University Avenue between 27th and 32nd Streets had a busy summer. Two closures, one opening and two openings that haven't happened yet all landed within a few blocks of each other. Read on their own, the closures look like a street losing steam. Both owners explained their reasons in public, though, and both pointed to plans in other places. The Deckmans are focusing on Valle de Guadalupe. The Breakfast Republic founder is focusing on Texas.
The newcomers are doing something different. Each one is moving into a room that already has a history, and two of them are on the food list for Taste of North Park on Saturday, October 3. That's the same day Verbatim Books holds its North Park Book Fair, one day after a new grocery store opens on El Cajon Boulevard.
The Two Exits Were Decided Somewhere Else
Deckman's North served its last dinner at 3131 University Ave. on June 27. Chef Drew Deckman and his wife, Paulina, opened it in August 2024 as 31THIRTYONE. It started with a $125 three-course tasting menu, and reservations were booked six weeks out at first. When sales slowed, the couple kept adjusting. Paulina redecorated the dining room to soften it. Drew added an à la carte menu, a new chef's counter concept and a lunch service built around a signature burger, and the restaurant became Deckman's North.
The Union-Tribune reported that the Deckmans are now focusing on their two restaurants in Valle de Guadalupe: Deckman's en el Mogor, an open-air wood-fired restaurant, and Conchas de Piedra, a Michelin-starred outdoor Baja shellfish and wine bar. Drew Deckman told the paper he isn't cutting ties with San Diego. He plans to keep serving food at Petco Park's The Draft by Ballast Point "for many seasons more."
The building he leaves behind is one of the most distinctive restaurant spaces on the street. It's three stories and 4,200 square feet, with a 50-seat dining room, a 10-seat chef's counter, a 10-seat private dining room and a 32-seat rooftop cocktail bar. As of a September 22 listing update, the space was still being marketed for sublease, and we haven't found any coverage naming a successor tenant.
Six weeks later and five blocks west, the original Breakfast Republic at 2730 University Ave. closed on August 9. It opened in 2015 and was the first location of the brand. Its parent company, Johan Engman's Rise & Shine Hospitality Group, closed the North Park, Encinitas and Ocean Beach locations on the same day. The company plans to open a dozen new restaurants in Texas over the next five years. Engman told the Union-Tribune that he owns the North Park building and will put it up for sale. He said business there declined partly because 175 street parking spaces were removed for bike lanes several years ago. He also said this:
"North Park, even five years ago, is very different than it is now."
Breakfast Republic is still open in East Village, Liberty Station, Mission Valley, Pacific Beach and Scripps Ranch. The North Park closure was one company deciding where it wants to grow. It doesn't mean the chain is leaving San Diego.
The Arrivals Are Moving Into Rooms With a Past
The openings follow a pattern of their own. None is a new building, and each one picks up a space that North Park already knows.
One of Us opened July 16 at 3085 University Ave. in the former URBN Coal Fired Pizza space. It's a gastropub built around women's sports. The co-owners are Kerry Pierce, Patricia Seabold and Kalani Millsaps, and the Union-Tribune placed the restaurant at the corner of University Avenue and 31st Street. That puts it about a block from the empty Deckman's building.
Carne & Hueso, which also uses the name Carne y Hueso, is at 3140 University Ave., Suite 102. Sisters Chantelle and Crystal Godinez serve Indigenous Mexican food there. It's newer than it may seem. FOX 5 reported that permit and design delays pushed its opening to around December 2025, and that it had been open a few months by April. Eater still had it on its list of new restaurants in a September 3 update.
Chop Suey Lounge & Ginger Roots is the most closely watched project on the stretch. Three generations of the Fong family served Chinese-American classics at 2877 University Ave. from 1931 to 2019. When the last generation retired, the family kept the space and waited for the right successor. They chose Jacquelyn Kelly and Jason Bess. The plan has two parts. The front will be a midcentury lounge with upscale, Chinese-inspired finger foods and live entertainment, made possible by the space's cabaret license. The back will be a reservation-only chef's table with a Pan-Asian-inspired tasting menu. Interior designer Sally Rodrigues of Crave Design Company and architect Chris Bord of Room & Bord are rebuilding the 3,500-square-foot room. Kelly spent eight years at CH Projects and described the project to San Diego Magazine as a way to preserve the Fong family's legacy and add to it. The target, reported in April, is December 2026. That date comes from the April report, so treat December as the plan, not a confirmed date.
Labora Cafe is planned for 2899 University Ave., a short walk from Chop Suey. It's a ceremonial-grade matcha cafe from Lauren Thiemthath, Bao Doan and Phat Lu. In March the team aimed for a fall opening and said "hopefully by September" if all went well. As of the end of September, Labora's own locations page still lists North Park as "Opening soon." Its online ordering page for the location says it is "only accepting scheduled orders." Labora's own channels will be the place to watch for a firm opening date.
The Stretch, Address by Address
| Address | Previous occupant | Now | Status as of late September 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2730 University Ave. | Breakfast Republic, opened 2015 | Building to be sold by owner | Closed August 9; no successor named |
| 2877 University Ave. | Chop Suey, Fong family, 1931–2019 | Chop Suey Lounge & Ginger Roots | December 2026 target |
| 2899 University Ave. | Not reported | Labora Cafe | "Opening soon" on Labora's site |
| 3085 University Ave. | URBN Coal Fired Pizza | One of Us | Open since July 16 |
| 3131 University Ave. | Deckman's North, opened August 2024 | Marketed for sublease | Closed June 27; no successor reported |
| 3140 University Ave., Suite 102 | Not reported | Carne & Hueso | Open since around December 2025 |
Laid out by address, the summer adds up to two closures, two openings and two projects still in the works. The two largest spaces, 2730 and 3131, are the ones with no reported next tenant. The fall will show whether new operators take them on.
October 3 Brings the New Names Together
The first weekend of October is the first time much of this new lineup shows up in one place. Taste of North Park's food list for Saturday, October 3, includes both One of Us and Carne & Hueso. They'll be alongside longtime names on the strip such as Redwing Bar, Rumi Wine Bar, Mabel's Gone Fishing, Lou's Deli, Little Sisters and North Park Beer Co. Organizers advertise more than 50 food tastes, 15 beverage sips, live music and local art activations. Sip stops are inside neighborhood shops, including Pigment, Cave of Wonders, Granada House, Replay Toys and Speakeasy Clothing.
Verbatim Books runs the North Park Book Fair the same day, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at North Park Way and 29th Street. It includes independent bookstores, publishers, comic book artists, a DJ, morning story time and a costume contest with categories for adults, kids and pets.
With two events on the same blocks, logistics matter:
- Tickets may already be gone. The Taste site says the event has historically sold out four days ahead. For an October 3 event, that would have been September 29, so check the Taste of North Park site before you plan the day around it.
- Check in at North Park Mini Park. It's the only day-of ticket pickup location, and check-in opens at 10 a.m. Sip ticket holders must be 21 and bring a valid government-issued photo ID.
- Expect 30th Street to close. The Taste day-of guide says 30th Street will be closed for the Book Fair and recommends the North Park Parking Garage, which you enter from 29th Street.
- Or take the bus. MTS lists Routes 2, 6, 7 and 10 for getting to the Book Fair.
The day before, on Friday, October 2, Sprouts Farmers Market opens at 3245 El Cajon Blvd. It takes over the former Pancho Villa Farmer's Market space. Like the University Avenue openings, it's a new operator in a building the neighborhood already shopped in.
The Rest of the Fall on 29th and 30th
The recurring events carry on around the new openings:
- North Park Farmers Market, every Thursday from 3 to 7:30 p.m., on 30th Street from Ray Street to Granada Avenue. The market accepts EBT and Market Match. The first market of October is the day before Sprouts opens.
- North Park Vegan Food Popup, on the second Saturday of each month from noon to 4 p.m. at North Park Mini Park, 3812 29th Street, with more than 60 vendors. On that schedule, October's popup lands one week after the Taste, on October 10.
- Shop North Park, the North Park Community Fair, on November 7 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 3793 30th Street. It showcases retail and creative businesses on North Park Way.
After that, the next date on the stretch is December, when Kelly and Bess plan to open the doors at 2877 University Ave.
The two largest empty rooms on University Avenue show how much an older building's layout, history and condition decide its next use. Deckman's three-story space comes with a rooftop bar. The original Breakfast Republic building is going up for sale. If you own a North Park property and are curious how buyers would see what your building could become, The Higgins Group can walk you through it. Request a Complimentary Home Valuation, and we'll pair it with our design team's view of what it could be.
