Mission Brewery dates back to 1913, when it debuted in its original iteration. That interest closed down in 1920–the first year of Prohibition–but was revived in 2007. After brewing out of several locations, including the defunct Miami Grill at Westfield UTC and Mission Hills’ historic (and aptly named) Mission Brewery Plaza facility, the business moved to its current home in downtown’s East Village in 2011. A former Wonder Bread factory, that 129-year-old red-brick structure has served Mission well, including in recent years as the company has gone in new directions. To date that has equated to a full-scale brand refresh, revision of core offerings, and an increased focus on research and development. Friday will mark the next step in Mission’s evolution when the company opens the doors to its fist-ever satellite tasting room.
Located on the 4000 block of the neighborhood’s bisecting business thoroughfare, Adams Avenue, Mission’s new venue was previously the base of operations for defunct Kensington Brewing Company (KBC). The space’s 1,500-square-foot interior has been completely revamped to include roll-up doors leading out to the front patio, an extended 24-tap bar and an aesthetic that mirrors Mission’s East Village tasting room.
We spent a lot of time brainstorming how to carry over the Mission brand. We ended up borrowing from both the original Mission from 1913 and our East Village brewery. We added a brick tile backsplash behind the taps, exposed beams dropped from the ceiling, a mural featuring our new branding and, of course, barrels to add a production element that also allows us to age some killer beers. The result stays true to Mission but pushes it forward to something even more comfortable, familiar and welcoming.”
Aaron Long, Vice President of Sales & Marketing
And Mission isn’t done where comfort is concerned. Having completed most of the work on the inside of the venue (with the exception of a mural that will run the length of the west wall), they will now turn their attention to upgrading the front patio as well as an expansive covered back patio that KBC added at the height of the pandemic. Both should go a long way to maintaining the venue’s cozy feel, something locals responded to under the prior regime.
“Kensington is exactly what we were looking for. It’s a tight-knit community with tons of passionate residents, and closely located to other uptown areas such as University Heights, Normal Heights and North Park,” says Long. “As we’ve been building out, tons of neighbors and fellow businesses have stopped by to introduce themselves and share how excited they are for us to join the neighborhood. When we initially met with the owners of KBC they echoed that, and we could feel the neighborhood watering hole atmosphere they had created here.”
In addition to a new public venue, Mission also inherited KBC’s three-barrel brewing system. It has since been moved to Mission’s East Village headquarters and used to produce trial batches of beer that have shown on at that facility’s beer menu. Moving forward, those smaller-sized creations will also be served in Kensington. Draft wine, non-alcoholic beverages, Mission-produced hard seltzers (one of which is the base of a “Kensington Mule” cocktail served in copper mugs) and a pair of collaborations (a Pilsner and IPA) produced with Oceanside’s South O Brewing will be available at the opening.
“We’ve been around as a brewery for a while and have chatted with a lot of people who have fond memories of spending time down at our East Village location. They’ve shared stories of their weddings, private parties, Padres tailgates and other life events,” says Long. “With that, we are beyond excited to grow our footprint into other San Diego communities and continue to create more of those memories one good beer at a time. We’ve come to love the Kensington community already and couldn’t think of a better place to open our first-ever satellite.”
Following its debut, Mission’s tasting room will be open to the public from 2 to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday, noon to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and noon to 8 p.m. on Sundays. Starting Friday, customers can enroll in a special Mug Club that will entitle members to 20-ounce beer pours in specialty mugs, $4 “Mug Monday” pours, 10% off merchandise and beers to-go, early access to limited-release beers and a Mug Club Founder’s gift.
Mission Brewing’s tasting room is located at 4067 Adams Avenue in Kensington