A local food critic may soon be sitting on the opposite end of the table. San Diego Magazine's resident restaurant section editor Troy Johnson took to Facebook this week to announce that he will be opening a "non-traditional taco shop eatery" in his hometown of Ocean Beach.
"Ok. I'm finally there," said Johnson in a Facebook post. "I'm going to open a restaurant in my hometown of Ocean Beach!!! I have tons of concepts, but I want to hear from my locals. I don't want to compete with any other local spot. I want to fill a hole. What kind of restaurant does OB need? Enough talking about restaurants. I'm going to try and make one."
San Diego native Troy Johnson began his journalistic career as a music writer and personality before turning his attention to the culinary scene in 2007 as a food writer and editor of Modern Luxury's Rivera Magazine. Johnson was the host of the Food Network program Crave for a short time before it was ultimately cancelled and is now the longtime food critic and editor for San Diego Magazine with frequent appearances as a judge on Guy Fieri's Guy's Grocery Games.
Johnson is keeping details about his concept under wraps, as it is still in the research-and-development state and he likely has the intention of announcing the full breadth of the project through an exclusive in San Diego Mag. However, Johnson has revealed that his eatery will be on the smaller side with a low buildout cost and that he has multiple offers to fund the restaurant. He has teased that the concept is a "non-traditional taco shop," but has not revealed anything further at this point.
"I have a very specific idea," continued Johnson. "I'm starting to gather funding now...It's not really a restaurant. It's art. The concept is dialed in. This is the first of two concepts. The first one will be an art project. The second will be something us parents have wanted for a loooong time."
We'll be sure to update our readers when we learn more.
