San Diego photographer Justin Lee was on a Skype call when he noticed the sky outside his window turning pink. He ran to his rooftop and snapped 10 frames within three minutes. You get the money shot “about five to 10 minutes after the sun drops below the horizon,” he says. “Be patient and let the sky get more color. Clouds help add drama and act as a natural screen for color and light to bounce off.”
Consider this your annual reminder that Mother’s Day is not the time to improvise. What’s in: roses, peonies, and a card attempting to summarize a year’s worth of gratitude in three paragraphs or less. What’s out: pretending you “didn’t know it was this weekend.” In a city currently operating at full brunch capacity, San Diego responds as it always does—oceanfront tables, excessive buffet spreads, and sparkling wine refills. Whether it’s waffle stacks, chilled seafood displays, or carving stations doing the most, these San Diego restaurants have you covered.
All moms deserve elegance on Mother’s Day. Celebrate a beachfront with a beautifully timeless and tasteful brunch at the Crown Room in Hotel del Coronado. Indulge in options like lemon vanilla pancakes with berry compote paired with crispy bacon, made-to-order omelets or your very own egg benedict station, shucked oysters, whole in-house smoked brisket, Peach Melba Verrine, and more. Guests over 21 can enjoy a complimentary glass of Champagne.
Price: $235 per adult | $125 per child (6 – 10) | Ages 5 and under are free Hours: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Address: 1500 Orange Ave, Coronado Reservations: Hotel del Coronado
Oceana Coastal Kitchen
Mimosas, marina views, and a Mother’s Day where the only thing on the agenda is enjoying it? We’ll cheers to that. Located at the Catamaran Resort, this Mother’s Day brunch literally has it all, from sushi rolls and nigiri to a charcuterie spread stacked with salumi, prosciutto, cornichons, pepperoncini, cherry peppers, and grainy mustard, plus waffle and omelet stations, cedar-planked salmon, and panko and herb-crusted mac and cheese. Kids can also create a bouquet for Mom that’s just chaotic enough to be adorable.
Price: $120+ per adult | $60+ per child (5 – 12) | Ages 4 and under are free Hours: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. (last seating at 2 p.m.) Address: 3999 Mission Boulevard, San Diego Reservations: Oceana Coastal Kitchen
Mother’s Day at Arlo transforms into an enchanted garden that’s equal parts lush and indulgent: a raw bar, fresh salads, delicate pastries, 12-hour braised short ribs, roasted prime rib, and Szechuan pepper–crusted swordfish from the Santa Maria grill. Spoil moms, grandmas, aunts, and every beloved mother figure with live music, a roaming mimosa cart, floral bouquets, and of course, a little retail therapy courtesy of the Kendra Scott trunk show—necklaces, bracelets, earrings, or, let’s be real, all of the above.
Price: $99 per adult | $40 per child (5 – 12) | Ages 4 and under are free Hours: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Address: 500 Hotel Circle N, San Diego Reservations: OpenTable
Rumorosa
Forget the CVS roses (respectfully). Rumorosa’s Mother’s Day brunch is back for its third year, pairing complimentary flowers with sun-drenched marina views. It’s coastal-modern meets Baja soul, where the food is bright and very much not an afterthought. Last year’s spread leans into Carrot Cake Waffles, a made-to-order omelet station, Café de la Olla French Toast, Roasted Lamb Tostadas, and other “yes, I’ll have everything” moments.
Price: $90 per adult | $40 per child (5 – 12) Hours: 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Address: 1380 Harbor Island Drive, San Diego Reservations: OpenTable
Tidal
A boozy brunch overlooking Mission Bay with Mom? Say less. Celebrated at Tidal with a lavish spread of cheeses and charcuterie, a seafood bar stacked with oysters, shrimp, crab legs, and ahi specialties, and chef-attended carving stations with slow-roasted prime rib. Made-to-order omelets and pancakes, maple-glazed pork belly, roasted Baja grouper, vibrant seasonal salads, and brunch classics round it out, finishing with an abundant mini dessert selection.
Price: $125 per adult | $50 per child (5–12) | Ages 5 and under are free Hours: 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Address: 1404 West Vacation Road, San Diego Reservations: OpenTable
Animae
Mother’s Day at Animae is anything but expected. Tucked into the Marina District, this world-class steakhouse leans West Coast with a playful Asian twist. This year, treat Mom to a dim sum–style experience: a slightly more elevated, endlessly flowing take on the buffet, where indulgent small plates arrive tableside, perfectly complementing the Art Deco interiors and designed to be picked at, shared, and fully obsessed over. It’s less set menu, more choose-your-own flavor adventure.
Price: $104 per person Hours: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Address: 969 Pacific Hwy, San Diego Reservations: OpenTable
Isabella Dallas is a freelance writer for San Diego Magazine and the Arts and Culture Editor at The Daily Aztec in her final year at San Diego State University. She previously worked as an editorial intern for SDM, but when she’s not writing, you can find her trying the best coffee spots in SD, devouring the latest rom-coms, and indulging in anything and everything pop culture.
Tacos are San Diego’s lingua franca. The invention of food wrapped in corn tortillas is ballparked at 1000 to 500 BC. The word probably comes from the Nahuatl “tlahco”—meaning “half” or “in the middle”—a food meant to be folded and carried. Portable foods always have a way of sticking around.
San Diego was part of Mexico until the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, so tacos didn’t arrive; they remained. After the treaty, they receded into the kitchens of families who stayed behind.
By the early 1900s, US tacos had reached a sad state—mostly ground beef, cheddar cheese, and iceberg lettuce, because Mexican staples like cotija, cilantro, chiles, and freshly pressed tortillas weren’t in grocery stores. In San Diego, that started to change around 1930 in the abode of Petra and Natividad Estudillo, who lived on Logan Avenue in Barrio Logan, the heart of San Diego’s Chicano culture (it’s where many refugees from the Mexican Revolution settled). There, the couple created a teeny tienda, slinging homemade tortillas.
Behind the Estudillos’ counter, reportedly, you could see their living room, lined with furniture and tubs of fresh tortillas. You could tell sales (and tacos) were on the rise, because their décor got increasingly nicer. The couple opened Las Cuatro Milpas next door in 1933. It was the first Mexican restaurant in the city, a taco chapel for over 90 years. Around the same era, Ralph Pesquiera Sr. started pressing tortillas with his parents on India and Grape streets, later serving smaller, corn tortilla versions of flautas for defense workers during WWII. Credited with coining the term “taquito,” he opened El Indio in 1940.
The Bracero Program (1942–64) greatly contributed to taco culture, bringing over four million Mexican men to the US as guest workers, many in San Diego. The kitchens at bracero camps were filled with beans, tortillas, and chiles. The art of making fresh masa started to proliferate, and local grocery stores stocked dried chiles, salsas, and masa harina for their new client base.
San Diego’s taco culture quantum-leapt in 1964, when Roberto and Dolores Robledo, who’d previously owned a Golden Hill restaurant called La Lomita, opened a tortilla factory in San Ysidro. They quickly added a walk-up and drive-through window and called it Roberto’s—the city’s first “modern” taco shop and eventual legend. Two years earlier, up the road in Downey, Glen Bell had launched Taco Bell; by the time he sold it to PepsiCo in 1978, every American grocery store was selling “taco kits” with pre-fried shells, seasoning packets, and jars of salsa. Taco night became a middle-class ritual.
Surfers also deserve a taco nod. In 1983, SDSU student Ralph Rubio finally made good on the recipe gifted to him by a taquero on a San Felipe beach; he opened Rubio’s on Mission Bay Drive, launching the Baja fish taco into the national imagination (Rubio’s IPO hit NASDAQ in 1999).
Two government policies also helped further taco enlightenment. In 1986, the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) legalized about 2.7 million immigrants, many in SoCal. Green cards and work permits meant access to leases, loans, and licenses. With that stability came confidence—and a wave of Mexican-owned small businesses. The late 1980s and ’90s saw the rise of family-run icons like Lolita’s, Rigoberto’s, and Cotixan. It’s no coincidence that two of San Diego’s proudest food inventions—the California burrito and carne asada fries (often credited to Lolita’s circa the late ’90s)—came onto the scene during this period.
This last point is an unsubstantiated connecting of dots. But Mexico’s a large country full of endless regional taco ideas (Oaxacan cheese, Sinaloan seafood, Texcoco barbacoa). And the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), signed in 1992, was probably what sprung that deep well of taco ideas. Corporations opened massive operations in border cities like Tijuana, drawing thousands of workers and tacos from every nook.
Which brings us to now. There are 1,700-ish taco shops across the county, and here’s the list of our favorites.
Courtesy of Tacotarian
San Diego’s Best Tacos
Gobernador Taco at Mariscos Mi Gusto Es
Chollas Creek
Located in the massive parking lot by an event center and a cannabis dispensary, Mi Gusto Es may just set the bar for the best gobernador (a Sinaloan-style shrimp taco with melted cheese and a flour tortilla—a wonderful thing). Loaded with sautéed peppers, it costs three bucks. Get the spicy shrimp. Always spicy.
Troy Johnson is the magazine’s award-winning food writer and humorist, and a long-standing expert on Food Network. His work has been featured on NatGeo, Travel Channel, NPR, and in Food Matters, a textbook of the best American food writing.
Get ready to geek out—San Diego Comic-Con 2025 returns to the San Diego Convention Center from Thursday, July 24, through Sunday, July 27. This massive pop-culture celebration draws fans from around the world for panels, celebrity appearances, exclusive merch, cosplay, and major announcements from the biggest names in comics, TV, movies, anime, and gaming.
Founded in the far-far-away year of 1970 under the moniker San Diego’s Golden State Comic-Con, the convention has exploded in popularity. Highlights over the years include an under-the-radar Star Wars preview in 1976, the event’s relocation to the San Diego Convention Center in 1991, Avengers announcement in 2010, and memorable cameos—like Breaking Bad‘s Bryan Cranston going incognito in a Walter White mask.
Each year, Comic-Con puts the international spotlight on San Diego, drawing more than 135,000 visitors. This year, the fun returns with a full slate of panels, events, and passionate fandoms. While major studios like Marvel, DC, and Legendary won’t be attending, there will still be plenty of big names from across the multiverse making appearances.
Whether you’re camping out for Hall H, debuting a fresh cosplay costume, or just enjoying the people-watching downtown, our Comic-Con 2025 guide will ensure you make it to all your favorite events.
Comic-Con 2025 takes place Thursday, July 24 through Sunday, July 27 at the San Diego Convention Center. Preview Night is Wednesday, July 23 and is only open to 2025 badge holders.
Comic-Con 2025 Hours
Wednesday: 6–9 p.m.
Thursday: 9:30 a.m.–7 p.m.
Friday: 9:30 a.m.–7 p.m.
Saturday: 9:30 a.m.–7 p.m.
Sunday: 9:30 a.m.–5 p.m
Where Do I Pick Up My Comic-Con Badge?
If you registered in advance, Comic-Con badges will be shipped 3–4 weeks before the event. If yours doesn’t arrive, you can pick it up at the Sails Pavilion inside the convention center starting July 22. Bring a valid photo ID and your badge confirmation email.
Can I Still Get Tickets to San Diego Comic-Con 2025?
Badges for Comic-Con 2025 are sold out. To increase your chances next year, register for Comic-Con 2026 on the official website. Open registration begins in November. Mark your calendar and hit that refresh button like you’re the Flash.
How to Get to San Diego Comic-Con?
If you have wings or a cape, getting there is a breeze. If not, transportation might be your kryptonite. Parking downtown is limited, and ride-sharing is strongly recommended. Starting Wednesday, July 23, a complimentary Comic-Con shuttle will run every 15–30 minutes with stops in Mission Valley, downtown, and hotel zones near the airport on Shelter and Harbor Islands.
There are plenty of food and drink vendors inside the convention center. Badge holders can also access the Comic-Con Hospitality Suite at the Marriott Marquis, open 2 p.m.–midnight, Thursday through Saturday. It offers free snacks and an air-conditioned break from the crowds.
What Are the Biggest Events Happening Outside of Comic-Con?
If you missed out on a 2025 badge, there is plenty of fun outside of the convention halls.
This year Paramount+ returns with The Lodge, an immersive activation inviting fans to nerd out with exclusive content in the Gaslamp Quarter. Anime enthusiasts can dive into the Crunchyroll Anime Fan Fest at The Rady Shell, featuring guest panels, limited-edition merch, and interactive installations. Don’t miss the Malibu Barbie Café, transforming Bayside Kitchen & Bar into a sun-soaked, retro-glam pop-up from July 11 through Comic-Con weekend.
Cole Novak is an award-winning writer with a passion for highlighting local figures, small businesses, and nonprofits. Born and raised in San Diego, Cole is passionate about photography, surfing, art, the local food scene, and the great outdoors.
Implementing a farm-to-table model hardly deserves acknowledgement these days. It’s not a stretch. It’s not innovative. “It’s the bare f**king minimum,” says Herb & Sea‘s executive chef Aidan Owens.
When I arrive at the Encinitas restaurant, I’m ready to talk sustainability, farm-to-table stuff, with Owens. “Did you see the chin on that?” he says of the extra big jiggly chin on the sheephead that just arrived with the day’s fresh catch. I did. It was Jay Leno adjacent.
I learn quickly that he somehow oozes both charm and stone-cold honesty. Maybe he could construct a new dish with chin goo, like he did when he had a bunch of tuna scraps and voila’d it into a smooth and crowd-pleasing ‘nduja. “I want to know what’s in there,” he says.
Courtesy of Herb & Sea
The instinct to look closer, to dig into what others might discard, says a lot about the chef’s approach. I guide him back to our topic, but he has something else on his mind. “We’re overcomplicating food—what happened to just cooking good food and having fun with it?”
Owens grew up on a farm in Byron Bay, Australia, where sustainability wasn’t a concept you chat about so much as a way of life. Think dirt roads, backyard chickens, pulling vegetables straight from the ground, and a mother who believed that if you couldn’t pronounce the ingredients on a package, you shouldn’t eat what was inside.
Food wasn’t precious or performative. Making it was what you did because you were hungry and that’s still what inspires Owens today. “I like to cook good food because I like to eat good food,” he says.
His approach to sustainability at Herb & Sea began so naturally that it felt just like instinct. “I was just like, ‘Let’s order food from the people who live and work here,’” he says.
Courtesy of Herb & Sea
And why wouldn’t he when lives in San Diego? Cities all over the world vie for our goods. Our tuna is sent overseas. Our spiny lobsters hit dinner plates in China and Japan. Not to mention California’s producing a third of the country’s vegetables and three-quarters of its fruits and nuts.
“Why would we outsource when it’s all here?” Owens asks.
Sustainability, in this context, is about cooking what exists in abundance, nearby, right now. “I love the local fish here. It’s f**king delicious and San Diego citrus, I mean, it is so f**ing good,” he says.
Instead of importing ingredients, Owens also looks for nearby alternatives. “You can find really cool things in the local waters,” he says, pointing out that stingray cheeks taste similar to scallops.
Courtesy of Herb & Sea
Whatever he finds in that sheephead chin might just be the next substitute for marrow. But to make this work, it means getting diners amped up about the slightly unfamiliar.
Tasting menus, where diners are completely in his hands, become an opportunity to gently push boundaries. “I’ll serve mackerel, because people think they hate it,” Owens says, noting that the abundant local fish can have some fishiness. “But when it’s fresh, it’s arguably one of the best fish in the ocean.”
He also tweaks the language on the menu so people might feel more compelled to give dishes a try without preconceived notions. He might use “lengua” instead of “tongue.” “Whelk” instead of “snail.” When he puts “stingray throat” on the menu, he disarmingly calls it “skate.”
To reduce waste, scraps aren’t always discarded but rather turned into something new. Sometimes they’re smoked, cured or fermented. Apples going bad turn into apple ponzu. Lemons turn to marmalade, which stretches their usefulness far beyond peak season. “And it’s super tasty on our pizza,” he says.
What makes the food even richer, is the relationships he’s built with farmers. Though it didn’t always feel natural, Owens sought personal connection first. He recalls approaching a fisherman at the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market. “I was awkward,” he says. “I went up to him and said, ‘I like your fish.’”
Owen’s is now so close to his suppliers—like fishermen Ryan Sebo and Joe Daly—that he gets texted pictures of fresh catches right as they flop on the boat. The messages always ask if he wants first dibs. “I say yes to a lot of fish,” Owens says, noting that Herb & Sea can go through 2,000 pounds of seafood a week.
Courtesy of Herb & Sea
The next evolution of sustainability, in his view, will be chefs working directly with producers such as his alliance with Sebo, cutting out middlemen and purveyors where possible. “It will put more money in the pockets of the people doing the work,” he says.
It will mean that chefs can’t just know their local farmers and producers, but they’ll choose to work with the ones who have the best practices. Dining and sustainability will become much less about the final plate. “It will be more about the impact that plate has on the Earth,” he says.
Ultimately, he believes sustainability doesn’t need to be loud. It doesn’t need hashtags. It just needs to be honest.
“We aren’t saving lives. We’re feeding people good food,” he says.
And yet, in feeding people well—simply, thoughtfully, responsibly—something meaningful happens. Guests leave satisfied. Ingredients are respected. Local ecosystems are supported and food returns to what it has always been at its core: nourishment, pleasure, and a quiet reflection of the place it comes from.
Whether you’re sourcing stocking stuffers for your loved ones or searching for a white elephant gift the whole office will want to steal, a good gift is hard to find. So we rounded up dozens of locally sourced and national products to help you check off everyone on your list this holiday season. Welcome to America’s finest holiday gift guide, curated by our in-the-know editors.
Local brand Corridor Candle Co. pours the smells of San Diego into local landmark–inspired candles that actually last. The brand’s festive holiday-only scent, December Nights, adds lemon, amber, and moss notes to fir and cypress to make that classic Christmas tree aroma sexier.
Courtesy of Hardworking Gentleman
Hardworking Gentlemen Daily Face Duo – $30–40
Shop Moniker
Get the hardworking gentleman in your life a much-needed skincare set from an Encinitas-based brand. A great pick for teen boys new to self-care, the duo (DIYable at Liberty Station outpost Shop Moniker) contains a face wash and moisturizer infused with aloe and coconut and tea tree oils, clearing complexions without obliterating moisture barriers.
Courtesy of Scisters Salon
Element Shea Butter Lotion – $12
Scisters Salon
Element’s shea butter lotion provides enduring hydration ideal for San Diego’s notoriously warm, dry climate. Free of animal products, gluten, paraben, and fragrance, the vitamin E–packed product is friendly to sensitive skin, though those craving a little aromatherapy can mix in an essential oil of their choice.
Courtesy of Morrow Soft Goods
Honey Gingham Sleepwear Set – $200
Morrow Soft Goods
Subtly hint to a lover or roommate that it’s time to let go of that holey college t-shirt they wear to bed by gifting them these lightweight French-linen jammies. Sustainably minded brand Morrow adds bamboo-derived rayon to their gingham sleepwear set to balance linen’s slight natural stiffness and ensure the fabric is soft from the very first sleep.
Courtesy of Gold Leaf
Alaia Robe – $148
Gold Leaf
The Ritz Carlton of robes. If you listen closely as you enshroud yourself in organic Turkish cotton, you can hear the wheels of a room service cart headed to your penthouse suite. The Alaia robe is both lightweight and cozy, perfect for a night of hot chocolate, snuggling, and holiday movies.
Courtesy of Esquina Wine Shop
Abbondanza Montepulciano d’Abruzzo – $20
Esquina Wine Shop
This sessionable, chillable organic red offers an approachable foray into low-intervention wines, making it a fab hostess gift for both kinds of pals: the one who’s hosting a vegan, gluten-free holiday potluck and the one who will serve beenie weenies at the white elephant exchange.
Courtesy of Home Ec
Art School Dropout Infused Glass coaster – $20
Home Ec
Checker-print is one of the biggest home trends of the last few years—but gifting a pal an area rug can feel a bit presumptuous. Instead, offer a small dose of stylish squares with these handmade coasters from local small biz Art School Dropout.
Courtesy of Maya Moon Co
Chakra Chocolate Truffles Gift Box – $25
Maya Moon Collective
Eating chocolate already feels like a spiritual experience. Snacking on this box of seven truffles can be a literal one—every box includes a link to guided meditation to complete while trying each flavor.
Courtesy of Home Ec
Black Slip Babes Crab Plate – $28
Home Ec
About 10,000 stitches behind on your plan to knit everyone scarves for the holidays? Go the handmade route without the finger cramps at Little Italy outpost Home Ec, which vends one-of-a-kind, artisan creations like this funky Black Slip Babes Crab plate from local artist Kim Nguyen.
Photo Credit: Becka Vance Photography
Movie Night Snack Basket – Prices Vary
The Mighty Bin
Treat your favorite film buff to an earth-friendly movie night snack basket: jars of sweet and savory eats from the bulk bins at zero-waste North Park shop The Mighty Bin. We recommend grabbing popcorn, garlic powder, gummy mix, and carob-covered almonds.
Courtesy of Upton
Hersham Print – $185
Upton Home
Vista artist Mike Upton designed for breakout local brand Brixton before launching Upton Home with his wife Mariel. Rendered in soothing neutrals and soft colors, their big canvas prints (equipped with eyelets for quick hanging) match almost any décor.
Courtesy of The Surfer’s Journal
Surfer Magazine, 1960–2020 by Grant Ellis – $55
Surfer Magazine
Informed by his 17 years as Surfer Magazine‘s photo editor, North County resident and surf photographer Grant Ellis traces the publication’s sixty years of history in this coffee table tome featuring breathtaking shots of the world’s best surfers riding breaks in California, Hawaii, and other spectacular spots.
Amelia Rodriguez is a writer and journalist and winner of the San Diego Press Club's 2023 Rising Star Award and 2024 Best of Show Award, she’s also covered music, food, arts and culture, fashion, and design for Rolling Stone, Palm Springs Life, and other national and regional publications. After work, you can find her hunting down San Diego’s best pastries and maintaining her five-year Duolingo streak.
20 Fun Indoor Activities to Try When it Rains in San Diego
Escape the rain, cold weather, and gloomy days with these indoor activities
For many San Diegans, a rainy day is the perfect excuse to cozy up indoors, get wrapped up in blankets, and order Mexican takeout while binge watching The Food Network. With an average of less than 12 inches of precipitation each year though, rain seems to induce a sort of hysteria around town especially when news of a tropical storm spreads.
Let’s be honest—we forget how to drive, everyone cancels plans, and many we treat it as a sort of a Southern California snow day preferring to hunker indoors. But before you settle into your bed to enjoy your raincheck, consider these indoor activities to cure your rainy day blues in San Diego.
Courtesy of Tavern+Bowl
Bowl a Strike at East Village Tavern + Bowl
Bowling is the perfect rainy day activity, and alleys across San Diego are few and far between, with the exception of Tavern + Bowl. Located in the heart of East Village, Tavern + Bowl offers 12 bowling lanes, a menu filled with pub favorites, and late hours on weekdays, making it an ideal spot to stay dry (and I’m not just talking about the hand dryers on each lane). Reserve your lane in advance for larger groups and busy weekends; otherwise, their standard hourly bowling rate starts at $30/hr.
930 Market St, East Village
Pottery Workshop at the Mudd House
Get centered and create your own clay masterpiece, whether it’s mugs, bowls, vases, or even a hand-built sculpture. The Mudd House in Encinitas provides potters of all levels with a state-of-the-art facility to test your throwing, sculpting, and glazing skills. They offer a variety of DIY throwing on the wheel (starting at $40 per 90 minutes), private lessons ($150), and throwing classes.
810 N Coast Hwy 101 Suite C, Encinitas
Courtesy of Balboa Park
Explore the Balboa Museums
What better way to spend a rainy day than exploring the 17 Balboa Park museums open to the public including their latest addition, the Comic-Con Museum. San Diego residents can enjoy a unique set of museums for free each Tuesday, including the Fleet Science Center, Natural History Museum, Model Railroad Museum, Air & Space Museum, Veterans Museum, San Diego Museum of Art, Japanese Friendship Garden, Mingei International Museum, The Old Globe, and the Automotive Museum. Check the full resident free days here.
1350 El Prado, Downtown
Photo Credit: Luis Garcia
Drinks and Bites at Liberty Station Market
Find shelter from the downpour and take refuge in a variety of the best local restaurants, craft breweries, wine, and treats all under one roof. The seven-days-a-week market offers a little bit of everything: try a Hawaiian food platter from Chris’ Ono, pastries from Parfait Paris, fresh seafood from Wicked Maine Lobster, drinks from Bottlecraft, and treats from the Mini Donut Company. Liberty Station Public Market is open daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
2820 Historic Decatur Rd, Point Loma
Courtesy of Plunge San Diego
Make a Splash at The Plunge
A day at the pool isn’t just for summer. At Plunge San Diego, both parents and children can make a splash, practice their backstroke in the lap pool, and relax in heated pools from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. 7 days a week, rain or shine. Consider bringing the whole family (of 4) for an $80 day pass, which includes unlimited laps around the pool, time in the sauna, and ample time for your kids to beat their record on the floating obstacle course.
3115 Ocean Front Walk, Mission Beach
Courtesy of Vertical Hold
Indoor Climbing at Vertical Hold
Chalk up your wet hands and get a grip on some of the best indoor climbing walls in San Diego. Vertical Hold is the perfect place to work on your grip strength with their selection of top rope, bouldering, auto belay, and lead climbing walls. If the crags are calling your name, the climbing gym also offers a yoga studio with classes, free weights, and a slackline to hone your balance.
Locations in Poway, San Marcos, and San Diego
Courtesy of The Hive San Diego
Karaoke at The Hive
End your night of savoring Convoy’s excellent cuisine by belting out your favorite ballads at The Hive. Thankfully, for those still working on their high notes, the Hive offers private karaoke rooms starting at $45 per hour. If singing isn’t your jam, the hangout also offers classic Korean bites and a bar menu full of beer and soju cocktails.
4428 Convoy St Jury Classroom / Gallery, Kearny Mesa
Courtesy of Brainy Actz
Rage Room at Brainy Actz
Had a long day at work, stuck in traffic for hours, or really need some catharsis from the rat race? Head on down to Brainy Actz for some stress relief in the form of a rage room for $42.95 per 20 minutes of smashing. Brainy Actz’ eclectic mix of activities also includes escape rooms, a splatter paint room, and a game show experience.
10211 Pacific Mesa Blvd Suite #409, Sorrento Valley
Torch Heroes: Why San Diego’s Most Trusted Businesses Win by Doing the Right Thing
In a world overflowing with shortcuts, marketing fluff, and “good enough,” there are still companies that choose a different answer. And in San Diego, there are plenty of them.
In a world overflowing with shortcuts, marketing fluff, and “good enough,” there are still companies that choose a different answer.
Integrity guides how they show up every day. They make hard decisions, hold themselves accountable, and build trust the old-fashioned way, one action at a time. At the Better Business Bureau, we call these businesses Torch Heroes: leaders who demonstrate that ethical leadership strengthens businesses and drives long-term success.
And in San Diego, there are plenty of them.
Take House Collective Marketing Solutions, a Carlsbad-based digital agency that won the 2025 Torch Award for Ethics for its people-first approach to marketing. Instead of pushing flashy campaigns, the team often takes a step back to make sure clients’ foundations are strong before going big. Their philosophy? Truth over transaction builds partnerships that last.
Or look at Young Black & N’ Business, where integrity shows up through community action. When a local school lost art funding, founder Roosevelt Williams III and his team stepped in with workshops, mentorship, and hands-on support to help restore creative opportunity. That kind of engagement reflects ethical leadership rooted in real impact.
And in Vista, Lotus Sustainables carried its commitment to ethics all the way to the product line. After discovering defects in a shipment of eco-friendly products, the company issued full refunds and redesigned its offerings at its own expense, a choice that shaped its identity and reinforced to customers that ethics guide every decision.
In North County, Greenway Landscape Design & Build brings integrity into everyday service. When a client’s glass was damaged, likely not by their crew, owner Scott Lawn chose responsibility over blame and covered the repair personally. For Greenway, doing the right thing serves as a north star, guiding every interaction through transparent pricing, accountable partnerships, proactive communication, and follow-through long after the job is done.
Other honorees include At Your Home Familycare, whose leadership turned down a lucrative state contract during the pandemic to protect vulnerable clients and staff, and Bill Howe Family of Companies, where hiring practices, training, and service centers around shared values, every day, on every call.
What connects these diverse businesses, from marketing to nonprofit support to home services, isn’t size, industry, or revenue. It’s something deeper: a commitment to trust as a business strategy.
In San Diego’s competitive marketplace, that trust gives companies an edge. Clients invest in relationships. They refer friends. They stay loyal when others fade.
As one Torch Award winner puts it, integrity isn’t a section in the employee handbook. It’s the operating system of the company, the invisible code that determines every choice, every day.
And that’s exactly the point of the BBB Torch Awards for Ethics: to spotlight companies that dispel the myth that ethics and success are at odds. These businesses show that when leaders choose honesty, fairness, and accountability, especially when it’s hard, they build brands that matter.
At BBB, we see nominations come in from clients, employees, and business partners who have witnessed ethical leadership up close. These submissions aren’t polished promotions. They’re stories of moments when a company chose people over profit, clarity over confusion, and trust over convenience.
The nomination window for the 2026 Torch Awards for Ethics is open through March 31, 2026, and there are more Torch Heroes waiting to be recognized.
Who comes to mind in San Diego’s business community?
A vendor who always delivers — and always explains why.
A competitor who chooses the high road even when shortcuts tempt.
A team within your own company whose day-in, day-out choices reflect deep character.
And yes, businesses can nominate themselves. We encourage it. If you’ve built your business on principles rather than buzzwords, we want to hear your story.
Because in a world full of noise, integrity still deserves the spotlight, and San Diego is full of stories worth telling. Nominate your hero now.
