Preview Mission Hills’ Upcoming Wolf in the Woods Project

Eater readers and neighborhood residents have been curious about a new restaurant project that’s posted up in Mission Hills in the space that previously held Espresso Mio tucked within a small collection of commercial storefronts along a residential stretch of Fort Stockton Drive. A sign on a window details the mission statement for the restaurant, which has been dubbed Wolf in Woods, stating that the team has “joined together as a local veteran restaurateur, working mothers, small business owners, floral designer and a member of a long time San Diego produce family” with the intent of creating a “lovely, intimate and family friendly European Cafe setting that will blend harmoniously into the community”.

We sat down with Wolf in the Woods’ co-owner Rina Moceri, who has lived in Mission Hills for three decades and owns a salon on W. Lewis Street plus the adjacent coffee house Kettle & Stone. Her family owns the complex on Fort Stockton where her uncle, the late designer Arthur Porras, once had a studio. The new restaurant marks a full circle for Moceri; she and her husband once ran a cafe there 20 years ago.

Now, Moceri and her current partner have joined forces with Johnny and Renee Rivera to launch Wolf in the Woods; the Riveras are experienced restaurateurs who are behind the Hash House a go go and Great Maple concepts in Hillcrest. Though Wolf in the Woods is still in development, Moceri told Eater that it will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner and feature to-go section for quick eats. Offering a “fresh, organic and clean” bistro menu, selections will range from appetizers to cheese boards, crepes and light entrees plus craft beer and wine. Scheduled to open this August, the all-day eatery will span two adjacent spaces coming together for a 75-seat restaurant; it will also have a back observation deck that looks out onto the eucalyptus-lined canyon.