the former manager publicly assumed to be at the center of the allegations continues to deny any wrongdoing.

The long-dormant Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes brand - founded in San Diego in 1978 and shuttered nationwide in 2020 - may finally be plotting a comeback to the city where it all began. This weekend, the chain’s official Sweet Tomatoes Instagram account posted a cryptic, wizard-themed poem that sent longtime fans into an immediate frenzy, with many speculating that a return to San Diego is imminent.