Local landmark(?) restaurant repurposed as mausoleum

Somewhere in the afterlife, former local businessman George Pernicano is twirling his famous mustache and chuckling. And while the 25-foot bronze angel that now sits atop his former restaurant in Hillcrest suggests heaven, both his family and the larger Hillcrest community may have other ideas about his exact whereabouts.

“The family had already begun fielding offers for the property before Mr. Pernicano’s passing last week,” says probate attorney Paul Bearer. “But they did so without consulting me. I would have advised against it, for reasons that are now obvious.”

Indeed. Mr. Pernicano’s long-shuttered restaurant, which sits on a large and desirable chunk of central Hillcrest real estate, has long been considered both an eyesore and an opportunity for redevelopment. It’s still the former, but not so much the latter. When Bearer unsealed the will, he revealed a special deal that Pernicano struck with the city as thanks for his part in bringing the Chargers (of which he was a minority owner) from Los Angeles to San Diego in 1961.

“It seems that zoning laws were even more fluid and fungible in those days than they are today,” notes Bearer. “Because Mayor Dail authorized George to turn his restaurant into his final resting place. I guess now everybody knows why he held onto it. I also guess he figured it was better to be remembered than loved."