Culinary trailblazer Drew Deckman is officially bringing his eco-friendly ethos stateside! Deckman is chef and co-owner of Deckman’s en el Mogor, a zero-kilometer, sustainable restaurant in Valle de Guadalupe, Mexico, which he runs alongside his wife, co-owner Paulina Deckman.

The preeminent voice for the country’s ethical farming and slow food culture, Deckman is on a mission to bring principles of environmental sustainability directly to the dining table.

The 38-year industry veteran spent more than a decade cooking throughout Europe with masters Paul Bocuse, Jacques Maximin, and mentor Madeleine Kamman.

He was honored with a coveted MICHELIN Star for his leadership at Germany’s Restaurant Vitus, and his Baja restaurant, Deckman’s en el Mogor, was named to World’s 50 Best Latin America.

Now, more than a decade since opening his eponymous al fresco restaurant in Mexico’s wine region, Deckman is preparing to introduce his first concept to the United States.

31THIRTYONE by Drew Deckman: A Vision for Sustainable Dining

After a bit of a delay while navigating some permitting beauracracy, 31THIRTYONE is expected to open in August 2024 in San Diego, CA within the city’s urban North Park neighborhood at 3131 University Avenue.

Deckman’s cause-based concept will revolve around a daily-changing tasting menu with alcoholic and spirits-free beverage pairings.

It will donate 1% of monthly revenue to help farmers implement carbon farming projects through various grants in partnership with international nonprofit Zero Foodprint.

“31THIRTYONE is rooted in our commitment to environmental conservation and our desire to preserve the watershed of Southern California and northern Baja region,” says Drew Deckman.

“The menu reflects our earth-to-table vision to redefine the way people think about and experience sustainable dining and help to revolutionize the future of the restaurant industry.”

Deckman’s farm on a private ranch ~30 miles away will serve as the main source of ingredients, growing everything from organic vegetables and produce to herbs and flowers to guarantee quality, but also to ensure kitchen waste can be recycled or composted properly.

31THIRTYONE will source livestock exclusively from San Diego County and tap into San Diego/Baja’s advanced sustainable aquaculture to utilize carbon-reducing ocean plant proteins, sea vegetables, underutilized species, and farmed bivalves.

Meanwhile, the bar program will epitomize the liquid pride of Mexico, offering a heavy selection of agave spirits and inventive cocktails.

To minimize the restaurant’s carbon footprint, inclusive of product sourcing and transportation, wines will come from no further north than Santa Barbara and no further south than Baja with beers from San Diego and northern Baja-based breweries.

Design Preview

The 4,200 sq ft restaurant was designed by Megan Power, principal interior architect & designer at San Diego-based Workind Studio.

Creeping fig clads the building’s 3-story façade, blurring the lines between the wooden and reed glass storefront capped with a vibrant burnt sienna-toned awning.

Through the front door, a dimmed and glowing atmospheric interior dining room is characterized by an earthy elegance with materials such as oak tambour, over-dyed burgundy hair-on-hide, cut pattern velvets in olive tones, bronzite stone slabs, leather finishes, rich drapery, and integrated millwork lighting throughout.

An intimate eight-seat bar that gives way to a 52-seat dining room with a mix of custom settees (an updated take on customary “booth” seating) and a chef’s counter/oyster bar with seating for 10 bellying up to an open chef’s kitchen.

Before ascending to the rooftop, a secondary dining room with seating for 18 captures your attention with three-dimensional walls, dramatic wall-wash lighting, and warm earthy tonalities.

Upstairs, an immersive third-story patio and bar with seating for 32 that transports you to a lush, vacation-esque setting with a verdant color palette accented by terrazzo and concrete patterned floor, hanging greenery, and warm thatched-reed walls as an homage to the aesthetic at Deckman’s famed restaurant in Valle de Guadalupe, Mexico.

See you there!

For more information on 31THIRTYONE, please visit the website here.

See you there, San Diego!