Last Wednesday, Ballast Point Brewing’s parent-company Kings & Convicts Brewing shuttered its Leucadia tasting room. Though one of San Diego County’s smaller craft-beer venues, that sampling space has a great deal of history. The 1,500-square-foot space was originally opened by Saint Archer Brewing in 2018. In early 2022, Kings & Convicts acquired the site and Saint Archer’s Miramar production brewery from Molson Coors Beverage Co. when the multinational conglomerate decided to discontinue the brand it acquired in 2015. And now, it has changed hands once more, with Miramar-based Duck Foot Brewing having signed a lease on the tasting room.
“We reached out to Kings & Convicts and it was perfect timing. They were winding down the end of their lease and planned on taking the company in a different direction. Meanwhile, we were looking to find a home in North County,” says Duck Foot co-founder Matt Del Vecchio. “It might be overlooked by some, but the roots of Duck Foot are in my garage in Encinitas, and then Leucadia after the HOA kicked us out for making too much beer.”
While in the planning stages for his business, Del Vecchio spent years homebrewing prospective recipes. His goal from the start was to craft a line of gluten-reduced beers in a wide-ranging array of styles to make craft beer accessible to gluten-intolerant individuals. He officially opened his business in a Miramar business complex in 2015.
Other than Del Vecchio’s personal geography and connection, the factors that made the Leucadia tasting room attractive to the Duck Foot team are its one-block distance from the beach and proximity to Leucadia’s night-life spots. Also, it’s very move-in-ready.
“The 50-seat, 30-tap setup is just right for us to make a splash on the North County coastal scene, which just happens to be one of our favorite neighborhoods,” says Duck Foot co-founder and Brewmaster Brett Goldstock. “We expect to have our usual lineup of Duck Foot beers on tap there, including a beer-slushie program like we have at our Miramar tasting room.”
Duck Foot also intends to replicate weekly event programming that has proven fun and successful at its original location. Leucadia will play host to comedy nights, live music, bingo and more.
“Thankfully, the space needs little to get it up and running short of a touch of Duck Foot aesthetic, so we’ll be able to get it open just as soon as the state grants us a license, which will be 45-to-90 days from now,” says Goldstock. “Our opening day should coincide with the annual release of our homage to 4/20, ‘Dankzilla IPA’.”
Goldstock says that release event will also include Duck Foot specialty beers, including Grateful Dead-themed session IPA “Keep on Duckin’”, the cherry-infused version of sour ale “Sour on Love”, “Platypug” Belgian-style amber ale and a yet-to-be-named helles-style lager.
“The people in Leucadia are amazing,” says Del Vecchio. “I joke with my wife that it’s the coolest town. Everyone we meet we want to be friends with. We just wish we had enough time to do so. This new space is going to give us a good opportunity.”
Duck Foot Brewing’s new tasting room will be located at 978 North Coast Highway in Leucadia