“I’ve been to the Valle many times for weddings, and every time I come, everyone is scattered all over the Valle,” says property manager Hector Alvarez. “Very few places have enough room to accommodate a wedding party.”
As Baja California continues to reinvent itself, Valle’s accessibility from Southern California, relative affordability compared to other wine regions like Napa Valley, and prized cabernet sauvignon and merlot grapes have made it a hot-spot destination.
Hector notes that planning a weekend wine trip with a handful of friends to Valle de Guadalupe is easy—with lots of little boutique hotels and rentals sprinkled across the area—but hosting a large event like a wedding or corporate retreat can be a challenge. He hopes to change this with Casa Nova, his hospitality lodging project with Joe and Jennifer Vaught.
Joe co-founded San Diego hospitality company Verant Group with Eric Lingenfelder and Mark Cirillo in 2003, and the group now operates a number of concepts around San Diego and Arizona, including Barleymash, Mavericks Beach Club, Tavern at the Beach, and Sandbar. While Verant Group is not associated with Casa Nova, the group’s ability to manage multiple concepts across San Diego, on top of Joe’s previous experience working in wine and spirits distribution, means that if anyone can do it, this trio just might.
The property will offer a collection of guest houses and large-capacity outdoor event space that can fit up to 150 people. The main house contains six bedrooms and six bathrooms, while seven additional cabins across the property make it easy to host groups of up to around 35 people. Hector says the property is part of a development with 36 individual lots within walking distance, several of which have additional cabins available to rent separately, as well.
“They’re no more than 100 yards away,” Hector explains, adding that he is in constant communication with the development’s HOA board to coordinate future bookings for large groups. Casa Nova’s space will also have a commercial kitchen to provide breakfast and lunch to onsite guests, but Hector says part of the Valle experience is experiencing Baja’s local cuisine at nearby places like Fauna, Animalón, and Deckman’s.
“There are so many great restaurants in Valle,” he continues. “We’re going to encourage them to go out and sample the cuisine.”
Hector says they’re nearly finished with construction, but staffing shortages have proven to be a problem. He hopes to be open come summertime. “The project is going to be nice,” he promises. If they manage to pull this off, it could be a big leap for Valle de Guadalupe.
Stay tuned for more details about this developing project.
San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events
The Barn House BBQ Now Open in Lemon Grove
San Diego is quickly becoming a barbecue town, with styles represented from Memphis, the Sonoran Desert, Central Texas, and Kansas City. The latter type has now landed in Lemon Grove at The Barn House BBQ, now open at 8099 Broadway.
Kansas City barbecue tends to be slowly smoked over a wood fire, then coated with a thick, sweet, and spicy tomato-based sauce for a messy (but delicious) meal. Pork ribs and beef brisket are popular meats for this particular take, but The Barn House also offers burgers, sausages, pastrami, pulled pork, and even a veggie burger.
Chef Yovani Palacios says he aims to put a “SoCal twist” on signature plates, like the Grove Burrito made with barbecue pulled chicken, smoked barbecue aioli, French fries, cheese, avocado, and pico de gallo. (Pro tip: Pack some extra Wet Wipes to avoid saucy joysticks in their 1,500-square-foot game and arcade room.)
The Barn House is now open Sunday through Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Friday through Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Beth’s Bites
Speaking of barbecue, Daniel Vaughn (a.k.a @bbqsnob and noted barbecue expert) stopped by Heritage BBQ in Oceanside and Papalo in La Mesa last week. It seems the word is officially out on the San Diego barbecue scene.
Herb & Wood is doing the chef shuffle, with chef Carlos Anthony moving to Brian Malarkey’s Chefs Life TV and chef Mariano Rayon assuming the role of chef de cuisine.
Local coffee chain Better Buzz Coffee Roasters is on a roll, opening all over the place from Phoenix to Bonita, La Mesa, Laguna Hills, Mission Gorge, and more. Next up, they have their eyes on Oceanside and eventually Las Vegas (they must have taken a page out of Brad Wise’s book of expansions).
