Moving into downtown Carlsbad is The Village Yard, an outdoor food hub and cocktail garden being constructed out of shipping containers by industry veteran James Markham, known as a founder of such chains as MOD Pizza, Pieology, and Project Pie.
During his illustrious career, Carlsbad native James Markham has opened more restaurants than some people ever dine at during a lifetime. A founder of such nationally recognized restaurants as MOD Pizza & Pieology, Markham has always struggled to balance his desire to open the next big fast-casual chain with being an ever-present family man. Earlier this year, after an injury and subsequent surgery made travel inconvenient, Markham reigned it in and decided it was time to keep his business focused on his local community of Carlsbad. He recently closed his operations within Liberty Public Market's Mess Hall and pulled plans for his Pacific Beach pizzeria to focus on his own food hall ambitions and expanding his concepts in North County.
"I'm no longer interested in opening the next Chipotle," explained Markham. "Now, I just want to open cool concepts that make people happy while being close to home."
In addition to The Windmill Food Hall, opening this Summer within Carlsbad’s historic 12,000 square-foot Windmill Building, Markham is in the process of building The Village Yard at 430 Carlsbad Village Drive where Choice Juicery sits. Sited on a 7,500 square-foot, artificial grass-topped lot in the center of Carlsbad Village, The Village Yard will house a full bar and offshoots of his Crack Heads and Rolled Up eateries within two converted shipping containers. The dog-friendly venue will have picnic tables and yard games as well as frequent live entertainment.
In addition to the plant-based options being offered from Choice Juicery, The Village Yard will have a morning-centric menu from Crackheads that includes jacked up breakfast sandwiches and made-to-order scrambles. The Rolled Up section of the menu will include sushi burritos, Maine lobster rolls, and shrimp rolls, all made with fresh sustainable seafood from Santa Monica Seafood Company. The Village Yard is anticipated to open by this Summer.
