San Diego's Karina's Group has taken over the space that last housed The Patricios Restaurant in the Gaslamp Quarter for the opening of a new bar & restaurant concept called Santa Gula, which translates to "holy gluttony" in Spanish.
Founded in 1981 by Don Arnulfo Contreras and his wife María Inés Curiel, Karina's Mexican Seafood has expanded to seven locations spread around San Diego, as well as longtime restaurant Savoie Italian Eatery in Chula Vista. In 2016, the company partnered with Saffron Thai founder Su-Mei Yu to provide operational support at her historic Mission Hills restaurant and expanded the concept with a new location in La Jolla for a short time before being rebranded into now shuttered Karina's Cantina. In fall 2019, Gaslamp Quarter's 23-year-old Taka Sushi was acquired by Karina's Group. Then in late 2020, the company took over the 6,000-square-foot, two-story Gaslamp Quarter space that previously housed the short-lived Tocaya Organica and opened the most ambitious Karina Cantina restaurant to date.
Translating to "Holy Gluttony" in Spanish, Santa Gula is Karina's newest bar & restaurant concept, currently installing within the 4th Avenue space in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter last occupied by Mexican-Irish eatery The Patricios and Dublin Square Irish Pub before. Details are currently limited on the new project, but expect there to be a full bar with a menu of Latin-fusion cuisine.
Santa Gula is anticipated to open later this year at 554 Fourth Avenue in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter. For more information, visit karinasgroup.com.
