One of the founding members of San Diego's Verant Group of local bars & restaurants has taken over the Bay Park space inhabited by Old Trieste for more than half a century and will open a new neighborhood restaurant called Old Park.
Along with Eric Lingenfelder and Mark Cirillo, Joe Vaught co-founded San Diego-based Verant Group in 2003. The bar and restaurant collective now operates a multitude of locations around San Diego, including Barleymash, True North Tavern, Sandbar, The Smoking Gun, Tavern, and Mavericks Beach Club. A Bay Park resident, Joe Vaught recently ventured off on his own and purchased the building at 2335 Morena Boulevard that was occupied by Old Trieste Restaurant for 56 years until it closed this past May.
Vaught will transform the longtime Old Trieste building into Old Park, an elegant-yet-casual neighborhood bar and restaurant set to unveil at some point in 2020. Details on the concept are still in the works, but expect that the space will soon receive a complete overhaul to allow more light and add patio seating. There will be a menu of approachable California cuisine complimented by a full bar with cocktails, spirits, wine and local beer. Don't be surprised if there are menu items or design features which pay homage to the historc Old Trieste.
