Since opening Little Miss Brewing in 2016, no brewery owners in San Diego – or California, or pretty much anywhere – have been on as much of a tear in terms of business expansion as Greg and Jade Malkin. The married couple’s taproom count comes in at a whopping nine (including the tasting rooms built into their brewery locations in Logan Heights and Miramar) as well as a bar built into the Taste San Diego Craft Community and Culture exhibit at the San Diego History Center. As they’ll readily admit, it’s a lot to handle and being extended to such a degree comes with an increased level of risk, but they’re all in on their ultra-expansive model. So much so that they have secured a site for yet another tasting room, this time in Kearny Mesa.
It’s exciting. We’ve had the most tasting rooms of any brewery in California for a little while now, but it’s always fun to work on a new project.”
Greg Malkin, Co-owner, Little Miss Brewing
Because of the community they have selected, this project will be a bit different than most of Little Miss’ over the past several years. For the most part, the Malkins have made a concerted effort to open locations in places that have few, if any, craft breweries. Those cities and neighborhoods include Lakeside, Normal Heights, Poway, Eastlake, La Mesa and the home of Little Miss’ recently opened headquarters, Logan Heights. Serving the underserved has worked well for the Malkins, allowing them to sell almost all of their beers across their own bars, where they can reap the highest profit margins.
With six brewing companies based within its all-industrial limits, Kearny Mesa is anything but a craft-beer wasteland. Little Miss’ project site is in the former home of Angel Massage, in between The Bullpen Bar & Grill and Cheetahs Gentleman’s Club in the Kearny Plaza strip mall. This places Little Miss across the street from one of Kearny Mesa’s – and San Diego’s – most popular beer companies, Societe Brewing, and two blocks from Hopnonymous Brewing and Kilowatt Brewing to the west, and Quantum Brewing (which remain opens despite owner Martin Beaulieu’s announcement he would be closing the business last December) to the east. That’s more close-by competition than Little Miss has had at any of its previous satellite locations.
“It’s true that we normally look for a spot that has very few breweries, but my equation also takes into consideration the amount of traffic in the area,” says Malkin. “My calculation is that, even with Kearny Mesa’s current brewery options, there is adequate business to support our tasting room.”
Little Miss’ new tasting room is 1,200 square feet, has a partially shaded front patio and can seat around 50 people. Like the company’s other locations, the Kearny Mesa venue will be decorated to pay homage to one of the United States’ World War II Allied Nations, though the particular country has yet to be determined. The site does not have its own kitchen, but Little Miss is working on a partnership with The Bullpen which would allow its food to be ordered from and delivered to the tasting room.
The Malkins are currently projecting an opening date for their new tasting room sometime in June or July.
Little Miss Brewing’s new tasting room will be located at 8199 Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, Suite S-3, in Kearny Mesa