San Diego County’s northwesternmost community, Oceanside is home to 17 breweries, brewpubs and craft-beer tasting rooms. Of those, over half opened in just the past four years as part of a strong, steady influx of hospitality businesses that includes trendy bars, restaurants and hotels. The formerly quaint coastal community and off-duty hangout for Marines has been transformed into a lively destination offering greater food-and-beverage options than just about anywhere in the county. Nowadays, it’s a no-brainer for a brewery to want to have a presence in Oceanside, but it was a far chancier environment when Breakwater Brewing set up shop there in 2008.
“We were the first brewery to open in downtown Oceanside,” says owner Jason Ignaciak. “Our original founders were a breakaway group from Pizza Port, which has turned out many great brewers over the years. We sort of consider ourselves Pizza Port’s stepchild without the success they’ve had.”
Ignaciak’s assessment is overly humble. Over the past 15 years, Breakwater has amassed many a loyal regular while earning awards for its beers at prestigious brewing competitions, including the Great American Beer Festival, World Beer Cup and San Diego International Beer Competition. Those beers include IPAs DMJ and Teahupo’o, Kali Kush pale ale, Rye Dawn porter and Rabiscus Mead, all of which have been mainstays along with a menu of casual fare, including pizzas that are still made using original owner Shannon Sager’s original dough recipe.
Breakwater has stayed mostly the same over the years, but a big change is coming for the business, which announced over the weekend that it will be moving on from its longtime home on Coast Highway. That statement came via the company’s social-media accounts and was instigated by a post to another account, Inside Oceanside, which mentioned a City of Oceanside redevelopment project involving Breakwater’s building.
“It mentioned a six-month starting time frame. While we are not aware of that time frame, we do know this project is in the works. It’s been in the planning stages for some time,” says Ignaciak. “We cannot say when it will commence, but we felt like we needed to say something about it for our patrons who might have seen that post and wonder what our plans are. While we don’t know the exact timing of the project, we do know our lease is up next April and we have no chance of a renewal.”
Breakwater asked their landlord about renewing but weren’t offered any options to do so. So, as Ignaciak puts it, this is “the beginning of the end” for the company at the place where it all started. But that brewpub isn’t Breakwater’s only location. Last year, an artisanal beverage collective called CoLab Public House opened off State Route 78 in Vista. That facility is equipped with a 10-barrel brewhouse and cellar shared by a trio of brewery tenants that includes Breakwater as well as Barrel & Stave Brewing and Laguna Beer Co. All three of those operations operate their own retail counters from CoLab’s shared, two-story tasting room, which also features a winery and a kitchen from Baby’s Badass Burgers.
“We will continue to operate at CoLab and do all of our brewing at that location,” says Ignaciak. “We may even dive into more distribution than we already do.”
When asked if Breakwater will look to open another location all its own, Ignaciak says he and his partners don’t know yet, noting the Oceanside brewpub hasn’t turned a profit in years. Even so, if they do look to open something new, it will absolutely be in downtown Oceanside.
“We appreciate Oceanside and the wonderful customers that have continued to give us their business over the years,” says Ignaciak. “This is where we started. A lot of Oceanside knows us and remains loyal to us. If we do open a new spot downtown, it will most likely be a simpler version and menu.”
Breakwater will hold an official farewell event featuring specials and giveaways of items that could extend to the brewpub’s artwork and memorabilia. The timing of that and the location’s closure has yet to be determined since the timing of the project ousting Breakwater from its space remains unknown. Ignaciak encourages those who would like to stay up-to-date on the business’ future to follow the company’s social-media accounts.
Breakwater Brewing is located at 101 North Coast Highway in Oceanside