In January, Latitude Brewing, the parent company of 14-year-old Vista-born Latitude 33 Brewing, purchased the House of Mason Beverage Collective portfolio from West Coast Ventures LLC. That collection included the Mason Ale Works, Eppig Brewing, Second Chance Beer Co. and Shoots Beer brands, as well as Castellum Ciders, Old Harbor Distilling and Swell Soda. In doing so, Latitude owners Mike Ingram and CJ Sanchez brought aboard Mason Ale Works founder and WCV head man Grant Tondro as its Executive Vice President of Hospitality for the newly formed Finest City Beverages LLC. It’s a wide-ranging, multi-faceted position in which the brewing and hospitality industry veteran has a major role in all phases of the organization, and he’s been quite busy.
Not long after transitioning to Finest City Beverages, Tondro worked with Ingram to partner with Seabørn Cocktails. Established in San Diego three years ago by a group of action-sports industry professionals, the manufacturer of canned, ready-to-drink agave-based drinks made an immediate positive impact. The company’s line of Margaritas – Baja Lime, Passion Guava, Pineapple Mango, Strawberry Lemonade and Strawberry Watermelon – currently account for 20% of Finest City Beverages’ distribution revenue for 2026. A large portion of Seabørn’s overall sales trace back to high-volume client Disneyland.
“Bringing on Seabørn has been a real boon for us,” says Tondro. “They’ve been a real bright spot of our operation this year, and we’re working with them to open a brick-and-mortar spot at Sky Deck in the Del Mar Highlands Town Center.”
The venue Tondro cites is a communal three-stall rooftop bar called The Brewer’s Deck. Latitude 33 currently operates one of the stalls, serving its beers along with ales and lagers from sister brand Thorn Brewing, which the company acquired in 2024. Starting next month, Seabørn will serve its gluten-free, non-GMO, vegan cocktails from the stall that housed Chula Vista-based hard-kombucha company Boochcraft from 2021 until earlier this year.
It’s not the only upcoming public venue for Finest City Beverages, which has actively been searching for locations where the company can expand the reach of its brands and availability of the products in their portfolios. Tondro expects to open a handful of spots within the next year or so. In addition to visibility, he says taprooms provide opportunities for occasion-based events which go beyond everyday beverage sales.
On top of adding new locations, Tondro and company are working to enhance those they already operate. That includes Eppig Brewing’s Waterfront Biergarten in Point Loma. Already a destination for its harbor locale and sweeping views of downtown San Diego, it will soon boast a small kitchen selling flatbreads as well as a walk-up coffee operation called Charlie Royal. That java enterprise is owned by Tondro and Nick Martin, the rhythm guitarist from rock band Sleeping with Sirens. The duo met when Tondro’s Mason Ale Works was a client of Martin’s Rancho Bernardo-based merchandising business, Viva Merch, and launched Charlie Royal in 2021. The Eppig location, which will be operated by Finest City Beverages, will be the company’s first brick-and-mortar, but likely not its last.
“We recognize the unavoidable challenges of the current beverage market. There’s no magic trick or singular thing we can focus on or adapt to overcome all of that,” says Tondro. “We’re doing that by further diversifying what we have to offer from a beverage standpoint while leaning hard into taprooms. Our goal is to counteract the challenges of the distribution side of the business by operating multiple locations and giving our guests reasons to come in morning, noon and night. The days of being able to live off the revenue from one’s latest hazy IPA drop are long gone.”
Tondro says taprooms account for a modes percentage of the company’s overall revenue, but more importantly, a large amount of its cash on hand, allowing the business to operate smoothly, especially at a time when Tondro says collecting payments from out-of-market distributors is taking far longer than in previous years due to a host of factors beyond their control.
Latitude Brewing and Finest City Beverages are currently based out of Belching Beaver Brewery’s headquarters in Oceanside, where the company has leased space since earlier this year. Production of brands within the portfolio are produced there, as well as AleSmith Brewing and Fall Brewing, both of which are based in Miramar.
Latitude 33 Brewing’s Brewer’s Deck venue is located inside Sky Deck at Del Mar Highlands Town Center at 12841 El Camino Real, Suite 302 in Carmel Valley