Choi's Restaurant San Diego Closure Raises Wage Theft Claims

Several former employees stood outside locked doors in Downtown San Diego this week, beneath gold letters that still spelled out Choi’s. The Choi’s Restaurant San Diego Closure came on Wednesday, after nearly three years in business. Workers say the final months were marked by bounced checks and unpaid labor.

The Choi’s Asian fusion restaurant sat near Petco Park, in a part of town shaped by baseball crowds. Former staff allege the owner failed to pay more than $100,000 in wages. The owner, Jiwoo Choi, acknowledged that the business struggled financially.

Inside the Choi’s Restaurant San Diego Closure

Luis Ramirez, a former sous chef who joined in January, says he is owed about $15,000. He remembers a hopeful start, with a new menu, a fresh atmosphere and an eager team. “It was good for a good 30 days, maybe,” he said, and then staff began leaving.

That detail matters because it shows how quickly the mood turned. Ramirez stayed eight months after his first check bounced. He says he did not want to walk away from chef Kyler Alcorn.

Alcorn describes a first day that included an unpaid double shift. In his first three months, he worked “seven days a week, 12 hours a day.” He wanted to help a young owner succeed, and he kept going.

Ramirez says the damage reached beyond the kitchen. He described people losing apartments, storage units and cars. Messages and calls, he said, now make sleep difficult.

A Young Owner’s Account

The Jiwoo Choi restaurant story begins early. Choi, now 26, signed the lease during the pandemic at age 21 and opened at 23. “I’m not from a rich family or anything,” he said, pushing back on assumptions about his youth.

He says trouble arrived before opening day. A legal dispute with the former general contractor involved what he called substantial construction funds. A court date in that case is set for December.

The restaurant opened in November 2023 to some early interest. Recruiting experienced staff proved harder. Choi blamed his age and thin résumé, asking what “stellar chef” would work for a 23 year old.

The concept also struggled, he said. Upscale date nights were a hard sell to diners unwilling to drive downtown. Padres fans, meanwhile, wanted burgers and tacos before the game, not a formal meal.

Late in the run, Choi tried a change. Choi’s Heavy Cut Burgers offered burgers, hot dogs and finger foods, but the new venture lasted about two weeks. He now calls his biggest mistake failing to see sooner that the restaurant should close.

He admitted asking employees to keep hoping money would come. He also apologized, saying he was sorry things did not work out. Whether that satisfies former workers is a question the reporting leaves open.

Help for Workers and Questions for the City

Alor Calderon, director of the Employee Resource Center, says his group is flooded with San Diego restaurant wage theft cases. He urges workers to document everything, including messages and bounced checks, and to seek legal guidance. The center offers free help.

His warning carries weight because waiting has a price. Workers who hope for payment may lose other chances that would have served their families better. That cost rarely appears on a final paycheck.

City officials added another layer. They said Choi’s never registered for a business tax certificate or paid its taxes. A violation notice for outstanding taxes is planned.

Nothing in the available reporting shows a ruling on the Choi’s wage theft allegations or the Choi’s unpaid wages claims. Readers can follow the original coverage from NBC 7 San Diego. For a contrast, see how another town is trying to fill its tables in this Seaside Heights restaurant weekend report.

By the end, the San Diego restaurant closure reads as a story about more than one kitchen. It shows how fast ambition, thin experience and tight timing can meet. And it leaves a locked door, a gold sign and a group of workers waiting to learn what they are owed.