After nearly 12 years of pouring wine and packing in locals, Del Mar’s CUCINA enoteca is set to close its Flower Hill Promenade spot, the latest casualty in a growing wave of San Diego restaurant shutdowns.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that the restaurant’s operator pointed to rising lease costs paired with softer post-pandemic sales as the deciding factors behind the move. The San Diego Union-Tribune noted that the closure hits a high-profile concept from longtime local restaurateur Tracy Borkum.
Video coverage from Thursday put the closure in a broader context of local restaurant losses. CBS 8 highlighted that the Del Mar location had been operating for nearly 12 years and framed the shutdown as part of a noticeable uptick in San Diego restaurant exits.
Where It Sat
The Del Mar outpost occupied a two-story space at Flower Hill Promenade that combined a restaurant with a retail wine shop. Urban Kitchen Group, which operates the Cucina concepts, still lists the Del Mar restaurant among its portfolio locations.
Industry Pressure Behind Closures
Across the region, owners and industry watchers have been sounding the alarm about a familiar trio of problems: rising rents, higher labor and food costs, and more cautious consumer spending. Those pressures have not been limited to San Diego.
National coverage has documented just how rough the past year has been. The Los Angeles Times tallied more than 100 restaurant closures in Los Angeles in 2025 alone, outlining how mounting operating costs have squeezed operators across Southern California.
What Comes Next
For now, there is no official word on who might take over the Del Mar space or the exact date the doors will close to the public. Urban Kitchen Group continues to run other Cucina locations in the region and has previously reshaped concepts as market conditions shifted, so regulars may not have seen the last of the brand, just this particular outpost.
Details on timing, staffing impacts and any future plans for the Flower Hill spot have yet to be announced. We will update this story as more information becomes available. For now, the looming shutdown closes another chapter in Del Mar’s evolving stretch of restaurant row.
