When longtime North Park bar and restaurant Waypoint Public shuttered last September, owner John Pani reached out to friends and fellow business owners Todd Warshaw and Stephanie Eppig to see if they’d like to take over the space on a temporary basis while he went about searching for a buyer. The founders of Eppig Brewing—which opened in a lease-to-brew facility in North Park in 2016 before moving to a large manufacturing facility in Vista in 2019—jumped at the chance and opened their “pop-up” tasting room last November with the hopes of sticking around through the spring.
It was only two months until the building was purchased by Jamie Osuna, the owner of Swami’s Café, but he was in no hurry to occupy the space, so Eppig kept on keeping on, awaiting news on when they would need to vacate. That notice has finally come. and if all goes to plan, the brewery’s pop-up will stay open through the end of July, at which point Eppig will again depart North Park. But if its founders have their way, they won’t be gone for too long.
“We’ve always wanted to have a permanent North Park location; this pop-up opportunity just reinforced that. We’re keeping an eye out for a location we love, but as of today, we don’t have a space in the works,” says Warshaw. “It has been so energizing to be back in our original neighborhood, serving our most loyal followers who came out to support us in spite of the worst stretch of COVID-19 fears and restrictions. It was a slow start, but with the spring came a renewed sense of recovery. People were more comfortable venturing out again.”
The brewery owner adds that since the government-instituted food requirement for beer purchases at brewery-operated venues was removed in March, visitors have been able to make shorter, more casual visits, and that has helped business immensely. There is also more street traffic these days and enough customers to open both the inside and outside seating areas at the pop-up.
“The support from our neighbors and long-time fans is the reason we’ve gotten this far. We’ve loved reconnecting with them and building new relationships,” says Warshaw, who isn’t looking forward to bidding the neighborhood adieu. “We will miss being able to wander over to Pretzels and Pints to grab a bite, swing by Bottlecraft to see what’s new in the fridge, grab a beer and unwind at North Park Beer Co. It’s hard to beat what North Park has to offer. We’re so grateful to be a part of it and hope to be back permanently in the very near future.”
Aside from emotions, Eppig’s departure figures to be relatively pain-free. Warshaw says they moved in with “minimal elbow grease”, adapting much of the existing bar setup to fulfill their needs. As for the pop-up’s employees, they were made aware of the temporary nature of the venue when applying, however, those staffers will be given priority as other employment opportunities within the organization arise.
Eppig hopes to hold a commemorative public event prior to closing the North Park tasting room but the conditions will need to be right for it. Safety of staff and customers is paramount, so restrictions on group gatherings, vaccination and hospitalization rates will all be factors. Also, due to the nature of commercial real estate, particularly during a pandemic, the exit timeline could always shift out. Warshaw says Eppig would be happy to stick around longer if that should happen, so there could be a lot to consider come late-summer.
Eppig Brewing’s pop-up tasting room is located at 3794 30th Street in North Park