Brewers behind iconic West Coast beer reveal new venture after brands SoCal exodus
The founders behind one of the Golden State’s most famous beer brands are launching a new venture in the San Diego area after the company announced its production facilities would be leaving Southern California.Stone Brewing’s Greg Koch and Steve Wagner, who launched the brand in 1996 with their first keg of Stone Pale Ale, told San Diego Magazine they’re rechristening the Stone World Bistro & Gardens in Escondido as Quarry Escondido.The pair plans to open the new, independent restaurant on November 14, featuring “a beer program celebrating the breadth and quality of the craft brewing community.”The 57,000-square-foot Stone World Bistro & Gardens was not part of the May sale of Stone Brewing locations from Japanese beer giant Sapporo, which has owned the brand since 2022, to Firestone Walker Brewing Company and Duvel Moortgat USA.As part of the deal, the buyers acquired the brand and some hospitality locations, but the announcement did not mention the Escondido sites.In August, Stone announced it was exiting its three locations in Escondido as the new parent company moved production to Paso Robles in San Luis Obispo County and Kansas City.The CEO of Sapporo USA, Zach Keeling, said the Escondido locations it still owned had to close, resulting in hundreds of layoffs.Sapporo decided to shutter Stone World Bistro & Gardens in November — until Koch and Wagner moved to take the location back.“That place will always be a very big part of me,” Koch told Axios, adding that the site has been an important landmark for San Diego locals.
“But, really, my favorite thing is to be off to the edge and just listen to the talking and the laughter and clinking of glasses and dishes.”The bistro location was at one point the third-largest tourist attraction in the area, behind Legoland and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.Around 2016, it was attracting about 500,000 visitors a year, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
When it launched in 2006, it rep...