Kilowatt Brewing on Cable Could Open by the Fall
There’s another brewery – or rather, beer-tasting room – coming to the Newport Avenue area of Ocean Beach.
This will make the 4th beer place on or right off Newport Avenue either having just opened recently or in the works.
Chris Calva and his partners will be opening Kilowatt Brewing in the former motorcycle shop (former skate and surf shop) at 1875 Cable Street, next to the alley, and next door to the tire shop.
They have another place up in Clairemont, Chris said. When I pressed him, Chris said he hopes that this place in OB could open in about four months. Maybe but maybe not – depending on permits and the City.
Inside, Chris told me that the bar will be shaped something like a “J”.
And since the parking in front of the shop is not part of the requirements, they plan to have a patio out to the sidewalk.
Upon parting, I wished him and his partners the best of luck. They may need it depending on what the beer market on Newport can handle.
{ 38 comments… read them below or add one }
Why the plague of beer joints?
Is this what we want for our town?
Where is the o b main street association?
Why aren’t they actively seeking other kinds of businesses?
And who allows all these liqueur licenses?
Enough already.
These places will level out naturally. Culture Brewing was there first and is the only one that seems to be crowded. I’ve driven by Hess about 10 times and it’s always empty.
Nature will take its course.
I didn’t even know there was a Hess in OB. The one in North Park is always full. Where is the OB room located?
Hess Brewing is at the corner of Voltaire and Cable in north OB.
Thanks Frank. I will check that one out.
Seriously? Another drinking establishment?
OB Ladies be aware of this….
http://www.10news.com/news/woman-claims-she-was-roofied-left-paralyzed-at-ocean-beach-bar
Roofed?
I find that breweries and tasting rooms bring a different clientele. I’ve been going to them for years all over San Diego and I cannot tell you of one single incident where I’ve had to deal with or been witness to a drunk obnoxious a-hole. They’re usually very chill with people sitting around in small groups conversing. Beer Fests are a whole different beast. BTW did anyone complain about the wine bar? Maybe not… because it’s always appears empty to me.
I never thought I would say this….I almost prefer Starbucks over these tasting rooms that have concrete floors, hard chairs where voices echo off the walls.
See…that is why people say never say never
Matter or preference I suppose. I like the atmosphere of these tasting rooms.
New craft brewery/tasting rooms is always a welcome additional anywhere but is SD getting oversaturated to the point that the bubble will pop? I look forward to trying this when it opens but it is going to need some serious game.
Debbie, you know fully good and well that craft beer tasting rooms are not the same as regular bars. That being said, how many are needed in such a small area?
A drinking establishment is just that..for drinking. How many drinking establishments are needed is a better question.
Maybe food tasting rooms will start to appear and then we can say how different they are from restaurants?
IIMO, It’s really not worth debating. You like what you like and the rest of us will do they same. Eventually on the strong will survive or better said….be able to pay their rent.
Surely, o b can be more than bars/tasting rooms/wine bars and what have you. How about more antique and vintage stores…we are already a magnet for that ! ?
How about a bowling alley or skating rink…something wholesome for kids and adults alike?
OB had the very last, manually-operated single lane bowling alley in the country – where ? Where the James Gang is now.
Really!
Here’s hoping an entrepreneur is reading this comment section…think of all the families in o b and families who visit here who would love to round out their beach time with a go at mini pins, and other wholesome arcade activities.
I’m really excited to give this place a try and happy that they will have an outdoor patio too!
The ideas of a bowling alley – even mini pin, or skating rink are great!
O b is a family town, after all.Why try to turn us into a place just for drinking?
How about a pin ball machine arcade complete with one of those photo boothes that takes a strip of photos when you sit in a little booth?
C’mon, obeceans…et’s rise up and fight for our town.
A handful of reactions summed up into one…
I’ve got no problem with another tasting room – if their product is good and their facility is welcoming they’ll do well. Maybe OB becomes the craft beer tasting destination of one of the most beer-centric cities in the world. People already come here on vacation with one thing in mind – sampling as many local brews as possible.
Danny – I have seen people in tasting rooms acting like asshats. That said, it’s obviously much more rare than in the bar scene – tasting room patrons tend to know a bit more about the product on offer, and they’re more interested in staying sober enough to remember what they liked or didn’t about a product than in getting tanked and acting macho. So pretty much yeah, I agree.
Debbie – it sounds like your problem is with people who consume alcohol in general. If so, no logical argument that some people can drink responsibly while others can’t or choose not to is going to change your perspective. But if you’ve got any kind of open mind, consider that tasting rooms generally serve smaller pours to an older, more sophisticated demographic than bars like Sunshine or Pac Shores (not that I personally don’t have love for both of those venues as well, or at least I did in my twenties). Even if kids were inclined to get tanked in tasting rooms, they’d probably find it much more economical to do so elsewhere – good beer is like good wine or good spirits – considerably pricier and not affordable for most seeking to consume it in excessive quantity. If there were such thing as a “food tasting” room, and they offered one or two bites of a dish for 1/3 the price of a full meal, I doubt people intent on downing 3000 calories in a sitting would flock to them, though high-brow foodies interested in experiencing a wide spectrum of samples (at a commensurately higher cost) might be interested.
Chris – nail meets hammer. The quality of the product (I’m not familiar with this one) will determine how these guys do. I wish them luck, and look forward to trying their offerings.
Faviola – not sure how long you’ve been around, but OB was once an antiques/vintage store magnet – rising rents have driven many of those shops out. There used to be twice as many as there are now.
Jon/Frank – re-opening the old bowling alley would be awesome! But it’d cost so much I’d still probably have to drive to Mira Mesa or Kearny Mesa for frames I could afford…and James Gang has handled all of my printing needs for years, so I’m happy with them in the spot.
Very well and reasonably said, Dave, good commentary.
Dave – have to agree with Geoff here.
However, a couple of points: I can get a nice good-quality beer high at Culture fairly cheaply – as they serve the 2 and 3 ouncers – say for $6; going into a regular bar will cost me nearly as much for just one glass, and I’m not satisfied.
Plus, I’ve certainly found a lot of younger people at this beer-tasting room.
And Arizona has highway signs that read: “Hammered? Get Nailed.”
I can’t say I spend a ton of time in tasting rooms during prime bar hours, bu my perception is still that they don’t appeal to hardcore partiers as much as other venues. Are your observations different?
“re-opening the old bowling alley would be awesome! But it’d cost so much I’d still probably have to drive to Mira Mesa or Kearny Mesa for frames I could afford…and James Gang has handled all of my printing needs for years, so I’m happy with them in the spot.”
That’s one good thing about being retired military. I can use the lanes at North island and 32nd St and they are very cheap.
Dave, I don’t have a problem….clones tasting rooms are pooping up ever few hundred feet in OB while there is little growth in shopping, art, kids activities, entertainment (the Strand died) etc. So I guess more the same bores me but it is not a problem for me. Enjoy your sophisticated tasting. If I decide to slug a few, I will probably be at Pac Shores with the colorful crowd.
LOL
Alrighty then. I agree that some more diversity as to what’s on offer business-wise would be preferable, but I’d rather see a tap room than a boarded-up storefront.
And in North OB we will just hang at our neighborhood dive bar where the dogs are welcomed, the drinks cheap, the food good and our circle of local friends true and solid.
We don’t need no stinkin’ high priced fu fu brew!
That’s fine, they don’t need you. the vacation renters will keep them in business.
And then everybody can get in their cars and drive away.
Too many antique shops! Too many surf shops! Too many organic food restaurants!!
We must do something!!
All I can say is I will give this place a try when it opens. If it’s good I’ll be back. If not then there Culture.
Heck, why not dream and have vision for o b…
Crowd source funds for a mini arcade in one of the currently empty storefronts on Newport.
A roller rink would take more room. Hmm. What is happening in the sacred heart academy building?
Wish there was a spot for a merry-go-round. Apparently we had one, back in the day. It is now restored and up in the bay area..,or so I am told.
The real question is why does City of SD Development Services classify beer tasting rooms as “general retail” uses with general retail on site parking requirements, instead of the more intense “bar/restaurant” use, which would require the addition of on site parking spaces any time a retail store front is converted to a tasting room? If the City was classifying tasting rooms in accordance with the intensity of the use, new tasting rooms could not open in OB, unless the moved into an existing restaurant/bar space.
And when do we reach our limit, if ever, on liquor licenses? We are way beyond state limits. The police have a duty to steer ABC on this. Especially considering they are understaffed. http://www.sacbee.com/news/investigations/the-public-eye/article10897994.html
There is a correlation between Vacation Rentals (mini hotels) & Alcohol License’s: its all about the tourists! A bar is a bar, a hotel is a hotel. We are saturated with both.
Neither preserve communities: year round residents nurture OB!
Enjoy your beverage, but don’t tell me its good for OB
I’m with you, Danny.
If we don’t fight back soon, our town will just fade away.
Do any of our elected officials give a fig?
Based on today’s Reader article crime is up…maybe due to the influx of tasting rooms
http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2016/jul/23/stringers-ocean-beach-tasting-rooms-breweries/