Eppig Brewing boasts a 16,000-square-foot, new-construction manufacturing facility with a large tasting room, outdoor patio and spiffy German-inspired indoor bierhalle in Vista, as well as San Diego’s only waterfront brewery-owned tasting room. But the three-year-old company was founded and established a fan base fervent enough to fuel its ascent in a lease-to-brew space at North Park’s Brewery Igniter facility. Though co-founders Stephanie Eppig and Todd Warshaw love where they’re at today, they miss their old stomping grounds. As fate would have it, they may find themselves back in North Park…at least for a while.
The recent Labor Day Weekend closure of bar and restaurant, Waypoint Public, has owner John Pani looking to sell his once-booming location at the corner of North Park Way and 30th Street. Pani is a longtime friend of Eppig and recently presented a creative proposal to her which both sides have decided to move on. If all goes as planned, Eppig Brewing will move into the old Waypoint space and utilize it as a satellite tasting room until the location is sold.
“It would be a temporary pop-up where we’d get to open up in our OG neighborhood,” says Eppig. “It’s kind of a big question mark right now, because it would require suspension of the current liquor license and, if they find a buyer very quickly, it may not ever happen. And, of course, once they secure a buyer, our run there will end. But we’re hoping it’ll work out so that we can have a pop-up in North Park for the winter.”
Check back for further reporting as this potential project progresses.