{"id":162876,"date":"2025-08-21T04:22:16","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T04:22:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/162876\/"},"modified":"2025-08-21T04:22:16","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T04:22:16","slug":"san-diegos-james-beard-nominated-roma-norte-is-closing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/162876\/","title":{"rendered":"San Diego\u2019s James Beard\u2013Nominated Roma Norte is Closing"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the Mexico City\u2013inspired cocktail bar Roma Norte opened last July<\/a>, it aimed to be a game-changer in San Diego\u2019s drinks space. And for its time, it was, landing a semifinalist slot at the 2025 James Beard Awards for Best Bar<\/a> and a spot as our critic\u2019s pick for Best Bar<\/a>, to boot. But Roma Norte director (and Puesto and Marisi\u2019s vice president of bar and spirits) Beau du Bois is candid about reality: Awards and talent don\u2019t always equal dollars.<\/p>\n

For whatever reason\u2014foot traffic or lack thereof, mercury retrograding, whatever\u2014the last day for that Nitro Punch is August 30.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very heartbreaking,\u201d du Bois admits. \u201cWe\u2019ve been banging the drum for a year \u2026 but just in general, culturally, we couldn\u2019t drum up the nightlife that any cocktail bar<\/a> needs to be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AcclaimedPhoto Credit: Kimberly Motos
Beau du Bois<\/p>\n

The concept felt bold from the start: bringing ultra-high level tools and techniques behind the bar to create a space where every guest, regardless of expertise, could observe, learn, and enjoy dazzling cocktails like a Maduro Highball.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But Roma Norte<\/a> wasn\u2019t created in a void. Du Bois says Marisi helped launch the proof of concept and is now a technique-driven bar in its own right. Likewise, Puesto<\/a> is one of the only multi-location restaurant groups offering a clarified margarita\u2014something that few places have the equipment or expertise to pull off.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s because of the learnings from Roma Norte,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\"OldPhoto Credit: Mandie Geller<\/p>\n

That butterfly effect will be felt throughout San Diego\u2019s bar scene<\/a>, which now faces an abundance of very well-trained bartenders. Du Bois says in Roma Norte\u2019s one year of operation, his team retained nearly the entire original staff. \u201cI didn\u2019t have a mentor in this industry,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s incredible to share this knowledge and approach to cocktail-making<\/a> with people, so that they don\u2019t have to fumble in the dark.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

He\u2019s adamant that this is a permanent closure (\u201cthis isn\u2019t \u2018we\u2019re moving\u2019 or \u2018we\u2019ll be back,\u2019\u201d since Puesto is taking over the space for private dining<\/a> and special events), but he adds that, in another location, perhaps at another time, Roma Norte could find the success it aimed for.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe precision in which we\u2019re making cocktails at Roma Norte is the most precision I\u2019ve seen at a cocktail bar in the United States,\u201d du Bois says.<\/p>\n

Du Bois has no regrets\u2014just some advice: \u201cIf you find something special in your city, go to it as often as you can.\u201d<\/p>\n

PARTNER CONTENT<\/p>\n


\n \"Summer
\n Summer Escapes Guide 2025
\n <\/a><\/p>\n


\n \"Refresh,
\n Refresh, Revamp, Recieve a Lot of Compliments
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Listen Now: The Latest in San Diego\u2019s Food and Drink Scene<\/strong><\/p>\n

Have breaking news, exciting scoops, or great stories about new San Diego restaurants or the city\u2019s food scene? Send your pitches to\u00a0[email\u00a0protected]<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When the Mexico City\u2013inspired cocktail bar Roma Norte opened last July, it aimed to be a game-changer in…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":162877,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,1582,276,8364,26150,3549,7264,89016,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-162876","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-food-drink","12":"tag-food-news","13":"tag-san-diego","14":"tag-sandiego","15":"tag-seaport-village","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-united-states-of-america","18":"tag-unitedstates","19":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","20":"tag-us","21":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115064848086906931","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162876"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162876\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/162877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}