Last November, when debuting its fifth location, a nanobrewery-equipped restaurant in Imperial Beach, Novo Brazil Brewing announced it had a whopping four new locations in the works for 2023. No local brewery has ever opened that many locations in San Diego County in a single year. The closest anyone has come is Little Miss Brewing, which debuted a trio of tasting rooms in downtown’s East Village, Escondido and La Mesa from 2019 to 2020. That record figures to remain intact. While Novo Brazil is in the process of building a bar and restaurant in Mission Valley, it is looking far beyond San Diego—like halfway across the country—where one of its three remaining future venues is concerned.
Novo Brazil is in the process of building a bar and restaurant in San Antonio, Texas (rendering pictured below). That venue is sited within a 10,000-square-foot space at the North Star Mall in the city’s Shearer Hills – Ridgeview community. It’s a move that seems to counteract the Chula-Vista-based company’s long-held goal of being South Bay’s most prominent brewery, but Carneiro sees value and opportunity in this out-of-market one-off.
“Our focus is still Southern California, and we plan to open more locations here in the near future. San Antonio is a standalone location that we see as a business opportunity to replicate our model,” says Novo Brazil founder Tiago Carneiro. “San Antonio is a city with a lot of potential for a brand like Novo to provide great food and high-quality beers.”
At the same time as nails are being hammered down in the Lone Star State, work is underway to convert an approximately 10,000-square-foot unit at Westfield Mission Valley shopping center. That space previously housed Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery and can seat up to 350 people. It will offer a food menu of Brazilian-inspired dishes similar to those at its locations in Imperial Beach and Chula Vista’s Otay Ranch Town Center. And like those venues, the Mission Valley spot will have in-house brewing capabilities.
Additionally, Novo Brazil Mission Valley will be equipped with a total of 60 taps serving the company’s beers, hard seltzers, California Spritz beer cocktails and Nova Easy Kombucha line of hard kombuchas. It will also have a number of oversized LED televisions that will primarily be tuned to sporting events, including those involving the San Diego Wave Fútbol Club. Earlier this month, the National Women’s Soccer League club announced Nova will be its official hard-kombucha sponsor. The partnership will include production of a special variety of kombucha made especially for the club.
“Now that we are inside Snapdragon Stadium and we have a partnership with the Wave FC, it makes total sense for us to be in Mission Valley,” says. “It’s a great community and entertainment center for San Diego, and we have always wanted to be a part of it.”
Novo Brazil’s Mission Valley won’t be open in time for the Wave’s 2023 season, which runs from March through October, but Carneiro hopes to have the restaurant open to the public sometime in November.
Novo Brazil Mission Valley will be located 1640 Camino del Rio North inside Westfield Mission Valley