Owners Lynn & Gary
Lynn and Gary McLean are the owner-operators of Carlsbad’s Napatini Bistro & Wine Bar. They moved to San Diego’s North County in 2019 from the San Francisco Bay Area, where they lived very close to California Wine Country. Long story made short: This is a bucket list to-do for Lynn & Gary! Lynn is a Navy veteran who also had a successful career in computer and IT services sales as a civilian. Gary is a retired Marine Corps Infantry Officer who after leaving Active Duty spent about 25 years in IT consulting and operations. They started their “dream” in 2021 but encountered many delays, finally opening just after Christmas in 2022, and launching their Grand Opening on January 14, 2023 to great fanfare and enthusiasm from the local attendees.
Our Family
It’s been a family affair to prepare for the opening. With the help of their children Gary Jr, Matthew, Kevin, and Sam, Lynn & Gary have stayed “grounded” and focused.
Our Story
Lynn and Gary believe the more you know about wine, the more likely you are to embrace it. Napatini was born of the vision is to connect you to the wines you love!
Have you ever felt rushed when you dine out?
Have you ever felt intimidated about choosing wine with your food?
Have you ever taken a chance on ordering a wine at a restaurant that you ended up not really liking?
Well, we’ve felt the same! Our story starts in 2015 with our friends of the LMWC (Last Minute Wine Club). We thought of the idea that when people go out for a wine-centric experience, they should have a casual wine-centric experience on their terms; not a bar experience, not a restaurant experience. Restaurants are about a dinner- the food experience. We wanted a wine experience. Our friends and we thought of all the great times we had at wine tasting rooms in Wine Country. We thought that if we were ever given the opportunity, we would try to mimic that wine-tasting room experience- at least as much as practical- by opening a wine bar, minus elaborate decor. Sometime in 2016, Gary created the business plan, talked with people-in-the-know, and investigated the feasibility of being a wine bar owner. We- and our LMWC friends didn’t think the concept could work so close to Wine Country, so we shelved the idea. Then, in 2019, we moved to San Diego and the dream that a winery-like experience could be a fun destination started to become real! Then the COVID closures hit. After hitting a number of challenges we opened in December 2022!