The first public confirmation that Carne y Hueso would anchor The Waldorf development in North Park. What Now San Diego broke the news that sisters Chantelle and Crystal Godinez already known for Sunday Breakfast Society in Chula Vista's Eastlake would bring a full-service Mexican concept to the ground floor of a 12,000-square-foot mixed-use building rising on University Avenue.

The piece detailed the development team behind the transformation: Nathan Cadieux of Purpose Real Estate Group, OBR Architecture, and Moniker Design Studio, all working to revitalize the historic 1950s-era Waldorf Television Building, most recently home to the Last Real Gym. This article set the stage for everything that followed, framing Carne y Hueso as a flagship tenant in one of North Park's most anticipated adaptive-reuse projects.

San Diego Magazine's weekly Food News column gave Carne y Hueso its first mention in one of the region's premier lifestyle publications. Though brief, the placement was strategic: the Godinez sisters were grouped alongside other notable San Diego operators making moves that spring, with a target opening of June 2024 at The Waldorf in North Park.

The mention served as an early signal to the city's food-savvy readership that something ambitious was in the works and that the sisters, already on the magazine's radar through Sunday Breakfast Society, were officially expanding their footprint.

The North Park Main Street business association published one of the most thoughtful concept announcements of the project's pre-opening phase. The piece framed Carne y Hueso as an ode to Mexico's traditional foodways, with a menu drawing from the culturally distinct regions of Puebla, Jalisco, and Oaxaca, showcasing ancestral ingredients and lesser-known specialties.

It introduced readers to the philosophical meaning behind the name the literal translation "meat and bone," but in colloquial Spanish a phrase meaning "merely human" positioning the restaurant as a challenge to conventional notions of perfection in modern cuisine. This article became the foundational narrative reference quoted by nearly every outlet that followed.

The Re: San Diego ran a companion feature emphasizing the Godinez family legacy and the sisters' women-led business positioning. The article highlighted their roots at Birrieria Don Rafa the Chula Vista institution credited with helping popularize slow-stewed birria in San Diego using recipes passed down through generations from Guadalajara, Mexico.

It also spotlighted the sisters' academic credentials, including Crystal's master's in finance and Chantelle's degree in economics, as evidence of a next-generation approach to traditional hospitality, framing Carne y Hueso as both a cultural project and a deliberate statement about female entrepreneurship in San Diego's restaurant scene.

Hoodline's coverage broadened the project's visibility and pulled in key quotes that had originally appeared in Eater. The article emphasized the sisters' departure from the "modern Mexican" trend, instead spotlighting authentic, indigenous cooking methods and regional specificity.

A standout line attributed to the Godinez sisters via Eater confirmed that at least a couple of dishes would center on their family's birria recipe from Jalisco a meaningful nod to their heritage. Hoodline's coverage helped position Carne y Hueso within the wider conversation about evolving Mexican fine dining in the U.S.

Eater San Diego, one of the most influential food-media voices in the region, weighed in with early-word coverage spotlighting Carne y Hueso's regional Mexican focus. Eater's endorsement signaled to the broader food industry that the Godinez sisters' next concept was being taken seriously by the publications that shape national restaurant discourse.

The San Diego Business Journal published one of the deepest profiles of the project, covering both the business mechanics and the personal story. The piece detailed the open-concept layout with indoor seating for approximately 90 and patio seating for around 40, and revealed a notable neighbor: Michelin-starred chef Drew Deckman was opening his restaurant Watershed directly across the street.

The article also traced the sisters' education Chantelle graduated from UC Riverside in 2018 with a degree in economics and public policy, initially planning to become a lawyer and described how they managed the family business remotely while still in college, foregoing parties and sororities to keep the restaurant running.

Times of San Diego profiled the sisters as rising figures in San Diego's restaurant industry, noting Chantelle's age, Crystal's age, and framing Carne y Hueso as their largest undertaking yet. The article emphasized the geographic and strategic significance of leaving their South County stronghold to plant a flag in North Park, with Chantelle explaining the neighborhood's continued growth as central to the decision.

A defining quote captured their entrepreneurial mindset: "We're not afraid to take risks at a young age. We've taken pretty much the bull by the horn even from a young age." The piece also touched on their commitment to empowering women in the restaurant industry as owners and operators, not just employees.

The San Diego Union-Tribune's reporting on The Waldorf's apartment launch placed Carne y Hueso within a larger story about San Diego's housing and development boom. The piece detailed the building's rents and identified Carne y Hueso and Moniker General Outpost as the ground-floor retail anchors, with Carne y Hueso still under construction at the time of publication.

This coverage cemented the restaurant's role as a defining feature of one of North Park's most-watched mixed-use developments and gave it visibility beyond the food-and-drink press.

FOX 5/KUSI delivered the most substantial post-opening feature to date, anchoring Carne y Hueso firmly in the public consciousness after its long-awaited December 2025 debut. The piece described the stark white building standing out among North Park neighbors like Holy Matcha and Seven Grand, and captured Chantelle's response to early design pushback.

The article spotlighted signature dishes including huitlacoche tetela and cured nopal with heirloom tomatoes, and closed with Chantelle's mission statement: "We really are anticipating for it to be the best Mexican restaurant in San Diego." AOL picked up the story for national syndication.

San Diego Today's post-opening roundup confirmed the December 2025 launch and detailed the restaurant's seasonal, region-driven sourcing approach. The article emphasized how Carne y Hueso slots into North Park's broader wave of design-forward, adaptive-reuse restaurants, and framed the Godinez sisters' decision to open a larger, more ambitious concept in one of San Diego's most competitive dining districts as a confident bet on their ancestral Mexican cooking finding a wider audience.

The piece also reinforced the narrative of two sisters building a multi-restaurant group rooted in family tradition and intentional growth.