The guard has changed at The Wine Pub and Coffee Hub Cafe in Point Loma, and the owner has a very personal connection with his new establishment.

“My wife, Nina, and I met here on our first date, which was a blind date: It was a safe place where we could run away if we didn’t like each other,” joked Roy McClish, who took over both businesses Dec. 17.

McClish comes from a hospitality background. He started out in 1984 in what was then La Jolla Village Inn, setting up for banquets. He ultimately worked in several other area hotels, in numerous capacities, including Humphrey’s on Shelter Island.

“But I was burned out by 2001 and my brother said, ‘You should go into the mortgage business,’” said McClish. So he did, going from working in hotels to having his own real estate and mortgage brokerage.

Sandy Hanshaw, The Wine Pub’s previous owner, founded the business in 2009 and added the Coffee Hub five years later.

“I had come from hospitality management, most recently with Omni Hotels, before I got laid off in 2009,” said Hanshaw, adding she’d always “had a passion for wine,” which spurred the creation of her own wine bar. The bike-themed Coffee Hub that followed was inspired by her husband, Andy, who is executive director of the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition.

“The area needed a local coffee shop, so it seemed to make sense to pursue that,” Hanshaw concluded.

As to what she’ll do now, Hanshaw said she and Andy are “planning future endeavors, though nothing is solid right now. As a breast cancer survivor, I would like to do something philanthropic, something more, with some (cancer) organizations I have supported. That’s probably going to be most of my focus.”

Asked what The Wine Pub and Coffee Hub have meant to her, Hanshaw replied: “It was fun and a great experience. Our goal was to be the ‘Cheers’ of Point Loma. And as kitschy and crazy as that is, I really do think that’s what we created. We had everything from baby showers to birthday parties to anniversaries and celebrations of life here. When you share those kinds of experiences with your community, it makes things really special. That made what I did not my job, but pure enjoyment. That we’ll miss.”

After taking time off in 2016 to care for his cancer-stricken wife, who died in 2017, McClish was ready to get back into dating, and back to work.

But did he really want to go back to hospitality?

“No, I never wanted to go back,” joked McClish. “This is painful.”

Having gotten married in 2020, McClish said his wife, a high school math teacher, decided to also become a pastry chef. “And I was kind of semi-retired at home, but I’d made chocolate for the last 10 years, which I started to sell on the internet,” he said adding, “Then we thought, ‘Why don’t we do something with your pastry, my chocolate, and coffee?’ Our company is called Simply Deliciousness Bakery, Coffee & Chocolate Shop.”

To take their business ventures to the next level, the McClishes began to look for a brick-and-mortar spot. The Wine Pub and Coffee Hub opportunity came along at the last minute, just when they were ready to go elsewhere in Sunset Cliffs.

“She looked at the (wine pub) pictures and said, ‘I love that place, that’s where we had our first date.’ So we made an appointment to meet Sandy here when we were on our way to the other place. We walked in, loved Sandy, and Sandy loved us. We loved this (pub) and we pulled out of the other place. Two weeks later we were here.”

McClish is not making a lot of changes with either of their two new businesses right away.

“The Wine Pub, we just want to enhance the menu and keep it the way it is,” McClish said. “It’s got a great local following, mostly Point Lomans, mostly walking distance. People love food. They love wine. We’re upgrading the wine and continuing with the California American cuisine.”

Added McLish, “Our thing was really next door, we just wanted a coffee shop. This (pub) was a bonus. And next door (Coffee Hub) is very Point Loma too. This is their place. It really is. The restaurant has this safe, elegant, older vibe to it. It’s not loud. This is still very calm and relaxing. We want to keep it that way.”

THE WINE PUB/COFFEE HUB

Where: 2907 Shelter Island Drive

Info: thewinepubsd.com, coffeehubsd.com, 619-758-9325.