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It’s been nearly 2 ½ years since chef Travis Swikard returned from a high-profile job in New York to his hometown of San Diego with the goal of opening his own restaurant.
It took a year to find the right location, the former Bottega Americano space at 1195 Island Ave. in East Village. But ever since then, Swikard’s California-Mediterranean restaurant has been held up by the pandemic. As COVID-19 restrictions are finally lifting, Swikard has finally set a firm opening date: June 4.
Callie has long been the most hotly anticipated restaurant in the region, and not just because it will help reactive East Village, which has seen several restaurants come and go over the past five years. Before he came home to San Diego in 2019, Swikard spent 10 years in New York, working for world-famous Michelin-starred French chef Daniel Boulud, including from 2016 to 2019 as culinary director for three of Boulud’s properties.