Coastal Kitchen Restaurant
Coastal Kitchen Restaurant is a single-location, family-owned New-American coastal cuisine restaurant in Dana Point, California, serving sustainable seafood, dry-aged steaks, and signature dishes from a historic 1924 building on Pacific Coast Highway to local residents and tourists.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersDana Point, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Coastal Kitchen Restaurant does
Coastal Kitchen Restaurant is a single-location, family-owned full-service restaurant operating in Dana Point, California, since June 2016. The restaurant occupies the historic 1924 Blue Lantern building — the first commercial structure in Dana Point, located on Pacific Coast Highway in the Lantern District — and serves New-American coastal cuisine centered on sustainable seafood, premium dry-aged steaks (including Newport Pride Natural filet aged 21+ days), farm-fresh salads, and artisanal sandwiches. Signature dishes include jumbo lump crab cakes, cioppino, and s'mores pie, with a wraparound patio featuring fire pits that has been repeatedly recognized among the top outdoor dining venues in the United States by OpenTable and Travel + Leisure. The business is owned and operated by Mike and Christina Grant, both former Hillstone Restaurant Group executives, with Andrew Palma serving as Executive Chef.
The company generates revenue primarily through on-premises dining for lunch and dinner, supplemented by takeout and delivery orders processed through the ChowNow online ordering platform and gift card sales handled by CardFoundry. Customer acquisition is omnichannel but light-touch: walk-ins, OpenTable reservations (with a deposit policy for parties larger than five), Instagram and Constant Contact email marketing, earned media coverage in Forbes, Los Angeles Times, Travel + Leisure, and regional publications, and annual community-event participation including the Dana Point Festival of Whales Clam Chowder Cook-Off. The technology stack is standard restaurant SaaS — a POS, OpenTable for reservations, ChowNow for ordering, Constant Contact for email, and CardFoundry for gift cards — with no proprietary software, AI, or data assets. Coastal Kitchen serves two primary customer segments: local Dana Point and Orange County residents seeking reliable quality dining, and tourists visiting the area's beaches, whale watching, and maritime attractions. The business is privately held with no external institutional investors, no subsidiaries, and no disclosed funding.
Coastal Kitchen Restaurant firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Coastal Kitchen Restaurant
- Legal name
- Coastal Kitchen
- Website
- https://coastalkitchendanapoint.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Coastal Kitchen Restaurant is a single-location, family-owned New-American coastal cuisine restaurant in Dana Point, California, serving sustainable seafood, dry-aged steaks, and signature dishes from a historic 1924 building on Pacific Coast Highway to local residents and tourists.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Coastal Kitchen Restaurant industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Casual Coastal Seafood and Steak Restaurant
- NAICS
- Full-Service Restaurants (722511)
- SIC
- Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Steakhouses & Seafood Restaurants (THAFACAE)
Keywords
Where Coastal Kitchen Restaurant is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Dana Point
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Coastal Kitchen Restaurant business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Dine-in Restaurant Sales: Revenue from food and beverage sales generated through on-premises dining. The restaurant serves lunch and dinner with a menu featuring seafood, steaks, and American coastal cuisine. Operating hours are 11:30am-9pm Sun-Thu and 11:30am-9:30pm Fri-Sat.
- Online Ordering: Revenue from takeout and delivery orders placed through ChowNow online ordering platform.
- Gift Cards: Revenue from gift card sales through CardFoundry, providing upfront cash flow from customers who purchase gift cards for future use.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Dine-in menu pricing |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Coastal Kitchen Restaurant product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Coastal Kitchen is a single-location full-service seafood and steak restaurant in Dana Point, California, serving a from-scratch New-American coastal menu featuring sustainable seafood, premium dry-aged steaks (Newport Pride Natural, aged 21+ days), farm-fresh salads, and artisanal sandwiches for lunch and dinner. The restaurant generates revenue primarily through dine-in food and beverage sales at its Pacific Coast Highway location, with supporting channels of ChowNow online ordering, OpenTable reservations, and CardFoundry gift cards.
Product overview
Coastal Kitchen is a single-location New-American coastal cuisine restaurant offering a unified dining experience. The core product is dine-in restaurant service featuring a from-scratch menu of sustainable seafood, premium steaks, and farm-fresh salads. Supporting offerings include lunch and dinner menus (the primary dining products), a wine and drinks menu, online ordering via ChowNow, OpenTable-powered reservations, and gift cards through CardFoundry. The restaurant also features outdoor patio dining recognized by OpenTable as among America's top outdoor dining venues.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Lunch Menu Service Midday dine-in dining featuring sandwiches, salads, and select seafood dishes, available Sunday-Thursday 11:30am-9pm and Friday-Saturday 11:30am-9:30pm.
- Dinner Menu Service Evening dine-in dining featuring refined seafood entrées, premium dry-aged steaks (Newport Pride Natural, aged 21+ days), and signature dishes including jumbo lump crab cakes and cioppino.
- Wine, Beer, and Cocktails Program Curated wine list, regional draft and bottled beer selection (including California draft beers), and classic craft cocktails served alongside the lunch and dinner menus.
- Outdoor Patio Dining Experience Al fresco dining on the wraparound patio with fire pits along Pacific Coast Highway, recognized among OpenTable's Top 100 Most Popular Places to Dine Outside in the U.S. (2023) and 100 Best Neighborhood Gems in America (2021).
- Gift Cards (Coastal Kitchen) Digital and physical gift cards for Coastal Kitchen, sold through the CardFoundry platform (https://coastalkitchendanapoint.cardfoundry.com), providing upfront cash flow for future dining visits.
Companies that use Coastal Kitchen Restaurant
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Coastal Kitchen Restaurant technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
Coastal Kitchen Restaurant partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- OpenTablecoreOpenTable provides the reservation management system for Coastal Kitchen. Customers can make reservations through OpenTable's platform. Parties larger than 5 require a credit card to secure reservations.
- ChowNowcoreChowNow provides the online ordering platform for takeout and delivery orders. Customers can order online through the ChowNow system.
- Fish for LifeminorNonprofit beneficiary of the Festival of Whales Clam Chowder Cook-Off. Proceeds from the cook-off benefit Fish for Life, which offers free fishing trips for special needs kids and their families. Coastal Kitchen participates annually and won awards at this event.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Coastal Kitchen Restaurant competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- Oceana Coastal Kitchen: San Diego-area coastal seafood-focused restaurant with patio dining emphasis. Comparable menu mix (seafood-forward, premium ingredients, craft bar) and venue-driven positioning to Coastal Kitchen.
- The Marine Room: Iconic La Jolla oceanfront seafood-and-steak fine-dining restaurant. Comparable in venue-driven differentiation and oceanfront positioning, though more fine-dining and geographically distinct from Dana Point.
Direct peers
- R&D Kitchen: Hillstone Restaurant Group coastal-American full-service concept where both Coastal Kitchen owners previously worked (Mike as a multi-unit supervisor, Christina as an accountant). Same menu positioning and operating philosophy, but broader multi-location footprint.
- Bandera: Hillstone Restaurant Group's American grill concept previously supervised by Coastal Kitchen co-owner Mike Grant in Corona del Mar. Same full-service coastal-American menu and operating model.
- Pacific Coast Grill: Cardiff-by-the-Sea seafood-focused full-service restaurant with strong outdoor/patio positioning, named alongside Coastal Kitchen in Travel + Leisure's 2023 OpenTable outdoor dining coverage. Same coastal SoCal full-service seafood niche.
- Duke's Huntington Beach: Coastal Orange County seafood-and-steak full-service restaurant with strong patio/boardwalk positioning. Competes for the same coastal SoCal discretionary dining customer.
- Spencer's Restaurant: Palm Springs upscale full-service restaurant with strong outdoor patio positioning, listed alongside Coastal Kitchen in OpenTable's 2023 Top 100 outdoor dining list. Same premium coastal/full-service dining positioning.
- King's Fish House: Coastal California seafood-and-steak full-service restaurant chain frequently mentioned in the same OpenTable top outdoor dining coverage as Coastal Kitchen. Operates in Orange County and competes for the same local-and-tourist discretionary dining spend.
- Gulfstream Restaurant: Hillstone full-service coastal-American concept also previously managed by Mike Grant. Mirrors Coastal Kitchen's menu architecture (seafood, steaks, salads) and service style.
Broad incumbents
- Hillstone Restaurant Group: Parent organization of Houston's, Bandera, Gulfstream, R&D Kitchen and other full-service concepts. Coastal Kitchen's founders spent 24+ years here and mirror its operating playbook, making it the closest institutional peer in DNA even though Coastal Kitchen is independent.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Coastal Kitchen Restaurant social profiles
Digital presenceCoastal Kitchen Restaurant financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Coastal Kitchen Restaurant leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Coastal Kitchen Restaurant funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Coastal Kitchen Restaurant M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Coastal Kitchen Restaurant
What does Coastal Kitchen Restaurant do?
Coastal Kitchen is a single-location full-service seafood and steak restaurant in Dana Point, California, serving a from-scratch New-American coastal menu featuring sustainable seafood, premium dry-aged steaks (Newport Pride Natural, aged 21+ days), farm-fresh salads, and artisanal sandwiches for lunch and dinner. The restaurant generates revenue primarily through dine-in food and beverage sales at its Pacific Coast Highway location, with supporting channels of ChowNow online ordering, OpenTable reservations, and CardFoundry gift cards.
Is Coastal Kitchen Restaurant a public or private company?
Coastal Kitchen Restaurant is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Coastal Kitchen Restaurant founded?
Coastal Kitchen Restaurant was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Coastal Kitchen Restaurant based?
Coastal Kitchen Restaurant is headquartered in Dana Point, United States, in the North America region.
How does Coastal Kitchen Restaurant make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Dine-in Restaurant Sales are the primary driver. The others are online Ordering and gift Cards.
Who are Coastal Kitchen Restaurant's main competitors?
Regional players on record are Oceana Coastal Kitchen and The Marine Room. Direct peers are R&D Kitchen, Bandera, Pacific Coast Grill, Duke's Huntington Beach, Spencer's Restaurant, King's Fish House and Gulfstream Restaurant. Hillstone Restaurant Group is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Coastal Kitchen Restaurant have an API?
No public API is recorded for Coastal Kitchen Restaurant.
What industry is Coastal Kitchen Restaurant in?
Coastal Kitchen Restaurant's product category is Casual Coastal Seafood and Steak Restaurant. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFACAE, Steakhouses & Seafood Restaurants. Its NAICS code is 722511 and its SIC code is 5810.