The owner of the Breakfast Republic empire has taken over the 3,100 square-foot downtown San Diego space that previously housed The Dive Steam Kettle Cooking and will open Gaslamp Breakfast Company, another breakfast restaurant from San Diego's top producer of morning-centric meals.
Sweden native Johan Engman entered the breakfast game with his first Fig Tree Cafe in Pacific Beach in 2008, Since then, his Rise & Shine Restaurant Group opened two additional Fig Tree locations (Hillcrest & Liberty Station) and packs the house at seven branches of his Breakfast Republic concept (North Park, Ocean Beach, East Village, Encinitas, Liberty Station, Carmel Valley and Pacific Beach). The 8th Breakfast Republic was previously slated to open last May inside The Shoppes at Carlsbad, but that branch is no longer listed on the company's website. Four more BR outposts are allegedly in the works for Hillcrest, Mission Valley, Costa Mesa, and Irvine, CA.
Like North Park Breakfast Company, which opened this past spring, Gaslamp Breakfast Company will be a neighborhood-focused restaurant serving an eclectic menu of breakfast dishes ranging from omelets to pancakes, Benedicts to French toast, and everything in between including vegan and gluten free items. The eatery will have vaulted ceilings, a spacious sidewalk patio, and a full bar with cocktails, beer, wine, mimosas and micheladas. There is currently no timeline on when Gaslamp Breakfast Company will open.
Rise & Shine also owns and operates Liberty Station's El Jardin, which opened in summer 2018 and recently revamped into a casual Mexican eatery without its founding chef, as well as Feast & Fareway at Coronado Municipal Golf Course. The company has several other projects in the works, including a new morning concept named Eggies, which will be a fast-casual line of walk-up eateries operating out of converted shipping containers installed near three of San Diego’s busiest Breakfast Republic locations. There is also a from-scratch Italian kitchen previously dubbed Pizza Republic (then NorPa Kitchen) in North Park that seems to be stalled. Amidst juggling numerous new projects, Rise & Shine pulled the plug on its casual Mexican restaurants in Carmel Valley last year after only 4 months in business. Casa Rústica closed its doors after a short run in October 2018 and sister concept California Taco Club was announced but never opened.
Gaslamp Breakfast Company will sit at 551 J Street in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter. For more information about Rise & Shine Hospitality Group, visit riseandshinerg.com.
