The founder of SoCal-born burger and beer chain Slater's 50/50 is launching two new dual-concept restaurants in San Diego's UTC area of La Jolla. Spitfire will serve "authentically made inauthentic tacos" with a unique array of spit-roasted meats, while next door patrons will be able to design their own salads and bowls topped with freshly cooked proteins at Head Lettuce.
After starting and selling a successful hot dog stand business, San Diego State University alum Scott Slater launched his first Slater's 50/50 in Anaheim in 2009 and gained an immediate following for a menu of bacon-infused burgers and a devotion to the burgeoning craft beer industry. The company grew to numerous locations in California with restaurants in Anaheim Hills, Huntington Beach, Rancho Cucamonga, Pasadena, San Marcos and San Diego's Liberty Station. In late 2016, not long after shutterinng his S&M Sausage and Meat restaurant in San Diego's North Park, Scott Slater sold all six Slater’s 50/50 restaurants to Elite Restaurant Group with hopes of national expansion. Slater returned to the San Diego restaurant industry last year with the opening of TBS Tavern in Mission Valley.
Next on Slater's agenda is building two new fast-casual concepts in Regents Plaza in La Jolla. Spitfire will offer a menu based around tacos served with slow cooked meats prepared on vertical rotisserie spits. The eatery will specialize in flavors askew of traditional Mexican tacos by incorporating comfort food classics like French onion soup, pastrami, prime rib, Korean short rib, cheesesteak, and Buffalo chicken, all served in taco form. Right next door, Head Lettuce will serve a customizable menu of freshly cooked proteins on top or healthy salads and grains. Both Spitfire and Head Lettuce will be cashless and utilize advanced kiosk and app technology to make ordering extremely convenient.
Slater is currently testing out future menu options at TBS Tavern, which is located conveniently near Station Village Way in San Diego's Mission Valley. Currently, every Sunday and Thursday nights, the restaurant prepares a complete scratch-made dinner usually enough for 10-15 servings for $20. Recent installments include chicken Cacciatore, sous vide prime rib, and a whole porchetta.
For more information, visit spitfiretacos.com and theheadlettuce.com, and check out the artistic renderings below.
