Red O, an elevated Mexican restaurant that had celebrity chef Rick Bayless as its culinary director when it opened in the UTC area nearly a decade ago, will be closing its doors in April.
According to a required layoff notice the restaurant sent to the state Employment Development Department this month, it will be letting go its entire staff of 91 employees and permanently closing its La Jolla area restaurant due to the expiration of its lease.
“Unfortunately, as a result, all employees in all positions at the La Jolla restaurant will be subject to layoff effective Monday, April 20, 2026. This layoff will be permanent and Red O does not anticipate recalling affected employees,” the notice said.
April 20 is also when the restaurant is expected to cease operation, Red O restaurant manager Kathryn Johnson said Thursday.
The non-renewal of the restaurant lease coincides with plans by Red O’s landlord, the Irvine Co., to redo the western portion of The Plaza campus where the restaurant is also located. Construction, which involves tearing down two, 1980s-era office buildings to make room for hundreds of apartments, is expected to start this spring. The real estate firm has previously said that construction of the new buildings could take three years to complete.
A spokesperson for the Irvine Co. declined to comment on the closing of Red O.
Located opposite the Westfield UTC mall, The Plaza is a 17-acre office campus of low- and high-rise towers situated in a parklike setting. It also includes the Red O restaurant, which opened in 2017, taking the place of the former Donovan’s Prime Steakhouse.
Well-known Chicago chef Rick Bayless, while not technically a co-owner or partner in the Red O restaurants, was a culinary consultant and menu designer for the dining venues and continues to assist Red O on training and mentoring its team of chefs. Other Red O locations are in Newport Beach, Santa Monica and Westlake Village.
When it was first announced in 2014 that the restaurant would be coming to San Diego, Red O and the Irvine Co. were expecting to invest $7 million in creating the new 8,300-square-foot dining venue.
Red O’s ownership acknowledged Thursday that the Irvine Co.’s redevelopment plans were the reason behind the lease not being renewed.
“After nine incredible years in La Jolla, our lease will not be renewed, and as a result, we are faced with the difficult decision to close this chapter,” said Red O owner and CEO Rick Teasta. “We are deeply grateful to the community for its unwavering support and extend our heartfelt thanks to our dedicated employees, valued investors, and trusted vendor partners who have been part of this journey. We look forward to continuing to welcome our guests at our other Red O locations.”
In the near term, it does not appear that Red O will be scouting future restaurant locations in San Diego. While the restaurant group has plans to continue growing, Red O marketing director Ashleigh Wiehl said Thursday there are no specific locations that have been identified, and she did not say whether San Diego is a part of those future plans.
Johnson, who has worked at the UTC location for the last eight years, said she knows of no plans at this time to bring another Red O restaurant to San Diego.
“It’s definitely disappointing,” she said. “We had no choice because they (the Irvine Co.) are not building restaurants on this side, so it was out of our control.”