We served beer & wine at the Old House Fair last weekend, and got to meet the folks behind a couple of the new restaurants which will be going in in the South Park area. Combined with the restaurants we already knew about, there’s a lot going on.
- A new tavern called Hamilton’s will be going into Sparky’s old space on 30th north of Beech. Hamilton’s is owned by a couple of local gents and will feature quality local beers in their selection of beer and wine.
- On the northeast corner of Beech & 30th will be Alchemy, a restaurant with full liquor. My understanding is that the owners of Alchemy own other restaurants in town and won the liquor license in the annual lottery, prompting them to look for a space to open a new place. I spoke with several of them at the Old House Fair and they were very friendly.
- Across the street, in Santos’ old spot, will be Citron, which I understand will be a fancy cafe with cheese plates, gourmet coffee, light entrees, wines and so forth.
- Across the street from us, in the former San Diego Giant Pizza space, the family that owns Old Venice in Point Loma will be opening a small Italian bistro.
- On 30th north of University, in the building that was Mailo’s, our own Mike Flores will be opening the Ritual Tavern.
That’s all the news I know about upcoming places.
Last I checked, there will also be a deli moving into one of the storefronts between the future Hamilton’s and the future Alchemy.
Also, it’ll actually be in Normal Heights just East of North Park, but fans of the defunct Zia’s Afghan Cafe (formerly on 30th between University and El Cajon Blvd) will be happy to hear that one of his sons is opening another “Zia” grill. I don’t know if it’ll be the same as his wrap place near College, but I expect it will be good.