The latest opportunity for longtime chef Pam Schwartz came about by “happenstance” in Solana Beach.
Schwartz, a Florida native who first came to San Diego years ago as the San Diego Marriott Del Mar’s Arterra Restaurant and Lounge training manager, had been enlisted by an investor as a consultant for a restaurant idea that turned into Ranch 45 on Via de la Valle.
“I did some consulting work and he said ‘Hey, do you want to open the restaurant?’ Nobody’s going to say no to that,” said Schwartz, a Culinary Institute of America graduate who has been in the restaurant industry for about 30 years after telling her parents at age 13 that she wanted to be a chef.