After years of on-again, off-again plans, Hillstone Restaurant Group is finally making a move in Del Mar. The company is preparing to bring its Honor Bar concept to 1404 Camino del Mar, the longtime home of Bully’s North. Construction crews are on site and the team is aiming for an opening in the first half of 2026, which would mark Hillstone’s cocktail-and-sandwich format debut in San Diego County. The new build replaces the long-vacant Bully’s footprint and is planned with underground parking and an interior geared toward casual dining and take-home service.
As reported by What Now, the Del Mar project appears to have shifted away from the previously discussed Gulfstream seafood concept in favor of Hillstone’s smaller Honor Bar brand, which leans into shareable plates, sandwiches and cocktails. What Now also lists the site address and notes the company’s target opening timeline.
Long timeline, changing concepts
Hillstone’s efforts at the downtown Del Mar corner date back to at least 2017, when the company first presented designs for the former Bully’s North property, according to SanDiegoVille. Since then, the proposal has been reworked multiple times, moving from an R+D Kitchen idea to a Gulfstream and now to Honor Bar, amid city review and pandemic-era delays that left the lot a conspicuous gap in the village. Neighbors have repeatedly raised concerns over design, parking and traffic as each iteration moved through the process.
What Honor Bar means here
Honor Bar is one of several restaurant concepts in Hillstone’s portfolio and is built around a compact, bar-forward menu of snacks, sandwiches and classic cocktails, per Hillstone. The group, founded in 1977 by George Biel, operates multiple brands nationwide, and the Del Mar outpost would be its first restaurant inside San Diego County. The Honor Bar format typically favors cozy, low-lit interiors and tight menus that work for walk-in guests and quick take-home orders, a setup that could fit neatly into Del Mar’s village rhythm.
Construction and neighborhood impact
City notices show intermittent lane and sidewalk closures are permitted for crane and heavy-construction work at 1404 Camino del Mar, with encroachment approvals required to protect pedestrians and traffic, according to the City of Del Mar. The city’s construction advisories state that nearby businesses will remain accessible during closures and require contractors to give advance notice before any disruptions. Underground parking in the new design is explicitly intended to ease street-level congestion, though circulation near Del Mar Plaza is expected to be watched closely as the project moves toward completion.
What’s next
Hillstone has not released a firm opening date, but local coverage places the debut in the first half of 2026, and What Now reports the company is targeting that general timeframe. As construction continues, look for future permit updates and any Hillstone or Honor Bar announcements on hiring, menu details and a confirmed opening day.
