Shortly after their 2015 revival of the oldest local brand of San Diego’s modern craft-beer era, Bolt Brewery, owners Clint and Molly Stromberg decided to branch out from their La Mesa headquarters. Mere months in, they secured an 1,800-square-foot site at the corner of India and Grape Streets in downtown’s Little Italy neighborhood, where they opened a Bolt-branded bar and restaurant. Bolstered by heavy foot-traffic, it didn’t take long for that location to far exceed its progenitor in terms of revenue and profitability.
The success of their Little Italy satellite gave the Strombergs enough faith in themselves and their hospitality skills to take over the former home of O’Hungry’s in Old Town San Diego eight years later. Originally named Diego’s Baja Grill, it was designed as a family-friendly Mexican restaurant as opposed to a link in the Bolt Brewery chain. While beer has always been present at that venue, it has never been at the forefront.
While their eateries have continued to perform well, buoyed primarily by out-of-towners in parts of town that are extremely popular with tourists, Bolt struggled as a beermaking operation in recent years, fueling the Strombergs’ decision to sell the La Mesa brewery earlier this year. In doing so, they retained their restaurant properties, changing the names of both to Taco Loco. They also shifted from dispensing house beers at their many-tapped Little Italy location to offering an array of ales and lagers from breweries they respect and enjoy.
Though the circumstances are remarkably similar to Bolt’s, the owners of Groundswell Brewing have kept the business’ name intact while doing essentially the same thing as the Strombergs.
In 2013, hospitality veteran and homebrewer Kevin Rhodes launched Groundswell from a Riverdale Street facility in Grantville. The then-nanobrewery was part of a boom during which the community became densely populated with beermaking operations. Those businesses included Benchmark Brewing, Citizen Brewers, Kensington Brewing, Prodigy Brewing and San Diego Brewing Co. (which is technically in Mission Valley).
Only Citizen Brewers, San Diego Brewing Co. and Groundswell still remain, and the latter’s original location has been closed, inactive and up for sale since last year. That halt in production is reflected in the tap list at Groundswell’s satellite in Chula Vista. One of four brewery-owned venues on Third Avenue in the South Bay city’s downtown area (with the others being 3 Punk Ales, Brewjería Co. and Chula Vista Brewery), the taproom-turned-flagship’s beer menu is now made up exclusively of guest beers.
Despite the fact Groundswell has not produced any beer since decommissioning its brewhouse in 2024, the business’ name remains. Though a misnomer, the moniker does help Rhodes continue to differentiate that concern from his other business, tiki-themed bar and restaurant, Lime in the Coconut, which is a few doors north of Groundswell’s Chula Vista location.
Taco Loco’s restaurants are located at 1971 India Street in Little Italy and 2547 San Diego Avenue in Old Town San Diego; Groundswell Brewing is located at 258 Third Avenue in Chula Vista