Since joining the local brewery scene in 2018, Scripps Ranch-based Harland Brewing has quickly made a name for itself, not just through its ales and lagers or the growing reach of its sister business, Scout Distribution (which now services Arizona and Orange County with plans to distribute throughout Los Angeles County beginning this fall), but also the proliferation of its public satellite venues. Shortly after Harland’s debut, the company opened a tasting room in the Del Mar Highlands’ new, upscale One Paseo mixed-use development, and earlier this year they opened the doors to a patio-equipped reimagination of the Bay Park tasting room formerly operated by since-shuttered Benchmark Brewing. And now, Harland is at it again, having taken over a high-profile spot in South Park’s commercial core.
Located on the corner or Beech Street and Dale Street, that space has operated as Grants Market and Coffee Room since 2002. Coming in at 2,400 square feet, it is equipped with a built-in kitchen, a great deal of cold storage (an important amenity for a brewing company) and large windows on two walls providing plenty of natural light.
“We are really excited about joining the South Park community. Since we have spent a lot of time there eating and drinking, we have certainly spent many mornings getting coffee and breakfast sandwiches from the old Grants Market,” says Anthony Levas, the President of Harland and Scout’s parent company, Ocotillo Holdings. “When we heard the space may be coming up for lease, we set a meeting with Joe Grant, who owns the building. He’s a great guy and the whole lease got done very quickly. We love that it is a historic building and want to keep that intact as we plan and build; keep that neighborhood feel in this new incarnation of the space.”
Levas says another priority for this project is to add value to the community, but for him and his colleagues that goes beyond bringing in quality craft beer. This project, which will be called The Ocotillo at Harland, will be a combination restaurant and tasting room. The latter will require Harland to install a bar and taps, but much of what is needed for the company’s entry into food service exists. Only a minor number of tweaks will need to be made, but the plan is to stay in line with much of what South Park denizens have come to expect at Grants Market from a food perspective.
“We have begun to assemble a breakfast menu consisting of coffee, breakfast sandwiches and other easy items to take to-go or dine in. For lunch and dinner, we plan to serve soups, salads, sandwiches and burgers. We want to have a few healthy options in there, too,” says Levas. “We’ve always wanted to own a restaurant and feel that having a food component to pair with our beers is a natural progression for us.”
Levas and company are working with interior designers to draw up plans for an open floorplan and bright look in keeping with Harland’s established motif (black, white, brass, wood, plant life). Cognizant of the South Park neighborhood and those who inhabit it, Harland aims to make the new venue as family-friendly as possible. The present timeline for the public debut of The Ocotillo is late autumn.
When asked if taking on their first restaurant project might slow Harland’s expansion for a while, Levas replies, “We always have our ears to the ground for a great spot. This one happened to come to us very quickly and we had to go for it. If another spot came that we couldn’t pass up, we would certainly take a look at it, but for now our main focus will be finishing this buildout.”
The Ocotillo at Harland will be located at 2953 Beech Street in South Park