San Diego Restaurant Jobs: What Gives (Fresno, Newport Beach: lease, condo, mortgage)

[Cardiff Kook]

Yea I would seriously try scaling down your resume as crazy as that may sound....SD is really not that kind of place..

Originally Posted by Cryptic

Maybe tailor your resume not to reflect Michelins level employment? I really feel bad for you. I am very proud of San Diego and wish there were ready opportunities there for you.

As a side note, there is a ferry that connects Shelter Island (restaraunt area) to Coronado Island. If I remember right, it docked close to one of the flag ship hotels / resorts with an old money fine dining restaraunt. If you can get on there, this would allow trolley to ferry travel and the ability to avoid the bridge.

Yeah at this point I'm open for anything. I filled out one app in Coronado & know of Shelter Island but haven't been that far yet

[Kid Ashbury]

OP ignore all the naysayers and "you have to know someone" folks with their defeatist attitudes. My little brother moved to San Diego in January and landed a great high-end restaurant job in a matter of 3 weeks. He had 6+ years experience in decent restaurants in vegas (nothing with Michelin-rated chefs, mind you) but hadn't worked in a restaurant in 2+ years. Didn't matter. He followed directions when applying, had a solid resume, showed up dressed to impress, and was charming, honest and polite in his interviews. He got offered all 3 jobs he interviewed for (including one at NOBU in downtown SD, which is a legit 6-figure a year job) but ultimately went with a job at Whisknladle in La Jolla.

He knew no one. He didn't have any recent restaurant experience. He had just moved to California. But he came with a good attitude and more importantly, started approaching the places he wanted to work.

I have no doubt you'll meet with the same kind of success if you keep at it.

[sdurbanite]

Some legitimate responses here so far. My suggestion is to create 2 resumes for your application process. One would be more high end and the other would be more dumb downed. Unlike NYC, Las Vegas, Chicago or San Francisco, SD isn't the best place for a career in high end food service.

For upscale, have you looked at the 2015 Forbe's list yet? There are 3 SD restaurants mentioned - AR Valentien, Veladora and Vivace. Addison was the only 5 star restaurant in the area for years but it seems to have disappeared completely from the list.

The 2015 Forbes Travel Guide Star Award Winners - Forbes Travel Guide Blog.

Other upscale places I can think of off the top of my head are Market, Mille Fleurs, Pamplemousse, Nine-Ten, George's at the Cove, Water Grill and Bertrand at Mr. A's. A good source to follow new restaurant openings is the food news section in San Diego Magazine. A new French restaurant just opened in La Jolla, so you might want to check it out.

San Diego Food News - News and Notes from Troy Johnson - San Diego Magazine Blogs

Of course you can go for the "It" places, too......Ironside, Kettner Exchange, Bracero, Catania, Juniper & Ivy to name a few.

Don't give up after just 2.5 weeks, though. Just know that SD attracts people like you all the time and that makes for plenty of competition. Keep us posted and good luck.

[sdurbanite]

Originally Posted by Cryptic

I have heard that San Diego is experiencing a local recession. When I lived there, the Gas Lamp district had a hot and very tony dining scene where the service was always impeccable and the staff made very good money. When I visited last month, the scene had cooled considerably.

The worst of the recession is over. SD's unemployment rate is the lowest it's been since 2007. Little Italy is where the good restaurants are going these days. The Gaslamp is still where the mediocre stuff goes. Without a doubt, the dining scene in SD is much better now than just 3 years ago.

[sdurbanite]

Originally Posted by RosieSD

Sadly, the downtown homeless situation has just gotten worse over the years since the recession. I think that is why many downtown retail/restaurant establishments struggle.

I think it has to do more with downtown gentrification moving east. I was at an event at the library the other night and parked east of the trolley tracks. It was just blocks and blocks of homeless sleeping on the sidewalks. And that 45 story tower you mentioned in East Village is going to have a twin that will break ground soon. Talk about a pioneering development?

I'm not sure where the homeless will go next?

[elchevere]

Send me a private message--I can put you in contact with a couple of GM's at high end restaurants downtown and in Rancho Santa Fe. Just contact--rest is up to you.

[Cryptic]

Originally Posted by sdurbanite

The worst of the recession is over. SD's unemployment rate is the lowest it's been since 2007. Little Italy is where the good restaurants are going these days. The Gaslamp is still where the mediocre stuff goes. Without a doubt, the dining scene in SD is much better now than just 3 years ago.

Thanks for the good information and good news. Come to think of it, I did see some attractive looking Italian restaraunts there after I toured the Star of India and the submarines. I wish I had went there instead of the gas lamp.

Originally Posted by sdurbanite

Other upscale places I can think of off the top of my head are Market, Mille Fleurs, Pamplemousse, Nine-Ten, George's at the Cove, Water Grill and Bertrand at Mr. A's.

As an amateur chef, I remember some of those names from when I lived in San Diego (not that I have ever been to them). It is good to hear that they are still there.

Originally Posted by Kid Ashbury

OP ignore all the naysayers and "you have to know someone" folks with their defeatist attitudes. My little brother moved to San Diego in January and landed a great high-end restaurant job in a matter of 3 weeks. He had 6+ years experience in decent restaurants in vegas (nothing with Michelin-rated chefs, mind you) but hadn't worked in a restaurant in 2+ years. Didn't matter. He followed directions when applying, had a solid resume, showed up dressed to impress, and was charming, honest and polite in his interviews. He got offered all 3 jobs he interviewed for (including one at NOBU in downtown SD, which is a legit 6-figure a year job) but ultimately went with a job at Whisknladle in La Jolla.

He knew no one. He didn't have any recent restaurant experience. He had just moved to California. But he came with a good attitude and more importantly, started approaching the places he wanted to work.

I have no doubt you'll meet with the same kind of success if you keep at it.

I appreciate the words, and congrats to your little brother!

How did he do it—did he go on foot, or online? I applied to Nobu a month ago online, so that ship probably done sailed...or maybe not...I would go in, but I am leery of applying in person when the online option is available. That might be the New York in me, as I got nothing but no's when I first came to NY & walked into places. I later learned that is not how its done there. You just wait for craigslist or fill out online. Walk-ins are basically ignored.

Originally Posted by sdurbanite

Some legitimate responses here so far. My suggestion is to create 2 resumes for your application process. One would be more high end and the other would be more dumb downed. Unlike NYC, Las Vegas, Chicago or San Francisco, SD isn't the best place for a career in high end food service.

For upscale, have you looked at the 2015 Forbe's list yet? There are 3 SD restaurants mentioned - AR Valentien, Veladora and Vivace. Addison was the only 5 star restaurant in the area for years but it seems to have disappeared completely from the list.

The 2015 Forbes Travel Guide Star Award Winners - Forbes Travel Guide Blog.

Other upscale places I can think of off the top of my head are Market, Mille Fleurs, Pamplemousse, Nine-Ten, George's at the Cove, Water Grill and Bertrand at Mr. A's. A good source to follow new restaurant openings is the food news section in San Diego Magazine. A new French restaurant just opened in La Jolla, so you might want to check it out.

San Diego Food News - News and Notes from Troy Johnson - San Diego Magazine Blogs

Of course you can go for the "It" places, too......Ironside, Kettner Exchange, Bracero, Catania, Juniper & Ivy to name a few.

Don't give up after just 2.5 weeks, though. Just know that SD attracts people like you all the time and that makes for plenty of competition. Keep us posted and good luck.

Thanks for the encouragement.

I hate to think about giving up, and I do want to be clear.... its not the lack of a job that is getting me thinking about leaving—its the lack of even a callback from restaurants I know for a fact are hiring beause they posted an ad.

I'm 0/43 on callbacks and I guarantee my résumé is better than almost anyone who has applied.

My attitude is basically if I can't get a job at a Cheesecake Factory, when I know they're hiring, how the hell else is something better supposed to happen? It is becoming clear that there is something that these places are looking for when they read resumes. Whatever that "something" is, I don't know. I do know that my resume doesnt have it.

And yes, I know San Diego is a competitive market; that's very clear. Still, every market I've worked in has been competitive. And while I don't obviously get hired everywhere, I at minimum get an interview.

It all leads back to: perhaps the reality of the situation is that there is nothing I can do. I like SD, but what am I supposed to do, go back east, find another Michelin restaurant, come back to SD after a year, and basically say "I got another star, now will you hire me? Please?"

I like SD, but not that much!