Owners of popular Cambria restaurant are opening 2 new eateries in SLO
The owners of the popular Moonstone Beach Bar & Grill in Cambria are launching a new restaurant venture in San Luis Obispo.
John MacKinnon and his wife, Kernn, are opening two new restaurant hubs in the upstairs area of the SLO Public Market, featuring balcony seating.
The marketplace is located at the corner of Higuera Street and Tank Farm Road a block away from Trader Joe’s.
The co-owners of Moonstone — a hot spot on the North Coast for more than 25 years — plan to open Todo Bueno and All Good Grill at the new marketplace.
John MacKinnon said Todo Bueno will offer a range of Mexican food options, including tacos, tortas, burritos, quesadillas and slaw dishes with choice of meats such as chicken, pork, shrimp and steak.
“We’ll be searing those meets in a wok because what happens is that all the flavors stay in the pan and and you can really intensify some of those great Mexican flavors by doing that,” MacKinnon said. “I’m hoping people come and say, ‘Oh, I’m experiencing something different here.’”
Todo Bueno plans to use flour tortillas and draw out flavors in the style of cooking. MacKinnon said he believes corn tortillas get in the way of flavor because they dominate the taste.
Despite the restaurant’s name, for the All Good Grill menu, MacKinnon said he actually plans to use a griddle for the burgers to retain more of the juices.
“When you use a grill, there’s charring that goes on and that’s great, but you can get a char on a griddle and you don’t lose all the juices,” MacKinnon said. “When you use a flat top, you get this a nice even sear on it. It’s a really good method to do that.”
Customers also will have choices for draft beer and local wines from both venues. Customers will order at the same vendor hub, with the two different menu options, MacKinnon said.
Business concept
John MacKinnon said the new business concepts will offer a food menu that’s different from that of Moonstone, a family-owned business with multiple relatives involved.
Moonstone opened in 1993 and was the Cambria Chamber of Commerce Businesses of the Year in 2020.
“It has been a wonderful ride, and we’re still chugging along,” John MacKinnon said of Moonstone. “This is something new that my wife and I are doing on our own.”
They will share the upstairs area of the Market Hall, on the opposite site of a banquet hall space, with a balcony overlooking the SLO Public Market courtyard.
“I think we probably have almost 100 seats upstairs,” MacKinnon said. “We’ll have almost 40 seats on the balcony overlooking the beautiful courtyard.”
MacKinnon said that the timing of the business opening is in flux, pending tenant improvements to prepare the space for operation, but the goal is mid-summer, likely July by the earliest.
“We’re about to turn in (construction plans) to the city,” MacKinnon said. “We’re really close on that. So that’s a big milestone for us to get approved and so we can get things started.”
MacKinnon said that the concept of the marketplace was appealing and he believes that the neighboring businesses can complement each other.
“I hope that we’re all doing very well and that we’re all very good at what we do,” MacKinnon said. “It will be an all-ships-rise-with-the-tide kind of approach.”
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