Three restaurants at the end of Grand Avenue signal the beginning of more ocean-view
dining choices run by new owners who said they’ve chose to stay for the longterm.
Pacific Beach Alehouse, Pacific Beach Shore Club and Firehouse American Eatery + Lounge set up shop within 11 months and a few steps of each other. Now, they want to expand both dining choices and their commitment to the community.
“We all know each other, and we all get along ” they’re great guys,” said Eric Leitstein, owner of Pacific Beach Alehouse, 721 Grand Ave., which opened in April. “We’re not really competitive. Our objective is to bring people to the area and to contribute to the community.”
Leitstein, who has either lived or worked in Pacific Beach for the past 20 years, has experience owning a restaurant from Canes and the Sandbar Sports Grill in Mission Beach and another Sandbar Sports Grill in Vail, Colo.
“I have a 23-year lease and a long-term commitment to this community,” he said. “I’m really conscientious about what I’m doing here.”
He said he didn’t want to build another beach bar on the location, which was originally a Sizzler. His goal was to create a warm, lodge-like feel, with slate, stone and dark woods, plasma screen televisions and a rooftop deck with three tiers, each with an ocean view.
“I’ve done research for the past three years, and I’m really proud of the ambiance, the beer and the food,” Leitstein said.
The microbrewery introduces a new beer each month, but Whitewash Wheat quickly became the favorite, according to Leitstein. “My brewer, Erik Jensen, is phenomenal,” Leitstein said. He plans to introduce beer-tasting dinners in the future.
Leitstein called the menu a bit of a reach for the beach. The signature items include a lobster BLT, handcrafted burgers and popcorn lobster lettuce wraps and beer-battered fish.
“You can introduce quality items at a good value,” he said. “Pacific Beach needs more of that.”
Billy Ramirez, who owns Pacific Beach Shore Club, 4315 Ocean Blvd., with Doug Sondomowicz, likes introducing new concepts that his fellow restaurant owners haven’t done yet. “We all work together and try not to compete on different nights,” he said. “If someone has an idea for a special, we say, ‘All right, we’ll come up with something else.'”
At the Pacific Beach Shore Club, those ideas have resulted in everything from goldfish racing on Wednesday nights to cheese curds and brats for Saturday football games as home of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Badgers. The activities, atmosphere and menu are geared toward the customers enjoying themselves and feeling at home.
“We have guys in suits sitting next to people in tank-tops and flip-flops,” Ramirez said. “It’s a real mix of generations of people and genres of music.”
When the restaurant opened in July 2007, the owners maximized their second-story oceanfront location by opening the large windows and providing “community seating” with a choice of benches, barstools, picnic tables and booths. “We wanted a beach atmosphere with a community scene,” Ramirez said. They also maximized the view of sports with 16 plasma screen televisions.
Ramirez said the club features a “happy hour all day” concept, with $3 beer and taco specials offered continuously. Chef Ventura Lopez, whom the owners have known for more than 10 years, recently revamped the menu. Offerings range from monster nachos to surf and turf quesadillas to corn dog appetizers and tater tots.
“We’ve been open a year now, so we know more about our customers,” Ramirez said. “We always have travelers here in San Diego, but we definitely want to take care of the locals.”
The local Fire Station 21 inspired the name of its next-door neighbor, Firehouse American Eatery + Lounge, 722 Grand Ave. The restaurant opened in June 2007 after an extensive remodel, resulting in a first-floor chrome and black dining room and a second floor with another full bar, fire pit and ocean view. The restaurant embraces the stylish yet beachy feel of Pacific Beach, according to Matt Spencer, owner/operator.
“We built Firehouse with a holistic view, from the colors you see to the food you eat to the atmosphere…they all have a theme and a storyline,” he said.
Spencer, a San Diego native, said he was aware that restaurants near the beach could run the risk of focusing more on the view than the menu. “It has been one of our missions to have the best food at the beach.”
Mike Englund, executive chef, created a menu that continues the firehouse theme with “gearing up” breakfast offerings such as the 1-, 2- and 3-alarm station scrambles. “Light duty” includes an ahi salad, and “heavy rescue” choices list baby-back ribs.
“Chef Mike is young and unafraid to buck tradition,” Spencer said. “He is extremely talented, and he infuses beach eats with cosmopolitan fare.”
Spencer said that the restaurant’s beach-chic personality attracts both tourists and locals alike. He hopes that they’ll visit at one of his favorite times of day. “On a Sunday afternoon, you can relax on a double-wide chaise lounge while drinking a glass of champagne and listening to smooth beats,” Spencer said.