Mission Hills is a neighborhood of hills and heritage: missions, churches, palm-lined streets, and, now, a glorious food scene on the rise. Perched above the harbor, a 65-acre stretch of Mission Hills was purchased for just $16.25 in 1869 by Captain Henry James Johnston. His grandson, Henry Leverett Miller, shaped it into the Mission Hills subdivision in 1908, grading roads and planting the now-iconic palms.
With investors like famed horticulturist Kate Sessions linking the trolley line to Fort Stockton, the area quickly became a coveted enclave. For decades, it stayed that way—exclusive, manicured, and largely reserved for white, affluent San Diegans through racially restrictive land policies finally ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1948.
Thanks to deep ties with Mexican border towns and an influx of visionary chefs and restaurateurs, 21st-century Mission Hills is flipping its past on its head. What was once closed off is now open to influence—from immigrant stories, international traditions, and next-gen visions…