When opening North Park Beer Co. in 2016, owners Kelsey and Amanda McNair had a clear-cut vision for the beer side of their business, but zero restaurant-industry experience. As such, they leased their kitchen to the culinary pros behind popular foodtruck enterprise Mastiff Kitchen, who put forth an in-house menu of bold, flavorful dishes matching the moxy and wholesomeness of NPBC’s beers. And it proved a winning formula for a decade.
A lot has transpired over that span. Not only did the McNairs open a pair of satellite locations in Bankers Hill and Pacific Beach’s Crown Point neighborhood in 2022 and 2024, respectively. When doing so, they challenged themselves to install their own food programs. Resultantly, the couple have evolved from wide-eyed newbies to seasoned restaurateurs. Key to that progression has been NPBC Culinary Director Sam Navarro, a chef with a knack for creating worldly dishes that are both approachable and beer-friendly. In Bankers Hill, that equates to smashburgers, sandos and homey Tuesday night suppers, while New York-style pizza is the name of the game in PB.
Watching Navarro provide so much skill, versatility and management expertise at NPBC’s spin-off locations inspired the McNairs to once again look within when Mastiff’s kitchen lease came up for renewal earlier this year. Though appreciative of their tenant’s contributions, the couple were eager to apply Navarro’s sensibilities at their flagship venue. NPBC personnel are now in control of everything happening under the company’s roof. While the McNairs acknowledge that managing culinary operations presents a host of challenges, they say it’s all worth it, allowing for a full expression of their business and its overarching ethos.
“As we approach our tenth anniversary, it felt like the right time to take the next step at our flagship location,” says Kelsey. “Bringing the culinary program in-house gives us the opportunity to create a more complete guest experience while staying true to what we’ve always been about: serving exceptional beer and creating places where people genuinely enjoy spending time.”
The North Park menu revolves around the practice of spending beer-fueled time with friends, as Navarro, McNair and other NPBC staffers brainstormed memorable dishes they’ve enjoyed in that capacity during their international travels. The result is a bill of fare made up of shareables ranging from Bavarian-style pretzels with queso fundido, twice-fried coconut curry fries and lime-marinated Pacific cod ceviche, segueing to a variety of tacos (fish, chicken al pastor, cochinita pibil), fish and chips, and various smashburgers and sandwiches (karaage chicken, crispy fish, pulled jackfruit).
When asked about the dishes on the new menu that he’s most excited about, Navarro calls out crispy Japanese-style chashu pork belly tossed in sweet-and-savory sauce with a hit of spice from house chili crisp. He’s also stoked on a French onion burger that originally debuted as a special in Bankers Hill and mimics the umami-rich soup of the same name, as well as Tokyo fries topped with chicken karaage.
“Guests rave about the chicken tenders at our other two locations, so I was hoping to put a fresh spin on that dish for our North Park menu,” says Navarro. “I’ve been especially inspired by Japanese and Korean flavor profiles, so my mind immediately went to chicken karaage. Paired with Tokyo fries, it offers a nice variety of textures and tons of bold flavors. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that it’s the perfect beer-drinking food.”
Navarro encapsulates his rangy, eclectic concept as “Southern California meets comfort dishes with a globally-inspired twist,” but says in the end it extends on tenets both him and his coworkers in the brewery live by. “Ultimately, it’s a reflection of how we do everything at North Park Beer Co.: simple done right, with an emphasis on using the best ingredients we can get our hands on to create something our guests can look forward to.”
North Park’s kitchen is currently closed as the company awaits license approvals necessary to debut its new food program. There is no firm timetable for the launch, but there are plenty of events notated in ink on NPBC’s calendar. The first is a celebration of the company’s 10-year anniversary, which will take place at the North Park taproom on Tuesday, June 23. That event will feature cellared barrel-aged beers, imperial-stout variants, collaboration ales and lagers, plus the return of a quartet of brews that appeared on the business’ opening-day tap list: Covington American Pilsner, Beaufort Black American stout, Panoramic double dry-hopped West Coast IPA and Ray Street West Coast red ale. It will mark the first time NPBC has celebrated its anniversary – which is typically held on Labor Day weekend, and will be again this year – in June.
The company’s official ticketed anniversary party, NPBC10, will take place at its North Park location on Sunday, September 6. The tap list at this year’s event will feature beers from more than 35 of NPBC’s brewing-industry contemporaries spanning the entire country. Tickets and additional information will be available online come mid-July, but the McNairs are pulling out all the stops as a way of thanking longtime supporters who have made their first decade in the industry an unequivocal success.
“When we opened in 2016, we were focused on making the best beer we could and earning a place in San Diego’s beer community. We hoped we’d still be here 10 years later, but there are no guarantees in this industry,” says Kelsey. “The fact that so many people have supported us over the years, whether they’ve been with us since day one or discovered us more recently, is something we never take for granted. Every anniversary is an opportunity to reflect on how fortunate we’ve been to have such loyal guests, an incredible team and a community that continues to support independent craft beer.”
North Park Beer Co.’s taprooms are located at 3038 University Avenue in North Park, 3095 Fifth Avenue in Bankers Hill and 3801 Ingraham Street in Pacific Beach’s Crown Point neighborhood