Word on the Street
Tractor Room to shutter after 10 years
In case you missed it, the Tractor Room is closing up shop in Hillcrest. The last chance to get that cornbread served in a skillet will be Sunday brunch on July 10.
The restaurant has been a landmark on Fifth Avenue for the past decade, and is often credited as starting the craft cocktail movement in San Diego. The property went on the market last fall, and owner Johnny Rivera said he felt the business had run its course in the neighborhood. We didn’t get confirmation about whether the space has found a new owner.
You can still get Rivera’s famous Bloody Marys at Hash House a Go Go and Great Maple, which have expanded outside of San Diego.
Little Italy restaurant for sale after six months in business
Entrada, a Mexican restaurant and speakeasy that opened on India Street in November 2015, has been put up for sale.
The 7,500-square-foot space near Bolt Brewery is listed for $2.5 million. A flyer from Colliers International says the price includes all the furniture, the liquor license, and 14 years remaining on the current lease at below market rate. The new owner can choose whether to retain the current staff and concept, says Bill Shrader, senior vice president at Colliers.
There’s no doubt that Little Italy is popular, and owning a business there isn’t cheap—but is the going rate for a restaurant there in the millions? We asked our local expert, Mike Spilky, president of Location Matters, a firm that specializes in restaurant leases and sales. He says $2.5 million is much too high. “The price on this restaurant is totally and utterly absurd,” Spilky says. “And the way that it’s being openly marketed only speaks to the desperation of the seller.”
Shrader says the owner, Michael Viscuso, wanted Entrada to be “an amplified music venue,” and there’s been a club in the back of the restaurant since it opened. Civic San Diego recently pulled the plug on allowing live music there and revoked the conditional use permit after neighbors filed numerous complaints about the noise.
House Hunting
For the Fourth of July, we’re taking you on a quick tour of different eras in American architecture on this week’s house hunt. Several historic homes (and one really cool modern one) are on the market right now, and they’re all open this weekend!
Tractor Room Closing in Hillcrest; Five Historic Homes to See This Weekend
This 92-year-old bungalow in North Park has two bedrooms and is a little over 1,000 square feet. | Photo by Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
This 92-year-old bungalow in North Park has two bedrooms and is a little over 1,000 square feet. | Photo by Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
When this house by Morley Field was built in 1924, San Diego had a population of roughly 75,000 and the airport didn’t exist yet. The leaded glass front door, hardwood floors, and bathroom tiling are all original fixtures. Want it? It’s $649,900.
Tractor Room Closing in Hillcrest; Five Historic Homes to See This Weekend
An A-frame home in Hillcrest from the 1920s is priced at $799,000. | Photo by Coastal Premier Properties
An A-frame home in Hillcrest from the 1920s is priced at $799,000. | Photo by Coastal Premier Properties
When construction on this Hillcrest home was finished in 1925, Belmont Park had just opened on Mission Beach and Al Capone was on his way to becoming a crime boss in Chicago. The A-frame house sits on 7,000 square feet of land and has the original cabinets, shelves, and heating system.
Tractor Room Closing in Hillcrest; Five Historic Homes to See This Weekend
Selling for $985,000, this Spanish Revival home is being put on the market for the first time in 60 years. | Photo by Willis Allen Real Estate
Selling for $985,000, this Spanish Revival home is being put on the market for the first time in 60 years. | Photo by Willis Allen Real Estate
Heading west to Point Loma takes us to 1936, a few years after Prohibition ended and when the San Diego Padres were founded. The style of this two-story Spanish Revival home was popular at the time; there are lots of arches, wooden beams, and wrought iron ornaments in the interior.
Tractor Room Closing in Hillcrest; Five Historic Homes to See This Weekend
A two-story, four-bedroom home built in the 1940s is for sale for $629,900 in El Cerrito. | Photo by Bennion Deville Homes
A two-story, four-bedroom home built in the 1940s is for sale for $629,900 in El Cerrito. | Photo by Bennion Deville Homes
Here’s a house in El Cerrito from the post WWII years (1947) when the population was reaching 300,000 and the Cabrillo Freeway was under construction through Balboa Park. The four-bedroom house is actually two stories, and the interiors are lined with wood paneling.
Tractor Room Closing in Hillcrest; Five Historic Homes to See This Weekend
Two local entrepreneurs built this house out of shipping containers. | Photo by Loans Realty Group
Two local entrepreneurs built this house out of shipping containers. | Photo by Loans Realty Group
We’re bringing you back to the modern day to a brand-new house in Grant Hill that’s made entirely out of old shipping containers. A feature about this $800,000 “container house” appeared recently in the Union-Tribune, and you can see the house for yourself when it’s open this Saturday.
Tractor Room Closing in Hillcrest; Five Historic Homes to See This Weekend
Entrada in Little Italy is for sale. | Photo courtesy of Colliers International
