FIRST LOOK: Carte Blanche

Mike and AJ Aubuchon share one very important trait: Patience. The Aubuchons are the husband-and-wife team behind Koakai Brewing Company, a brewery that’s been in the works for roughly two years. Like many other food and drink businesses, they’ve faced delay after delay after delay. Lesser people would have given up—or at least seemed a lot more annoyed about it. I wouldn’t blame them one bit.

But the excitement in AJ’s voice is palpable. It’s like the night before Christmas for the duo, whose patience is about to pay off. Koakai is finally slated to open in Oceanside in mid- to late-April next to the Aubuchons’ other business, Kyoto Japanese Market. 

A North County native, Mike started his beer career in the bottle shop at Pizza Port Carlsbad before becoming a cellarman, then assistant brewer at the chain’s Ocean Beach shop. When the Carlsbad brewhouse needed a head brewer, he went back to his hometown and started racking up hardware at competitions like The Great American Beer Festival, where he won bronze in 2015, silver in 2017, and gold in 2020. He stayed for a little over 10 years before helping launch brewing operations at Heritage BBQ & Beer Co., now Hill Street Brewing.

Originally from Kyoto, Japan, AJ worked in restaurants from her teens until she moved to Oceanside to attend MiraCosta College. She also worked alongside Mike at Pizza Port, bartending, learning about craft beer, and making connections with other people in the industry—relationships they plan to bring into their operations through collaborative brews. 

“Koakai” has a double meaning: “warrior for the sea” in Hawaiian and “a little red” in Japanese. “My maiden name in Japanese is Kaiho and that means ‘saving the ocean,’” AJ explains, adding that when she first met Mike, a lifelong ocean lover, he was working as a professional surfboard shaper. “Also, my husband has a lot of Irish in his heritage, so our kids—we have four children—they all have a kind of reddish tint in their hair… so it kind of means heritage and family.”

Koakai’s inaugural lineup will feature a flagship Japanese lager, German schwarzbier, West Coast IPA, hoppy pilsner, Mexican lager, XPA, and a few collaborations like a West Coast IPA with RahrBSG, a craft malt supplier, and yet another IPA made with specialty hops, this one a collab with Cannonball Creek Brewing Company from Colorado. They’ll likely add more drinks later, such as a house seltzer, and dry Irish stouts on nitro, and even feature some imported Japanese sake. 

Patrons will be able to pick up food—items like onigiri, Japanese-style sandwiches, bento boxes, and sushi—from Kyoto Japanese Market next door. The brewery’s kitchen will offer fresh sushi as well as its signature blend of Japanese, Hawaiian, and Central Texas-style barbecue, similar to what the market currently serves on weekends (think sticky ribs, charcoal-grilled steaks, and yakitori-style chicken). Some of the dishes are based on AJ’s childhood favorites, like hambagu, a Japanese hamburger steak.

“It’s almost like a hamburger patty, but it’s more like meatloaf,” she explains. “It has a lot of different ingredients, caramelized onions, ginger, garlic, bread crumbs, and eggs.”

A lot—and I mean a lot—has changed in the craft beer world since the Aubuchons entered the scene, and they know it’s not an easy landscape for them right now. But they’ve both been around the beer block a time or two. They’re ready. “It’s our time to show people what we’ve learned and what we can do,” says AJ.

Koakai Brewing Company opens at 559 Greenbrier Drive, Suite B, in Oceanside in mid- to late April 2026.

San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events

Beth’s Bites

• Lilo made huge headlines when the Carlsbad restaurant by John Resnick and chef Eric Bost earned a Michelin star less than two months after opening, but its next milestone takes place on Friday, April 17. To celebrate the first anniversary of opening its doors, chefs Travis Swikard (Callie, Fleurette), Tara Monsod (Animae, Le Coq), and Jason McLeod (Ironside Fish & Oyster) will join Bost for a one- night-only collaborative dinner with courses from each chef (the menu will be announced later, but I feel pretty safe predicting it’ll be world-class). Reservations are open now and will likely go quickly. 
• In Tagalog, “kain tayo!” means “let’s eat!” That’s exactly what I plan to do on Saturday, April 11, at Fall Brewing’s Miramar location during the Kain Tayo Fiesta, a Filipino festival with food vendors like Luna’s Lunpias, Snoice, All Things Ube, and more. Diners will also enjoy artists, live music, DJs, retail vendors, dance exhibitions, and even live tattooing. The free and family-friendly event starts at noon, and if you happen to have some new or gently used skate gear hanging around your house, bring it along. The festival coordinators are putting together a box to send to skaters in the Philippines so they can keep shredding.
• The Busalacchi family has been a San Diego institution since Joe Busalacchi opened Casanova’s Pizza in La Mesa in 1984. Since then, the Sicilian dynasty has only expanded its reach across the city’s dining scene, operating joints like Café Zucchero, Barbusa, Nonna, and Lala. This year, the family’s restaurant group will celebrate 40 years of pizza, pasta, and Peronis. The family that cooks together stays together, so it seems, so congrats to the whole Busalacchi fam—and here’s to another 40 years.

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Givino Rossini knows there are already a lot of great specialty coffee shops in San Diego. He likes to think he runs two of them already: Kettle On Grand in Escondido and Kettle On Main in Fallbrook. But rather than open another conventional coffee shop—with a few fun pastries and community events like DJ nights—he decided to kick it up a notch for his third location in Oceanside, Kettle On Coast.

“This is going to lean a lot more restaurant than fast-casual coffee shop,” he explains. The space, which housed Petite Madeline Bakery until March 15, comes with a full kitchen—something the first two Kettle Ons don’t have. And the menu won’t be typical coastal California avocado toasts and acai bowls. Chef David Lay, who’s worked at restaurants like the Michelin Bib Gourmand Kettner Exchange as chef de cuisine and at Juniper & Ivy as chef de partie, is spearheading the kitchen, developing to-go breakfast and lunch menu along with a pastry and coffee program. 

“I describe the food as rooted in African diasporic flavors and traditions, with influences from the Mediterranean and the Levant [the land bridge between Africa and Eurasia]. The opening menu is really meant to be an introduction to some of those ingredients, spices, and techniques in a way that feels approachable,” Lay explains. “But the long term vision is to continue exploring African culinary traditions more deeply as the menu evolves.”

The opening menu includes items like French toast with a cinnamon sugar crust, Moroccan tres leches, and crème fraîche; miso cheddar grits with a sunny-side-up egg, berbere (an Egyptian spice blend), and chives; Aleppo fried chicken with chermoula (a North African sauce and marinade somewhat similar to chimichurri), tahini, preserved lemon relish, and herbs; and a grilled mochi with honey, berbere, and crème fraîche for dessert. Guests will order at the counter and either take their food to go or have it delivered to their table. 

Kettle On Coast will soft-open in early April, initially rolling out between nine and 15 of Lay’s menu items and ramping it up from there. Rossini expects to have everything in place for a grand opening in early summer and hopes to introduce the same sort of community-specific events to Oceanside as he has in Escondido and Fallbrook. 

“Each location has its own unique kind of concept and energy around that space,” he says. “We kind of tailor each space to what we feel is missing or what’s needed in that community.” In Escondido, it’s been events like skate competitions, while Fallbrook has put on poetry readings. But in Oceanside, the future is yet to be written.

Kettle On Coast will soft-open at 223 N. Coast Hwy. in Oceanside in April 2026. Initial operating hours will be Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events

First-Gen Boba Shop Celebrates One Year in Kearny Mesa

I only got really into boba tea in the last couple of years, but once you go full “QQ,” you never go back. For those unfamiliar with the concept, QQ is a Taiwanese term referring to the springy, chewy texture of elastic-y foods that seem to bounce against your teeth—things like fish balls, tendon, or boba pearls. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea (pun intended), but if it’s yours, tons of tea shops have sprung up around San Diego to satisfy a wide range of flavor cravings, from classic milk tea to out-there options like matcha-mango with cheese foam and popping pearls.

If you’re not sure where to start, Boba Religion in Convoy District is celebrating its one-year anniversary on March 21-22, giving patrons a chance to try the shop’s Vietnamese-sourced tea, coffee, matcha, and other specialty drinks with a buy-one, get-one-free promotion on Saturday and buy-one, get-one-half-off on Sunday. So, whether you’re a QQ fan already or QQ-curious, this weekend might be a good time to give the squishy, fun to chew pearls a try. 

Beth’s Bites

• In all my travels, I haven’t yet made it to the Adriatic shores of Croatia. So when I saw Garibaldi at the InterContinental San Diego is highlighting the Land of a Thousand Islands for its next monthly Mediterranean dinner series, I decided to take a peek at the menu. From Friday, March 20, through Sunday, March 22, executive chef Franck Tasic and his team have put together a menu of interesting coastal items like salata od rajčice (a Croatian tomato salad), fuži s tartufima (homemade Istrian fuži pasta), and knedle sa šljivama (plum dumplings) for dessert, with an optional Croatian wine pairing available. Sign me up for a sail through the Adriatic!
• An’s Gelato has ranked No.1 on national and local ice cream lists since USA Today named it the best ice cream shop in the United States two years in a row—something we San Diegans already knew, of course. The creative creamery now operates locations in North Park on Adams Avenue (I don’t dare say Normal Heights, lest angry readers correct me in a huff), Del Mar, Ocean Beach, and Petco Park. This summer, An’s will come to Oceanside at the Top Gun house. The iconic Queen Anne cottage—at the Mission Pacific Beach Resort next to Valle—housed the hand-pie shop High Pie from 2022 through 2025, and if I had to guess, the high-traffic location will be home to the popular scoop shop for quite a few years to come. 
• Padres opening day is right around the corner—Thursday, March 26, to be exact—and there’s no shortage of parties around town to kick off the season. Close to the ballpark, the rooftop at Margaritaville Hotel San Diego Gaslamp Quarter will start rocking at 3 p.m. with a DJ and drink specials, or fans can grab a $18 beer and a shot at The Blind Burro just northwest of Petco. And for a little pre-season excitement, stop by Harland Brewing in Scripps Ranch on Tuesday, March 24, for a free meet-and-greet with the Padres’ Jake Cronenworth from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. While you’re waiting in line—because you know there will be a line to meet #9—try the Crone Zone, Harland’s collaborative brew with the popular infielder. I’ve had it (more than once…), and it gets my drinks expert stamp of approval.

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After 13 years of serving only-in-San Diego favorites like a Cardiff Crack sando and cocktails like a bacon-cheddar vodka-infused Bloody Mary mixed with housemade tomato juice—Bier Garden Encinitas is ready to take their show on the road. They’ll open a second location in downtown Oceanside on Monday, March 16.

Owner David Creviston is hardly the first to eyeball the coastal North County city as a food and drink destination. Key & Cleaver, Odie’s Pizza, Merenda, and 24 Suns have all either recently opened or are on the cusp of opening in Oceanside, and Bier Garden’s location just steps from local institutions like one Michelin-starred Valle and Craft Coast (who, hilariously, is reverse-migrating to open their own new location in Encinitas).

“I think the culture of our new restaurant is going to fit incredibly well here,” he says. North County vibes tend to be chill, but still lean on a bit of a higher-end side. Creviston says he wants to offer a laid-back type of place where you can bring a date just as easily as your grandparents, but still get a great cocktail and food. 

The food and drink menus will look very similar to Encinitas—short rib nachos, Baja fish tacos, and the signature Cheeseburger 101, plus 24 taps of craft beer, craft cocktails, and a slightly bigger wine list. (“We have a bigger wine cabinet,” he explains.) They’ll also be able to try a few new specials like a bulgogi bowl and lake trout to see how they hit with guests. 

With March Madness coming up quickly, Creviston says he hopes to be a destination for viewing parties and other future sporting events. “We’ve structured the bar to be an indoor-outdoor patio bar, similar to Encinitas,” he explains. The Oceanside spot will have a total of 16 TVs—not to become a dedicated sports bar, per se, but to at least be a destination for people who want to catch a game and some grub that goes beyond a pile of soggy tots. 

Bier Garden Oceanside opens at 201 N. Cleveland Street, Oceanside on Monday, March 16. Hours will be Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Friday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events

Mike’s Red Tacos Goes National

Who doesn’t love a San Diego success story? Rubio’s may have been the first local taco chain to make it big, but Mike’s Red Tacos has made a huge run in the hand-held taco land. Originally launched as a food truck only a few years ago (and quickly getting named one of the top places to eat by Yelp in 2023), the birria-based chain currently only has three locations in San Diego (Point Loma, Clairemont Mesa, and the newest in Mira Mesa). Now, it’s going the massive franchise route, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Mike’s fans can expect to see 200-plus new locations across the country over the next couple of years.

Beth’s Bites

• Lately, there have been a lot of changes with the Puesto group. We said goodbye to the awesome but poor-locationed Roma Norte, hello to Puesto Taco Bar, and are patiently awaiting Ikaria, a new Eastern Mediterranean concept coming later this year. Now there’s a new executive chef at the helm of Marisi. Kaitlyn Smith, most recently the chef de cuisine at Wildland in Carlsbad, is in command of the impeccably designed Italian eatery in the heart of downtown La Jolla. It sounds like the heart of the menu will remain the same (still making all the pasta from scratch, of course), but expect a few tweaks to the entrees and antipasti menu. 
• Pi Day is (nearly) upon us and I’d be remiss to avoid mentioning Pop Pie Co.’s 9th annual Pi Day celebration—this year with three different collaborative pies with local chefs. Chef Tara Monsod from Animae and Le Coq is bringing a pie inspired by tinola, a traditional Filipino chicken soup typically made with ginger, garlic, and fish sauce, with hers folded with Yukon potatoes, green papaya, spinach and green onion. The Friendly taps in next with Rob Striker’s take on the eatery’s signature dirty flat top cheeseburger with grilled beef, butter braised onions, American cheese, garlic aioli, and banana peppers wrapped in an all-butter crust. (As the first Pi Day without The Friendly founder Brandon Zanavich, this one feels particularly significant). Finally, Matt Lyons from Tribute Pizza brings it home with his You Knew This Was Coming Pizza Pie with mozzarella, Bianco DiNapoli crushed tomatoes, pickled jalapeños, red onion, smoked cheddar, and an everything bagel crust. All of these will be available at each Pop Pie location on Saturday, March 14 until sold out and yes, as is tradition, the first 20 guests at each location will also get a free slice of sweet pie. 

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Whenever I write a “Best Of” roundup, it inevitably triggers an immediate onslaught of “yOu FoRgOt So AnD sO” comments (ransom note grammar intentional). 

But I’m an adult. I can admit I may have made a teeny-tiny oversight when compiling last year’s list of great burgers in San Diego and neglecting to mention Copper Kings Burgers. You readers knew it when you voted them runners-up for “Best Burger” in 2025’s Best Restaurants issue. I humbly accept 10 seconds of well-deserved scorn… starting now.

… all done? Thank you. 

Now that we’ve established Copper Kings Burgers does indeed slap, I have more good news. The North County–based burger joint that believes “life’s too short for crappy burgers” is opening a second location in Oceanside at the end of April.

Founders Jonathan Petr and Dermot Owens originally came up with Copper Kings with their partners Brittany Howlett (head of baking) and Korey Kaczur (catering sales manager), initially hoping to open a whiskey bar and burger joint. But when the pandemic hit, Petr realized no one in their right mind was going to invest in a new restaurant while the world was shut down.

Petr operated a food truck before in Los Angeles around 2012, so he and Owens decided to first go mobile to get some brand recognition. Since bars and breweries had to serve food to stay open, “we became a hot commodity,” he says. In a few years, they got popular enough to need a bigger trailer, then a second trailer, and opened their flagship brick-and-mortar in San Marcos in 2023. 

Thanks to Owens’ Irish heritage and die-hard Arsenal fandom, the San Marcos spot has been a destination for football (soccer) fans—showing European Premier and Champion League games. He says they plan to do the same in Oceanside with Guinness game-day specials and early morning watch parties. With the new location’s bigger size (about twice the capacity of San Marcos, with a private dining space and outdoor patio), it’ll act as both a second restaurant location and central kitchen, cranking out baked goods like their signature Japanese milk buns for the burgers. 

Oceanside’s menu will mirror San Marcos, but with a few more items thanks to the extra space, like a fried chicken plate and seasonal pasta. “We have so much more capabilities over there to do so many more fun things we were talking about doing,” says Petr, like new weekend pastries and breakfast sandwiches, a supper club, and more. “The sky’s the limit for what we’re trying to do. We’re just excited to do it.”

Even though Copper Kings #2 isn’t open yet, Petr says they’re always open to opportunities for new locations—maybe Cardiff, maybe somewhere else nearby, but most likely still in North County. “It’s the hope, the goal, the dream,” he says. “We’re always keeping our eye out.”

Copper Kings Burgers soft opens at 326 N. Horne Street in Oceanside at the end of April. Initial operating hours will be Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Friday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to midnight. 

San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events

Palm Springs Sushi Darling Ponzu Sushi Opening in Liberty Station

I don’t usually think of Palm Springs as a “sushi destination,” but based on Ponzu Sushi’s reputation, maybe I should. The cocktail bar and sushi spot first opened near the Forever Marilyn Monroe statue in July 2024, and things must have gone gangbusters since, because the team decided to open the next location right here in San Diego—Liberty Station, to be precise.

“We chose San Diego for our second location because we personally love the city and visit often,” says Ponzu founder, Nat Tangkitsombat. “It’s a place we’ve always enjoyed spending time in, and we felt it would be a great community to introduce our style of modern Japanese fusion—upscale but still approachable.”

That could also be the description of Liberty Station, so good fit. If all goes well with construction, permits, and luck, Ponzu should open in late summer, bringing along yellowtail carpaccio, seared salmon belly, and more tasty faves from the cold waters of the Pacific.

Beth’s Bites

• Chef Accursio Lota (Dora, Cori Trattoria Pastificio) earned the rare Tre Forchette (Three Forks) distinction from Gambero Rosso this year (basically, Michelin for Italy). It’s a huge deal for the accomplished chef—only 34 restaurants outside of Italy (and just 11 in the United States) nabbed the honor. Cori also earned Due Bottiglie (Two Bottles) for its top-notch wine program. If you aren’t convinced yet that San Diego restaurants continue to be on the up and up, you need to open your eyes—or better yet, your mouth. 
• Even stars need facelifts sometimes—perhaps especially those who wish to keep shining brightly. Addison by William Bradley turns 20 this year. In restaurant years, that’s a pretty good time for a refresh. Starting April 1, the three Michelin-starred restaurant will close for seven weeks to bring in new tables and chairs, paint and lights, and even develop part of the bar into a champagne lounge. Afterwards, the team will celebrate the 20-year milestone with some yet-to-be-announced chef dinners.
• Since its First Look, Fleurette has already caused a frenzy among foodies (say that 10 times fast) and is still racking up reservations faster than summer camp slots at the San Diego Zoo. (All you parents out there feel the pain, I know.) But chef Travis Swikard’s first baby, Callie, still might be the best restaurant in San Diego, and has a full slate of excellent events lined up for your palate pleasure. On Thursday, March 26, the ongoing chef series “Flavors of the Sun” welcomes chef José Luis Hinostroza of ARCA from Tulum, named in both the 50 Best Restaurants and the 50 Best Bars lists for 2025, as well as the 2026 Michelin Guide. It’ll be a five-course, seafood-centric family style feast (with an optional cocktail pairing), and $5 from every ticket will go directly to Feeding San Diego. Reservations are open now, but won’t last long. 

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When Jennipher Hager and Chris Dainty opened Key & Cleaver in 2023, they had one goal in mind: great, locally-sourced food and drinks at affordable prices. They kept their word. Their beef comes from Perennial Pastures Ranch in Santa Ysabel, all craft beer and burger buns are made in San Diego, and most of their spirits are local. Even their location in City Heights is local.

“We live two blocks from it,” laughs Dainty. 

But come December, they’ll expand to another corner of the county, opening a second Key & Cleaver in the former Breakwater Brewing location in Oceanside. O’side beckoned for a couple of reasons—yes, the north county city’s food scene is booming with new pizza joints, a Michelin star at Valle, and a wildly ambitious Chinese concept from ex-Addison chefs—but also because they needed a second location to be able to survive at all.

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“It’s gotten to a point where we need to expand if we’re going to keep this thing going,” says Dainty, pointing to factors like the city of San Diego’s necessary, but disruptive street repairs to University Avenue that took over a year longer than expected. He estimates the construction cost them 40 percent of their business, but with a solid concept in hand, they knew it was more a matter of when they could find another spot they could afford rather than if they should grow.

“We don’t have huge resources like a lot of other restaurant companies do,” he says. But what Dainty and Hager do have are decades of experience in the hospitality industry between the two of them. Plus, the Oceanside space came at the right time in the right place for the right price with the right amount of potential customers. “You have a thousand hotel rooms in walking distance,” he says. “How do you say no to that?”

Everything will feel pretty much the same as the original Key & Cleaver space in terms of the burger-centric menu and casual vibe, but on one floor rather than two as in City Heights. Most of the spot faces the 101 with rolling garage door windows, and a side outdoor patio along Seagaze Drive adds a bit of an ocean view.

“Our biggest thing is everybody is welcome and it’s always going to be comfortable,” Hager promises. 

But the other biggest thing is that the burger is still going to be top-notch. “I truly believe we have the best burger in San Diego,” says Dainty. “And I’ll stand by that.”

Key & Cleaver Oceanside opens December 2025 at 101 N. Coast Highway, Suite C140.

San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events

Join Beth & Local Cider Makers For A Night of Cider Celebration At Cellar Hand

Yes, it’s a bit of shameless self-promotion, but only because I’m on an endless quest to convince all of you that cider is the future. And I can prove my theory on Saturday, November 15 at Cellar Hand in Hillcrest, when I’ll join four of San Diego’s best cider makers—Serpentine Cider, Calico Cidery, Raging Cider & Mead, and Oddish Wine—for Orchard to Table, a one-night flight of ciders paired with special selections by executive chef Ashley McBrady. Grab a flight of four for $20 and see why we’re all so passionate about these pome fruits. (Editor’s note: You can buy Beth’s book she wrote on cider here).

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Beth’s Bites