Iconic Restaurant The Lion’s Share Transfers Ownership

Originally published Iconic Restaurant The Lion’s Share Transfers Ownership on July 26, 2025 03:45 by https://www.sdbj.com/food/restaurants/iconic-restaurant-the-lions-share-transfers-ownership/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=iconic-restaurant-the-lions-share-transfers-ownership at San Diego Business Journal

SAN DIEGO – One of San Diego’s most influential cocktail bars and restaurants, The Lion’s Share, transitioned ownership this month, marking a new era. The company will change hands from its founders Carlos Valente and Roy Ledo to brother chefs Danny Romero and Dante Romero and their business partner Darius Yasiejko.

The Romeros and Yasiejko formed a new ownership group, J Peacock & Associates, with all the investors for the project. The team will be working with the management group Service Animals, which Danny helped launch.

“Our vision of The Lion’s Share is to keep the ship going the way that it has been,” Yasiejko said. “It’s a friendly neighborhood bar with great food and amazing people, and that’s a winning combination for me.”

Valente is also the CEO of The Sporting Fraternity, the management group that previously ran The Lion’s Share and is responsible for arcade bar Coin-Op Game Room, which has locations in San Diego, Sacramento and San Francisco. For Valente and Ledo, the timing felt right to shift their focus from The Lion’s Share to other pursuits.

“The Lion’s Share gave us a lot of credibility within the restaurant scene here in San Diego,” Ledo said. “We tried to leave our mark in our small, special way. We feel like we did that over the last 14 years, and we finally found a group we felt we could pass the torch to.”

A Natural Transition

The Romeros previously launched pop-up concepts like Tortoise and fine-dining concept Two Ducks, which operated out of The Lion’s Share’s upstairs loft in collaboration with Yasiejko. As the team searched for a permanent home for Two Ducks, Ledo and Valente suggested the idea of transferring The Lion’s Share’s ownership.

“Roy approached me one day, and I really thought he was going to kick Two Ducks out of our residency. I thought that’s what the meeting was about,” Danny said. “It just kind of shook me, as you’d expect. I thought I was going to get kicked out, and here I am getting offered the restaurant.

“As we talked, I felt it in my bones that it was the move,” he continued. “As soon as I felt [my team’s] excitement, I knew it even more that this was what we were going to do next at any cost.”

Before talks of an ownership shuffle, the Romeros, Yasiejko, Ledo and Valente were all peers and friends in San Diego’s culinary scene. Dante has been The Lion’s Share’s executive chef for the past year and will remain in that role after the transition. In addition to his work at Service Animals, Danny was previously a chef at the three Michelin–starred Addison by William Bradley.

The brothers hope to bring years of experience in hospitality to The Lion’s Share, building on its legacy.

“I’ve always been a huge fan of their creativity, and their raw talent from a culinary standpoint. The team that they put together is highly impressive,” Valente said. “There’s a lot of talent, a lot of ambition and a lot of really great ideas. I’m really excited to see what they do with this.”

Beyond leading the charge in San Diego’s experimental craft cocktail scene, the spot has served as a beloved watering hole for the industry crowd. The Romeros and Yasiejko hope to amplify that sense of community.

“Sitting down at the bar having a meal10 years ago, I never would have thought that it’s ours now,” Dante said. “It’s a beautiful thing for us, since we’ve worked in the industry for a while, to see our peers come into the building and enjoy the food, drinks and service.”

New Culinary Pursuits

As new leadership settles in, their vision for The Lion’s Share’s future is still coming together.

“Our main focus is making The Lion’s Share ours,” Dante said. “When the time is right, we’ll focus on putting Two Ducks upstairs and other projects.”

Dante mentioned that his team, as well as his peers in the San Diego hospitality industry, are making a big push to be recognized by the Michelin Guide.

“I feel like everyone’s pushing and growing,” Dante said. “On the national scale, San Diego might be like a small city as far as culinary and cocktails, but I feel like we’re doing our own push right now. Either now or in a few years, people are going to notice.”

Like many businesses, The Lion’s Share’s new ownership noted the challenge of rising costs. Danny also mentioned vendors and insurance also charge higher rates for new owners.

“Something that’s become pretty clear as we’ve been making this transition is that we’re going to come across a lot of challenges of being new restaurant owners,” Danny said.
Despite the headwinds, Danny said that Valente and Romero have been helpful and supportive during the transition.

Valente and Ledo plan to reallocate their resources to Coin-Op after the transition and double down on “eatertainment.” The Sporting Fraternity leaders have new experiential dining concepts in the works, given the trend’s success.

“We’re very excited for this new group,” Ledo said. “They’re incredibly talented and passionate. They remind me of Carlos and I in those early days when we were opening our first restaurant, because this is their first brick and mortar… I’m excited to see what they do at The Lion’s Share.”

The Lion’s Share
FOUNDED: 2011
CEO: Danny Romero, Dante Romero & Darius Yasiejko
HEADQUARTERS: San Diego
BUSINESS: Food & Beverage
EMPLOYEES: 25
REVENUE: The Lion’s Share just experienced it’s best revenue years since opening in 2011
WEBSITE: https://lionssharesd.com
CONTACT: [email protected]
NOTABLE: The Romero brothers operated Tortoise, the predecessor to Two Ducks, also out of The Lion’s Share loft in 2020.

Born and raised in San Diego, Madison takes great pride in local storytelling. Her coverage at the San Diego Business Journal includes tourism, hospitality, nonprofits, education and retail. An alumna of San Diego State University’s journalism program, she has written for publications including The San Diego Union-Tribune and The San Diego Sun. At the 2024 San Diego Press Club awards, Madison was recognized for her exemplary profile writing. She was also a speaker for the 2023 TEDx Conference at Bonita Vista High School. When she’s not working on her next story, Madison can be found performing music at a local restaurant or on one of San Diego’s many hiking trails.

Originally published San Diego Business Journal