Co-Lab Vista
After significant pandemic-related delays, Vista is finally about to gain a brand-new collaborative hospitality concept offering beer, wine, and food under one roof. Co-Lab Vista, spearheaded by real estate developer Joe Deutsch, is now slated to open around the end of this year or early 2022.
Co-Lab promises to be less of a temporary business incubator, like the Brewery Igniter model, and more of a beverage-focused food hall with long-term tenancy as the goal. That’s part of the reason Jason Ignaciak, owner of Breakwater Brewing, decided to expand beyond its twelve-year-old Oceanside brewpub into the shared 11,500-square-foot space.
“It was a no-brainer for us at Breakwater,” Ignaciak says, explaining that they first met with Deutsch in early 2020 and signed on as a tenant in 2021. “We’ve been stuck in a rut for several years now and finally had an opportunity to expand.”
Ignaciak says this will allow Breakwater to grow into a larger brewing space where costs are shared with the other businesses, which will in turn give them the opportunity to expand distribution. “This will be a huge leap forward for us, and hopefully a chance to catch up with some of the other popular breweries that have popped up in San Diego County in the last several years.”
Three of the four suites at Co-Lab have already been snatched up by craft beverage producers—the others are Laguna Beach Beer Company and Barrel & Stave. The concept also plans to host a winery to provide a wider range of products for guests. All of the tenants will share a two-story indoor tasting room with a 2,000-square-foot mezzanine, as well as a sprawling outdoor patio. Future plans include an on-site kitchen for a permanent food vendor.
Co-Lab’s highly trafficked location along state Route 78 (also known as the “Hops Highway”) suggests that it could become a familiar landmark to the hundreds of thousands of people who pass by daily—a factor the partners behind the project believe will boost visitor numbers over the long term.
If this initial Vista location works out, Deutsch hopes to open more Co-Lab concepts elsewhere, in bigger spaces and with even more vendors. Ignaciak is confident this collaborative model is destined to succeed. “I think this is a great concept for smaller breweries that don’t have the capital to open large tasting rooms, or can’t afford large brewing systems,” he says. “With three breweries in one location and the different brewers’ combined skills, there should be something for everyone to enjoy. Who knows—maybe some creative new beer recipes will come out of it.”
Co-Lab Vista will be located at 2129 Industrial Court. Keep up with the project’s progress by following #colabvista on social media.
