By Ken Williams | Editor

Tucked away off Ray Street in the North Park Arts District is a new venture called the California Tap Room, where two pretzel-meisters are tempting craft beer lovers with their twisted morsels of doughy goodness.

Pretzels and beer are like a marriage made in heaven, and Jeffrey “Jeff” Paul Buddin and J. Paul “Boomer” Iacoangelo are tapping into that natural craving. “There is a big, pent-up demand for pretzels,” Jeff said. Last year at La Mesa Oktoberfest, Jeff sold more than 500 pretzels in two days.

As their motto goes, they have “passion for the pretzel.” And they have passion for craft beer as well. Since North Park is the de facto capital of San Diego’s craft beer industry, the pretzel-meisters chose the Ray Street location over the Gaslamp District and East Village. “North Park is craft beer central,” Jeff said.

The California Tap Room has taken over a space notorious to North Parkers as the former home of The Rubber Rose adult boutique (which Boomer called “the dildo store”), a tattoo parlor, a pot shop and a porn studio.

“We are so rated G!” Boomer laughed, drawing out the word “so.”

On April 15, the brick-and-mortar shop opened at 3812 Ray St. in what Boomer described as a “hellhole building for a long time.” At the moment, they are only using half the space, putting up a temporary dividing wall in the middle of the building. They tore down 50-year-old shingles that were past their prime, and gutted the building. In their remodel, they chose a rustic theme with lots of repurposed wood on the walls, wood floors, wooden crates, and wooden picnic tables and benches.

The pretzel side of the business is up and running, and they sell five types of twisted deliciousness: the New York ($4), the Philly ($5), the Munich ($5), the Jumbo Bavarian Double Twist ($6) and Pretzel Puffs ($3 for five or $5 for 10). The pretzels are vegan and vegetarian, Jeff said, but not gluten-free.

The soft pretzels are large and served with a spicy cheese dipping sauce containing flakes of green chili peppers. “We use aged cheddar cheese infused with local craft beer in our dipping sauce,” Jeff said. He added that the pretzels are made with unbleached flour, unsalted butter, sea salt, olive oil, yeast and San Diego tap water.

Patrons can purchase extra cheese sauce, gourmet mustards and dips, and even beer-glazed nuts from North Park Nuttery. Gourmet ice tea, lemonade, root beer and sodas ($2.50) are also on the menu.

Folks who want to take pretzels home can purchase a “Take and Bake” order, complete with everything you need to re-create the in-store experience. They also specialize in taking orders for beer lovers heading out for a pub crawl. And if you can’t make it to the shop, you can order their pretzels via Door Dash for delivery to Hillcrest, University Heights, Normal Heights and North Park. They also plan to offer their own delivery service in North Park in the near future, via an electric car.

Soon, customers will be able to order a charcuterie board choosing sliced meats, fruits or vegetables.

But wait, what about the craft beer? That’s coming soon, too. Their wine and beer license has been approved, so they are expecting to open the taps within a few weeks. The wine and hard cider won’t be far behind.

On the other side of the temporary wall is a work in progress, as they prepare to showcase craft beers from their client breweries that feature their gourmet pretzels.

California Tap Room will also be one of the anchors at the Ray at Night monthly arts festival, hosting the “official beer garden” in the parking lot in front of their business. “We plan to rotate beers each month,” Jeff said.

Jeff spent 25 years in the banking industry with the Bank of California, based in Irvine. “I survived the crash of the banks,” he said. “I was bought, sold, merged and closed. I had enough of that, so I decided to retire.”

But Jeff also loves the craft beer industry, and looked into opening his own brewery but found the start-up costs to be prohibitive. “I started looking for a product that would compliment craft beer.”

Jeff knew beer lovers have a natural affinity for pretzels, and he searched the city and found a quality baker who could produce the products he wanted to serve. He and Boomer politely decline to name the mystery baker, but that man was the person who introduced the future business partners.

In March 2015, Jeff started California Tap Room as a mobile business, catering gourmet pretzels and accouterments via a “pretzel trailer” to businesses and brewers, such as Mike Hess Brewing, Coronado Brewing Company, The Lost Abbey and Pizza Port Brewing Company. As the mobile business took off, he realized that he needed a brick-and-mortar operation and a business partner. A casual conversation with his baker led to the fortuitous introduction to Boomer, who has known the baker for many years since he moved to San Diego from Philadelphia. Boomer calls the baker “my father figure out here.” Jeff and Boomer met, found they share common interests, so Jeff sold half the business to his fellow North Park residents, Boomer and his wife Lauren.

Boomer, by the way, recently lost his bid to be elected to the North Park Planning Committee. But the millennial businessman isn’t deterred; he plans to run again in the future. He also is keeping an eye on the presidential race, because Republican frontrunner Donald Trump was his former boss when he was a camera operator on NBC’s “The Apprentice.” Boomer doesn’t mince words in describing Trump: “He is a lunatic!”

Incidentally, Boomer and Lauren’s affection for Philly pretzels is why those are on the menu, Jeff said. They are already a top-seller.

San Diego Uptown News visited the shop on National Pretzel Day, which fell this year on April 26. Customers trickled in, including North Park resident Mike Myers, a Realtor with Team Metro Real Estate.

“What a great place to be, especially on National Pretzel Day,” Myers said.

“I’m very excited to see them open and looking forward to their expansion with not only the store size but the menu. California Tap Room is already a great place. The pretzels are delicious! I had my first cinnamon and sugar pretzel … and it was incredible. Boomer hooked me up with some icing drizzled on top and Jeff suggested a side of honey that knocked my socks off,” he added.

“Jeff, Boomer and Lauren are all so friendly. As soon as you walk in there, they make you feel like you’ve known them forever. They’re very easy-going and always make you leave with a smile. I usually bring my dog Riley with me and they treat her just as nice, usually winning her over with a taster Pretzel Puff,” Meyer said.

“I cannot say enough about California Tap Room. With great people, a great store, great location, great pretzels, it’s definitely a spot that will be around for a long time and become a staple here in the heart of North Park.”

—Ken Williams is editor of Uptown News and Mission Valley News and can be reached at [email protected] or at 619-961-1952. Follow him on Twitter at KenSanDiego, Instagram account at KenSD or Facebook at KenWilliamsSanDiego.