New ownership at 1014 Grand Ave. has made several alterations including a remodel and a name and menu change, as well as turning the establishment into a Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Ohio State Buckeyes fan hang.
The freshly minted The Hideout Bar & Grill, formerly Sandbox Pizza, and before that, the Australian Pub, is definitely sports- and dog-friendly.
“I’m a rugby guy, I’ve traveled everywhere playing,” noted Greg Prince II, one of the new owners, a past player, and a big fan of the sport.
Prince talked about The Hideout’s refit. “I have Hispanic and Polynesian friends and I wanted to incorporate their food, like lamb from New Zealand,” he said adding, “I make my own tortillas and salsa. And my chef happened to be from Kauai, Hawaii. We had a nice connection with my vision of the food and the way he cooked.”
The menu reflects the establishment’s new international flavor. Meal items include spicy blackened and coconut shrimp, sweet chili calamari, kalua pork birria tacos, and aloha poke.
Being Hispanic, a rugby player, and loving Polynesian food, Prince said that all combined nicely to encourage him to create a hybrid menu feature mixing traditional Mexican and Polynesian dishes with a novel flair all his own. “Everything we do, we ‘island-ize’ it a little bit,” he said pointing out The Hideout is a bar offering international cuisine with a twist.
Prince is originally from Indio and his family owns restaurants in Palm Springs. “I opened up Arnold Palmer’s restaurant in La Quinta,” he said. “I was also a trainer for The Tilted Kilt (restaurant franchise). I opened up a lot of places for other people.”
Having turned 40, Prince noted he didn’t want to work for anyone else anymore adding, “I’m really confident at what I do.”
Last October, Prince said his business partner Mike Hauser asked him what he wanted to do, and Prince replied, “Open a bar in PB. And he said, ‘I’m in.’”
Of how the bar’s name came about Prince said: “Just looking at the location, I said the name has to be the hideout. It’s hidden. It’s in the corner. So that’s why we did everything dark (interior) and put in the deep ocean Kraken mural. It’s a hidden gem.”
The Hideout has dining indoors and out featuring a spacious patio out front. Sports viewing will be a mainstay at the pub. Prince intends to have his TVs turned to international rugby and World Cup soccer. The restaurant serves food from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day. Happy hour is on weekdays from 4 to 7 p.m. and there is a Sunday brunch.
“We do trivia on Mondays, karaoke on Tuesdays, live music, acoustic, on Thursdays, and in the future, we’re going to try and do open mic nights where bands just can come in and have some fun,” said Prince.
“We’re trying to get our name out there: That’s the goal,” concluded Prince, adding he feels the hybrid concept of The Hideout should be transportable elsewhere.
Asked what he’d like patrons of The Hideout to come away with, Prince answered: “How good the food was and how great the service was. They came in, it’s off the beaten path, and it’s different from what you get here in PB. That’s why (we have) the whole Mexican-Hawaiian fusion.”
THE HIDEOUT BAR & GRILL
Where: 1014 Grand Ave.
Contact: thehideoutpb.com, 858-999-0074.
