Madison on Park, the University Heights restaurant known for its arched cedar ceiling and geometric interior, will close its doors from September 7 until October 2026 for a top-to-bottom renovation and concept rebrand. The overhaul will bring a new moody mid-century maximalist design, an updated menu of shareable plates, and an expanded cocktail and mocktail program, all timed to reopen before the busy holiday season.
Co-owner Jeff Fink told San Diego Magazine that the restaurant, located at 4622 Park Boulevard, needs to account for cultural changes since it first opened. Fink described the atmosphere he wants for the redesigned space as intimate, sexy, and immersive, according to the same report. The new look will include more artwork and uplighting layered into the restaurant's existing bones, though a name for the reimagined concept has not yet been selected.
From Lei Lounge to Award-Winning Redesign
Madison on Park occupies a space that previously housed the Asian-fusion venue Lei Lounge until late 2015, according to San Diego Magazine's own coverage from that year. When it debuted, the restaurant transformed that space into a mid-century modern interior designed by husband-and-wife architecture team Anna and David Sindelar, and the result earned Madison on Park an Orchid Award for Interior Design in its first year, recognizing its signature vaulted cedar ceiling and geometric layout, per the San Diego Architectural Foundation and Venue Report.
Fink is a longtime San Diego attorney who previously operated the record store M-Theory Music and managed downtown nightclub FLUXX, according to SanDiegoVille. His partner in Madison on Park, Matt Sieve, comes from a different hospitality lineage entirely: Sieve is a third-generation restaurateur whose family has run the 100-year-old Travelers Inn Restaurant in Alexandria, Minnesota, since 1926, and he worked the griddle there in his youth, according to The SceneSD. That Midwestern upbringing is now shaping the pair's next project.
A Midwestern Diner Named Josie's
Fink and Sieve plan to open Josie's, a modern all-day Midwestern-style diner, in October 2026, drawing inspiration from Sieve's Minnesota roots. The new menu at Madison on Park itself will lean toward smaller, healthier plates, with Fink saying he prefers roughly 15 menu items priced below $20 each. Chef Mario Cassineri developed a menu combining Mediterranean flavors with California classics, with Fink noting the dishes also draw on his own recent family travels in Spain.
On the drink side, Danny Kuehner will continue developing craft cocktails and mocktails for Madison on Park while also curating a selection of European and locally sourced wine. That expanded non-alcoholic focus mirrors what's happening at the group's nearby pizzeria, where Sonny's Pizza already pours a cocktail menu that's about half spritzes, mocktails, and negronis. It also fits a broader shift across San Diego's dining scene, where dedicated alcohol-free venues like Hillcrest's Good News and expanded zero-proof menus have taken hold in 2025 and 2026, according to Axios.
A Growing University Heights Footprint
Fink and Sieve already operate Sonny's Pizza in University Heights, which opened in May 2025 at 1728 Madison Avenue inside a 3,500-square-foot, century-old former auto repair building that once housed San Diego trolley cars, according to the Times of San Diego. The pizzeria runs a 600-degree gas-and-wood combination oven imported from Verona, Italy, and serves 12-inch hybrid Neapolitan-New York style pies inside a space decorated with 1980s Brooklyn-inspired decor, per Eater San Diego.
The duo also operates Madi, their daytime brunch concept, in Normal Heights, where it debuted at 3737 Adams Avenue in August 2022 inside a building formerly occupied by South American restaurant Pachamama, according to SanDiegoVille. They expanded that concept further in September 2025 with a second Madi location at 910 Grand Avenue in Pacific Beach, taking over a former Rubio's site, per the Times of San Diego. Anna and David Sindelar, who previously served as creative directors for FLUXX Nightclub, have designed the interiors across the group's University Heights and Normal Heights properties, giving Fink and Sieve's growing portfolio a consistent architectural identity even as each concept takes on its own personality.
