In June, we reported that KO Underground Brewery had surrendered its ABC license. While the project had the word “brewery” in its name, it only operated as a restaurant and event/entertainment venue. But it would appear the owners of the Gaslamp Quarter venue would still like to convert it to a brewpub. They just want some assistance with that.
Last week, KO Underground representative Alison Nguyen sent the following email to at least one local brewery’s general email account:
We are looking for an investor/partner/brewer to brew beer for us or with us at our location located at 1320 5th Ave, San Diego, CA 92101. It’s a micro-brewery. The place is a 10,000 sf (first floor 5,000 sf and basement 5,000 sf) fully licensed for a full service restaurant and bar with live entertainment call KO Underground Brewery Restaurant & Bar (capacity of 400+). We have been open for 1.5 year.
The email went on to invite recipients to call or email Nguyen to discuss the opportunity, however, inquiries sent to her for comment went unreturned. Originally, the brewing aspect of the KO Underground project was headed by Erick Villar, a martial-arts enthusiast who was set to brew on a seven-barrel system. Per the email and the long-ago deactivation of his KO Underground email address, it would appear Villar is no longer affiliated with the project.
