Treeology Cafe
The newly opened Treeology Cafe Restaurant in Pacific Beach offers breakfast-lunch service with a menu that includes hearty continental breakfasts, house-made granola, pan-seared fish, and roast beef on garlic sourdough. The cafe replaces Chronic Smoothies. It is owned by Kevin Sabbagh, who worked in the hotel-restaurant industry in his native France. “Everything is made from scratch,” he emphasized, adding that smoothies are still available along with the addition of artisan pastries such as lemon zest Madeleines, banana bread, and almond financiers. 865 Turquoise St., 858-247-7425, treeology-sd.com. Beach Bumzz A chef with 23 years of experience has opened Beach Bumzz Baja Fusion in Pacific Beach, bringing to the table “American comfort food with Baja twists.”
A.J. Mortazavi was a chef at Tower 13 in Cardiff, Leucadia Pizzeria, and the former Bentley’s Steak & Chop House in Rancho Santa Fe. Among his signature dishes at Beach Bumzz are fish tacos garnished with smoked poblano crema, red chili aioli, and mango salsa. They’ve earned awards at Taste of Cardiff and the San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival.
“I’ve always wanted to own my own place and I’m following my dreams,” he said, crediting the help he received from his uncle, Dan Milles. “I make everything from scratch as use as many local ingredients as I can.” The indoor-outdoor eatery features flat screens and a pet-friendly patio. 978 Garnet Ave., 858-999-0075, beachbumzzpb.com. Dave’s Hot Chicken
In keeping with this year’s crystal-ball predictions by our nation’s food gurus, Nashville hot chicken will remain on the rise. Sure enough, the spicy Southern poultry flaps into Pacific Beach by early spring via Dave’s Hot Chicken. Spice levels will range from “lite-mild” to extra-hot.
The chain is based in Los Angeles and plans to open additional locations throughout San Diego County after debuting here, at 1001 Garnet Ave. For updates, visit daveshotchicken.com. Con Pane Rustic Breads & Cafe After a successful 20-plus-year run in Point Loma, the retail/wholesaler Con Pane Rustic Breads & Cafe in Liberty Station has closed. The abrupt shutdown occurred after an audit by Immigration and Customers Enforcement (ICE). But according to Joe Haeussler, vice president of Pendulum Property Partners, which manages Liberty Station, the bakery could potentially reopen. The bakery made the startling announcement about its closure Jan. 15 on Facebook, generating nearly 850 “reactions” by devoted customers. Others posted heartfelt sentiments on the establishment’s doors and windows.
According to the Facebook notice, written presumably by Con Pane owner Catherine Perez, ICE discovered “a large number of unauthorized workers” involved in the daily operations. The illegal status of those workers, it added, “was without our knowledge” and “we had no choice but to close.”
Haeussler told us, however: “Our preference is to work out an arrangement [with Con Pane] to do a lease renewal in order to keep them open. They were a tremendous asset to the tenant base of Liberty Station, and they provided a quality product and great staff.” 2750 Dewey Road. Ways & Means Oyster House
Shellfish rules the day at Ways & Means Oyster House, a popular Huntington Beach restaurant that will soon open an outpost in La Jolla, where Alfonso’s previously stood. A manager for the company said the new spot marks the second location of Way & Means, which launched up north a little more than three years ago.
It will have a similar menu of clam chowder, Maryland-style crab cakes, blackened fish and dressed oysters, some of which are the company’s brand-name bivalves sourced from a farm in Humboldt Bay. 1251 Prospect St., wmoysters.com. The 3rd Corner The new year rang in a new deal at The 3rd Corner in Ocean Beach. For $25, customers can score a half-pound bacon cheeseburger with fries plus a glass of wine from the establishment’s reserve collection. Offered from 3 p.m. to close on Wednesdays, the selected wine is usually Caymus Cabernet or Belle Glos pinot noir. Also, because of the sudden closure of Con Pane Rustic Breads & Cafe, the kitchen has begun sourcing its brioche burger rolls from Bread & Cie. “We were using Con Pane for more than 10 years,” said wine manager Todd Mullligan. “Their closing was a little bit of a shock.” 2265 Bacon St., 619-223-2700, the3rdcorner.com.