Midway District Stories
Video:FEAST!: Bok Bok Dok is like K-Pop: sweet, spicy, and crispIt’s been fun watching the population of Korean restaurants in San Diego slowly tick up, and branch out from the …
In January, floodwaters swept away the tents, blankets and clothing of the homeless living along the San Diego River bed from Ocean Beach to Lakeside. Now some say the city …
Influence greased On September 13, the same day the San Diego City Council rubber-stamped Democratic mayor Todd Gloria’s pick to redevelop the city-owned sports arena and environs, the chosen developer …
“I’ve been seriously, with all heart and soul, committed to my local community for over 30 years,” says drummer Wade Youman (Unwritten Law, Demasiado, North Korea), whose new band Spray …
Midway District Stories
I can’t believe it. But here’s the sign: “Hancock Street Cafe. Grand Reopening! Under New Management.” I swear. People are opening up all over (see last week’s column) in these worst of times. We’ve got …
About 100 new breweries have opened in San Diego over the past five years, posing a significant challenge to any craft beer brand trying to distinguish itself. At least one has proven no slouch at …
I usually skip the plantains. Oh, I’ll take a courtesy bite, but only to prove I don’t like them. I did something similar in high school, when, struggling to read the unabridged Moby Dick, I …
On February 12th, Taylor Preus, an employee of Mark’s Guitar Exchange in Point Loma, got more than he expected with his lunch. “I was just going about my daily routine — selling guitars — and …
On December 24th of last year the Reader published an article about an overly aggressive solicitor who’d been knocking on doors at all hours of the day and night. Since the article posted, complaints continue …
The San Diego Tourism Authority has enlisted the help of Bay City Brewing Co. to create what it's calling San Diego's official destination beer. "We're the first destination to do anything like this," says Tourism …
Modern Times Beer announced today (July 7) that it has transitioned to a 30 percent employee-owned company, with long-term plans to raise that number to 100 percent. According to the announcement, "At only 4 years …
Housing prices spiral ever upwards and city streets are overwhelmed by unsheltered vagrants, but big money sports venues craved by the politically-connected super-rich continue to dominate the covert agenda at San Diego's city hall. Of …
While not a huge coffee-drinking destination, the industrial district behind the Sports Arena in the Midway District has grown into a coffee-roasting hub. Modern Times opened its brewery there three years ago with small-batch roasting …
If you've ever driven up Hancock Street where the 8 meets the 5 in the northeast corner of Point Loma, you know that the one-way stretch slowly loops through an old industrial area that wouldn't …
I couldn’t tell whether this place wanted to be called Devine Pastablities or Torpasta. There are signs on the storefront for both. The URL is torpasta.com, but it’s copyrighted to Devine Pastabilities. The Instagram bio …
As may be apparent to anyone who's driven Interstate 8 west of the 5 lately, Bay City Brewing Co. officially opened for business on August 18. The brewery operates with a 700 sq. ft. tasting …
What did the rest of the world do before the Spanish brought tomatoes back from New World?
His dream was always to make this the #1 jazz spot in the country. Or at least the county.
Remember when the most popular style of beer was amber ale, AKA red ale? Not Irish-style red or West Coast-style red... just a nondescript red ale that looked pretty much the same color as those …
Motorists traveling northbound on 805 out of Mission Valley into Kearny Mesa may have recently noticed something covered up on the green freeway signs indicating the Balboa Avenue exit. Covered over in mismatched green is …
On October 6, reporter Joe Lewis filed a report on 10News about the Valley View Casino Center. Lewis quoted the mayor of National City, who six years ago said, “The facility is in terrible condition …
An artisanal approach to coffee isn’t limited to roasting or dripping method. The same creative impulse that dry hops or grapefruit put into beer can drive third-wave coffee purveyors to seek out ways to embellish …
Whew. Hot day out here on the La Playa Trail. La Playa Trail? Just the oldest commercial trail in the Western United States. ’Course we know it as Rosecrans Street. I notice this li’l historical …
Working at Stone Brewing Co., a business that regularly has between 50 and 100 job postings up at a time, I am intimately aware of how many employment opportunities exist within our burgeoning local brewing …
The Super Bowl halftime show got close to punk with the once-revolutionary Red Hot Chili Peppers. The founder of local Sex Pistols salute Rotten Johnnies maintains that all threatening rock eventually becomes safe. “If enough …
The Veterans Village of San Diego cold-weather shelter, located at 2801 1/2 Sports Arena Boulevard, is designed to be a refuge for veterans who are on the street and need a bed for a while …
Though San Diegans logically think of succulent, sauce-slathered meat at the sounding of the words Phil’s BBQ, the minds behind the business aren’t singularly focused on ‘cue. Phil Pace and company also harbor a devotion …
Writer Chad Deal gets drunk under the table with Fireball shots by a 90-some-year-old woman in a wheelchair.
Attendees to events at the Valley View Casino Center (Sports Arena) frequently park offsite, where their cars are frequently towed, resulting in $300 fines. Arena operator Ernie Hahn says it’s egregious the way tow trucks line up after events begin.
Any survey of San Diego’s barbecue scene would be woefully incomplete without considering the juggernaut of local ‘cue: Phil’s BBQ. (3750 Sports Arena Boulevard) Phil’s needs little introduction. The restaurant’s website runs a webcam so …
Interview with Brad Shultz of Cage the Elephant, who recounts the story of his brother eating a fish taco in San Diego and his face “swelled up huge.” Not bad fish, just a clogged salivary gland. His bro “squeezed it out.” Eww, gross, amirate? LOL!
Here’s the text of the recommendation that came in for Pho Point Loma & Grill (2788 Midway Drive): “Dude! Goooood!” Yeah. That’s five o’s of good. With a sign that obscures the surrounding night sky …
A traffic stop on September 26 at around 4 p.m., in the parking lot between Target and Ross on Sports Arena Boulevard, ended up sending a driver to jail for felony warrants. As I drove …
Shakedown club booker Josh Barnes goes independent because new owner Anilee Griffin has changed the way things are done too much.
At around 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 7, a Toyota sedan ran out of gas and stalled along Sports Arena Boulevard., near the corner of Midway Drive. As traffic backed up in the Midway District, …
On Tuesday, April 22, the San Diego City Council voted to keep open the homeless veterans’ tent shelter at 2801 Sports Arena Boulevard. The shelter, a 150-bed facility for homeless vets that usually operates from …
As authorities in beach areas and on Shelter Island have been cracking down on prolonged parking of motor-homes, some of those RV residents have migrated to the Sports Arena area’s parking lots. However, businesses — …
On Saturday morning, February 9, a broken water main flooded streets in the Midway District. An aged pipe burst and made for a messy and congested effort to access the Rosecrans Street freeway entrances between …
What was first thought to be a meth-lab explosion at the Heritage Inn in the Midway District on the morning of January 30 is now being reported as a different sort of drug-related disaster that …
As recently as last summer, Glasshouse Square Shopping Center, located in the Midway District, was home turf to many shelter-challenged individuals. Many customers and patrons were turned off by the presence of vagrants who would …
What many locals refer to as the “Palm Patrol" was out in force on Thursday morning, December 27, scouring the streets of the Midway District and Ocean Beach for palm fronds that litter the streets …
The weekend before Christmas 2012 was not kind to water pipes (or traffic) in the Midway District. Two incidents of burst pipes and localized flooding occurred: one along Sports Arena Blvd on Saturday, December 22, …
San Diego police descended on the Stonewoood Gardens apartments, located on the 3800 block of Midway Drive (where it intersects with Sports Arena Boulevard), early on the morning of Wednesday, December 19. Four police cars …
Photographer Rick Gould’s ’70s concert photos were made into art for the interior of Sports Arena.
One of my favorite TV shows is called Storage Wars, and I like to go down to Kobey's Swap Meet at the Valley View Casino Center (Sports Arena) to look for the collectibles I like …
Some people at the Vons shopping center at 3645 Midway Drive are puzzled by an odd-looking tree that is growing along the driveway behind Fantastic Sam's. Some mistakenly identified it as an avocado tree. This …
A chain-link fence, lots of scaffolding, and a face-lift now separate would-be shoppers from the soon-to-open Point Loma Grocery Outlet in Midway Towne Center. "Point Loma Grocery Outlet is coming!” read a recent company Facebook …
An enormous moving truck was stuck in the Point Loma Villa condos’ driveway in the Midway District on Friday morning, November 9, at around 11:00 a.m. Heavily laden with household items, the T & R …
U-Haul drama occurred on October 13 at around 10:00 a.m. as an Arizona-license-plated moving van got stuck in the street near the 4400 block of Mentone Street in the Midway District. The steeply inclined dip …
Trying to find a parking spot in the Midway District's Loma Square strip mall is difficult even on a good day, with businesses such as Starbucks, Einstein's Bagels, and Jamba Juice occupying storefronts. But there …
On September 7 at around noon, a man riding a bicycle was hit and run over by a delivery truck in the Dixieline Lumber driveway at 3250 Sports Arena Boulevard. Police responded by blocking off …
Protesters were back in the Midway District again, but they weren’t there to stand up for gay rights or the personal views of Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy. This time protesters were upset about the Ringling …