Liberty Station's Empty Corners Are Filling In, and Not All at Once

"There are a lot of people in San Diego who really love steaks, but they can't afford it," Roger Cañez told San Diego Magazine this spring, explaining the idea behind the restaurant he opened with childhood friend Tomas Gomez at Liberty Station.

That line describes more than one steakhouse. Three projects at Liberty Station have a lot in common. One just opened, one is due this fall, and one is still waiting on a lease. Each is moving into a building that already had a history, whether as a restaurant that closed or as Navy housing that has sat mostly vacant for years. Each is also being pitched as a place for regular visits, for families, picnics and weeknight dinners, rather than a destination for special occasions only. The Liberty Station taking shape over the next two years looks built for repeat visits from people who live nearby.

A Steakhouse Priced for a Weeknight

Grandson Steaks sits at 2690 Historic Decatur Road. Eater San Diego's October 1, 2026 roundup of new restaurants describes it as an all-day Sonoran steakhouse and butcher shop, and it's the only Point Loma entry on that list.

The space was Wildflour until this year. SanDiegoVille reported on March 12, 2026 that Wildflour had gone dark. Chef Phillip Esteban described the closure as a pause for renovations tied to a new partnership with the incoming steakhouse team. By April 13, San Diego Magazine was reporting Grandson as open in the former Wildflour space. Axios San Diego also put the opening in April.

The handoff took about a month, which is quick by restaurant standards. The format is the important part. A butcher counter that's open all day draws people in at lunch, on the way home, or for a weekend grocery run. A dinner-only steakhouse doesn't get those visits.

The Perry Road Corner Has Had Three Tenants

The second space has a longer story, and the dates matter. It's 2885 Perry Road, Suite 102, and it has gone through several concepts since Liberty Station's dining scene filled in during the late 2010s.

When SanDiegoVille reported Go Go Amigo's closure in January 2024, it said founder Ty Hauter hadn't responded to a request for comment, and the report gave no reason for the closure. The next announced tenant came more than two and a half years later.

That tenant is El Punto, a new concept from Gerry Torres, who opened the first City Tacos in North Park in 2014 and now runs six locations. Executive chef Eduardo Baeza, who also oversees the kitchens at Fonda del Barrio in Barrio Logan and Tour de Tapas in La Mesa, is building the menu. The two have worked together for more than 25 years, going back to Candelas downtown, where Torres was a waiter and Baeza ran the kitchen.

What El Punto Is Built Around

The earlier tenants of this corner were chef-driven Mexican restaurants. El Punto keeps the cuisine and builds the rest around how a household spends an afternoon. According to Patch's August 18 report and Axios San Diego's August roundup, the 8,800-square-foot restaurant plans to include:

• An enclosed dog park where dogs can play off leash
• A separate kids area with life-size games, like the one at City Tacos in Ocean Beach
• A kids menu and brunch
• Only the top five tacos from the City Tacos menu, plus entrées and seafood dishes such as ceviche, oysters and tiraditos made with locally caught fish
• A michelada bar station, a container bar, cocktails, draft beer and coffee
• Three ways to order: from a server, by QR code at patio tables, or at a walk-up counter

The ordering setup shows the intent. A walk-up counter and QR codes let someone stop by for a coffee or taco without committing to a sit-down meal, while families who want table service still have it. Torres put it this way in his statement:

"El Punto will be decadent, but affordable and casual. There will be something on the menu for everyone, including plenty of healthy options. The versatile seating areas will accommodate any occasion, including family dinners, date nights, happy hours, group outings, or simply grab-and-go if you're on the move."

As of today, El Punto hasn't opened. The Union-Tribune, Patch and Axios all reported an October target over the summer, but the restaurant's official site still says only "Coming Soon – Fall 2026," with no date. October is the plan, not a promise.

On the Hill, The Admiral Follows the Same Approach

The third project is the biggest, the slowest, and in a part of Liberty Station most visitors never see. Ryan Thorsen, owner of Mister A's in Bankers Hill, plans to turn the 1920s officers' quarters on the hilltop, plus an abandoned gatehouse near the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Performing Arts Center, into a hospitality complex called The Admiral. The Joan itself opened in September 2025, so the area around it now has a reason for evening visits that it didn't have two years ago.

For a project from the owner of Mister A's, the plan is notably casual. The Union-Tribune's August 21 report lays out the officers' quarters, each themed to a different era of the Navy's presence:

• Quarters D, the only one renovated so far, becomes an all-day marketplace with a 1950s feel, a wine bar, a bakery and a florist. Customers can pick up prepared food for a picnic on the grounds.
• Quarters C becomes a game room with a 1960s feel, with pool tables, jukeboxes, vinyl booths, and bocce and cornhole on the lawn. Designer Jason St. John said "it'll feel like a dive bar."
• The signature restaurant, still unnamed, seats 162 indoors and out and has a World War II theme. Thorsen calls it "approachable upscale."

Thorsen's own description of the restaurant fits the rest of this post: "It's going to be classic Americana. It's definitely not going to be super edgy." The menu would draw on Point Loma's fishing heritage, with herbs and citrus from gardens on the site. St. John, whose Los Angeles firm Bells + Whistles is designing the interiors, said his childhood in Point Loma inspired the marketplace's design.

The plans also include a two-story wedding venue, a speakeasy, and restored gardens on high ground with views of the city. The kitchen will go in a separate building between two of the quarters, and it's the only new construction in the whole complex.

"I'm not trying to come in with my own veneer. I'm trying to let the history design it," Thorsen told the Union-Tribune.

Why the Hill Will Take Years

Grandson replaced a working restaurant within weeks. El Punto is taking over a restaurant space that's already built. The Admiral is starting with buildings the Union-Tribune describes as decaying, next to gardens that have turned to bare dirt and weeds. Its timeline reflects that gap.

Permitting has already slowed it down. Architect Christopher Bittner of OBR Architecture, who designed earlier buildings in Liberty Station's arts district, said the city staff who knew the project's history have mostly moved on. "It was a difficult time getting the project through the city, which was surprising because it's four houses. They're not complicated," he said.

The next step is with the city. Christina Bibler, who heads San Diego's Economic Development Department, told the Union-Tribune she hopes to bring a proposed lease for the site to the City Council before the end of 2026. Once Thorsen has approval, he expects to open in this order:

1. Gardens, parking and three of the officers' quarters in fall 2027
2. The event venue a few months after that
3. The gatehouse last, with the full complex done by the end of 2028

A Times of San Diego report from July put the first phase in "late summer or early fall of 2027." The Union-Tribune schedule above is the more recent one. Both depend on the lease moving forward.

For now, the order is clear. Grandson Steaks is open on Historic Decatur Road. El Punto is due on Perry Road sometime this fall. The work on the officers' quarters waits on a City Council vote on a lease, which Bibler hopes will happen before December ends.

If you live near Liberty Station and want to know how projects like these figure into what your home is worth, Dennis Bragg and the Bragg Team can walk you through it. Dennis Bragg Sr. has spent four decades in construction and development, so he can explain what adaptive reuse and new neighborhood amenities typically mean for nearby property. Get your home valuation, and we'll keep you posted as El Punto opens and The Admiral's lease reaches the City Council.