Rainer Schwarz, executive chef and co-owner of two of Laguna Beach’s most celebrated restaurants, was killed in a car crash in Dana Point on Monday. He was 59.
According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Schwarz was driving an Audi on Crown Valley Parkway near Pacific Coast Highway in the late afternoon when his vehicle left the road, cut through landscaping, and came to a stop in a parking lot.
A spokesperson for the sheriff’s department did not return a request for comment from NTD News prior to publication.
Schwarz was the executive chef and partner of Driftwood Kitchen and The Deck on Laguna Beach, which he co-owned with restaurateur John Nye through Sentinel Restaurant and Hospitality Group, founded in 2013.
Schwarz went on to open Cienega at L’Ermitage before partnering with Nye on Disney’s Mondavi Project in the late 1990s. The two later worked together at Vail Cascade Resort and Spa in Colorado, developing several dining concepts.
His partnership with Nye ultimately brought him to Laguna Beach, where their restaurants became fixtures of the local dining scene.
“We worked together three different times over a decade between Disney’s Mondavi Project and the Hollywood Roosevelt, but we built The Deck and Driftwood Kitchen as a reflection of our love for good food and good people,” Nye said in an interview with the Register. “We always wanted to be recognized first for our people, then our food, and lastly, the location. That’s when we knew we had it right. If we had a legacy, it was the family and friends we have made in Laguna to this day.”
According to his restaurant, Schwarz’s culinary philosophy was rooted in simplicity—allowing the finest seasonal ingredients to speak for themselves. Beyond the kitchen, he was known for his deep community ties, supporting nonprofit events and mentoring fellow chefs.
Schwarz is survived by his wife, Tasha, and his son, Max.
“Chef Rainer’s legacy lives on in every dish and every guest experience he shaped,” Driftwood Kitchen said in its statement. “He believed deeply in hospitality as a way to bring people together.”
