The pandemic has given business owners cause to reassess their plans for the present, and adjust as best as possible to make it through this challenging chapter of American history while protecting—and in some cases reshaping—their future. Such has been the case for one of the county’s largest beermaking interests, Oceanside-based Belching Beaver Brewery, which operates a total of five public venues throughout San Diego County but has made the decision not to renew the lease on its Ocean Beach tasting room. Ownership regrets leaving a community they have enjoyed being a part of four the past four-plus years, but cites numerous reasons for this decision, including one motivated by COVID-era regulations.
“OB is our only location that does not provide an opportunity for outdoor dining. That will be a priority for us as we look for a replacement venue” says Belching Beaver owner Tom Vogel. “In the meantime, we are offering employees from our Ocean Beach tasting room work at our other locations.”
As Vogel noted in September via a guest article he penned as part of San Diego Beer News’ “Voices of San Diego Beer” series, he is a proponent of purchasing spaces as opposed to leasing them. In explaining this preference, he notes how he was able to pull $1.5 million from the company’s Tavern and Grill brewpub in Vista to pay off short-term loans. In searching for a new location to replace the OB tasting room, he will again look for someplace to buy.
There has been a great deal of activity on the block of Newport Avenue Belching Beaver is moving out of over the past year, and the past two months, in particular. In April, Solana Beach-based Culture Brewing opted to end its satellite tasting room’s five-year run there. That venue was taken over by Chula Vista’s NOVO Brewing, which converted it to a combination beer and hard-kombucha tasting room that opened in October. That same month, Kearny Mesa-based non-alcoholic and THC-infused beer company Two Roots Brewing announced it would not be renewing its lease on a sampling space down the street. That tasting room was originally opened by Helm’s Brewing in 2016 and was included in that company’s sale to Two Roots in 2017. Last week, Sorrento Valley’s California Wild Ales announced it has secured that space and will reopen it under its banner in the first half of 2021.
Technically, Belching Beaver’s move equates to a complete tenant turnover of San Diego County’s most densely populated block as far as brewery tasting rooms go. However, Kearny Mesa-based Kilowatt Brewing is well entrenched and successfully operating its patio-equipped tasting room less than a block from the intersection of Newport and Cable Street. That venue opened in 2017 behind a bright, outlandish aesthetic celebrating the community across multiple mediums including black-light and mural art. In coming to OB, NOVO Brewing brought a similarly colorful design, and California Wild Ales intends to infuse the company’s fun, eccentric graphic presence into its new digs.
Back in Vista, city government recently granted permission for Belching Beaver to permanently utilize its front parking lot at the aforementioned Tavern and Grill location for retail operations. The company will soon begin constructing a new kitchen with woodfire pizza ovens like those at its other Vista location, Pub980, a large bar, personal-dining cabanas and an event space that will accommodate up to 200 people once large gatherings are again permissible.
“This will become an adult playground with beer, pizza and games like cornhole and giant Jenga,” says Belching Beaver Marketing Manager Haley Smith, who notes the project should be completed by spring of next year.
Belching Beaver Brewery Tavern and Grill is located at 302 East Broadway in Vista