City Takes Over Irons in the Fire

The restaurant at the San Clemente Municipal Golf Course -- -- has been released to the city.

will continue operating, according to this release from the city:

The owners of the Irons in the Fire Restaurant, located at the San Clemente Municipal Golf Course, have voluntarily released its lease to the City of San Clemente because of financial hardships the owners have experienced.

The City seeks a seamless transition during this transitional period in order to keep the restaurant open until a new operator can be selected. Irons in the Fire has served as the concessionaire at the golf clubhouse since 2008, following a complete renovation and reopening of the clubhouse. The golf course restaurant was one of three restaurants operated by Dave Donaldson.

The Irons in the Fire remains open for business serving the golf clientele; providing lunch and dinner to business and neighborhood clientele; and, hosting special events.

Since 2008, the City has amended the lease terms in an effort to aid the struggling operation, hoping to retain Irons in the Fire and increase its services for golf, restaurant, and special event business.

However, earlier this month, the City was notified that the owners would no longer be able to maintain the current operation and voluntarily relinquished its lease to the City.

At this time, the City is in the process of exploring opportunities to keep the restaurant operational during the process of evaluating the future of the restaurant and seeking a new restaurant operator.