Top Orange County restaurants, The Winery and Javier’s, headed for $585 million San Diego mall project
Javier’s, which debuted in Laguna Beach in 1995, is bringing its Mexican resort themed fine dining restaurant to San Diego. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, Orange County Register/SCNG)
During the early days of Javier’s, when it was located in Laguna Beach, restaurateur JC Clow was a frequent diner at the the cozy Cabo-inspired eatery known for its fine Mexican cuisine.
“I spent many great years and celebrations there,” said Clow, founding partner of The Winery in Tustin and Newport Beach.
Clow eventually grew close to owner and founder Javier Sosa, who now operates Javier’s restaurants in Newport Beach, Irvine, Las Vegas (Aria Hotel) and Los Cabos, Mexico.
“We knew each other when we were young and beautiful,” joked Sosa.
Later this year, the two veteran Orange County restaurateurs will be reunited when they bring their successful brands to Westfield UTC, an upscale San Diego outdoor mall undergoing a $585 million expansion.
“We’re pretty excited about being neighbors,” said Clow during a recent phone interview.
The two restaurants are part of the center’s Phase 2 renovation, a 250,000-square-foot expansion featuring 90 new shops and restaurants. The centerpiece of the addition will be a new 144,000-square-foot Nordstrom, which is relocating to a larger space when the project is complete in October.
The 40-year-old center is near UC San Diego.
Clow likened the mall expansion to renovations made a few years ago to Fashion Island, when the Newport Beach center built new structures for high-end restaurants and retailers such as Red O, Fig & Olive and Nespresso.
“It’s going to be stunning,” Clow said.
For Clow, opening at UTC marks the continued growth of the white-table cloth venue he launched in 2007 when The District lifestyle center opened on the former Tustin air base.
Seven years later, he and his partners opened the second The Winery in Newport Beach in the closed Villa Nova space along Mariner’s Mile. The Newport Beach waterfront location catapulted the wine country themed brand, Clow said.
Since then, he’s been approached by several developers to bring The Winery to other locations including projects in Las Vegas and Scottsdale, Az.
“We’re in a position where we are listening to opportunities,” Clow said.
He became interested in the San Diego project when he heard the developers were talking to his old friend Sosa, an inspiring and successful restaurant owner.
Clow said he likes the idea of being part of a tenant mix that includes premium and exclusive retailers like Amazon Books, Tesla, Apple, Pandora, Tiffany & Co. and Michael Kors.
Another plus: The 8,000-square-foot restaurant will be close to the relocated Nordstrom, one of the company’s more successful department stores, he said.
Clow said coming to Westfield is “definitely a good move for us.”
Taking advantage of the mall foot traffic, Clow is also opening a wine bar in the center. The 1,000-square-foot bar, which has a separate kitchen from The Winery, will offer a small bites menu, grab-and-go foods and wine flights aimed at women taking a shopping break and mall employees looking for a quick takeout meal.
With its flat screen TVs and plenty of “phenomenal” San Diego craft beer on tap, Clow said the bar also serves another purpose. “The wine bar will be there for the guys who don’t want to follow their wives shopping.”
As for Sosa, he said the Westfield UTC location will likely be the last Javier’s he’ll open. Javier’s is opening a location in Century City (another Westfield property) this spring. The UTC project is expected to open in October.
Opening two restaurants within six months of each other is making Sosa nervous. He’s secretly hoping the San Diego project will run into some delays.
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