Chef Mike Minor Leaves Border Grill for San Diego in December

Chef Mike Minor departs Border Grill, the Mexican restaurant from Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken at Mandalay Bay, at the end of December.

The executive chef leaves his job to pursue new opportunities in San Diego.

“I belong in Southern California and it’s been my dream to live and cook there,” Minor says. “My style of food and dedication to my craft is like no other.”

Minor originally joined Border Grill in 2004 and left in 2014 to launch his food truck, TruckUBarbecue, and later Bandito Mexican at the Hughes Center. After a brief stint at Chica at the Venetian, he returned to Border Grill in 2017. In 2018, the helped launch the fast-casual smoked meats restaurant BBQ Mexicana across from Border Grill.

“It’s bittersweet to see Mike go,” says chef and co-owner Feniger. “He’s been a big part of the Border Grill and BBQ Mexicana team for many years, but we completely support him. It’s been his dream to live in San Diego and we wish him all the best in his move.”

“We’re so happy for Mike and we’ll all be cheering him on as he begins this next chapter,” says chef and co-owner Milliken. “We’re also incredibly proud of the team we’ve built at Mandalay Bay, and led by our fantastic general manager, Yancy Perez, executive sous chef Danny Pineda, and sous chefs Jose Torres and John Ozaki.”

“I don’t have a job but I can’t wait to get down there and start cooking my ass off,” Minor says.

Minor appeared on the Food Network’s Chopped and Chef Wanted, and the Cooking Channel’s Big Bad Barbecue Brawl.

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