In June, Municipal Taco shut its doors after just a year in business, leaving the roughly 10,000-square-foot SoCal-influenced Mexican eatery and its on-site brewery open and ready for a new operator. Within hours that entity, Heritage Barbecue, made itself known, igniting dual-level buzz among local fans of suds, smoked meats and sides.
Opened in San Juan Capistrano in 2020 after a successful series of pop-ups at Southern California breweries, Heritage has been a darling of Orange County foodies, racking up accolades, including Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand honors in 2021. Long lines and satisfied smiles are the norm at the company’s flagship and figure to carry over to Oceanside’s Heritage Barbecue & Beer Co. when it opens to the public on Sunday, January 15.
We didn’t want to create just another Heritage Barbecue, we wanted to set this new venture apart and really create a craft-barbecue brewpub type of destination. This will be more of a true restaurant experience with a full bar and, of course, craft beers that we will be making in-house to specifically complement our uniquely SoCal-style or craft barbecue.”
Daniel Castillo, Co-owner & Pitmaster, Heritage Barbecue & Beer Co.
The veteran fermentationist Heritage has brought on to produce those food-friendly beers is Mike Aubuchon, a familiar personality within the North County brewing scene. Aubuchon had been a fixture at Pizza Port’s Carlsbad Village brewpub for more than a decade, helping the company amass numerous awards at prestigious brewing competitions such as the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) and World Beer Cup behind an IPA-heavy assortment of house beers.
Since joining the Heritage team, Aubuchon has been working on recipes for house beers that include a Mexican-style lager, rice-infused Japanese-style lager, Czech-style pilsner and West Coast IPA.
“We’re really looking forward to making this a unique destination for the local community and we can’t wait to pair our new craft beers with the amazing menu of craft-barbecue eats,” says Aubuchon.
According to Heritage, those “eats” will include tacos (barbacoa, brisket, breakfast), pastrami tortas, smoked burgers, and Texas takes on queso and chili mac. That aspect of the brewpub will be overseen by Chef de Cuisine Eric Linares, who will be moving from San Juan Capistrano for his new job.
The action in the dining room will be overseen by AJ Aubuchon. Like her husband, she is transitioning over from Pizza Port, where she worked in bar-based hospitality roles at the company’s locations in Carlsbad and Ocean Beach.
In taking the reins at Pizza Port Carlsbad, Aubuchon followed in the footsteps of the brewpub’s former head brewers, Jeff Bagby and Ignacio “Nacho” Cervantes. The former is the winningest brewer in GABF history and moved on from Pizza Port to open his own brewpub, Bagby Beer Co., in 2014. That business is just one-and-a-half miles north along Coast Highway from Heritage’s new spot.
Meanwhile, Cervantes has returned to Pizza Port Carlsbad after leaving to pursue other opportunities nearly a half-decade ago. During his time away, he led brewing operations for The Bell Marker, a since-shuttered downtown San Diego brewpub that was a link in an L.A.-based hospitality group’s chain of beer-centric venues, before teaming up with family in 2020 to serve as one of a pair of head brewers and help get an Eastlake brewpub online for Chula Vista Brewery.
Cervantes worked for Pizza Port from 2004 to 2018, managing brewing at the company’s Ocean Beach brewpub and serving as Head Production Brewer at its production facility in Carlsbad’s Bressi Ranch development in addition to his work at Carlsbad Village. Having him back in the fold represents a best-case scenario following Aubuchon’s departure, leaving the brewhouses at both Pizza Port and Heritage in good hands.
Heritage Barbecue & Beer Co. is located at 2002 South Coast Highway in Oceanside