Yanni's Bar & Grill

The Park and Ride has 120 parking spaces. Previous Mayor Kevin Faulconer has selected a proposal to develop the current Park and Ride Lot adjacent to our building for permanent supportive housing. If approved by the City Council, it will take away the parking spaces adjacent to Yanni’s that are needed for the restaurant to operate. The 120 parking spaces were included in the Substantial Conformance Review approval from 2004 for the restaurant use after 4 PM weekdays (the busiest time for our restaurant). The loss of parking will be detrimental to our viability as a restaurant and will jeopardize the livelihood of all the employees that work at Yanni’s Bar & Grill (before Covid-19 we employed over 50 employees). Yanni’s Bar & Grill fully supports the need for supportive housing for at risk individuals especially seniors and veterans but not at the risk of destroying our business and our employees livelihood.

If the 120 Park and Ride spaces are removed, then Yanni’s Bar & Grill will only have 19 parking spaces in the close vicinity for our guests and employees.

This is the area that is going to be taken away:

Scripps Ranch Civic Association has a survey that they will be sending to the Mayor and Councilpersons. Please let your thoughts be known - Click here

Please help us save Yanni’s Bar & Grill by contacting the Mayor’s office and every Councilmember:

Here’s a sample letter written by one of our guests:

Dear _________,

I am writing to voice my opinion regarding the need to work with the adjacent property owners and the community while negotiating the agreement with the developer of the permanent supportive housing project at the location of Gateway Freeway Shopping Center Park and Ride.

In particular, I am very concerned with the possible loss of parking spaces for Yanni's Bar and Grill. Yanni and Denise Pihas have and continue to serve our community in a manner that is not often seen with businesses (large or small) these days. Since the 2003 wildfires that ravaged Scripps Ranch and surrounding areas, while still in the original location, their outreach to the neighborhood was commendable. More recently during our ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, they worked safely and thoughtfully to continue to provide for our community, their employees, and visitors to the adjacent hotels.

As an advocate of small and local businesses, it is vital that we acknowledge their contribution to the betterment of our community and city by supporting a business such as Yanni’s Bar and Grill.

Sincerely,

Immediate action needed:

Please contact each Councilmember most important Mayor Todd Gloria and our Councilmember Marni von Wilpert as we need 5 votes to alter the existing plan to include the 120 parking spaces that would be removed. We are respectfully asking the City Council to include parking as part of the housing project vs. taking it away.

Mayor Todd Gloria    mayortoddgloria@sandiego.gov    (619)236-6330

Councilmember Marni von Wilpert    MarnivonWilpert@sandiego.gov   (619)236-6655

Councilmember Joe LaCava    JoeLaCava@sandiego.gov (619)236-6611

Councilpresident Jennifer Campbell    jennifercampbell@sandiego.gov   (619)236-6622

Councilpresident Pro Tem Stephen Whitburn    StephenWhitburn@sandiego.gov (619)236-6633

Councilmember Monica Montgomery    monicamontgomery@sandiego.gov (619)236-6644

Councilmember Chris Cate    chriscate@sandiego.gov    (619)236-6616

Councilmember Raul Campillo    RaulCampillo@sandiego.gov   (619)236-6677

Councilmember Vivian Moreno    vivianmoreno@sandiego.gov   (619)236-6688

Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera    SeanEloRivera@sandiego.gov (619)236-6699

Yanni’s Bistro first opened its doors in March of 2002 in Poway. After 12 years we moved to our current location at 12015 Scripps Highlands Dr., San Diego, CA 92131, known now as Yanni’s Bar & Grill. For the last 18 years Yanni’s has been a part of the Scripps Ranch community, serving delicious food and drinks and providing employment for up to 50 San Diego residents at one time. We are civically responsible and give thousands of dollars in donations each year to community groups. We have a thriving small business and contribute substantial tax revenues to the City of San Diego. Yanni’s Bar and Grill is a vital part of the community providing entry level jobs from local schools, mentoring these students for growth and success. Many of our employees have been employed by us for more than 10 years and rely on their jobs for their incomes and also health insurance
that we provide.

The success of Yanni’s Bar & Grill depends on the full utilization of our building in the evening and our ability to have parking for our guests. The current proposal to put permanent supportive housing in the current “Park and Ride” would be devastating to our business. Scripps Ranch is a very car-centric neighborhood, our business and the others rely on the use of the parking spaces after 4pm. These 120 spaces are critical to our business’s success and vital for Yanni’s Bar and Grill to stay in business and maintain employment for our employees.

With Our Deepest Gratitude,
Yanni & Denise Pihas

For more information contact: Denise PIhas (858)527-0011 dpihas@gmail.com

Yanni's Bar & Grill
Hours of Operation:

You helped us save the parking lot!

Thank you, Councilmember Marni von Wilpert!

Previous news is below:

Situation:

This is the area that is going to be taken away:

Please help us save Yanni’s Bar & Grill by contacting the Mayor’s office and every Councilmember:

Immediate action needed:

Yanni's Bar & Grill Hours of Operation: