One can’t be blamed for being at sea about the current composition of Modern Times. The “Modern Era” has seen the 12-year-old business undergo more than its fair share of turmoil, shifts and permutations, especially in the past three years. In order to effectively explain where it is and where it’s going, we must first go back to the beginning to examine the path leading to the here and now.
Not long after launching in 2013, original owner Jacob McKean initiated an ambitious growth strategy that saw the company’s beers distributed across the nation, while the company established numerous outposts up and down the West Coast. At the height of the Point Loma-based business’ success and popularity, Modern Times operated three locations in San Diego, plus brewpubs and taprooms in Anaheim, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Oakland and Portland, Oregon.
Then came 2022. By then, McKean had stepped down amid accusations of harassment and fostering a toxic work environment. But the company had far greater problems, namely having been overextended and spread remarkably thin during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was an incredibly challenging period for beer companies, particularly those relying on revenues from in-person hospitality venues. Two years of shutdowns, social-distancing and consumer anxiety about assembling in public had taken their toll.
Bleeding and desperate to survive, the company shuttered its locations from Oregon to Los Angeles, maintaining only its homebase in Point Loma, tasting rooms in North Park and Encinitas, and massive Anaheim brewery, food and beverage complex, “Leisuretown”. (The Anaheim location was sold to Villains Brewing in 2023.) It was a dramatic downsizing, but only the beginning for the struggling enterprise.
Three months after the closures, Modern Times underwent a court-ordered receivership auction, in which interested parties submitted bids to acquire the company. What figured to be a simple, highest-bid-wins situation was instead marred by confusion and drama.
Upon review of the initial bids, Anaheim-based Brewery X came out on top with a bid of $20 million, followed by North Carolina’s TRU Colors Brewing and Maui Brewing Co. (MBC). Despite TRU Colors objecting to the outcome of the auction, a judge upheld the results. Brewery X charged forward, with ownership and key representatives going so far as to hold an all-hands meet-and-greet at the company’s Point Loma headquarters. But in July, Brewery X suddenly reversed course, opting out of the acquisition.
Later that year, MBC purchased Modern Times for $15.3 million. This marked the establishment of parent group Craft ‘Ohana, which included MBC and Modern Times as well as the latter’s coffee brand, Maui Hard Seltzer, Kupu Spirits and Island Soda. As a native San Diegan and longtime force in the craft-beer industry, Craft ‘Ohana owner Garrett Marrero was enthusiastic about saving what he saw as an established, still-viable brand.
In the end it proved too challenging, prompting him to go a different direction. Last September, Marrero announced Modern Times would be moving out of its Point Loma base of operations. In doing so, Craft ‘Ohana entered into an agreement with AleSmith Brewing to have all Modern Times beers contract-brewed at that company’s Miramar facility.
The following month, Marrero partnered with Josh Landan, the owner of another contract-brewed brand, Wings & Arrow, to manage day-to-day beer operations of Modern Times. Landan is best known for founding (and subsequently selling) Miramar-based Saint Archer Brewery in 2013. then founding (and subsequently departing) Scripps Ranch-based Harland Brewing in 2018.
So that is where Modern Times stands from a beer perspective. But there is far more to the venture, including the aforementioned coffee brand as well as a newly established hospitality brand, Modern Times Pub. Both are the responsibility of Duncan Ward, an accomplished hospitality veteran from the U.K. who has opened 30-plus restaurants, bars and coffee shops with private-equity teams and restaurant groups over the course of his career. He sees quality and potential in the Modern Times brand and hopes to scale up in regards to the business’ physical venues.
Ward says he initially looked into Modern Times during the receivership auction. That’s when he first met Marrero, and they’ve been in touch with one another ever since. Last year, the pair partnered. Now, just as Landan has become the majority shareholder where the brand’s beer operations are concerned, Ward is in charge of the coffee and hospitality aspects of the business.
Earlier this year, Ward debuted the new Modern Times Pub concept at the company’s Encinitas location, the “Far West Lounge”. It was a logical starting point given the fact the venue had an established kitchen operation. In addition to reimagining its menu, the Far West Lounge’s interiors were renovated. The venue also started offering local food delivery and expanded its operating schedule to seven days a week. There’s been an uptick in both patronage and profits, but this is just the first step of what, if the concept continues to prove itself, could be a great many.
In April, Ward worked out a deal to take over the downtown San Diego space previously occupied by The Local Eatery & Drinking Hole (pictured, at right). Located on the corner of Fourth Avenue and C Street, it was vacated when The Local’s owners decided to move their 22-year-old business to the East Village space that was previously home to bar-and-restaurant Bootlegger’s for 13 years before that business closed in January. The Modern Times team has since taken control of the new space and begun overhauling the interior space to reflect its new identity as a venue going by the name “Timestead”.
“Timestead is a time-bending hideaway pad with a lived-in feel, a layered mix of retro-futurism, 1970s sci-fi western energy, and deep ties to Modern Times’ legacy and San Diego culture,” says Modern Times Sales Representative Ethan Ward, who is closely involved with the project. “The space reflects the idea of a space cowboy who’s chosen SD ‒ his favorite city ‒ as home. Naturally, his favorite company is Modern Times, and this gives us the chance to explore that love for coffee and beer more creatively. With our first liquor license, we’re now building out a new beverage world that merges all three pillars: beer, coffee and spirits.”
“Modern Times tasting rooms and restaurants have always had a unique flair for design, including interesting use of materials, colors and creative artwork to create loungy, laidback spaces with modern accents. We’ll keep those concepts going forward, with a unique interpretation for each space,” says District Manager Jeff Noble.
Noble has worked at numerous Modern Times locations since joining the company in 2016, and has managed its public spaces in Point Loma and North Park. He is still in charge of the latter and is also overseeing the downtown project. When asked what made The Local space so appealing, Noble notes its central location and longstanding reputation as a hub for both craft beer and sports. Community familiarity, heavy foot-traffic and having good bones to support their concept also factored in. In many ways, he says the space reminds him of Modern Times’ downtown L.A. location, “The Dankness Dojo”.
“We intend to keep the spirit of the space, as it is a really cool historic building, but inject it with unmistakable Modern Times DNA,” he says. “We’ll have bold visual installations, art-forward walls and upgraded fixtures that nod to our signature look.”
And like The Local before it, it will also have sports. “With it being an official Packers Bar and a prime spot for fans of the Padres and Premier League, we will be showing all the big football, baseball and soccer games, in addition to some fun spectator events like Formula One,” says Ward. “That said, sports won’t be on in the background all the time. We will be showing the games in a welcoming and all-inclusive environment, but the laidback Modern Times vibe will be fully in place. When games aren’t on, the screens will display static images and art to add to that chill vibe.”
The downtown location’s culinary program will mirror that of the Encinitas pub, which expanded from solely offering plant-based comfort foods by adding non-vegan sandwiches and flatbreads. As expected, the beverage program will feature Modern Times coffee and beers. Those items will be supplemented by guest beers and other beverages (including spirits) from independent San Diego County producers. Noble believes spotlighting local talent will make for a more collaborative and deeply rooted establishment.
In addition to The Local’s main unit (and its extensive underground footprint, which includes a wealth of dry and cold storage), the takeover includes acquisition of an interconnected 10-barrel brewery, which had been operated by Resident Brewing from 2016 to 2025. Ward wants to put this facility to use in the manufacture of specialty beers for the pub locations, adding a canning line to provide to-go beer options. A plan for doing so is currently being hashed out with Modern Times’ beer contingent.
It’s early, but Ward and Noble have faith in the Modern Times Pub concept and aspirations of opening future venues within San Diego County. But first, they will look to make the most of their new downtown digs, which they hope to debut in mid-August.
Modern Times Beer’s pubs are located at 470 South Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas and 411 C Street in Downtown San Diego