The beautiful view of Angel Island and San Francisco greets Tiburon diners as they enjoy an exquisite meal overlooking the water at 5 Main Street. This prime location on Main Street in Tiburon was once inhabited by Guaymas, a rustic Mexican restaurant that had been in Tiburon for over 30 years. 

On Labor Day of 2018, Guaymas served its last meal, which is when Michael Mina stepped in. Mina is an American celebrity Chef, restaurateur, and founder of the Mina Group, a restaurant management company responsible for all of Mina’s restaurants. In Sept. 2019, the Mina Group announced that a Michael Mina restaurant would be filling the place Guyana’s left behind. 

Tiburon Town Manager Greg Chanis believes that the restaurant will serve not only Tiburon residents, but also tourists and people from all over Marin County. However, due to the complexity of working with the requirements of multiple companies, the process will take longer than expected.

“Over the course of construction, [the Mina Group] will be dealing with a number of public entities other than the town, including the Tiburon fire district, the county health services for their restaurant health permit, the sanitation district, and the water district,” Chanis said. “There’s a number of overlapping jurisdictions that [the Mina Group] needs to satisfy the requirements of, and the town isn’t necessarily in control of all of that.”

Jamie Law, Senior Director of Public Relations and Marketing for the Mina Group,      said that while the Mina Group does not have any updates regarding the construction, local residents are looking forward to this new success.

Although Tiburon is relatively small, Chanis still considers it a great location to open a restaurant. 

“Tiburon is a small town, but we have easy access to San Francisco via ferry,” Chanis said. “The Michael Mina restaurant is in a prime location on the waterfront, and there is nothing that makes us think it won’t be successful.” 

Holli Thier, Vice Mayor of Tiburon, believes the wave of new restaurants and renovations will generate more foot traffic for the town. The Caprice Restaurant and the Morning Cafe are also currently undergoing renovations, which Thier expects will make Tiburon a more popular town to visit in the future. 

“The town of Tiburon is very excited to welcome Michael Mina and the new restaurant. We believe that this will be a huge attraction for many people to come into Tiburon and utilize all of the shops and restaurants,” Thier said. “There are a lot of really great restaurants in Tiburon, and the new renovations are great for the town.”

Leanne Battelle, a freelance food writer for the Marin Independent Journal, said that the new Michael Mina restaurant will encourage families from all over Marin to pay a visit to enjoy the incredible food.

 “In Marin, people are always looking for a new place to go, so I think that this development will help other businesses in the area as well, and bring more people to Tiburon, and there isn’t something new that often,” Battelle said. 

With Mina’s restaurant and other culinary developments in the town, Thier thinks Tiburon will get the upgrade it needs to continue its status as a successful and popular town. 

“The Town Council is still trying to attract new businesses to downtown Tiburon, and we’re absolutely thrilled that Michael Mina has chosen to open the restaurant in our home,” Thier said.