Sandbox Pizza, which moved last year to Garnet Avenue, offers tantalizing pizzas along with plenty of sports viewing and games to keep customers amused.
Formerly at 1014 Grand Ave., which is now The Hideout Bar & Grill, the Sandbox has relocated to 1466 Garnet Ave., previously the home of PB Cantina. Sandbox Pizza is owned by Randy Martin, who also owns multi-story The Tipsy Crow in downtown San Diego.
There were several reasons for the move, said Nathan Colonero, director of operations for Sandbox. Not the least of which was that the establishment had outgrown its space on Grand.
“Originally, the idea was, coming out of the pandemic, to do a new concept in the old Grand location,” Colonero said. “But we already had something that was working. The big thing was the kitchen over there was just too small, and we were having trouble keeping up with the volume. So we started looking to get a larger kitchen setup.”
The Garnet space turned out to be perfect for their new place. “The property went up for sale and Randy Martin looked at it, thought it was a good price, and grabbed it,” said Colonero, adding the actual physical “migration” from Grand to Garnet was surprisingly quick. “Our last day was on a Sunday, June 24 of last year, and we just moved all the equipment and everything over to the new location on Garnet,” he said. “We were back up and running in four days.”
The business’s name and branding were carried over to their new location because “we had a solid reputation,” said Colonero. He discussed the new vibe on Garnet. “It’s really a fun beach bar that also has great pizza,” he said. “We also do a lot of to-go wings.”
The new location for Sandbox is more of a bar-restaurant atmosphere said Colonero, who added other attractions including live music, DJs, and a lot of TVs to watch sports of all kinds including UFC fights. There is also a back patio where guests can play Skee-Ball, an arcade game.
Colonero characterized Sandbox’s pies as “hard to describe.” He added they are not brick oven, thin-crust, deep-dish, Chicago or New York-style, just plain good. He added spaghetti and meatballs, as an appetizer, which also graces the menu, along with chicken wings, which he noted are tasty and have become a real “sleeper item.” The restaurant/bar also offers sandwiches, salads, and other small appetizers.
Sandbox is open daily starting at 11:30 a.m., earlier on Sundays in the fall for NFL games. Colonero said Sandbox is a New England Patriots bar partial to the Celtics and other Boston sports teams.
Of their business model, Sandbox’s operations director described it as “a hybrid. We have a daytime business with older guys, softball teams, and groups of women coming through for lunch. But we also have happy hours with local regulars, as well as serving late-night drinks with a full bar and a craft cocktail menu.”
SANDBOX PIZZA
Where: 1466 Garnet Ave.
Hours: Sundays-Thursdays 11:30 a.m.-midnight, Fridays-Saturdays 11:30 a.m.-2 a.m.
Contact: sandboxsd.com.
