There I sat, in a Mira Mesa ice cream shop. It was around 3 p.m., and suddenly the shop went from virtually empty to packed with elementary school children — laughing, wiggling, and too excited …

They say “location location location” is important in the restaurant business, and if that’s the case, 3825 Fifth Avenue must be a bad location. Although thrift shops seem to thrive there, the block between Robinson …

San Diego breweries ramped up their domination of the Los Angeles International Beer Competition, picking up 60 of the 258 medals awarded, and a full quarter of the golds handed out — 22, to go …

A Texas company has compiled market analysis suggesting craft-beer producers have been missing out on a potentially valuable market segment: Hispanic millennials. Gerry Loredo, director of business analytics for Houston advertising agency Lopez Negrete Communications, …

Between Lefty’s, Berkeley, URBN, and Tribute, there’s no shortage of great pizza in North Park. Still, when popular Pacific Beach pie spot Mr. Moto Pizza House decided to open on 30th Street, I paid attention. …

Brewer Mike Nelson is starting the small company with longtime girlfriend Natallie Phillips. The San Diego natives both grew up on the coast but moved to Ramona about 20 years ago. "We moved up here …

Having conquered the unlikely combination of fried chicken, coffee, and donuts, the proprietors of North Park’s Streetcar Merchants could have sat on their hands and waited for chicken to fry. But instead they turned the …

San Diego has surpassed the 140-brewery mark and seems likely to hit 150 by the end of the year. With that much competition, breweries have found creative ways to attract customers, ranging from hosting donut-beer …

I’ve heard plenty of jokes that begin “a duck walks into a bar…,” and none have ended with the duck being eaten. So any thirsty mallards reading this take note: Whistling Duck Tavern does feature …

In San Diego, we've seen collaborations between breweries and between breweries and coffee roasters. Add another to the list, as a Spring Valley spirits producer is working to convert beer into whiskey. "I'm really trying …

When Jason Swinford opened Swinford Spirits in late 2016, he really launched three craft-spirit brands. From a single production facility and tasting room across the parking lot from the Home Depot in Grantville, Swinford releases …

Third wave shops and coffee roasters have proliferated rapidly the past several years in San Diego, but a flurry of recent openings in the first quarter of this year shows the idea of a neighborhood …

I’m an every day, any time of day coffee drinker, and as long as I am physically able to lift a cup of joe to my lips, that will be the case. Still, while I …

A San Diego–based investment group has taken a stake in New Zealand–grown hops. La Jolla's FS Investors bought a New Zealand hops farm last year for $9.8 million, more than $32,000 per acre for the …

From Vista to Chula Vista, craft breweries have increasingly been seen by local cities as cornerstone businesses capable of anchoring economic development projects. Perhaps no project has taken this concept to heart more than the …

We're not even four years removed from a time that Alpine Beer Co. beers were hard to get. Prior to 2013, the small, way–East County brewery only made 1500 barrels per year, and craft enthusiasts …

“I’m going to send a lot of money here,” I thought to myself as I entered Tip Top Meats. The Eurocentric market and counter service restaurant has been operating in some form since 1967. It …

I got a press release the other day notifying me that Shakespeare’s Pub had won a contest held among 160 British-style pubs to determine who makes the best fish and chips in the U.S. My …

"I'm way into cycling and way into beer," says Rawley Macias, brewer and sole proprietor of Rouleur Brewing Company, the latest craft beer maker to open in Carlsbad's budding scene. While the branding of Macias's …

The Brewers Association's beer sales and production numbers for 2016 reflected adjustments to the industry due to massive corporations buying very large craft breweries, but most of the change happens on a smaller, microbrewery level. …

It’s strawberry season for San Diego farms, meaning baskets of the bright, red fruit will be plentiful in April. Expect to find many locally grown strawberries at farmers markets across the county, and taste the …

I haven’t eaten often in Chula Vista, so when I found myself with 40 minutes left on a Third Avenue parking meter, I looked around to see what looked good. And El Comal looked good. …

On March 28, the Brewers Association released the 2016 results of its annual survey on craft brewery growth, revealing the effects that high profile craft breweries being sold to "big beer" corporations have had on …

Out of 18 incorporated cities in San Diego county, only two do not have a craft brewery or tasting room in the works. One of them is trying to change that. The city of Lemon …

At a March 16th event, Stone Brewing served pours of a beer called Full Circle, a pale ale made with dark malts, all New Zealand hops, and reclaimed water — that is, reclaimed from San …

I enjoy eating oxymoronic foods, so when I was looking for a place to eat breakfast in Alpine I zeroed in on a place called Janet’s Montana Café so I could try the country-style Eggs …

The latest brewery to start pouring beers in Carlsbad soft-opened March 18th. Wiseguy Brewing Co. is the work of Brett Gent, a longtime homebrewer who moved down from Costa Mesa to take advantage of the …

Take a look at the noodle landscape surrounding San Diego’s urban core these days, and you’ll find a dozen dedicated ramen bars. But when Consortium Holdings opened Underbelly in Little Italy five years ago, most …

The Chargers may have left San Diego, but former NFL center Cory Withrow is here to remind us most of the athletes on the team would have preferred to stay. “I feel for the players,” …

National craft beer trade group the Brewers Association released its annual lists of the top 50 American breweries by sales volume last week. While all four San Diego breweries included on last year's lists remained …

San Diego beer hit another packaging milestone in January, when a couple of local breweries released nitrogenized beer in bottles and cans for the first time. Modern Times kicked it off with a nitro version …

When Pop Pie Co. opened in University Heights last fall, its single-serving pie concept roused a social media sensation that drew lines out the door. But it’s not alone in the pie-as-entrée space. Betty’s Pie …

With a March 12 party at its Vista brewpub, Belching Beaver Brewery celebrated a brand refresh that includes a cleaner redesign of its can and bottle labels; also the punny new slogan, "Dam Good Times." …

The brewery in Vista continues to rise. Battlemage Brewing Company enjoyed its first brew day on March 8th, making it the 16th beer company in the city of 100,000. There will be more opening this …

A new spirits company debuted in East Village with the March 9th opening of the You & Yours Distilling Co. tasting room (1495 G Street). You & Yours is the brainchild of founder and distiller …

In the food world, “plant-based” has become a buzzword of late, and I’ve been using it interchangeably with the term “vegan.” But it turns out members of both communities like to draw a distinction, and …

It’s not news to any of us that this winter has been the wettest in roughly a decade. While San Diego area farms typically do enjoy year-round growing conditions, the parade of “atmospheric rivers” and …

In most cases, shutting down a business for two years would probably not be good for its growth. But don't tell Max Moran and Geri Lawson. When their Vista nanobrewery, Indian Joe Brewing, reached the …

On March 2, Coronado Brewing Company announced it will build a new ten-barrel brewpub in the city of Imperial Beach, located at the southernmost tip of San Diego Bay and Wildlife Refuge, where it meets …

Pita Guys barely registered at first. I probably mistook it for a Pita Pit, the fast-food chain that seems to open anywhere there might be college students. There’s a Subway franchise right next door, after …

There's only one bar at Kuracali Sake & Beer Brewery, but it serves two distinct tasting rooms. Due to the quirks of state law, Kuracali owner and brewer Chuck Perkins doesn't just have to keep …

One of my favorite parts about living in San Diego is that I can be cruising down a street on just about any day and spot a little cart selling tamales. I noticed Tamales el …

Making liquor, in addition to beer, has been a part of the business plan since the beginning for Santee's BNS Brewing & Distilling Co. — it's right there in the name. Despite an early change …

As any recruiter will tell you, military service provides on-the-job training and work experience that may be applied to future careers. While those recruiters likely don't have brewing in mind, David Casperson makes a convincing …

Over the past five months, news of brewery closings, layoffs, and sales have seemed to outpace the opening of new breweries in San Diego. With only six new brewhouses opening in that time, it was …

In my experience, there’s a fair amount of self-deception involved in applying the term “veggie burger” to anything. I mean, can just any mushy puck of vegetable fiber, grains, and/or nuts be slapped on a …

Frank Golbeck recalls the moment in 2011 that prompted him to open a meadery and tasting room in Oceanside. Golbeck and his Golden Coast Mead cofounders had spent their first year in business contract-brewing at …

My server's answer surprised me, so when she walked away, I flagged down another waitress to ask for a second opinion. Which dish, off the entire dinner menu, did she recommend for someone after the …

It didn't really matter to me what the "More" referred to, when I found myself parking it in Lakeside to eat at a small, casual spot called Sausage & More European Deli. For the record, …

Points of origin In early February, San Diego’s award-winning Bird Rock Coffee Roasters announced a merger with the Topeka, Kansas, business PT’s Coffee Roasting Co. While each brand will retain its own identity, PT’s cofounder …