Jerome Gombert spent twelve years away from San Diego. He closed Vagabond, his South Park restaurant, in 2013. He moved to Rosarito. Then France. Then back again. Now he's cooking on Third Avenue in Chula Vista, and the food is worth the wait.
Suzette opened in early January 2026 at 310 Third Avenue. It's a French breakfast and lunch spot, open Wednesday through Sunday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. The menu leads with crepes, both sweet and savory, alongside croque monsieurs, sandwiches, and pastries. Gombert plans to add dinner service later this year with coq au vin, steak au poivre, fish meuniere, and mussels.
The Team Behind Suzette
Gombert didn't come back alone. He brought chef Omar, who trained at the Bocuse d'Or, which is basically the Olympics of professional cooking. Omar and his wife chef Reyna Venegas ran Restaurante Amores in Tecate, a spot that earned Michelin recognition in Baja California. That kind of kitchen talent is rare for a breakfast spot in the South Bay. Gombert calls Omar "a crazy chef," and he means it as the highest compliment.
The name comes from the classic French dessert, crepe Suzette. "Nobody gets it!" Gombert told San Diego Magazine with a laugh.
Why Third Avenue Works
Gombert picked Chula Vista for a reason. The downtown dining scene has been growing fast, and Third Avenue now has more independent restaurants per block than it's had in decades. Mujer Divina draws a morning crowd for burritos and coffee. Acqua e Farina brought Roman-style Italian to the strip. 3 Punk Ales and Brewjeria handle the evening beer crowd.
Suzette fills a gap that nobody else on the avenue was filling. There's no other French restaurant in the South Bay. Not in Chula Vista, not in National City, not in Imperial Beach. For croque monsieurs and properly made crepes, people were driving to La Jolla or Hillcrest. Now they can park on Third Avenue and walk in.
Planning Your Visit
Suzette is at 310 Third Avenue in downtown Chula Vista. Street parking is available. They're closed Mondays and Tuesdays. If you're making a morning of it, Caffe Tazza is nearby for an espresso warm-up, and Hans & Harry's Bakery is worth a stop for takeaway bread. The restaurant is accessible from I-5 and sits about a mile west of the La Bella Pizza stretch of Third Avenue.
Gombert says once the kitchen is running smoothly on the breakfast and lunch menu, he'll expand to include dishes from across France. Dinner service with a full wine list is the plan. For now, though, the crepes are reason enough to go.
