The Best Food & Drink Events This Month: September-October 2014

After 10 years of rooftop dining and brewing award-winning beers, OB Brewery is for sale. A local fixture on Newport Avenue, OB Brewery owner Mike Tajran is ready to retire and hand over the reins. “It’s got so much potential,” he says, pointing to the accolades the brewpub has collected throughout the last decade (it’s more than a few).

At the 2017 Great American Beer Festival, OB’s Hidden Gem Dunkelweizen won silver in the German-Style Wheat Ale category, followed by a World Beer Cup silver medal as a South German-Style Dunkel Weizen in 2026. In 2018, GABF named OB Brewery Small Brewpub of the Year, brewer Jim Millea earned Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year, and the B. Right On pale ale nabbed a gold medal in the American-Style Pale Ale category. The Elevator Red IPA also took bronze that year at the San Diego International Beer Festival, and earlier this year, they won gold for Couple’s Therapy chili beer and silver for Rauch Me smoked beer at San Diego County Fair Craft Brew Competition.

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It’s a solid foundation for the right buyer, he says—someone with brewing and business chops ready for a turnkey operation in a favorable location a block from the beach on Ocean Beach’s busiest street. (And while he’s letting go of the brewpub business, he’s also open to selling the building as part of the deal.)

Originally from Iraq, Tajran’s family ran restaurants in Baghdad, but “they were decimated by Saddam Hussein,” he explains. Once in the United States, he launched Giant New York Pizza at 5050 Newport Avenue in 1984, which eventually became Newport Pizza & Ale House. Newport Pizza felt long ahead of its time, proudly proclaiming they served “no crap on tap” years before the craft beer craze caught fire in San Diego. 

When the building’s owners passed away and their son cut his lease short in 2020, Tajran says he was disappointed, but he had a nagging feeling that would happen eventually—which is why he already purchased 5041 Newport Avenue back in 2009 and opened Ocean Beach Brewery in 2016.

“For 42 years, I have been in this location in this area, the same block,” he says with pride. Ocean Beach has gone through some changes since 1984 (the OB farmers market launched in 1992, Starbucks came in 2001 and left in 2022, ADUs crept in, and the iconic OB Pier closed in 2023), but Tajran says the heart of the beachside town has remained the same. 

So has most of his staff. Millea has been brewing since day one, and longtime manager Megan Schuster has worked for Tajran for 19 years, first at Newport, then at OB Brewery. Most of the employees are locals, and Tajran says he doesn’t plan on closing the business until he finds the right buyer to carry on the baton. 

The property itself comes with some unique features for the area—three stories with a rooftop deck and ocean views from every level. And if you’re wondering if those uninterrupted views will remain that way, Tajran assures me they will. Part of his original building purchase included language that prohibits the three buildings between him and the ocean from building up. He also leases space next door, which would allow a new owner to expand brewing capacity with more tanks and fermenters. 

“I just wanted to make sure this goes in good hands,” he says. He and his wife both hope to retire soon in order to spend time with their children. But he’ll make sure his other baby is taken care of first. 

“I love Ocean Beach,” he says. “I can say nothing but thank you, OB.”

OB Brewery is still open at 5041 Newport Avenue. Hours are Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Interested parties should contact Next Wave Commercial.

San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events

Beth’s Bites

• Along the same vein of iconic businesses, Tribute Pizza is celebrating 10 years in North Park this week with different events every night. Good luck getting a reservation if you haven’t already, but you can still take part in the silent auction on behalf of Feeding San Diego. Owner Matt Lyons’ goal is to raise $100,000 for the nonprofit and is offering some pretty sweet stuff to do so—think a full weekend buyout of Tribute, a private event with Lyons and chef Travis Swikard of Callie and Fleurette, a year of access to a VIP hotline for reservations, and even more. Time is ticking away on your chance to bid, so be sure to make your best offer before time runs out.
• La Corriente continues its expansion across San Diego with lucky number three coming to Oceanside. Located next to Tanner’s Prime Burgers and PopUp Bagels, a restaurant rep says that at the rate the restaurant is opening new spaces, it wouldn’t be wild to see a few more pop up along the coast in the future. 
• Kitchens for Good has big plans on the horizon, including their sprawling new Culinary Impact Center coming to Bankers Hill next year. Now, it should be a bit easier to accomplish their (many) goals with the help of a $50,000 grant from the Jacques Pépin Foundation. Kitchens for Good is one of four awardees this year and will receive the funds over the next two years, allowing them to launch their Market Cafe initiative in the new center and continue their mission of hospitality training programs and ending food insecurity across the city. It’s a pretty awesome award, given by a pretty awesome group to another pretty awesome group, so it’s just mega-awesome all the way around. 

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It’s never taken so much green to eat red meat. The price of beef has doubled since 2020, and once you add a few drinks (the cost of wine rose 11 percent in 2025) and tack on the rising price of labor (up 23 percent in 2025 and 33 percent in 2024 and 2023), before you know it, a night out at the steakhouse costs as much as the monthly payment for a brand-new Mercedes G-Wagon.

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At Grandson Steaks, Roger Cañez wants to change that. He only serves USDA Prime and Choice Brandt Beef from the family-owned ranch in the Imperial Valley, known for its high-quality, hormone-free, vegetarian-raised Holstein cattle with signature marbling and top-notch taste. But as the Brandt Beef distributor in Mexico, Cañez gets wholesale volume pricing that other smaller restaurateurs can’t access. 

Those savings get passed to the consumer: At Grandson, a 12-oz. house-cut (Choice) ribeye costs $34, while Prime goes up to $44. Comparatively, a 14-oz. Prime ribeye at a competing high-end local steakhouse runs around $66.

“There are a lot of people in San Diego who really love steaks, but they can’t afford it—that’s reality,” says Cañez. “So we decided to kind of cut all the fine dining rules and put everything into the quality.”

Cañez has tried the “steak-for-less” model before. He opened Brasa Norte in Market on 8th in National City, offering plates like a Tomahawk steak with bone marrow, four quesadillas, and a side of beans for $44.99. He also operates Roger’s Mariscos inside the market, and he brought some of those stall’s best sellers (like the Baja shrimp cocktail and yellowfin tuna tostada) to Grandson Steaks for a surf n’ turf menu plus tacos, salads, and desserts meant for the family-friendly Liberty Station crowd.

It’s the second concept for the fully built-out corner suite, which formerly housed the ambitious California deli concept Wildflour Delicatessen from chef Phillip Esteban, the mastermind behind White Rice and Base Kamp Meals. Not much changed design-wise, other than adding some more booths, moodier lighting, and a couple of guitars for that modern Mexican flair. Most of the 130 seats are outside (98, to be precise), with 20 seats inside and an additional 12 at the bar. 

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But after you choose where to sit, you’ll be able to also choose how much to spend. “If you want to have a casual afternoon with tacos and margaritas, or if you want to have a full steakhouse [experience] with bottles of wine, we can do both,” says Cañez. 

Grandson Steaks is now open at 2690 Historic Decatur Road, Suite 102. Hours are Tuesday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday through Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. (closed Monday).

San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events

Beth’s Bites

• At the rate all the “Taste Of” festivals are proliferating, we’re going to have an event for every block in the county by 2035. (This is not a complaint!) The next one is coming up fast on Thursday, May 7, when the 16th annual Taste of Cardiff hits S. Coast Highway 101 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. And yes, before you ask, I’m sure there will be plenty of Cardiff Crack to chow down on from one of the 60+ vendors. Be sure to come hungry, though, because the food and beverage list is mega-stacked with goodies. Pro tip: This “Taste Of” is always especially hard to find parking, so I strongly recommend riding the Coaster in or grabbing a rideshare.
• I’ve watched the movie Crazy Rich Asians a dozen times, but I’ve never tried my hand at mahjong (yet). But now that Zen Modern Asian Bistro is introducing a weekly Friday night mahjong game from 9 p.m. to midnight, it might be time for me to finally give the tile game a go. 

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Have breaking news, exciting scoops, or great stories about new San Diego restaurants or the city’s food scene? Send your pitches to [email protected].

There’s a certain strangely yellow-tinted lightbulb in a certain bathroom in a certain bar on Main Street in Richmond, Virginia that I used to frequent when I was in college. (IYKYK) To locals, we knew that if you wanted to look super hot, or at least feel super hot, it was the lightbulb-mirror combo worth waiting in line for. That tiny one-stall room became the perfect place for selfies, surreptitious makeout sessions—pretty much anything but actually going to the bathroom.

Color theory is science, not magic. Yellow light is less harsh on the eyes than white or blue, and can promote a feeling of relaxation and happiness. A little color can go a long way to change a mood—and that’s exactly what visual artist Ben Guerrette hopes to accomplish when he drenches Chapel at Liberty Station with an immersive light installation synchronized to pair with chef Flor Franco’s four-course menu exploring the four elements of earth, fire, air, and water from March 20 through 22 for the latest An Artist @ the Table dinner series. 

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The series is part of local nonprofit Vanguard Culture’s 10th anniversary programming, marking a decade of advancing San Diego’s creative industries through professional development opportunities, events, collaborations, and other resources. Executive director Susanna Peredo Swap says previous An Artist @ the Table dinner series have featured artwork from a variety of artists ranging from the estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat to British fashion icon Zandra Rhodes, and chefs like Ron Oliver (former chef de cuisine of Marine Room) and Carlos SanMartano (Salt & Cleaver, Herb & Wood).

“[But] this is the first time that we’ve done something so large-scale and so immersive,” she says. Over three nights with room for 30 guests each night, each dinner begins with an hour-long silent auction to raise money for Vanguard Culture’s nonprofit support of the local arts, after which Swap will introduce Guerrette, Franco, and explain the run of the show. “Then the experience will happen, which is about a three-to-five minute immersive sound and light experience, and then the food will come out, and then we’ll repeat that three more times after that,” Swap says, at which point the space will open for time for guests to unwind and absorb the experience. 

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That time to unwind with one another, she stresses, is crucial. “I think that’s part of why the arts—and the culinary arts in particular—are so important now. It’s that ability to just remember our humanity and come back to the joy of living, the joy of this moment, the joy of art, the joy of sound, the joy of food, the joy of gathering,” says Swap. “And so even though big things are happening, we get to kind of disconnect for just one moment and sit together in community and find joy and share together.”

During the conversation with Franco, Swap, Guerrette, and myself, I wondered: If eating together is an inherently communal act, but emotional reaction to art is a personal experience, how do the two coexist?

Franco believes they go hand-in-hand. “I think in this particular dinner, people are going to take home both the experience of community, but also it’s going to be very personal for every single one,” she says. She could be watching a play with friends and find herself crying, but the person sitting next to her will be dry-eyed. “The senses are different for each person.”

The meal itself, inspired by the four elements, will remain a surprise for the guests, but Franco did provide a few hints of the framework. “There will be plenty of seafood, you know, for the water part,” she promises, as well as a red meat entree for land and a few other tricks up her sleeve. But to coincide with the artistic vision, “the plating is going to have to do a lot,” she says. Despite her long experience as a chef in Baja California and San Diego (as well as the first female chef inducted to the prestigious gastronomic society Disciples Escoffier International in 2018), it’s her first time working in tandem with light design. 

For Guerrette, he hopes people leave both feeling moved and inspired. “I’m hoping that this becomes something that maybe inspires more people, other artists to maybe make big, grandiose ideas like this,” he says. “If you have big ideas, go for it.” (Pro tip: be sure to turn on some blue or green light to help boost your creative process. Like I said, it’s science.)

Tickets to An Artist @ the Table with artist Ben Guerrette and chef Flor Franco on March 20 through 22 are now available.

Listen Now: The Latest in San Diego’s Food and Drink Scene

Have breaking news, exciting scoops, or great stories about new San Diego restaurants or the city’s food scene? Send your pitches to [email protected].

For more than 80 years, the North Chapel has been one of Liberty Station’s defining silhouettes. Opened in 1942, the multi-faith chapel  has hosted Navy services, weddings, memorials, and countless community milestones during wartime years. Its story stretches from religious services for military men and women to cultural anchor.

Then came a stalemate. In 2018, a new tenant, 828 Events, proposed a modernization of the building’s interior, sparking fierce pushback from preservationists and neighbors. The San Diego Union Tribune reported that the online leasing opportunity boasted the chapel would be “perfect for a restaurant or retail tenant.” The suggestion that the historic chapel may become a restaurant caused uproar from local community members. According to Congressman Scott Peters’ official website, his office requested an investigation by the City Attorney. The plan was halted, but what remained was a structure in limbo. 

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In the years following, Liberty Station reshaped itself; breweries opened, restaurants buzzed with crowds, and gelato melted on children’s hands in sunny courtyards. The chapel remained unopened in a district otherwise reborn—until now, when Snake Oil Venue Company became its new stewards.

If you’re wondering why a company known for cocktails is reopening a historic chapel, the answer is simple: they’re no longer just a cocktail company. In 2019, after a decade crafting cocktails, Snake Oil launched its first venue, Julep, and pivoted into full-service events. Growth snowballed from there. This April, it opened Bramble Bay in Imperial Beach, followed quickly by Vesper at Liberty Station. In just one year, its footprint jumped from 32,000 square feet of event space to more than half a million.

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But, even as experienced venue operators, the chapel was a unique endeavor. “This wasn’t acquisition; it was responsibility,” says Snake Oil’s CEO Michael Esposito.

The first time he walked inside, the neglect was unmistakable. “Here was a sacred San Diego landmark sitting quietly in a deteriorated state,” he recalls. Curtains were stained, corners layered with dust, and the once-ornate woodwork was overshadowed by a red carpet that “smelled like damp newspapers.” 

The chapel had sat unoccupied since 2019, according to Joe Haeussler, executive vice president of Pendulum Properties Partners, which acquired the leasehold to the chapel and several other Liberty Station properties in 2018. After considering several proposals for the dormant space, Pendulum brought Snake Oil on in 2023 to reopen and steward the building. “We felt their plans were the most respectful of the historic asset and would open the building to the public in the right way,” Haeussler explained.

Rather than impose a new vision, Snake Oil chose preservation. While it’s now an events space, it has retained its original intent as a gathering place for the community. Restoration, in this case, meant listening to the building. When the team began pulling up the carpeting, they uncovered exquisite, period-specific 1940s Douglas Fir flooring. They refinished the planks rather than replace them, breathing life back into the chapel’s historic foundation. Even the stained glass windows, which were not part of the original Navy design, remained. The earlier plans featured frosted panes that brought in soft, controlled daylight, but the stained glass had become part of the chapel’s collective memory. The restoration cost nearly $1.2 million.

Beyond sentiment and preservation, the North Chapel’s renewed functionality includes a main hall which offers 4,000 square feet of flexible space and seats roughly 425 guests, with additional pew seating on a mezzanine. An adjacent side chapel adds another 600 square feet for more intimate gatherings. Outside, three connected exterior zones (over 3,000 square feet total) provide ample room for receptions, cocktail hours, or garden-style events.The venue will have a preferred-vendor list, with some flexibility for outside vendors. Beverage and cocktail service is handled exclusively by Snake Oil Cocktail Company.

Christopher Bittner at OBr Architecture, Tim Wright of Wright Management, and Andre Childers with Pacific Building Group Construction led the improvement process, while Melissa Strukel of We are Human Kind designed the interiors and furnishings. Bittner says the project was shaped less by reinvention than by attention to what was already there.

“The building itself was the inspiration,” he says. Rather than dramatic alteration, the work focused on careful adjustment. “The building needed small, yet thoughtful, modifications to allow the building to be used for the new use. We worked through many options for how the building would function and at each stage thought through the potential historical ramifications.” 

As word spread of the restoration, the stories came streaming in, carried by people whose most meaningful life moments unfolded within its walls. “For some, it was a grandfather who found a moment of resolve here before leaving to serve in World War II,” says Esposito. “For others, a bride who walked down the aisle as a young woman, or the loved one of a first responder whose life was honored within these walls.” The stories varied, but the sentiment was shared: the chapel’s legacy matters.

Quality and speed don’t always go together, but Lola 55 is growing— fast. Soon, owner Frank Vizcarra is set to open the newest location of his Michelin Bib Gourmand taco spot, bringing the East Village–born concept to Liberty Station, where it’s taking over an expansive 8,800-square-foot corner lot.

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To help reimagine the space, Vizcarra tapped JSa architects, the acclaimed Mexico City firm behind Enrique Olvera’s two-Michelin-starred Pujol in CDMX. The goal? To give Mexico’s laid-back yet deeply soulful dining culture a lively place to shine, featuring Lola 55’s signature fast-casual tacos alongside new wood-fired dishes cooked on an outdoor grill.

“There are just so many things you can do with wood and fire,” says Vizcarra, who’s been sending his chefs across Mexico to fine-tune their craft.

Meanwhile, back in East Village, Lola 55’s original location is undergoing a full-service transformation—complete with a taco omakase and multi-course tasting menus. It’s part of Vizcarra’s plan to evolve Lola 55 into something bigger: a neighborhood anchor with deep roots in Mexican culinary heritage and San Diego culture.

Despite early uncertainties and a pandemic-era pivot, Lola 55 has found its stride and is growing with purpose. “Lola belongs to San Diego,” Vizcarra says. “We want people to come in and be transported into a Mexican ancestral artisan experience.”