From TomTom to Old Town: Pietro Busalacchi on Restaurants, Reality TV, and a San Diego Legacy

from San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour · host San Diego Magazine

#380 This week, we head from a La Jolla strip mall to the glitter of LA's reality TV scene before landing in the heart of Old Town. Pietro Busalacchi—bartender, hustler, and heir to one of San Diego's most iconic restaurant families—joins us to talk about growing up in Little Italy, working at Lisa Vanderpump's TomTom, and how he brought that chaos and charm back home to launch Trattoria Don Pietro, El Sueño, and TAKO, his bold Mexican-style sushi bar. We talk stories, like a tree catching fire on set, surprise tequila nights with Nickelback, and why escargot and Dover sole at Bistro du Marché still make Troy emotional. Plus: Bianchi opens at the Bahia, PopUp Bagels lands in San Diego, and College Area scores a maximalist burger joint. To follow El Sueño click HERE. To follow Trattoria Don Pietro click HERE. To follow TAKO click HERE. Discover more at San Diego Magazine

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published May 1, 2025

Embed this episode

Attribution link and audio player

Ready to play

From TomTom to Old Town: Pietro Busalacchi on Restaurants, Reality TV, and a San Diego Legacy

0:00 1:06:23

1×

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

Share this episode

Similar Episodes

No similar episodes found.

Similar Podcasts

Openly Terrified Evan Van Helden Hey hey, and welcome to Openly Terrified!I’m Evan—socially awkward, emotionally chaotic, and somehow still choosing to talk into a mic. This little podcast is basically a live-stream of my brain, where all my weird thoughts come to hang out and stretch their legs.Despite being a professional introvert, something about rambling here makes my soul do a happy little dance. So if you’re into overthinking, oversharing, or just vibing in a judgment-free zone—stick around. I saved you a metaphorical beanbag chair. Explicit Asian Wander Women Podcast Ivy Xu and Emily Fang Join your travel besties Emily and Ivy on their exciting journeys designing unconventional lives of location independence and blazing their own career paths.After meeting in San Francisco in their early 20s, the duo have quit jobs, started remote businesses, worked as ex-pats, and explored 50+ cities as “digital nomads.” They started the Asian Wander Women community with the goal of bringing together like-minded women who aspire to do the same.Through tales of location independence, career ambitions while being on the move, dating and relationships, we unpack all of it and what it means to be an Asian Wander Woman. Tune in and be a part of the adventure! Explicit Half Black Conservatives Digital Diamond Network The Half Black Conservatives (HBC) podcast takes a look at current day politics, culture,entertainment and society from an ethnic, conservative point of view. Drawing from influencesas varied as Judaism, Christianity, Atheism and Afro-Caribbean culture the Half BlackConservatives are sometimes controversial, always provocative and completely unafraid tospeak their minds on any topic under the sun. Explicit

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour?

This episode is 1 hour and 6 minutes long.

When was this San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour episode published?

This episode was published on May 1, 2025.

Can I download this San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.

URL copied to clipboard!