It was bittersweet when the owners of Scripps Ranch-based Harland Brewing announced they were opening the doors to their South Park bar-and-restaurant on September 24. After over a year of construction and clearing numerous permitting and inspection hurdles that took the project well beyond its projected May 2022 completion date, it was great to invite the public in. Unfortunately, Harland had to do so without the ability to serve its—or anybody else’s—beers. After some initial vacillating, the company’s leadership team decided it was best to get the South Park staff they’d hired to work rather than risk losing any of them due to more delays.
So, the proverbial show went on for Harland’s concept, which was installed in the former Art Deco home of Grants Market. The space is no longer recognizable as that longtime neighborhood grocery store following a reimagining that included removal of the former drop-down ceiling, a stylish frosted arched-window enclosure of the preexisting kitchen, and installation of roll-up doors leading to a fenced-in outdoor dining area as well as a brass horseshoe bar. The shape of the latter was inspired by small semi-circle tables that used to line the front railing of Grants Market. Those furnishings were built by a South Park resident named Rick Rayaberg whose design the Harland crew paid homage to with the aforementioned bar and racetrack-shaped tables.
Though there was no beer at the start, the new arrival was armed with a condensed yet inventive menu of all-day items from Executive Chef Elysse Valdez. While she last worked at Waterbar in Pacific Beach, she made a connection with Harland’s brewers while working at Southeast Asian-inspired gastropub SOHO in Kearny Mesa. When it came time to hire someone to head South Park’s kitchen, they remembered her. Valdez’s breakfast dishes include avocado toast, breakfast tacos, and pancakes with goat cheese and coconut syrup. A trio of between-the-buns offerings—the double-smash Harland Burger, fried chicken sandwich and a chickpea-patty veggie sandwich—combine with salads, sides and a kid’s menu for midday and evening sustenance. The full menu can be viewed here.
Harland’s owners hadn’t actually been looking to get into the food-prep game when expanding. In fact, when discussing the opportunity to secure the kitchen-equipped South Park site with one of their supporters, Matt Hoyt, owner of longtime San Diego bar Starlite, he told them, “Food is hard, stick to beer if you can.” But they were so enamored with the space and South Park that they’d already made up their minds to take the leap into full-on hospitality. So, Hoyt acquiesced. “Then do migas-style breakfast tacos,” he said. “The neighborhood will love it.” They took their friend’s advice and “Hoyt’s ‘migas’ tacos” (flour tortillas stuffed with scrambled eggs, fried tortilla strips, queso fresco, chipotle crema, salsa and pickled onion) have been best-sellers early on.
While not what they planned, Harland’s executives report their softer-than-expected opening was still quite rewarding.
“We have been so humbled and honored by the response that we have received from the neighborhood,” says Harland President Anthony Levas. “We love to see the incredible mix of people hanging out and enjoying coffee and breakfast or lunch. There are people working at the bar, kids with their parents and dogs on the patio. It’s definitely what we were hoping Harland would add to the neighborhood.”
And now the venue is bringing South Park everything Levas and his team had hoped for thanks to their recently obtained ABC (California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control) license. Its beverage program is highlighted by 36 taps serving beers by and involving Harland as well as its comrade breweries from San Diego and beyond.
“Our focus is on serving Harland beer and any collaborations that we take part in. We are also excited to pour some limited-release specialty beers from our friends around the country,” says Levas. “We’ll also be tapping some guest hard kombucha, cider and seltzer as core offerings, and have a full wine list, plus champagne, mimosas and micheladas.”
South Park’s debut came on the heels of the company’s highly successful Ube Day. An annual occasion centered around the release of a popular beer made purple and earthily sweet by the infusion of a South Pacific species of yam called ube, this year’s event saw more than two-dozen prominent breweries from across the U.S. take part in a next-level beer festival presenting myriad innovative beers at Harland’s Scripps Ranch headquarters.
“This year’s Ube Day was the largest scale event we have ever put on. We brought in beers from 25 of the most sought-after breweries in the nation, launched some limited collaborations, featured live music and some purple beer,” says Levas. “Our team worked very hard to make it happen, and it was worth it. We are already planning Ube Day 2023 and hope to see even more people out there next year.”
Even while working on a new location and the biggest event of Harland’s four-year lifespan, Levas and company had more in the works. Namely, the acquisition of Classic Beverage’s Greater Los Angeles alcoholic-beverage portfolio by Harland’s sister company, Scout Distribution. The acquisition covers L.A., Kern, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Scout has added personnel to its Los Angeles team to handle what will be a very significant increase in workload.
“We are ready to take on what will be about 1,000,000 incremental cases, essentially doubling the size of our company, while adding some incredible brands to our list of offerings,” says Levas. “We are also launching a 50-50 joint venture with Columbia Distribution to launch distribution in the state of Idaho. We will be bringing a hard-hitting line-up to the state from day one, and the accounts there are already excited about the offerings, which include beers from pFriem, Western Collective, Boss Rambler, SweetWater and Harland, to name a few.”
While Harland’s distribution reach is expanding to include the Gem State, back at home its footprint figures to remain the same for a while. With South Park open, the company is content operating four San Diego County venues, including its tasting rooms in Bay Park and Carmel Valley’s One Paseo multi-use development. Besides, there’s still work to be done on Beech Street to make sure Harland’s newest spot becomes a lasting contributor to a budding renaissance that’s seeing big changes for other veteran businesses like the former of home of Hamilton’s Tavern’s conversion to upcoming Bottlecraft concept Bock, and alterations to vegan bar-and-resto Kindred.
“We couldn’t be more excited to join the neighborhood,” says Levas. “We have all spent a lot of time in South Park over the years and hope our concept brings more people to the area while adding value to an already incredible community.”
Harland Brewing South Park’s hours of operation are 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, and 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Harland Brewing’s bar and restaurant is located at 2953 Beech Street in South Park