It took Diane and Sean Hilz more than a year to find a home for their business-to-be. During that lengthy search, like many first-time entrepreneurs, they started to wonder if they were doing the right thing trying to get into the beer business. But from the moment a favorable set of circumstances provided them the opportunity to take over a Vista business park suite which had housed numerous beverage-company tenants (Toolbox Brewing, Local Roots Kombucha, Shred Hard Seltzer), they say everything has fallen right into place.
Shortly after closing on their 5,300-square-foot combo brewery and tasting room, they brought on a pair of industry vets ‒ Lia Garcia (Societe Brewing, ChuckAlek Independent Brewers, URBN St. Brewery) and Angela O’Brien (Booze Brothers Brewing, Stone Brewing) ‒ to provide marketing and hospitality assistance. They were soon followed by Peter Perrecone, the founding brewer for the aforementioned Toolbox who went on to head small-batch beer production for eight years at nearby Belching Beaver Brewery, who shares brewing duties with Sean. Together, the small but efficient squad has breezed forward, blowing past obstacles en route to this weekend’s soft-opening of The Roadies Brewing.
Much of the Hilz’s ability to rapidly mobilize and charge forward was the result of years spent patronizing breweries, gauging what they liked about other businesses’ tasting rooms so that, when the time came, they’d be flush with ideas on what to include at theirs.
“We’re new to this, but have gone to enough breweries throughout the state that we knew what we wanted ours to look like,” says Sean. “In particular, it was important to us to provide a total experience versus just letting the beer speak for itself.”
The Hilzes are well aware that they are joining a regional craft-beer industry boasting roughly 150 individual brewing companies operating well over 200 production facilities, brewpubs, taprooms and restaurants. They also understand that in San Diego, where high-quality ales and lagers are the standard, an expected baseline amenity being offered by the majority of the county’s beer operations, a brewery needs something more to stand out and draw repeat business, be it advanced food options, engaging programming or a compelling theme. The Hilz went with the latter.
From the moment one walks into The Roadies’ tasting room, there can be no doubt as to the brewery’s overarching musical motif. Guitars, basses and a full drum kit adorn the entry wall. Bathrooms are plastered with wallpaper featuring arrays of microphones, amplifiers and roadies at work. Hanging light fixtures are topped with cymbals, while those suspended above the blackstone-topped bar are fashioned to look like microphones. That lengthy, L-shaped structure sports a piano-key facade and is underlit to match brewery back-lighting and the crimson halo around a liquor-tank-mounted logo sign custom-made by The Roadies’ brewhouse and cellar manufacturer, Craftmaster Stainless.
Behind the bar, uke-sized four-hole flight boards are shaped like guitars and taps are topped with handcrafted multicolor handles fashioned to resemble guitar headstocks. Additional seating is provided by tall two- and four-top tables with clear views of a large stage against the south wall. That area, which is far larger than most local brewery venues’ entertainment setups, is outfitted with stack speakers, monitors and a professional lighting rig. It also features a projector and retractable screen giving way to a chalkboard backdrop (which will soon sport The Roadies’ logo) in a frame decorated with vintage LPs.
We wanted our spot to have the feel of a back-alley where people gather to watch live music, so we constructed two brick-wall facades on either side of the tasting room. They look like two-story buildings and have backlit windows with planters, and we’re working to add a faux fire escape in the near future.”
Sean Hilz, Owner & Co-Head Brewer, The Roadies Brewing
It is a full-on concept that impresses. The Hilz hope the same can be said for their tap list, which leans toward popular and every-person beers while tossing in lesser-seen styles, including a red ale and American stout.
The following are the beers that will be on tap when The Roadies soft-opens.
- Uncle John’s Lager, American Lager (4.8% alcohol-by-volume)
- Corazon Espinado, Mexican-style Lager (5.5%)
- Rapture Blonde, Blonde Ale (5%)
- Pocket Pale Ale, Pale Ale (5.3%)
- Watcha Say IPA, West Coast IPA (7.3%)
- For the Love of…, Hazy IPA (7.3%)
- Roxx Anne Red, Red Ale (6.3%)
- Dancin’ in the Dark, American Stout (7.6%)
The Roadies will also offer a rotating line of hard seltzers, and recipes slotted into the upcoming brew schedule include a double West Coast IPA, fruited kettle-sour ale, watermelon-infused wheat ale, festbier and German-style Pilsner. The last two will be released as part of The Roadies’ Oktoberfest celebration next month.
Other future tasting-room programming will include musical-themed yoga, thematic trivia and bingo nights, makers markets and events taking place during holidays such as Halloween, Christmas and Mother’s Day. The Roadies team also intends to go big on beer-and-food pairing. In addition to offering monthly beer-and-food flights, they plan to work with local chefs to host large-scale, multi-course pairing dinners at their tasting room on a quarterly basis.
And, of course, there will be plenty of music with bands, solo acts and DJs taking The Roadies’ stage on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
“We knew we wanted The Roadies to be about music,” says Diane. “That idea just continued to grow as we built it, and we’re so happy with how everything turned out.”
The Roadies will soft-open to the public on Saturday, August 17. The business’ initial hours of operation will be 3 to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday, 1 to 10 p.m. on Fridays, noon to 10 p.m. on Saturdays and noon to 8 p.m. on Sundays. After gauging patron tendencies, those hours may be adjusted.
The Roadies Brewing is located at 1495 Poinsettia Avenue, Unit 148, in Vista