Chula Vista Sisters Bring Ancestral Mexican Cuisine to North Park

Carne y Hueso restaurant opens in revived Waldorf Television Building, blending modern and traditional Mexican flavors.

Apr. 10, 2026 at 1:49am

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A vibrant, high-contrast silkscreen print of a single, iconic Mexican cooking ingredient like a chili pepper or mortar and pestle, repeated in a tight grid pattern in a neon color palette, conceptually representing the bold, ancestral flavors of the new Carne y Hueso restaurant in San Diego.The bold, ancestral flavors of Carne y Hueso bring a new level of Mexican culinary artistry to San Diego's North Park neighborhood.San Diego Today

Chantelle and Crystal Godinez, the sisters behind the popular Chula Vista restaurant Birrieria Don Rafa and Eastlake's Sunday Breakfast Society, have opened a new full-service Mexican restaurant called Carne y Hueso in San Diego's North Park neighborhood. The 3,100-square-foot restaurant in the restored Waldorf Television Building features a menu that blends modern, polished plates with old-school techniques and ingredients imported from Oaxaca and the Yucatán.

Why it matters

North Park has evolved into a hub for design-forward restaurants and adaptive reuse projects, and Carne y Hueso slots neatly into that wave. The Godinez sisters' move to open a larger, more ambitious restaurant in one of San Diego's most competitive dining districts signals their confidence in bringing their ancestral Mexican cooking to a wider audience.

The details

Carne y Hueso's menu features dishes like huitlacoche tetela and cured nopal paired with heirloom tomatoes. The team imports chiles from Oaxaca and uses spices native to the Yucatán for its mole. The sisters say they want to 'bridge the gap between the sophisticated side of Mexico and its ancestral roots' by centering regional ingredients and time-tested methods.

  • Carne y Hueso was first announced in late 2023.
  • The restaurant's original target opening was in 2024, but was delayed to December 2025 due to permit issues and interior design decisions.
  • Carne y Hueso is now open and seating guests, with plans to rotate ingredient-driven dishes as seasonal changes and regional sourcing permit.

The players

Chantelle Godinez

One of the sisters behind Carne y Hueso, Chantelle previously worked at her family's Birrieria Don Rafa restaurant in Chula Vista and co-founded Sunday Breakfast Society in Eastlake.

Crystal Godinez

The other sister behind Carne y Hueso, Crystal also has experience working at Birrieria Don Rafa and co-founding Sunday Breakfast Society with Chantelle.

Birrieria Don Rafa

The Godinez sisters' family restaurant in Chula Vista, where they gained experience in the restaurant industry before opening their own ventures.

Sunday Breakfast Society

The Eastlake restaurant the Godinez sisters opened in 2023, which helped prepare them for the larger operation of Carne y Hueso.

The Waldorf

The 1950s-era building in North Park that now houses Carne y Hueso, as well as other retail and residential spaces as part of a recent restoration project.

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What they’re saying

“We were scheduling, managing the whole restaurant, creating relationships with customers, marketing, instagram, so pretty much running the whole show.”

— Chantelle Godinez, Co-owner, Carne y Hueso

“We want to bridge the gap between the sophisticated side of Mexico and its ancestral roots.”

— Chantelle Godinez, Co-owner, Carne y Hueso

What’s next

The Godinez sisters plan to rotate ingredient-driven dishes at Carne y Hueso as seasonal changes and regional sourcing permit, continuing to evolve the menu and offerings.

The takeaway

Carne y Hueso's opening in North Park represents the Godinez sisters' confident expansion from their family's Chula Vista restaurant and their Eastlake breakfast spot, bringing their passion for ancestral Mexican cuisine and techniques to one of San Diego's most competitive dining districts.