Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Au Revoir, Pierre

Honestly? The cool part of Fifth downtown is south of Broadway. The uncool part is just north of it.

Eatery-wise anyway.

Maybe that was Pierre’s problem. Pierre’s Place (1404 Fifth Avenue, at Ash, 619-727-4700) was a brand-new construction. Father Joe was behind it. Toussaint Center for homeless teens. It's a whole building devoted to the project and it looks beautiful. But not a lot of foot traffic.

It's named after Pierre Toussaint, plantation slave from Haiti, born 1766, died 87 years later in New York, one of the city’s most beloved philanthropists.

Bronze statue of Pierre Toussaint

This is a school and a hostel and all. Toussaint Academy of the Arts and Sciences.

Pierre’s was where they trained kids for a life in the restaurant business. It did good and it was good. And so was its food. I had one of their Tuscan chicken panini once. Hot, crispy, squelchy.

And it became a talent center too. Open mikes, socials, meetings, usually something happening at night.

Called by the other night and…all the tables and chairs were there, but nothing happening. Darkness.

Went in to the Academy next door. “They’ve been closed at least a month and a half,” says Molly, the gal at the reception desk. “It’s a pity because it was teaching teens responsibility, and marketable skills. But we’re hoping to open right up again.”

“What’s holding you up?” I ask. I kinda know the answer.

“Money, of course,” says Molly.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

India Hawthorne is common in coastal gardens, Citrus trees are in full bloom

The vernal equinox is on March 19

Honestly? The cool part of Fifth downtown is south of Broadway. The uncool part is just north of it.

Eatery-wise anyway.

Maybe that was Pierre’s problem. Pierre’s Place (1404 Fifth Avenue, at Ash, 619-727-4700) was a brand-new construction. Father Joe was behind it. Toussaint Center for homeless teens. It's a whole building devoted to the project and it looks beautiful. But not a lot of foot traffic.

It's named after Pierre Toussaint, plantation slave from Haiti, born 1766, died 87 years later in New York, one of the city’s most beloved philanthropists.

Bronze statue of Pierre Toussaint

This is a school and a hostel and all. Toussaint Academy of the Arts and Sciences.

Pierre’s was where they trained kids for a life in the restaurant business. It did good and it was good. And so was its food. I had one of their Tuscan chicken panini once. Hot, crispy, squelchy.

And it became a talent center too. Open mikes, socials, meetings, usually something happening at night.

Called by the other night and…all the tables and chairs were there, but nothing happening. Darkness.

Went in to the Academy next door. “They’ve been closed at least a month and a half,” says Molly, the gal at the reception desk. “It’s a pity because it was teaching teens responsibility, and marketable skills. But we’re hoping to open right up again.”

“What’s holding you up?” I ask. I kinda know the answer.

“Money, of course,” says Molly.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

The Risks of Being Unique

Next Article

Bring Back the Manila Café!

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.