Since 2006, Stone Brewing has been synonymous with Escondido. That was the year the local beer company went from working out of a small San Marcos industrial suite to operating a 57,000-square-foot production headquarters on Citracado Parkway. That sizable brewing facility (the county’s largest at the time) included a massive, two-story bar and restaurant that would go on to earn a reputation as one of, if not the most magnificent brewery-built hospitality venues in the country.
Palatial in its modernly medieval stone-and-rebar composition, its vast interiors and bevy of taps were further bolstered by a one-acre outdoor beer garden outfitted with boulders, native flora, walking trails, koi ponds, a lake and waterfalls. Dubbed Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens, it was the brainchild of co-founder Greg Koch, who not only conceptualized the project, but applied elbow grease during construction.
Over the next 20 years, the venue played host to millions of visitors, many of which were beer fans making pilgrimages from far and wide to see the one-of-a-kind destination with their own eyes. Among those legions were beer industry professionals, many of whom would go on to attest how the establishment of Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens showed them and their contemporaries the full extent of what craft-beer could be. (That feat was replicated when the company opened the even larger Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens – Liberty Station in Point Loma in 2013.)
It was a dreamer’s vision brought to life in physical splendor, and one which arguably hasn’t been matched or surpassed since, which made it downright heartbreaking for craft-beer fans in and beyond San Diego when, earlier this year, the venue’s current operator, Sapporo USA (which acquired Stone in 2022, then sold the brand and its physical assets, save for those in Escondido, to Firestone Walker Brewing and its parent company Duvel USA in August), announced it would be shutting down all of its Escondido facilities and laying off staff at those locations (which include the restaurant, brewery and an adjacent packaging facility) by year’s end.
With Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens – Escondido’s final day of operation set for Friday, November 13, many have been contemplating what the future may hold for the uniquely multifaceted property, most notably the venue’s roughly 140 employees . The fear that it may be demolished entirely has been shared by many previous patrons and members of the industry who shudder at the thought of such a well-appointed venue with so much to offer going to waste.
Thankfully, that won’t be happening.
Today, Koch and fellow Stone co-founder Steve Wagner are sharing the news that they will be taking over the restaurant and reopening it with a new name and an identity independent of their one-time brewing enterprise. The duo, who launched Stone together in 1996 with Wagner as its original brewmaster, have begun the lengthy process of transferring restaurant operations over from Sapporo.
“Neither Steve nor I could bear the idea of this wonderful place closing permanently. I’d call it a no-brainer, except stepping back in to operate the restaurant is extraordinarily complex,” says Koch. “It’s been extremely heartening to read people’s comments about how special the place is to them – the memories they’ve made and the milestones they’ve celebrated there. Knowing what this place means to so many people is a powerful motivation to carry it forward.”
Koch and Wagner intend to keep much of what works about the venue intact. That said, they look forward to making improvements which will enhance the overall dining experience, atmosphere, service and more.
“We’re envisioning menu updates that will be slight-versus-dramatic and move toward a somewhat more formal, entrée-focused direction,” says Koch, who adds that for now he is almost solely centered on getting the restaurant operational and reopened as quickly as possible. But when the time comes to make some tweaks, they’ll have what they need to do so in an informed manner. “We have a lot of information about why people come here and what they most enjoy experiencing.”
The most obvious attractor for the venue has always been beer. Stone’s hop-forward and otherwise bold stock was previously at the forefront, but this time around Koch and Wagner intend to branch out in their efforts to “celebrate the breadth and quality of the craft brewing community” when curating ales and lagers for the restaurant’s 36 taps.
They say you can’t go home again, but Koch and Wagner are eager to do just that. They say it was difficult being away from someplace that was so significant in their lives for so long. When asked about his favorite memories from Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens – Escondido, Koch says some of them were forged before the venue even opened.
“I remember working with small groups of volunteers to build the stone entry wall and the walls in the garden, and quiet Sundays working out in the hot sun, preparing everything for the opening. It was a very serene and contemplative time for me,” says Koch. “But my favorite thing was simply hearing the laughter, the conversations and the conviviality in the gardens; standing somewhere off to the side, listening and realizing that we created a place where people can come together and have a great time. I’m excited to experience that again.”
Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens is located at 1999 Citracado Parkway in Escondido