The Breakfast Republic location at 637 Pearl Street, which opened in July 2022, will shutter on Sunday, March 9, 2025, due to a lease buyout from the property owner, according to founder Johan Engman. While the La Jolla site will cease operations, other San Diego County locations, including the nearby Pacific Beach branch, along with outposts in East Village, Encinitas, Hillcrest, Liberty Station, Mission Valley, North Park, Ocean Beach, and Scripps Ranch, will remain open, alongside branches in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside counties.
This closure is part of a troubling trend for Rise & Shine, which has seen multiple restaurant closures in recent months. In December 2024, the group shuttered its Mission Valley Fig Tree Café at 7710 Hazard Center Drive after less than two years, following the closure of the Carmel Valley Breakfast Republic in The Village at Pacific Highlands Ranch after nearly a decade, and a temporary Pacific Beach Breakfast Republic shutdown due to health violations, including a severe vermin issue.Ìý
Other setbacks include the short-lived Breakfast Company flagship in North Park (2019–2020), the Hillcrest and East Village Fig Tree Café closures, and the upscale Mexican restaurant El Jardin in Liberty Station, which closed after just over a year despite accolades from the New York Times, a James Beard nod, and a Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand recognition. Engman's Como Ceviche in East Village also lasted mere months, reflecting a pattern of ambitious expansions faltering under operational pressures.
Engman, a Swedish native who entered San Diego’s breakfast scene with Fig Tree Café in Pacific Beach in 2008, has overseen rapid growth with Breakfast Republic's nearly 20 locations since its 2015 North Park debut. However, rising costs and challenges have taken a toll, as he noted in a December statement about the Mission Valley closure, citing economic strains similar to those prompting his La Jolla exit.Ìý
Engman, a Swedish native who entered San Diego’s breakfast scene with Fig Tree Café in Pacific Beach in 2008, has overseen rapid growth with Breakfast Republic's nearly 20 locations since its 2015 North Park debut. However, rising costs and challenges have taken a toll, as he noted in a December statement about the Mission Valley closure, citing economic strains similar to those prompting his La Jolla exit.Ìý
The La Jolla team expressed gratitude to the community, inviting patrons to the Pacific Beach location, but the repeated closures suggest a broader struggle for the group. With no new brunch concepts announced for La Jolla, unlike the East Village's rebranding to 6th & G, and ongoing operations limited to select sites, Rise & Shine’s future remains uncertain.Ìý
For updates, visit , as the company navigates this challenging phase in its San Diego dining legacy.
