“ Every project we do starts with a story . We look around and think about what we want to see in our city — what kind of stories aren ’ t being told yet ?”
— ARSALUN TAFAZOLI ’ 06
would become the heart of his restaurant collective that has since become a force in San Diego , Consortium Holdings .
But before there was a collective , there was only that concept , which he pitched to any downtown developer who would take his call . When one of them saw promise but said he needed a business plan , Tafazoli came right back to Geisel Library , checked out every book on the subject and drafted something that held water . With a plan in place , funding was still another story , and so began the search for investors . “ By the time I raised the equity , I actually owned very little of what I was killing myself to create ,” he says . That would change in 2007 once the doors finally opened on his first project , the downtown gastropub , Neighborhood .
“ Nobody showed up ,” says Tafazoli . “ The craft beer culture hadn ’ t proliferated yet , and nobody really understood what we were trying to do .” His investors urged him to pivot to something more familiar — a sports bar , anything — but local brewers encouraged him to stick with it . “ That gave me some strength to carry on ,” he says , “ and ultimately I took out a bunch of credit cards to buy back the equity from those investors who wanted out .” The pub struggled for eight more months until craft beer started gaining traction , and once it hit the mainstream , Neighborhood was ahead of the curve in giving beer an elevated , yet still approachable experience .
And while it might seem counterintuitive , with his next venture , Tafazoli set his sights smaller . Inspired by the intimate and eclectic craft cocktail bars he visited in Manhattan , he brought a similarly curated experience to San Diego with a small storeroom turned speakeasy — the aptly named Noble Experiment . With just
32 seats , a secret door and an unorthodox reservation process , drinks there are as much earned as they are ordered , and a special respect is paid to the overall experience . “ It was about the interaction ,” Tafazoli says . “ It was about the conversation , and taking a thought-out approach to the product , the design and the narrative .”
The experiment got buzz in food circles throughout the nation and put San Diego on the map for innovative food and drink . It also launched Consortium Holdings proper , and its offbeat series of 13 projects over 11 years , including an homage to the corner drugstore ( Polite Provisions ), Japanese ramen houses ( Underbelly ), an ode to dive bars ( El Dorado ) and classic steakhouse ritz ( Born and Raised ).
“ Every project we do starts with a story ,” says Tafazoli . “ We look around and think about what we want to see in our city — what kind of stories aren ’ t being told yet ? What kind of communities do we want to try to build , and how will we go about doing that ?”
And now it ’ s the developers calling him — a full 180 ° from where he started out . But the collective selects future projects discerningly , which makes it all the more significant that Tafazoli ’ s communityminded ethos will soon return to campus when the former Porter ’ s Pub becomes the third outpost of his classic America – inspired meatball joint , Soda & Swine .
“ When I was at UCSD , it was a good place to go and focus ,” he says . “ But it was tough — there weren ’ t many gathering spots , and not so much of a social , college experience . But there ’ s a shift happening to support that kind of interaction , and such an amazing density of great people — researchers , students — to be a part of that renaissance is a beautiful thing .”
KNOW YOUR
HOLDINGS
With ten restaurants to choose from ( and a barbershop to boot ) hitting all the spots created by Consortium Holdings could take a while . Here ’ s what to know :
BE CURIOUS AND INVESTIGATIVE
You won ’ t be the only one looking around — sometimes a closer look or change in perspective reveals messages you wouldn ’ t notice otherwise . A nondescript door may reveal a backroom tiki bar or secret speakeasy .
GO WITH IT
Consortium Holdings restaurants stick to certain values — no TVs ( to encourage interaction ), no vodka
drinks ( a philosophical choice ), no ketchup ( to expand dipping horizons ).
SEE IT FOR THE JOURNEY IT IS
Tafazoli ’ s first venture , Neighborhood , was opened in 2007 by a 26-year-old just out of Muir College . The recently opened Born and Raised steakhouse comes a decade of maturity later . ( Kinda .)
TALK TO A STRANGER
That ’ s what these places are made for , after all .
Take a virtual tour of the hotspots at tritonmag . com / CHtour
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