Danny Castillo Heritage BBQ
Biggest news is that Stone Brewing Co. announced it will be acquired by Sapporo USA. Stone CEO Maria Stipp told SDM that the core team will remain intact, and she expects the brand to stay the same except for volume and distribution—which will dramatically increase. Sapporo will shift its U.S. production to Stone breweries on both coasts.
One of our favorite Thai restaurants, The Original Sab-E-Lee in Linda Vista, has closed because there is grave injustice at the core of this planet (their Rancho Peñasquitos location will remain open). The bright side is a new Thai restaurant, Zab Linda, will replace it.
Construction has started on the San Diego location of Malibu Farm from famed chef Helene Henderson. It’ll replace the classic, 14,000 square-foot Harbor House in Seaport Village. It’s part of the ongoing renewal of the city’s tourist haven, with new projects from Mike Hess Brewing (they opened a rooftop deck called Tower by Mike Hess in collaboration with Quiero Tacos) and Mr. Moto.
The once-tragic barbecue scene in San Diego is getting better by the day. Heritage Barbecue—whose flagship spot in San Juan Capistrano made pitmaster Danny Castillo a star—is scheduled to open a 10,000 square-foot restaurant and brewery in Oceanside by the end of the year.
Do we want local businesses to thrive and bloom? You bet. Are we also pleased when other cities send us their very best concepts? Also, yes—like Starbread Bakery. The famed Filipino bakery from NorCal just opened in Chula Vista, serving their signature señorita bread and fruit-flavored malasadas.
We’ve got a face-off between the city of San Diego and restaurants brewing. Allowed to create parklets (patios on public spaces in front of the restaurants) during the pandemic shutdowns, the city is now requiring permits and licensing fees. The new enforcement started in July, and at the time only about 5% of the 500 restaurants had applied for permits. So if you see a bulldozer coming at you while eating a taco on a restaurants’ pandemic patio, make haste.
