Modern Times shuts down

Very sad.

Sandiegoville:

Modern Times' Far West Lounge in Encinitas has permanently closed, marking another major setback for the once-sprawling San Diego craft beer brand as questions now surround the future of its remaining local hospitality projects, including downtown's Timestead, Flavordome tasting room and the planned Cathedral of Caffeination coffee concept in North Park.

The Encinitas closure comes after Modern Times initially told customers the North County venue would be taking what it described as a brief "pre-summer sabbatical" on June 8 and 9 for maintenance, calibration, and "the occasional ceremonial tightening of a mysterious bolt." Days later, the company posted that the Far West Lounge would remain closed until further notice due to unspecified "licensing difficulties."

Now, according to Wes Van De Vort, CEO of Wings & Arrow and current owner of Modern Times Beer, the Encinitas closure is permanent.

"The hospitality group that is licensing the Modern Times name has made a decision to walk away from both Far West Lounge and Flavordome in North Park," Van De Vort told SanDiegoVille. "Wings & Arrow has decided to take over the North Park location, but could not come to an agreement to take over Far West. I do not know their plans with that location moving forward."

Modern Times restaurant opens downtown

San Diego Eater:

Modern Times Beer, which expanded up the West Coast this year with brewery restaurants in Los Angeles and Portland that both feature vegan cuisine, has returned to its home base to debut a new North County venue that’s also its first in the San Diego area to serve food. Rolled out over the weekend, The Far West Lounge lands on Highway 101 in downtown Encinitas where the space is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

Decked out like a grandma’s living room circa the 1970s, the company spent hundreds of hours handcrafting design details that range from felted recreations of TV dinners to knotted macrame plant hangers and a bar facade made from 2,000 dominoes and Modern Times coffee-stained wood. There’s wall of stadium-style seating, a mini mart area that retails beer, coffee, and brewery merch, and a 40-seat, 34-tap bar that will pour Modern Times Beer from all of its brewery locations; a special Hazy IPA, called Totally Open in Encinitas, will be released here soon.

Modern Times tasting room survives 3-2 vote

Del Mar Times:

[Planning Commissioner Kevin Doyle] worried aloud about the lack of parking downtown, about the crowds that would flock to the proposed Modern Times tasting room, and tipped his hand that he’d vote against the proposal, all but sealing its fate.

"I'm not happy for anybody," Doyle said. "This situation is unfortunate. This is not an easy issue to wrap our heads around. This whole issue has really torn me up."

And then, his thinking turned. Fellow commissioners Greg Drakos and Al Apuzzo doubled down on their stance that Modern Times was everything the city could want in a property owner. Doyle changed course, sending up a round of applause from one half of the packed room.

Modern Times restaurant goes Full Vegan

Eater San Diego:

Initially planned as a satellite tasting room when it was first announced last year, Modern Times Beer’s new project in Encinitas, dubbed the The Far West Lounge, has since evolved into a full-fledged vegan restaurant. This will be Modern Times’ first venue with a food component in San Diego, although the Point Loma-based brewery recently launched beer-focused eateries in Los Angeles and Portland.

As founder Jacob McKean notes, “When we first signed our lease on this location, we didn’t have a single operating kitchen. Now we have two, with several more in planning, and the process of developing the menu and building the restaurant side of our business has been incredible. I’m extremely excited to now be in a position to bring our food program to Encinitas.”

The switch from tasting room to restaurant came in response to an appeal from a local community group. Last month, the new proposal was unanimously approved at a Encinitas Planning Commission and the appeal window recently closed with no new appeals made. McKean says that the original layout of the 150-seat space on S. Coast Highway remains the same, design-wise, save for office space that has now been swapped for kitchen.

Once the domain of hippies and weirdos, "plant-based" or vegan diets are becoming more mainstream as advocates tout health and environmental benefits. Encinitas already has at least three fully vegan restaurants: Plant Power, which replicates traditional American fast food, near the Santa Fe Vons; the fast-casual Native Foods next to Ralph's in New Encinitas; and Leucadia's long-standing raw food Peace Pies.

Residents appeal Modern Times tasting room

Del Mar Times:

A group of residents is appealing the Encinitas planning commission's decision to approve a beer-tasting room downtown in July.

The Encinitas Citizens Committee (ECC) will go before the city council, tentatively set on Oct. 11, in hopes to overturn the commission's approval of the opening of the 150-seat Modern Times Beer tasting room, which is set to open at 470 South Coast Highway 101.

Culture, Modern Times bringing tasting rooms to downtown

San Diego Reader:

"After an exceedingly long and exhaustive quest for the perfect location, we are absolutely thrilled to announce that we have located a suitably rad spot for a North County tasting room," the post reads. Specifically, the 3000-square-foot site will open on Pacific Coast Highway at the north end of Encinitas (470 S. Highway 101).

According to the announcement, the so-called Far West Lounge will feature 32 taps flowing from a U-shaped bar that will serve up to 150 patrons in a "luxurious mid-century tropical" space featuring booth seating and "a swanky indoor fire-pit." It will sell Modern Times cans, coffee beans, and merchandise, in addition to growler fills, and also serve as an additional pick-up destination for special releases ordered through the company's seasonal online sales. No specific timeline was given for the tasting room's opening, though CEO Jacob McKean expects it to be sometime in 2017.

Solana Beach brewery Culture is closer to opening a less ambitious facility near Biergarden.

Crime scene at Modern Times

The sidewalk around Modern Times and neighboring businesses downtown was taped off with crime scene tape and multiple police vehicles were on the scene this morning. Sirens were heard shortly after 8am. An abandoned shopping cart full of homeless posessions was left at the scene.

UPDATE:

So apparently the owner of Ironsmith coffee has been shot after an altercation outside of the coffee shop.

St. Archer tasting room to open next to Surfy Surfy

Times of San Diego:

San Diego craft brewery Saint Archer Brewing Co. will open its second tasting room in a 1930s-era building in the Leucadia community of Encinitas.

The new 1,200-square-foot tasting room will feature 30 taps offering core beer selections and specialty brews from the the main brewery in Miramar.

Saint Archer said that with Leucadia’s ties to surf culture, the beach community is a natural fit for the new facility.

The tasting room will open in mid May in a building originally occupied by Roy’s Market at 978 North Coast Highway 101.

How are they opening in mid-May if Modern Times has been trying for a year and a half and still isn't open?

Friday news round-up

Local firefighter wounded in Las Vegas shooting.

Modern Times pulls tasting room application after appeal by residents' group; now seeking full-fledged restaurant.

Beavis & Butthead kidnappers go to court. Teen describes kidnapping attempt.

Residents protest Cardiff Elementary expansion into park space.

Kranz & Mosca reach stalemate on marijuana cultivation subcommittee.

After being given a $10 million taxpayer-funded, debt-financed facility, Encinitas Friends of the Arts hosts event in old Senior Center

Del Mar Times:

The diverse traditions of five different countries will be explored at Passport to Dance, with performances by companies representing Spain, China, Indonesia, Ireland and the United States. Presented by Encinitas Friends of the Arts (EFA) the event takes place on Saturday, May 11, 7-9:30 p.m., at the Encinitas Community Center, 1140 Oakcrest Park Drive, Encinitas, 92024. In keeping with EFA’s mission to celebrate diversity through arts and culture, the event will foster an appreciation and fresh awareness of ancient and modern traditions while raising funds for much needed arts programs in the city.

What the heck did we go $10 million into debt for at Pacific View?