Jason Quinn’s unique dining narrative, Detention (or DTTN 2.0), in downtown Santa Ana will reach its last chapter, with the final dish expected to be served by the end of the year.
The news comes from Quinn himself, who announced the impending closure of Detention on Instagram. The chef/founder also revealed that its sibling restaurant, Trust (to be renamed Playground 2.0, a nod to Quinn’s former eatery in the same location), which is found right next door, could close sometime in 2026.
While the membership-based model at Detention, which he adopted after growing tired of the traditional restaurant approach, has been a success and allowed him to get to know his customers better, he will no longer take any new members, issue renewing payments or monthly fees. The membership system offered four programs — Habitual, Out-of-Towner, the Entertainer and Corporate — with each tier requiring a down payment and monthly fees ranging from $50 to $500. Highlights included a direct line to the restaurant, last-minute reservations, a no-check-presentation system, requests to bring additional guests and access to special events and bottle releases.
The end of Quinn’s nearly 15-year run on the corner of Fourth and Spurgeon streets is tied, in part, to the expiration of the building’s lease at the end of next year.
“I feel a little bit like Tommy Lee Jones in ‘No Country for Old Men,’” said Quinn in his Instagram announcement on Sept. 23. “We’ve been going for such a long time, I just don’t know if we are still in the group of hot new restaurants or people who still have an idea what’s going on. And so we’ve decided not to renew our lease.”
The timeline for the current Detention is being accelerated by staffing changes as well. The current culinary team at Trust, husband-wife duo Kyle and Lehena McClelland, plans on moving back to the East Coast, making Oct. 11 their last day. Following their departure, Quinn will step away from Detention to take over the kitchen at Trust.
“I will then be going from my role at Detention to Trust, which I think I’m going to call Playground 2.0 again, because that is one of my absolute favorite places in the world to cook and one of my favorite ways to entertain people,” he said. Quinn will join chef Kyle Romanowski at Trust.
With the lauded chef shifting focus, the team remaining at Detention will take the reins, but Quinn is realistic about its future: “We’re hoping to make it to the end of the year,” he said, with New Year’s Eve slated for the final night of service.
Noting the changing dining landscape, Quinn is unsure if the fine-dining scene is right for his concepts anymore, noting that he’s seen less foot traffic at Trust as of late. “I think people in general are watching their consumption,” he said in an interview, pointing to the current state of the economy and “lots of people on Ozempic” as factors.
The fate of Trust, or the re-branded Playground 2.0, remains uncertain for 2026. “We’ll go as long as people still want us around,” said Quinn. If Trust/Playground 2.0 “can’t sell any tickets, it’s clear as day that it’s time for us to be done.”
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Once his successful run in Santa Ana concludes, Quinn plans to move with his family to Valencia, Spain, to host food tours and booking classes for visitors.
Quinn received plaudits galore from critics and diners alike with his inventive dining concepts, especially with the opening of Playground. “The rebel chef/owner is Jason Quinn, and he is indeed a formidable talent,” wrote Register critic Brad A. Johnson in his 2013 review of Playground. “He leads a young kitchen team hell-bent on making everything from scratch and taking no prisoners. They huddle together every morning to figure out what’s fresh that day, to see what they’ve got in the pantry, and then they brainstorm a game plan for that night’s menu.”
The chef also caught the eye of the late Jonathan Gold, which earned him a spot on the Los Angeles Times critic’s 101 Best Restaurants of 2016. Additional honors followed with a spot on Yelp’s “Top 100 Places to Eat in the U.S.” ranking and Bon Appetit’s America’s Favorite Neighborhood Restaurants list.
After Playground closed during the pandemic, Quinn reimagined it with Detention, his membership-dining concept, and Trust, an omakase-like theatrical culinary experience. Johnson listed Detention as one of the best Orange County restaurants of 2022, noting it as “a far more glamorous, more comfortable and exponentially more mature restaurant” than its previous incarnation.
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Detention features a rotating, pared-down menu of seasonal dishes with cheeky names like the Super Slutty Summer Salad and Tedious French Fries, as well as seemingly simple yet expertly executed fare like Chicken Thigh (a sole chicken thigh roasted to crispy and juicy flawlessness) and Japanese Risotto with Corn and Shishitos.
An Irvine native who honed his skills in the food truck arena in his twenties, Quinn, along with Daniel Shemtob and Jesse Brockman, went on to major acclaim on Season 2 of Food Network’s “The Great Food Truck Race,” when the Lime Truck won the coveted $100,000 first prize. He’s also known for his upfront, no-holds-barred attitude; in 2012 he was hailed a hero in the restaurant community after he responded to a poor Yelp review with a rant that succienty concluded with “Burn in Hell.”