{"id":417097,"date":"2026-07-29T21:40:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T21:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/417097\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T21:40:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T21:40:10","slug":"san-diegos-food-and-drink-blotter-breakfast-chain-shrinks-new-ipa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/417097\/","title":{"rendered":"San Diego\u2019s Food and Drink Blotter \u2014 Breakfast chain shrinks, new IPA"},"content":{"rendered":"

Three locations of\u00a0Breakfast Republic\u00a0will close on Aug.\u00a09, including the original location\u00a0in North Park that opened in\u00a02015.\u00a0The other two closures are the restaurants\u00a0that subsequently opened\u00a0in Ocean Beach and Encinitas.<\/p>\n

\u200bBreakfast Republic is a\u00a0homegrown\u00a0breakfast-lunch\u00a0chain\u00a0that\u00a0operates under the Rise & Shine\u00a0Hospitality Group. Its founder, Johan Engman, said\u00a0the decision to shave off some of his locations \u201creflect lease expirations and strategic portfolio decisions as the company continues to position for long-term growth and invest in opportunities to support its future.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

He plans to expand the brand throughout California and into Texas.\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>Breakfast Republic North Park\u2019s exterior: The original Breakfast Republic on University Avenue in North Park is set to close Aug. 9. (Photo courtesy of Rise & Shine Hospitality)\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u200bLocally however, five Breakfast Republic kitchens will remain open. Those are located in\u00a0the East Village, Liberty Station, Pacific Beach, Mission Valley and Scripps Ranch.\u00a0www.breakfastrepublic.com<\/a>.<\/a><\/p>\n

For the love of cheesesteaks<\/p>\n

\u200bA popup that specializes in quality cheesesteaks is gaining traction at the Aero Club Bar in Mission Hills, where it has come into biweekly rotation starting at 5 p.m., every other Monday. <\/p>\n

The Philadelphia-inspired submarine sandwiches are made onsite by Jeff Sartain, who told us he sells between 80 and 90 of the cheesesteaks during each appearance.<\/p>\n

\u200bSartain is a San Diego native who started the popup in a Tierrasanta garage a year ago. He admits that he has never been to Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

\u200b\u201cI just love cheesesteaks,\u201d he said while mincing a pile of freshly sliced rib eye with his spatula atop a flat griddle on the Aero Club\u2019s roomy outdoor patio.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>Jeff Sartain of The Signature at the Aero Club Bar. (Photo by Frank Sabatini Jr.)<\/p>\n

\u200bThe cooked beef gets tucked into 10-inch rolls sourced from nearby\u00a0Solunto Ristorante & Bakery\u00a0in Little Italy. It is topped with hard-to-find Cooper Sharp American cheese, which Sartain sources from a local distributor. Grilled onions are optional. The price is $17. His upcoming dates are Aug. 10 and 24. For more information, visit @thesignature.sd on Instagram.\u00a03365 India St., 619-297-7211,\u00a0www.aeroclubbar.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

New cafe, wine bar coming to Mission Hills<\/p>\n

\u200bLook for\u00a0the\u00a0arrival\u00a0later this year\u00a0of\u00a0Serifino, a 3,100-square-foot\u00a0culinary venture\u00a0conceived\u00a0by\u00a0a small group of people\u00a0with experience in both\u00a0special education and\u00a0hospitality.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u200bAt the helm of the wine-focused cafe are\u00a0David Cross and his wife, Rebeca. He is the founder of\u00a0Civitas Living,\u00a0an organization that empowers adults with developmental disabilities, and she\u00a0has\u00a0enjoyed a career\u00a0as a high school special-education teacher. They\u00a0are\u00a0joined by\u00a0Amanda Sarich, who served as wine director for\u00a0We Olive\u00a0in La Jolla, and Michael di Carlo,\u00a0who also hails from We Olive as well as\u00a0The Butchery\u00a0in Del Mar.<\/p>\n

\u200bThe culinary direction of the project is still under development while the team\u00a0remains on the search for an executive chef.\u00a0In addition, the operation will provide employment opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities.\u00a0301 W. Washington St.,\u00a0www.serafinofinemarket.com<\/a>.<\/a><\/p>\n

Leveling playing field in North Park<\/p>\n

\u200bJoining nearly two dozen independently operated women\u2019s sport bars springing up across the country is\u00a0One of Us, a North Park newcomer that took over the space previously occupied by\u00a0URBN Coal Fired Pizza.<\/p>\n

\u200bThe venture was launched by a trio of local women who recognized the lack of commercial spaces that televise women\u2019s sporting events. It opened on July 16 with wings, craft pizzas, wine, draft beers and signature cocktails\u2014not to mention multiple flat screens angled\u00a0to\u00a0every seating area.\u00a03085 University Ave.,\u00a0619-431-1329,\u00a0www.oneofusbar.com<\/a>. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Beer haze<\/p>\n

\u200bThe eminent\u00a0Karl Strauss Brewery,\u00a0which was\u00a0founded in\u00a01989 in\u00a0Downtown San Diego,\u00a0has chosen National IPA Day on Aug. 6 to release its\u00a0anticipated\u00a0Field Trip Hazy IPA.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The citrusy brew\u00a0flaunts\u00a0hints of tropical fruit flavors\u00a0and\u00a0was made in collaboration with\u00a0Berkeley-based Fieldwork Brewing Company.\u00a0It rings in at\u00a06.7% alcohol by volume.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u200bIt will be available at Karl Strauss brewpubs,\u00a0which are\u00a0located in\u00a0downtown,\u00a04S Ranch, Carlsbad and Sorrento Valley.\u00a0Several\u00a0retail outlets\u00a0will carry it as well. They\u00a0will be listed upon release under \u201cfind beer\u201d on the website.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>The exterior of Karl Strauss\u2019 downtown San Diego location. (Photo by Frank Sabatini Jr.)<\/p>\n

\u200bIn addition, the brewery\u2019s annual\u00a0Marzen lager\u00a0Oktoberfest\u00a0beer\u00a0made with German-imported hops will roll out in early August\u00a0at Costco, and then the company\u2019s brewpubs later in the month.\u00a0www.karlstrauss.com<\/a>.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Three locations of\u00a0Breakfast Republic\u00a0will close on Aug.\u00a09, including the original location\u00a0in North Park that opened in\u00a02015.\u00a0The other two…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":417098,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[1115,13244,983,74,76,75],"class_list":["post-417097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-beer","tag-mission-hills","tag-north-park","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=417097"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417097\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/417098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=417097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=417097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=417097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}